Shadow of the Dragon by Kyra Dune

Author:Kyra Dune
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-61798-073-2
Publisher: Wild Child Publishing
Published: 2012-12-10T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

The sign hanging over the tavern door read “Paradise Lost.” It was a two-story building with peeling paint that might once have been white, but was now a dirty shade of gray. Not exactly what Micayta would have picked if given a choice, but it was getting dark and they were now the only people on the street. There was no other tavern in sight.

“It doesn’t look very clean,” Pytaki said, making a face.

Micayta glanced at her brother, who looked rumpled and disheveled and only slightly less disgusting than her. “Neither do we.” She patted him on the shoulder, then entered the tavern.

The moment she stepped inside, the resemblance to the “Broken Wing” hit her like a physical blow. A fireplace to the left, fronted by tables and chairs that were mostly empty; a staircase straight ahead, leading to the rooms upstairs; to the right a long, scarred bar with high stools along it.

She could almost see Delane behind that bar, counting bottles, and felt a swift, sharp pain in her chest. He was always gruff, old Delane but he’d given her a job when no one else could and he’d taught her things. She’d spent more time with him in the past five years than she had ever spent with her father.

“Micayta? Are you all right?” Pytaki regarded her with a concerned expression.

“I’m tired, that’s all.” She walked toward the bar. The common room was packed and there were too many eyes following them for her comfort. Because of the wolf, no doubt.

The man who actually stood behind the bar bore no resemblance to Delane. He was tall and rather skinny, with lanky brown hair hanging around his shoulders. “What can I do you for?”

“I need a room and a job,” Micayta said. “I was a barmaid back home, worked a tavern just like this one.” A little too much like this one, but she could handle it.

“A room I got, one coin per night, first door on the left, but no job. This place barely keeps me and the wife going.”

“Do you know of any place in town where I could get a job?”

He scratched his neck with fingers that didn’t look as if they’d ever been washed. “You might go down to New District. That’s where most of the refugees are. I’m surprised the local guard didn’t scuttle you down there as soon as you hit town.”

The tone of his voice and the look in his eyes suggested he was fishing for a little information, maybe a bit of gossip to pass around. Micayta had no intention of providing either. “Thanks.” She dropped a coin on the counter for the room, and they headed upstairs.

“If that wolf makes a mess up there, I ain’t cleaning it up,” he called after them.

“He’s housebroken,” Micayta called back.

The first door on the left opened into a small room with no furnishings save for a bed barely big enough for two and a table with a rusted lamp. A half full can of oil sat beside it.

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