Another one of those sharp knives flew past, barely missing Torvus’ neck, only because he turned left out of the alley. He pounded dry dirt now, his bright blue eye darting over the area searching for more ideas. His eye lit up before it captured my attention.
“I’ll need to dump you.”
My mouth dropped open. “You need to do-”
My question was interrupted when he did what he promised. He parted his arms, and I was dropped into the middle of the street. The landing was hard on the tailbone, but that was nothing compared to the pain in my heart. Torvus made the matter worse when he skidded to a stop a few steps ahead of me and spun around to face our pursuer.
“You can have her!” he shouted at the cloaked figure. “She’s too much trouble for me!”
My jaw hit my lap, but I didn’t have enough time to scream profanities. A shadow loomed over me. The blade of a dagger glistened in the starlight.
I slowly turned around to find myself staring into a pair of bright red eyes. My blood ran cold. I raised my arm to protect myself as he raised the weapon.
That’s when he froze, arm poised above his head. He dropped those hideous eyes to his feet. I couldn’t help but look, and beheld a pair of watery manacles that had slithered their way through the dry cracks and latched onto him. He thrashed in their hold, but the water pressure kept him in place. The water even shot up and knocked the dagger from his hand. The weapon clattered to the ground several feet behind him.
Footsteps behind me made me turn that way. Torvus strolled up to me and studied our foe. “You’re not Ostrovsky, or you wouldn’t have been so easily caught by me.”
The figure stopped their thrashing and glared at him.
Torvus helped me to my feet and tipped his head to our foe. “I can see you’re not the talkative type, so we’ll be going. Goodnight.”
He swept me into his arms and hurried away. I looked over his shoulder and watched the tense figure disappear out of sight. The person’s eyes promised us trouble later.
A lot of trouble.
Chapter 28
“I think it’s time we found a place to stay, don’t you?”
Torvus’ suggestion started me from my thoughts. Those had remained on the three figures and their evil cat, while he had wandered us through the city.
I blinked at him. “Aren’t we going back to the ship?”
“Not quite yet. I don’t want to lead our new ‘friends’ to the Tempest. I instructed Fidel to anchor her around the bay after the dry dock repairs, just in case something like this happened,” he told me as he looked around. We were in a quiet district of the city where a few lanterns outside the doors advertised rooms and service with a coy smile. Many of the buildings were three floors high and featured many windows that looked out over the streets. “We’ll find a room and rest until our friends have cooled off. Can you stand?”
“I think so, but I wouldn’t want to try running.”
He grinned as he set me on my feet. “I don’t mind carrying you, but we attract a lot of attention.”
I snorted as I tested my legs. “I think we do that, anyway.”
Torvus took my hand and nodded at the establishment in front of us. “This place will work. I know the owner.”
“I think you know everyone in Rynek,” I teased as he led me into a brightly lit foyer.
“Those worth knowing,” he returned as we approached the desk.
A short man with a slight hump on his back sat on a stool behind the counter. He looked up at our coming and squinted through a pair of spectacles before his eyes lit up. “Marc! I heard you were in town, but I didn’t think you’d come see me!”
“And we’re here to stay for a while, Karz,” Torvus told him as he draped an arm over the counter. “You don’t happen to have one with a good view, do you?”
Karz snorted. “You mean a corner room? Of course I do. I always keep one open for the special customers.” His bespectacled eyes fell on me. “Who’s the girl? She doesn’t look like your usual catch.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” I mused as I cast a teasing eye at Torvus. “I’ve heard a lot about the captain’s women, and I wasn’t sure how I rated.”
He looked me over and bobbed his head. “I’d say above the pack, what with your eyes. Never seen anything like them.”
I blinked at him. “What do you mean?”
