The lanky man beside him was choking back laughter, as was another short man with a pinched face. “Maybe we ought to take this outside,” the lanky man suggested, voice slightly slurred. “We can rearrange the witch’s face and see how well his herbs help with that.”
“Perhaps we ought to,” Pip agreed, staring Auggie in the eye, as if daring him. “If you want us to be moving on, that is.”
Auggie puffed out his chest and gestured to the back exit. “Follow me this way,” he said, adding a mocking “gentlemen.”
The men shared menacing grins as they followed Auggie out the exit.
I ran a hand down my face.Of coursethis wasn’t going to be easy. My first run-in with my charge, and he was begging to be beaten to a pulp by a group of disorderly drunk men. Just my luck.
I gave them a minute and left the pub via the front door, circling around back to avoid notice. I rounded the back wall and stuck to the shadows. I entered a dark alley. The potion I’d consumed to see better was still in effect, however, and compensated for the thick shadows.
Auggie received a punch to the stomach from Pip that took the air out of him, driving him to his knees. I winced. Three against one wasn’t good odds. As much as I disliked humans, Auggie showed a little backbone, at least. And I hated bullies with a passion.
Auggie sputtered, hand to his stomach, but I saw determination in his set jaw. The brave fool. What did he truly expect to accomplish here? Being beaten to within an inch of his life wouldn’t do anything to humble these unsavory blokes.
As Auggie grunted and stumbled back to his feet, the lanky man yanked a wooden plank from a pile leaning against the trash, hefting it in his hand twice to measure its weight.
I narrowed my eyes.Oh, no you don’t.
I removed a vial of dragon scales and a packet of dried harpy egg from my cloak. Emptying them onto my hand, I whispered “Quæ enim seminaverit homo, hæc et metet” before blowing the powder and scales into the alley. The pod around my neck depleted by nearly half. I would have to meditate in the forest for hours tonight to refill my magic reserves, but it would be worth it.
As the lanky man lifted the plank to swing it directly into Auggie’s face, Auggie’s eyes widened.
Pip laughed expectantly, until the plank slammed into the short man’s head, sending their friend reeling to the ground, whereupon he landed unconscious.
“What the hell, man?” Pip wheeled on the lanky man.
The lanky man looked confused as he lifted the plank again, aiming to drive it into Auggie’s temple.
Once again, the plank, rather than swing at Auggie, targeted the lanky man’s ally. The momentum from the lanky man’s swing changed direction and smacked Pip squarely along his jaw.
The lanky man looked horrified. “Pip! I’m so sorry! I don’t know how that happened.”
Pip spit out a bloody tooth that rolled along the ground and came to a stop near the unconscious short man. “Just mess him up,” he said, pointing to Auggie, blood dribbling down his lips and over his chin.
The lanky man obeyed, but the plank rounded on Pip again, smacking the back of his head with a blow that knocked him out cold.
Auggie stared at the lanky man, very still, then smiled, unsure. “Thank you,” he said.
The lanky man gritted his teeth and prepared for another swing of the plank. This time, the plank swung itself into the side of the lanky man’s own face. But he wasn’t done. As he tried for another hit, the plank slammed into his head again, and again. Until he joined his friends on the ground.
Auggie stared down at the three unconscious men for a minute, looking utterly baffled by what had occurred. I could hardly blame him. Hopefully the poor lighting had been enough to muddle the events.
After another moment, Auggie ducked back into the bar, shutting the door firmly behind him.
I smiled as I waltzed over to the three men who’d beaten themselves bloody with their own ill intentions. It was quite poetic, if I did say so myself.
On my way out of the alley, I reached down and scooped up Pip’s discarded tooth, reveling as it was ground to pieces beneath my own.
CHAPTER FOUR
I arrived atthe pub at seven sharp, groggy after my late-night meditation. I’d had to pay the driver double his usual rate to engage him for the entirety of the day, but I’d rather have had a coach available while I needed it than risk being without, and it had been a rather abrupt request.
Auggie was waiting outside the pub with two suitcases, and he waved cheerfully my way when I leaned out the window. “I wasn’t sure you would actually come through,” he admitted with a lopsided grin as he handed his luggage up to the driver.
“I’m a man of my word,” I assured him, unable to take my eyes from his dimples. “You truly are doing me a service by joining me.”
“I hope I live up to your expectations,” Auggie said, stepping into the carriage and sitting across from me. As the coach took off, he gazed out the window with a breezy smile.
