“Hey you! Stop right there!” the guard shouted in my direction, summoning a few of his colleagues staggered about the square.
“Well this should be interesting,” I muttered before taking off, using what I could of the sparse crowd for cover. The soldiers converged from the northern end, meaning I only had the street I came in on, which would quickly become less populated and make me easily trackable, or the alley towards the docks where the fish market still drew a crowd.
Decision made.
2
Ro
My steps thundered against the dirt, an attempt to gain distance quickly. The alley bottlenecked the market-goers, playing to my advantage.
“Let’s give them a red escape,” I whispered. Braxius scurried from my shoulder down my back underneath my concealing cloak. The moment his tiny clawed feet departed, signaling he’d zoomed off, I darted to the left, ducking below eye level of the crowd. With a racing heart, I threw myself against a worktable. The blacksmith, currently hammering some freshly heated steel, looked at me with assessing eyes, subtly scanning the crowd. His gaze locked on movement I could only assume was the guards barreling down the strip, judging by the clanking armor.
I waited, questioning the familiarity I felt watching this tall, broad, dark-skinned man work. With a body built like that, I had no illusions that one deep shout would turn the entire alley’s attention my way. Each beat in my chest crashed like a drum, my body tense and unmoving, waiting to see which side this man would take.
He released an exasperated sigh, but lifted his blade, turning his back to me and sinking it into the water barrel.
“Have you seen a woman in a gray cloak?” a guard yelled, making me jolt as I remained crouched. I could tell he stood directly on the other side of the worktable I was currently pressed against. My feet slid closer to my body, hoping he wouldn’t see my toes from his height.
“Huh?” the blacksmith called over his shoulder, acting particularly disengaged, not even moving an inch to greet the guard.
The soldier snarled in frustration, but his boots continued their chase to the next stall over when he confronted that vendor with the same question. Luckily, his honest answer was no. I listened for the first stirrings of people down the lane. Through the muffled noise of steady conversation, I heard the vague shouting begin.
“Smoke! There’s smoke! Fire!”
Within a string of seconds, it was all anyone was concerned with—rightly so. A thin line of smoke drifted toward the horizon. Merchants of the lower shops and dock members called upon the guards for assistance.
I rose from my hidden position, watching the distraction work its magic. A brief glance toward the blacksmith had me saying, “Thanks.”
The man slowly turned, facing me only enough to catch a sliver of his dark gaze. “Any friend of Nora is a friend of mine.” A disarming smile spread across his face, and I finally recalled where I’d seen him. He’d come with Nora when Nick was hostage in the town square.
I paired a smile with a salute before he redirected his focus back to his work. With my hood down, I slipped into the crowd now retreating to the market square. Not one of the people pressed against my shoulders knew I was calling Braxius backto me, unless they could also read thoughts. But I knew of no one else with the magic of telepathy. Well, not full-fledged, mine only worked on animals.
Once I felt the scurrying patter of little claws scaling my leg, I returned to one of the meat vendor booths, purchasing a singular meat cube meant for a skewer. On our way out of the market, I raised the juicy piece to my shoulder. My tiny little dragon poked his head out to grab his reward, then dipped back under my hair.
“You know, only for you would I let greasy meat juice get all in my hair,”I said. Possessing a magic that deepened my communication with animals quickly soured my desire for eating them.
We navigated the streets as the sun sat high in the sky until we met back up with Asperion. The bulky horse danced in place upon our arrival, excited for our journey at the thought of letting loose and galloping through the fields toward Rahana. After untying his lead, I hoisted myself upon the saddle. He told me I didn’t weigh half as much as his usual beefy guardsman rider, and this felt better on his hips. I promised to put in a word upon his return that he be assigned a leaner rider.
Within the hour, we departed from the last city. When Asperion broke into a gallop, my hair flowed behind, free and unbound. Tiny little claws gripped my shoulder to stay perched. My shoulders were decorated with freckles, scratches, and tiny scars from little dragon claws, but I didn’t mind. Braxius could fly, but keeping up with Asperion for miles would be too much.
Through my gifts, I promised Asperion fresh apples and carrots waiting at our camp—motivation to conquer this trip quickly. In a laugh that was a goofier chuckle than one would’ve expected from such a stunning steed, I gleaned that I wouldn’t have to worry about this trip taking too long.
Some hours of continual riding had passed, the sun now retreated for the day. A fire ahead at the usual break point between the camp and the kingdom meant I’d caught up to the rest of the traveling party returning from the wedding. Only, instead of finding Ravinder and the rest of our squad, I ran into Evenita and her time-bending companion, Alaina.
They both stood upon my approach, and even Asperion hesitated, sensing the tension in the air.
“What is it?” I asked, my chest tightening.
“You’re going to be needed five miles north of the camp. Now,” Evenita stated with urgency.
Normally not one for blindly taking orders, I didn’t dare argue, not after seeing the way she single-handedly coordinated the takedown of the corrupt commander. She’d earned the benefit of the doubt.
Through the channeled connection, I pleaded with Asperion to run, and he didn’t hesitate.
“Replenish your quiver before you go!” the elderly woman called out from behind me.
“Got it,” I yelled over my shoulder, their campsite already shrinking from sight.
