Dreamer's Daughter by Lynn Kurland Page A

her. “I wonder about your other mate. Euan, was it?”
    â€œThe last time I saw him, he was being swallowed up in a large group of city guards. He’s no doubt either dead or wishing he were dead.” She shook her head. “Perhaps he’s in league with them as well.”
    â€œI hope not,” he said, “but I suppose we’ll discover that in time. First, let’s find some sort of lodging commensurate with the stature of a rich trader and his faithful servant, then we’ll see what we can discover about the rooster lounging on a perch that isn’t his.”
    She would have preferred they do anything but either of those two things, but she realized there was nothing else to be done. She pretended not to notice when Rùnach examined the inside of a carriage he hailed, then put her inside first while at the same time keeping hold of her. She supposed if things had gone awry, he would have hauled her out just as readily.
    She was enormously grateful not to be in Beul by herself.
    A suitable accommodation was eventually found and a very expensive chamber taken in a part of town she had never managed to visit. It was even possible, she supposed, to take a walk in the surrounding environs without fearing for her safety, but she wasn’t sure she would have attempted it very often. Beul was, after all, still Beul and full of ruffians and scoundrels of the worst sort.
    She had lost most of her gear at some point during the journey through that underground river, though Soilléir’s servants had been kind enough to replace most of it. Rùnach had fared better with his own things, but he seemed rather less eager than she would have suspected to leave much of it behind. Then again, he seemed to travel very lightly, which she supposed served him well if he needed to make a hasty getaway.
    She kept her pack with her and her satchel pulled across her body, then left the inn and walked with Rùnach along streets as if they had every right to be where they were.
    â€œWhere now, do you think?” he asked at one point.
    She nodded at the hill plainly visible from most parts of the city. “The castle is there.”
    â€œHave you ever gotten close to it?”
    She shook her head. “No means and no desire.”
    â€œIt might be a good place to start.”
    She couldn’t disagree with that, so she walked with him without protest, hoping they would be mistaken for simple travelers out for a look at the city.
    The closer they came to the castle set there on the hill, though, the thicker the clusters of guards and the more nervous she became. There came a point where even she could see that they wouldn’t get any farther without engaging more guards than they cared to. She stood with Rùnach and simply stared at Sglaimir’s lair. She couldn’t say she even had any memories of it looking any different from how it appeared at present. She suspected, however, that the grey tone of the entire city was seeping from under those ugly stone walls.
    â€œI think we can go no farther,” Rùnach said with a sigh. “Let’s find a place to sit and think.”
    She wandered with him back the way they’d come until they arrived at a public park of sorts. They found the only stone bench that seemed to have escaped decay, and sat before it was appropriated by any of the rather cheeky-looking youth loitering there. Rùnach sent the lads off with a look that even she had to appreciate for its fierceness.
    She sighed. It was surprisingly difficult to imagine that the expanse in front of her had ever been anything but an unkempt park full of noxious weeds. Even the trees were silent.
    Aisling looked at Rùnach. “It’s unpleasant.”
    â€œI’ve seen worse,” he said slowly, “but I will concede this holds few charms at present.”
    There were times she forgot who he was and where he’d come from. “I’m sorry,”