War of the Dragon by Jasmine Walt

Author:Jasmine Walt [Walt, Jasmine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dynamo Press

Nine

The cab dropped me off in front of the inn in record time, and I flew upstairs to pack my things. I settled the bill with the landlady, giving her the same story I'd told Mrs. Klein. Ducking into a closet toward the inn's rear entrance, I changed out of my nice dress and back into my farmer's wife outfit, then slipped out the back with my luggage in tow, leaving only the fancy clothes behind.

On my way out of the city, I stopped by the butcher and purchased an obscene amount of local sausages that smelled delicious, and several loaves of dark rye bread. I stuffed these into my bag as well, then set a brisk pace as I headed out of the city and toward the forest. It would take several hours to make the journey, but by that time it would be close to midnight, and Tavarian should have been able to slip away.

By the time I reached the valley, my shoulder ached from carrying so much weight, and my feet felt like they were on fire. Luckily, I didn't pass any other foragers—not that I expected to see anyone looking for mushrooms in the middle of the night—and the two women Lessie had captured were still there, intact.

"Zara!" Lessie's tail thrashed in welcome, but she did not remove her clawed hands from the prisoners. I felt a twang of sympathy as I stared into their terrified eyes—a mother-daughter duo, judging by the similarities in looks and the disparity in age.

"Please," the mother said, her body trembling as she stared at me. "Let us go. We won't tell anybody what we saw."

"Yes, you will," I said calmly as I sat on a rock and pulled the pack of sausages from my bag. I tossed five straight into Lessie's waiting mouth, then pulled out my dagger and began slicing off pieces for myself to eat with the bread. "And I wouldn't blame you for it. But don't worry. I'm not going to kill you." I took a bite of bread and sausage, and suppressed a moan as the spicy, rich flavors saturated my tongue.

We sat for another hour in relative silence, Lessie and I eating the sausages while the women whimpered. Eventually I took pity on them and fed them a few bites. The younger girl looked like she was about to pass out from terror when I approached with my knife in hand, but when I offered a slice of meat, she took it eagerly, almost biting my hand in the process.

"Hey!" I snapped, then abruptly went silent at the sound of a faint male voice shouting. Was that Tavarian?

"Isla! Marla! Are you there?"

"Papa!" the girl sobbed, struggling mightily against Lessie's grip.

"Otto!" the mother cried."

"Dammit!" I cursed. I didn't see any lanterns yet, but that voice was far too close, and the women had just given away our position. "Lessie, we have to go!"

"What should I do with the women?" she asked as I vaulted onto her back.

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