I stepped to her side, following her line of sight.
Snow fell in from the stall window, where it turned red upon contact with the quickly growing puddle of red and black. The only sound was the wind now.
I reached up, carefully grabbing the shotgun, my hands overlapping hers.
She flinched upon contact, beginning to shake.
“Phoebe,” I whispered, “let go of the gun.”
Her eyes snapped to her hands, and she quickly unhanded it, though it was like she wasn’t sure what to do with them after.
“There we go.” I took off my coat, draping it over her shoulders. “Let us go inside now. There is nothing left for us to do.”
51
THE CREATURE
The next town bustled with the same liveliness as any other working-class town. Wagons full of goods passed us in every direction as we rode. There was cheery chatter as we passed, particularly when we went by several taverns. The ground crunched under the hooves of our draft as we approached the middle of a town, where a stately, simple steeple watched over the domain.
To think that all of these people were Vipera made me more comfortable than I was in the last town. It was nice to be around familiar species until I remembered who I was traveling with.
She was sitting beside me in the wagon, her head sloped against my shoulder as my arm wrapped around her. She must be exhausted. Injured, traveling, and Eve’s curse was visiting her this week. It admittedly drove me nuts, her scent making my teeth ache. I wanted to tear into something, preferably not her.
We stopped in front of the inn. It wasn’t very fancy, but it was the fanciest one this town could afford. I was told the nicest bar was here, which often hosted the man we were looking for.
“Alina.” I nudged her, gently touching her cheek to wake her.
“Hm?” She didn’t open her eyes.
“We are here; let me help you dismount.” I slid off the wagon and held my arms out to her. She gingerly lifted her leg, and I helped her down by her waist. She was a bit pale for my liking; I needed to make sure she ate some meat at least.
“Go on inside, I’ll bring the horse to the stable. Take the bags in,” I instructed, handing them to her before she trudged up to the front door.
Out here, everyone did everything themselves, no need for any sense of hospitality. I didn’t expect much from a place like this, but I didn’t mind the work either. The horse let out a huff of breath as I led him, jolting his head up and nearly yanking the reins from my hand.
“Whoa, calm.” The beast strained out of the corner of his eye before letting me lead him forward.
What a fussy thing.
I brought the horse to the stable, leading him to an empty stall. The tack was dismounted, and I hung it outside his door. The big, burly horse was happy to be idle, even happier when I threw a few flakes of hay into the small box. Though I think it only seemed small because of his sheer size.
I brushed him off and covered him with a blanket for the night. While I didn’t prefer drafts, I could appreciate a hearty beast. My own horse was quite flighty, not quite built for travel like this.
“Goodnight, beastly thing.” I gave him a firm pat on his neck before heading inside.
I stepped in through the back entrance, stamping my boots off on the carpet before trudging in. I saw many faces huddled around tables on the first floor. There were two small fireplaces on either side of the common area, cabin-like with exposed beams and taxidermy decor. The bar was by the back door to the left with a barman busy cleaning glasses—he doubled as the innkeeper. Onone of the many couches, there was a crowd, and in the middle, Alina.
Couldn’t you have negated attention for a few more minutes?
As I approached, they all listened to the damsel intensely.
“And then when they can put it on the nightstand, no one would ever know it was poison, as it just looks like perfume,” she explained.
“Do you only make one kind? Was your clientele via word of mouth?” asked one of the men.
“Yes, and it was easy sinceallthe wives do is talk and spend money, so it was rather good for business,” she laughed tiredly.
“What profession are you in now?”
