door startled both of us. It wasn’t our bedroom door, I quickly realized, but the main door to the inn downstairs.
I heard the innkeeper talking to himself as he came out of a room. “What in bloody Bastial hell is going on?”
The pounding continued.
“We’re closed!” the innkeeper shouted, now walking down the stairs to the first floor. “It’s the middle of the night,” he muttered to himself.
“We’re guards of King Danvell Takary. Open this door!”
Chapter 11: Run
I grabbed my bandana and ran to Lisanda. She started to scream just as I shoved the cloth into her mouth. She grabbed my arms before I could tie it around her head. Why didn’t I bind her hands? Dammit.
We struggled, and soon she pushed me far enough to get a hand up and yank the bandana out. Before she could scream, I took my wand and pushed a mixture of Bastial and Sartious Energy through it to create a jet of fire.
“Cooperate or get burned.” I pushed the short pillar of fire toward her face. She tried to lean away but couldn’t get far enough with her leg bound to the bed.
I edged it closer, making sure the heat was close enough to hurt but still too far to burn. I knew what that kind of heat felt like so close to my face. It caused an irrepressible urge to get away. But she’d already pushed herself as far from me as she could. Even if she figured deep down that I wouldn’t touch her with it, she couldn’t remain calm enough to think logically.
“Fine,” she said, shutting her eyes. “Put it out.”
I let the fire fizzle and tied the bandana around her head. Because I figured we would be running, I shattered the Sartious ring around the bed leg, formed one around my own wrist, shattered the ring around her ankle, and formed another around her wrist. I created another bar of Sartious Energy to connect our wrists with about a foot between us, listening to the conversation downstairs while I thought of what to do next.
“I have guests here,” the innkeeper complained. “Go away.”
“You can either open this door or we’ll break it down,” a deep male voice answered.
“What are you doing here?” the innkeeper asked.
“We’re looking for Lisanda Takary. She’s been kidnapped. This is your last chance to open the door.”
“I think I’d know if a princess was staying here. There’s no reason for you to come in and startle my guests.”
I knew why the innkeeper was hesitant to let them in, and it wasn’t just about his guests. Important tasks like recovering Lisanda usually came with a reward, and any damage done while trying to complete such a task never led to punishment. This turned guards into hasty, remorseless brutes.
They were going to tear this inn to pieces.
Lisanda was muttering something through her gag while I dragged her around the room and snatched the sheets from both our beds.
I tied our sheets together, then went to the window one more time to judge its distance. The sheets weren’t long enough to make it to the street but probably close enough.
A crash, definitely the door downstairs being broken. The innkeeper yelled and started back up the stairs. He stopped to shout back at them, “Don’t break anything!” He finished climbing the stairs.
I could hear him walk to our door and knock. “Come out. The guards are here.”
He walked to the next room and said the same. Meanwhile, I could hear tables being flipped and glass breaking downstairs.
There was a jerk to my arm so hard it pulled me from my feet. Lisanda was pulling me toward the door until I realized it and pulled back from my knees. She fell backward.
The Sartious bar connecting us was as stiff as wood, making the tugging contest clumsy. When I pulled her, I needed to throw my bound wrist behind me, but that put me in a position of no leverage. She pulled back right away, ending up with no leverage herself.
Rapidly we went back and forth, both of us on the ground, neither of us really moving more than our arms.
I heard the innkeeper talking to himself as he came out of a room. “What in bloody Bastial hell is going on?”
The pounding continued.
“We’re closed!” the innkeeper shouted, now walking down the stairs to the first floor. “It’s the middle of the night,” he muttered to himself.
“We’re guards of King Danvell Takary. Open this door!”
Chapter 11: Run
I grabbed my bandana and ran to Lisanda. She started to scream just as I shoved the cloth into her mouth. She grabbed my arms before I could tie it around her head. Why didn’t I bind her hands? Dammit.
We struggled, and soon she pushed me far enough to get a hand up and yank the bandana out. Before she could scream, I took my wand and pushed a mixture of Bastial and Sartious Energy through it to create a jet of fire.
“Cooperate or get burned.” I pushed the short pillar of fire toward her face. She tried to lean away but couldn’t get far enough with her leg bound to the bed.
I edged it closer, making sure the heat was close enough to hurt but still too far to burn. I knew what that kind of heat felt like so close to my face. It caused an irrepressible urge to get away. But she’d already pushed herself as far from me as she could. Even if she figured deep down that I wouldn’t touch her with it, she couldn’t remain calm enough to think logically.
“Fine,” she said, shutting her eyes. “Put it out.”
I let the fire fizzle and tied the bandana around her head. Because I figured we would be running, I shattered the Sartious ring around the bed leg, formed one around my own wrist, shattered the ring around her ankle, and formed another around her wrist. I created another bar of Sartious Energy to connect our wrists with about a foot between us, listening to the conversation downstairs while I thought of what to do next.
“I have guests here,” the innkeeper complained. “Go away.”
“You can either open this door or we’ll break it down,” a deep male voice answered.
“What are you doing here?” the innkeeper asked.
“We’re looking for Lisanda Takary. She’s been kidnapped. This is your last chance to open the door.”
“I think I’d know if a princess was staying here. There’s no reason for you to come in and startle my guests.”
I knew why the innkeeper was hesitant to let them in, and it wasn’t just about his guests. Important tasks like recovering Lisanda usually came with a reward, and any damage done while trying to complete such a task never led to punishment. This turned guards into hasty, remorseless brutes.
They were going to tear this inn to pieces.
Lisanda was muttering something through her gag while I dragged her around the room and snatched the sheets from both our beds.
I tied our sheets together, then went to the window one more time to judge its distance. The sheets weren’t long enough to make it to the street but probably close enough.
A crash, definitely the door downstairs being broken. The innkeeper yelled and started back up the stairs. He stopped to shout back at them, “Don’t break anything!” He finished climbing the stairs.
I could hear him walk to our door and knock. “Come out. The guards are here.”
He walked to the next room and said the same. Meanwhile, I could hear tables being flipped and glass breaking downstairs.
There was a jerk to my arm so hard it pulled me from my feet. Lisanda was pulling me toward the door until I realized it and pulled back from my knees. She fell backward.
The Sartious bar connecting us was as stiff as wood, making the tugging contest clumsy. When I pulled her, I needed to throw my bound wrist behind me, but that put me in a position of no leverage. She pulled back right away, ending up with no leverage herself.
Rapidly we went back and forth, both of us on the ground, neither of us really moving more than our arms.
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