“Help me gather my things!” Alexander was still naked. He was shoving things into torn pouches from the floor. “These are invaluable, just because that lady didn’t know their worth does not mean they have none.”
Lissie picked up his pants, and pressed them into his hands. She kept her eyes up as she did so. “Put these on, I’ll gather your things.”
Cora was also stuffing bits of wire and glass trinkets into pouches. Riley stood by the door with the blood soaked sword still drawn. Her eyes had that faraway look. There was so much scattered across the stone floor.
“We don’t have time!” Riley looked back over her shoulder. “Cora, go get our bags from the room, Alexander whatever you don’t grab by the time she gets back we’re leaving. We have to go.”
Cora stood and slipped past Riley into the empty room. Lissie was grabbing everything she could reach without looking at it.
What is all this nonsense he carries around with him?
She was moving as fast as she could, but Alexander was a blur. She spared him a glance, and saw his fire for a moment. Blue and green blazed inside of him. It started in his stomach and would course up his back and extend to his hands as he grabbed something. She looked away and focused on grabbing as much as she could.
Cora was not the one who came through the door. It was Toby, the boy’s feather looked like it had been broken again. Riley stepped toward him, sword raised. Lissie watched red sparks emanating from her chest down her arms.
“Take me with you! Svetlana ran out of the bar after Ian. The girl’s are distracted. This might be the only chance I ever get.” The boy fell on his knees in front of Riley, shining orange and yellow. Lissie closed her eyes against the colors, and kept grabbing things from the floor blind.
“Is there another way out of here?” It was Cora’s voice.
“This room has a trapdoor to the cellar.” The boy whined. ”For the bodies.”
Lissie couldn’t feel anything else on the floor in front of her, and risked opening her eyes again.
“Where’s Ruskin?” Alexander looked more a beggar than a tinker now. Half of his pouches had been slashed, and they were tied together to keep the contents from falling out.
“What do you mean, ‘where’s Ruskin?’, he’s your dog!” Riley was pushing past, still waving her sword in the air. “You lead us into this snake-pit and you nearly got yourself killed. And now you say you’ve lost your dog.”
Lissie flinched back from her words, she could see sparks in them arcing at Alexander.
Footsteps were ringing in the hall, metal shod feet. Heavy armored boots. Lissie turned to look, and saw two men in guard uniforms filing into the room.
Riley turned back from Alexander, and her sword was held high. She lowered her left hand to her belt and drew the sword-breaker.
“Stand down girl! In the name of the Duke.” The guard in the front of the row held a halberd. It didn’t seem like he would be able to swing it at Riley in the tight space, but he’d probably be able to stab her with it. It was a vicious looking thing.
At a rattling behind her, Lissie turned to see the boy Toby slipping down into a hatch in the floor. Cora was still gathering Alexanders affects. The three backpacks on her back made her look an Ellium herself.
“Don’t touch that one Cora!” He swept in and put his hand over a small pouch. “Wolfsbane extract.” He picked up the pouch with a cloth and stood, dressed in nothing but trousers and bags. He said to the guards, “Thank the six you’re here! This establishment has stolen my dog! And made an attempt on my life.” He waved a hand and said, “but that’s not nearly as dear to me.”
The halberd wavered. “We are responding to an assault charge. Young woman, put down your sword.”
Lissie caught a look that the two guards shared. This was a frequent call for them.
Riley screamed, “Put down your halberds!”
Lissie could feel the inferno raging inside her friend. The guards felt cold, yellow, scared.
“This is unacceptable!” Cora tossed her hair, flicking red sparks off in a shower. “I am Coretta Hart, daughter of the Duchess Lady Maribelle Hart of Terndowns, and I will not be treated like a common thug. We are on a mission for the peace of the kingdom.”
The guards drew breath and the yellow deepened.
The silence held for a moment. Lissie heard tiny scratching claws on stone, and Ruskin trotted in between the guard’s legs. He jumped up and put his front paws on Riley’s knee.