AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Too bitter,” repeated one of the beings drinking at the bar. “That sounds like Conii, all right!”
“Well, I certainly have better things to do than develop a taste for her!” Iitar laughed. A second later, he caught himself and looked at me. “You’re not gonna tell her I said that, are you?”
“Tell her what? That you don’t like greenberries?”
I slipped around the bar and into the backroom where all the extra bottles were kept. It took me a little longer than usual to find them; they were tucked away in the back corner. While I did, I heard the doors to the tavern opening once, then twice. I didn’t think much of it.
As I was about to walk into the room, I saw the Vinduthi.
And froze.
Vinduthi were all pretty striking to look at, but that one was striking even by their standards. His skin was a dark gray. His eyes were sharp and golden, and the horns were a short row going back from each temple. His muscles were enormous, and his skin had a patchwork of scars and gold tattoos.
Iitar stood directly in between me and the Vinduthi, hiding me from him.
I stood there, straining my ears, as the stranger asked soft questions.
Then he moved quickly to the door with heavy steps and walked out into the night. As he did, I suddenly became able to move again.
“Quite a customer, huh?” said Iitar as I walked around the bar.
“Yeah,” I said absentmindedly, the four bottles still tight to my chest. What was I going to do? Did I have time?
Without another thought, I hurried out onto the promenade behind him.
My mind raced. A Vinduthi who wanted information about Conii? It had to be connected, didn’t it?
If so, he could be a powerful ally.I could research anything within the compound, but if I needed to look at things outside it, I needed someone else. There was also the question of what I’d do with evidence once I gathered it.
He could solve a lot of my problems if I could just get him to talk to me.
The Vinduthi walked quickly, taking long strides, every once and a while, glancing behind him. I already struggled to keep up when, without warning, he ducked into a barely used maintenance corridor.
I broke into a run to catch him before I lost him. The service corridor was dark, much darker than the main promenade, and before my eyes could adjust to it, a hand shot out of the shadows, grabbed my neck, and slammed me against the wall.
“How many other people are with you?” a deep voice growled.
“No one!” I said. “There’s no one else with me! Please don’t hurt me! I just wanted to talk.” I clutched the bottles tighter against my chest.
There was a long pause. I could make out two golden eyes staring at me from the dark.
“I’m going to let you go,” the voice finally said. “But if you run or scream or do anything stupid, I’ll kill you. Do you understand?”
“I understand,” I squeaked.
“And are you going to be smart?”
I did my best to nod. The hand on my throat released, and I gasped for air.
The Vinduthi from the bar stepped forward into the light. Those gold eyes were fixed on me, and it was all I could do to make myself look away from them.
“Is it okay if I put these bottles down for a second?” I asked. “I’m trembling a little, and I don’t want to break them.”
“Go ahead,” the Vinduthi said. “Just remember what I said.”
Death threats didn’t help with the trembling. Still, I managed to get the bottles lined up against the wall, safe. As soon as I was sure of that, I stood up to face him again.
“All right. Now why were you following me?” he asked. “And you’d better make it good.”
