K. Taylor - The Shadow's heir

The two men stepped toward her, leering. They had her cornered now, and the sight of them sent cold despair through her whole body.

But not for long. Laela’s eyes narrowed, and she reached behind her and drew the sword.

“Stay away from me!” she snarled.

They backed off a little at that.

“Well, damn me!” said one. “A lady with a sword.”

The other looked unperturbed. “I’d put that down if I were ye, girl,” he drawled. “Ye don’t want t’get hurt, do ye?”

“I want you to get away from me,” Laela said. “I know how t’use this sword, see? So move away before I show yeh.”

The first one pulled a knife out of his belt. “Reckon we’re gonna have t’deal with this one together, Aled.”

The second, Aled, drew his own knife. “I reckon so, too. C’mon girl,” he added, almost gently. “Ye don’t want us t’have t’hurt ye, do ye?”

Laela felt her arm beginning to tremble, but she didn’t lower the sword. “I don’t want to kill yeh,” she said. “An’ I will if I have to.”

“All right, that’s enough,” said Aled.

He moved forward, along with his friend, and Laela panicked. They were too close, too close ; she didn’t know how to fight like this-

She tried to make a thrust with the sword, but Aled sidestepped the blow and grabbed her by the forearm. He twisted, and pain rifled through her arm. She screamed.

Immediately, a hot, foul-tasting hand closed over her mouth.

“Just shut up,” Aled rasped in her ear. “An’ it’ll all be over soon, see?”

Laela struggled while the other man pulled her belongings off her back and rummaged through them. There was a rattle of oblong.

“By the shadows, look at this!” he said. He opened the bag. “There’s got t’be at least two hundred in here!”

Aled, holding Laela with his knife to her throat, grinned disbelievingly. “This is our lucky night! Quick, hide it away in case anyone sees us.”

Laela squirmed and bit his hand. He pulled it away for an instant, and she took her chance and screamed for help.

Aled hit her, hard, in the face. “Try that again, an’ ye’ll crawl out of here with one less ear.”

His friend stuffed Laela’s bag of money into his tunic. “Hurry it up, will ye? We don’t want no guards findin’ us.”

Aled ignored him. The hand holding the knife crept down Laela’s front. She struggled again, harder, trying to scream through the hand still muffling her, but there was nothing she could do. His hand slid inside her dress, down and down to clutch at her breasts, and she felt herself slide into an abyss of pure terror and despair. She was going to die. .

No. They weren’t going to kill her. It would be worse than that, far worse. .

Aled tensed suddenly, and his hand stopped.

“Who are ye ?” Laela heard him grate out.

Someone else had appeared in the alley entrance. “What, ain’t ye gonna give me a go, too?” they asked.

Aled spat. “Sod off.”

The stranger came closer. “Selfish, ain’t ye? C’mon, give me a piece of the action why don’t ye?”

Aled’s friend pointed his knife at him. “Get lost, or I’ll stick this in yer gut.”

The stranger sighed and leant forward, until they were almost face-to-face. Laela heard him say something-she didn’t know what. Whatever it was, it had a terrible effect on Aled’s friend. The man jerked away from the stranger, paused a moment, and then ran.

That left Aled and the stranger.

“Found yerself a nice prize, haven’t yer?” the stranger said, in conversational tones. “Got any t’spare?”

“Clear off,” said Aled, though he was beginning to sound uncertain. He pulled his hand out of Laela’s dress and pressed the knife against her throat again. “Go on, get out, or-”

“Ye’ll do what?” said the stranger. “Ye want to be a murderer, too, do ye? Wanna know what that feels like?”

Aled realised his game was up. He abruptly removed the knife from Laela’s throat and thrust her toward the stranger before turning on his heels and running away.

Laela collided with the stranger and fought to get away from him as he grabbed at her, trying to hold her still. He caught her by the wrist, and held on. His grip was cold, and horribly strong.

“Let go!” Laela almost screamed at him, half-mad with fear. “Let go!”

The stranger looked past her, to where Aled had disappeared. “Coward,” he muttered.

Laela tried to hit him in the face. He avoided the blow easily and pinned her arms to her sides. “Calm down,” he said. “Calm down.”

She stilled, panting. The stranger was. . she couldn’t tell who he was. He wore a hood that hid his face in shadows, and his clothes were all-concealing. He was even wearing gloves. He smelled of cold.

“Let me go,” Laela said again. She started to shake. “Please, just let me go.”

“Keep calm,” the stranger advised. “I ain’t gonna hurt yer, see? I just wanted. . want t’know if ye’re hurt.”

“I’m fine ,” said Laela. “Let me go.”

He did. “I didn’t mean none of what I said; that was just cover. Are ye all right? Tell me for true.”

Laela backed away from him and tried to pick up her belongings, but her hands were suddenly clumsy, and they slipped through her fingers. She felt tears prickling at her eyes.

The stranger came toward her. “I can help. .”

“No. .” Laela tried to pull away from him, but in that moment the last of her strength slipped away, and she started to sob.

The stranger seemed to understand. He bent and gathered up her possessions, wrapping them neatly and efficiently back up in their blanket. “It’s all right,” he told her. “Ye’re safe, see? Safe. What’s yer name?”

Laela managed to pick up the sword. “L. . I’m. . I’m. . Laela. Laela R. .” But she broke out in a fresh wave of sobbing before she could finish.

“Here,” said the stranger, offering her his hand. “Let me help yer. Can ye tell me where ye live?”

“Not. . not here,” said Laela. “I ain’t. . ain’t from here.”

“Are ye with anyone?”

“No. I’m alone.”

“I see.” The stranger straightened up and looked from one end of the alley to the other, apparently checking if the coast was clear. “Well, I’m on my way somewhere. . If ye want t’come with me I can get ye some food an’ a warm place t’rest a while.”

Laela was too weak by now to argue, and she clung to her rescuer as if he were her only friend in the world. “Yeah. Yeah. I’d. . yeah.”

The stranger led her out of the alley and away through the darkened streets. He moved like one who knew the city very well, but he kept to the shadows and the side streets, as if he were trying to hide. Laela followed him, keeping quiet and pathetically hoping that he would protect her as he had claimed he would.

Eventually, he came to a halt outside a modest-looking building. “Here we are. The sign of the Blue Moon. They know me here.”

A tavern, Laela realised. She followed him inside more than gladly.

There weren’t very many people within, and they showed only passing interest in the stranger-and given his shrouded face and body, Laela took it to mean that they did indeed know him. That reassured her a little.

He walked silently up to the bar and spoke softly to the man on the other side. As Laela came to join him, he turned to her, and said, “I’ve gotten us a room. Come on.”

He took her up a flight of stairs and into a smallish space with a bed and a fireplace. There was a chair in front of it, and he gestured at her to sit in it.