SINGED
Chapter 17

After donning my new outfit and placing Sal’s by the bed for when he woke, I made my way down to the tavern which appeared to be the heart of the sprawling inn.

Human hearts beat softly all around me and human minds murmured. I sat in the shadowy corner with a mug of house ale, listening as the inn revealed secrets. Too many secrets. They hid among each other like trees in a forest. Ironically it was the deepest darkest secrets that called out to me to be discovered first. Guilty minds tried hard not to think about what they wanted to hide the most and consequently thought about their shameful deeds or deepest desires even more. Strong emotions rose to the surface of my reflection.

Willem, the guard at the door, pined for Eleanor, the rosy cheeked barmaid who did not think of him at all. She pined for another. So, and so on. Thieves in the far corner plotted against each other as they bought each other drinks, grasping each other’s shoulders as they professed their steadfast friendship.

I began to filter, narrowing my focus to sharp detail. The distant murmur of the crowd became single whispers in my ear. So,I listened to their confessions as my parishioners absolved themselves unknowingly.

I soon found what I sought. A handsome young noble who was training with the Red Guard was staying at the inn. He was mysterious,and he was on the minds of many a young maid.

“He carried a crate of apples from the cart for me,” someone mused.

“Sure is a polite young man,” another thought. “Polite and of noble birth, truly rare. Curious.”

“So quiet. Why does he stay here? Surely his family has an estate or a wealthy friend nearby.”

And on and on, but it was already apparent that he was not the man Alister described. Unconsciously I scanned the room, searching the shadows. Across the room, was a face hidden in the shadows of a voluminous hooded cloak. As I watched he raised a pipe to his mouth and inhaled, causing the ember in the pipe to glow. In the illumination, I made out one hard eye, a swatch of dark cloth covering the remains of the other.

“Hello, Patch,” I murmured.

He was focused on a pair by the fire. The couple was unaware. One of the pair, I realized with a start, was the young noble.

His black hair covered his eyes, blocking them from my sight but it framed his face in such a way that I knew she had the advantage of his unfaltering gaze, as he had hers.

His partner was a bit of mystery. I frowned. I could not read her thoughts. Her mind was a blur. I realized that if he hadn’t held her attention I might not have recognized her at all. Of course, he was taken by her, she was confident and shining with life. Now that I focused on her I could not understand why I had not sensed her before.

She shone like a star, with vitality that overshadowed all others in the inn. The young knight was full of energy as well but where she was a blazing star, he was a furnace, emitting heat rather than light. Together they were the center, the heart and soul of the inn, around which all others gravitated, rotated.

Of course, I thought of Miranda. Was it their attraction to each other that made them blaze? It must be. So focused upon each other were they that if I turned from them they vanished from my mind. They refused to be background voices. When I focused on them again they filled my consciousness. I liked them, I decided. They were worthy of my contemplation.

I glared at Patch. They were not going to fall prey to Alister. Alister was lying about this noble youth. It was plain as day, and Patch was stalking them, either to make sure I followed through or perhaps he was the real threat to them and I was just a decoy to act as a distraction. Did he think me so blind? He did not understand my true nature, did not know a dragon could read thoughts, feel empathy. I knew the people in this inn like they were old friends already. Alister had made a mistake.

As much as I yearned to replace Miranda and disenchant her curse, I would not be manipulated. I would not let my love be used, especially to harm this young couple.

Patch shifted uncomfortably as if my glowering gaze stung him though he could not see me through the shadows. My rage increased exponentially. I focused on the young couple by the fire to calm myself. They were blissfully awkward and unaware.

I vowed right then I would aid them if I could. I would protect them from Alister and

Patch, and I realized with a sense of sadness, from Cayn, for surely, he had joined Alister.

I rose and slipped from the room. They would be safe so long as they remained in the tavern around other people. I hurried out into the darkness. Alister would have others, waiting to strike. I did something I had not consciously tried before. I willed myself not to be seen, willed the shadows to cloak me and for my footsteps to fall silently and so it was.

I was hunting as was appropriate for a dragon; a predator preying on predators. I was alive. It was so very natural. Of course, they would be along each possible escape route. Some would be obvious. They were decoys, distractions. I passed them like a ghost, as I searched for their watchers, searching for a mind beholding their partner.

Too easy. I would not bring myself to kill them. My human side, the side that loved Miranda could not bear to slay other men without cause, without them being a direct and clear threat. These watchers were neither. They were pawns, not worth the mysterious suffering and self-loathing such an act would cost me. My inner dragon sneered, shrugged. I knocked most unconscious, careful with these fragile assailants. I would disarm them, usually snapping their blades or bows with my bare hands. Yet there was an exception.

In a tiny room on a darkening street I found a watcher who had killed an elderly couple to secure his roost. They lay in pools of blood while the flint eyed murderer looked on, waiting for his next victim. I did not mean to twitch when I seized his neck, but the sightless glassy eyes of the old woman caught mine as I struck, and they were dark eyes like Miranda’s.

I dropped his corpse by his victims and walked out without looking back. No regrets.

Less than a candle had passed as I breezed back into the tavern. The lovers were still lighting up each other’s eyes, oblivious to the murderous glare fromPatch. He had moved closer to the door and a quick brush with his surface thoughts told me he’d left and returned. He knew something was wrong.

The tavern was emptying as the night lengthened. The young noble was grudgingly preparing to leave. He was committed to a vespers ceremony for his brotherhood. He was a knight, sworn to some ancient order, but while he was with his crimson haired paramour he thought of little else.

I channeled my irritation at Patch, who unnerved, left the room just as Sal entered from the back stair wearing his recycled attire and looking much refreshed. He spotted me across the room.

“I have made a decision,” I said softly. “Alister is my enemy. No more chances. His friends are my enemies, and his enemies are my allies, potentially.”

Sal nodded, glancing at the couple by the fire.

“They do not know,” I said, “that we are allies.”

Sal smiled faintly.

“You like them.”

I frowned, turned away.

“Perhaps.”

“Is he the one that Alister sent us after?”

“Yes.”

He watched them for a few flickers of a flame.

“Alister must have known we would see through his lies,” he said. “We are a decoy, maybe even a secondary target.”

“I agree,” I said.

“Should we walk away?” He asked.

I shook my head.

“Alister won’t walk away from this either. Not this time.”

I told Sal about my hunting.

“I forget for a moment who I now work for,” he murmured.

“You don’t work for me, Sal,” I said, slightly hurt. “You are my friend. My only friend.”

His eyes widened, and a faint smile touched his mouth.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “You are my friend too.”