AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But I wasn’t listening as I threw her cloak and new boots on top of the blanket. “Come on. Get up. We have to go. They’re looking for us.”
“What?” she said, grabbing her clothes. “Who’s looking for us? Bloodbain?” Her hair was tousled, her eyes blinking away the traces of her nightmare.
“There’s a spy downstairs.” I knew it wasn’t Bloodbain, at least. I would have recognized his voice.
Raven didn’t need further explanation. She dressed in a hurry and draped her cloak over her shoulders.
I tucked my knives into my scabbards, grabbed my staff, and slung the bag of supplies over my shoulder. Treading quietly, Iled the way out of our small room into the dimly lit hallway. The inn was silent again, making me wonder if the innkeeper had sent the spy away. We couldn’t take a chance, though. He could have momentarily left to return with reinforcements once he knew where Raven was.
The old floorboards creaked under Kah’s weight as we crept down the back stairwell and out the inn’s rear door.
“Put your hood up,” I told Raven, moving quickly through the alley.And hide the map on your hand, I wanted to add but didn’t.
Kah watched for any signs we were being followed as I led us north. Raven stayed at my side. The rain had stopped, leaving a slick sheen on every surface.
“Where are we going?” she asked as I wove in and out of dark booths that had been shut down for the night. We needed to stay away from the busier parts of the market. I’d been careless last night, leaving Raven at the tavern alone. Anyone in this place could be a spy.
“To get a ride out of here. Come on,” I said.
There were open grassy plazas near each entrance to the marketplace where vendors and travelers would gather to collect and load supplies. We were getting close to the one along the northern avenue, where I hoped we’d get lucky and find someone who’d be willing to give us a ride.
I glanced over my shoulder as we stepped into the plaza. There were no signs we were followed, but I didn’t let my guard down. Where there was one spy, there were likely more.
In front of us, at least a dozen wagons were scattered across the area, waiting for first light to leave the market. Burning lanterns hung on the sides of the wagons, casting dancing shadows on the ground. Dark silhouettes of people moved among the murky light.
“This way,” I said, taking Raven by the hand and steering her toward the nearest wagon. Kah hung back at the edge of the plaza, aware that Kovak bears could be intimidating to other tribespeople, especially when asking for favors. We’d learned that the hard way before.
“Do you know of anyone traveling to Ibenswick?” I asked a Jakeen man loading a crate into the back of his wagon.
He shrugged, not stopping his work to look at us. “I think most of us here are heading east to Middle Market to get away from Malengard.”
We got a similar response from the next few people who seemed too eager to leave to worry about helping strangers. I suspected the warning that Averee passed along was being taken seriously. The problem was, none of the marketplaces these vendors were headed to were on the way to Askeland.
“What are we going to do?” Raven whispered, glancing nervously over her shoulder. “Can we set out on foot?”
“If we can’t find a ride, we’ll have to. I was just hoping to put some distance between us and the Rathalans.”
“I’m going to Ibenswick.” It was a woman’s voice coming from behind us.
Raven and I turned to find a woman leaning against her wagon with her arms crossed. She had silver streaks in her hair and a businesslike expression knitted on her brow. Her wagon was covered with faded blue tarps and hitched to two chestnut-colored horses.
“Will you take us with you?” Raven asked.
The woman’s eyes narrowed when they landed on my Kovakian tattoos. “Never mind,” she said curtly, returning to loading crates into the back of her wagon.
“What …?” Raven started, confused.
“Forget it. Come on,” I said, pulling Raven in the opposite direction.
Raven tugged her hand free from my grip and came to an abrupt halt. “What’s going on? You said last night that Ibenswick is in the direction we’re going.”
“She’s a Terran,” I said, my tone making my distaste of her tribe obvious. I liked Terrans just about as much as Kah liked horses.
“And?”
“And you can’t trust them. They’re thieves. Murderers. She’d probably drive us straight to the gates of Malengard if there’s even the smallest bounty on our heads.” The cold war between Kovaks and Terrans had been raging ever since they’d stolen our lands during the Iron Wars, and I was in no mood to bridge the gap toward peace today. My ancestors would curse me for it.
Raven stared at me for a long moment before marching back toward the wagon. “We’ll pay you,” she said to the Terran woman. “For a safe and speedy journey to Ibenswick.”
