Chapter 9
9
Kaley was waiting for the men to return. Maybe they’d come back and say that the king understood. Or maybe he knew of a way to “capture” the prince. Lasso him then turn him over to the guards? But she knew that with the aid of his magnificent dragon, they would never find him. Truthfully, her main hope was that when all of this was over she would finally get to talk to some people about folktales.
When it got late and she was sleepy, she showered and started to put on the pajamas from her suitcase, but some instinct was warning her to stop. It was possible that the men would show up and tell her they needed to leave, and she wanted to prove that she could be ready in an instant.
With a bit of a smile, she decided to prepare for whatever might happen. In case she needed to move quickly, she put on her yoga clothes: black undies, black leggings and a black tank top. Over them, she put on a clean set of sweatpants and a hoodie. It was uncomfortable, but she left her shoes on. She got her backpack and filled it with her camera and dead batteries. She zipped the pack closed and slipped it under the bedcovers. When the men showed up, she’d jump out, fully ready to leave with them. She smiled as she imagined their surprise.
In the bottom of her duffel bag was a tiny tube of nail glue that she’d bought when she’d torn her thumbnail. On impulse, she let a few drops fall over the scar on her forearm, the place that Sojee used his magic pen. Maybe the glue would block him if he used that thing on her.
Yawning, she at last climbed into bed and was asleep right away.
She was awakened by the noise of her door being opened. Yet again, her main thought was sleep. Did those two ever sleep? She kept her eyes closed.
As soon as they entered, she realized that this was different. It wasn’t Sojee’s heavy clumping feet, wasn’t Tanek’s lighter, quicker step. She waited for them to say something, but the people—there seemed to be two of them—were being as silent as possible.
She heard a slight noise at the foot of the bed and knew it was her duffel bag being moved. Thieves had somehow broken past the elaborate barricades on the door and were now looting her room. The last thing she wanted was for them to know she was awake and aware of what they were doing. Men who had been denied being with women for years were not something she wanted to deal with. She started sending out thoughts. Sojee and Tanek, please wake up.
She felt one of the men close to her. Her heart was beating hard. Would he hear it? She lay as still as death.
The man’s face was near hers. She could feel his breath, smell it. He bent over her so long that she was racked with fear. Was there any way she could get her knife out of her backpack? Could she kick even though her legs were entangled in the covers?
When the man touched her arm, she had to swallow hard not to scream, and had to hold very still. Maybe the goods in the room were enough and he wouldn’t attack her physically.
When she saw the tiny blue light and felt the almost familiar touch of the pen, she wanted to fight, but she lay still. Was he putting her to sleep so he could... She didn’t want to think of it.
But in the next second, the men were gone. She heard the door close and felt the unmistakable silence of an empty room. Still, she didn’t move. She wanted to give the men time to leave the inn with what they’d stolen. She didn’t want to encounter them in the hall when she ran to Sojee and Tanek. They were going to be very angry when they found out what happened!
It was probably only a few minutes but it seemed like an eternity before she moved. She put on her backpack, the only thing left in the room, then went to the door and opened it. There was no lock on it. She peered out. The hallway was empty.
How had the men gone through the traps Sojee had set on her door without making a sound? Had the thieves broken into the men’s room, too?
Silently, she went to their room next to hers. To her horror, their door was not fully closed. Inside, a wall light showed that their room wasn’t like hers. It was plain and bare. There were two beds, one on each side of the room, and they looked hard and uncomfortable.
The big canvas cases they’d brought weren’t in the room.
Sojee was in the closest bed. His bare feet hung past the bottom as the bed was too short for him. Tucked in beside him was his big sword and he had on his shirt. Hanging from the bedpost was his vest with its pockets. She grabbed it and felt. The pockets were empty! His little pen was gone and so was the leather packet that held the Papers of Passage signed by the king.
“Sojee,” she said. He didn’t move. Cautiously, she touched his shoulder. Abruptly waking a man the size of Sojee wasn’t something she wanted to do, but he remained still. The pen has been used on him , she thought, then went to Tanek. He, too, was deeply asleep. “You have to wake up,” she said. “Please wake up.”
When the door to the room was thrown back loudly, she jumped and pulled her hood over her face.
A man she assumed worked at the inn was in the doorway, silhouetted by the light in the hall. Behind him were two big men.
“Out!” the first man yelled. “All of you, get out!”
“Thieves broke in.” Kaley did her best to deepen her voice. She was a woman alone, with no protection. “My brothers—”
The man didn’t let her finish. “Your bill wasn’t honored! You are the thieves! You have no passage from the king! I should give you to the law.” He jerked his head toward the big men behind him. One grabbed Tanek and pulled him up while the other one struggled with Sojee. With what she assumed were curses, the first man helped with Sojee. Kaley grabbed Tanek’s shoes and Sojee’s vest, and she was glad the men slept with their weapons. She didn’t think she could hold all the steel they carried as she followed behind them. She was careful not to show her face or let the men touch her. They didn’t know she was a woman and she didn’t want them to find out.
The men shoved Tanek and Sojee out the big front door, and they landed facedown in the mud. It was raining again, so hard and fast she could hardly see where they were. The door to the inn slammed behind her.
Tanek was the first to move, then Sojee.
“We have to go,” she said, then louder, “Please wake up. We must get out of here.”
Tanek began to push himself up, and Sojee did, too. Whatever setting had been used on the pen, it was strong.
She went to Sojee. His feet may be bare, but he was fully weaponized, and far too big for her to handle. As Tanek tried to stand, she pushed him toward Sojee. The only way the men could move would be together.
The tiny bright light she’d seen around Tanek appeared. She could hardly see it for the rain, but then it flickered. “I don’t know what you are, but I really need your help. Where do we go? What do we do?”
The light moved ahead, then returned. “You want us to follow you?” It flickered. Yes.
Kaley put herself between the men who were leaning on each other. “Come on, guys, let’s follow the light.” It was slow moving and she could barely see ahead of them, but she realized that the light was taking them back to the schoolhouse. It was easier getting there using the streets than leaping across the rooftops. “Collan’s house,” she said, and the light flickered again.
They stumbled through the pounding rain and when Kaley saw the blue door ahead, she wanted to weep in relief. She managed to lead Tanek and Sojee to lean against the side of a building, under the eaves, where they’d be sheltered. They were instantly asleep.
Kaley ran to the door and pounded on it. A sleepy Collan answered. “What—?” he began, then stopped when he saw who it was. He invited her in, but she pointed. The two men against the wall could hardly be seen. Collan yelled something she didn’t understand and she saw his two sons come into the room. They ran out into the rain and led Tanek and Sojee into the house.
Collan shut the door behind him. “You can’t stay here,” he said.
“I know. I’m sorry. How do we get back to Eren?”
“Do you have the king’s passage papers?”
“Not unless they’re hidden on the men. Everything was stolen. They took...” She didn’t know how to describe the blue pen—or if she should since she knew it was illegal.
He said something to his sons and they searched the clothing of the men, then shook their heads. Collan put his arm to Sojee’s forearm then Tanek’s and shook his head. “There’s nothing registered. Whatever he has charged in the last day will not be paid. Creditors will be after you.” He lowered his voice. “They can be cruel.” He looked at her hard, letting her know what he meant. A woman would not survive them. “You can’t leave Selkan without the papers. I have little credit. I—”
“No,” she said. “We can’t put you in danger.”
“Do you have somewhere to go?”
“No. I don’t know this place. I—” Behind the man was the tiny light and it started flickering frantically, as though in warning. “Swans,” Kaley whispered, then louder, “Swans. I can hear the word. Is there a place, a homestead, for swans? I don’t think it’s inhabited now.”
“Yes, there is. It’s in the mountains. I’ve not been there, but I know where it is.” Collan turned to his sons, spoke to them, and they hurried from the room. “They’ll get the wagon and they’ll take you there. But...” He hesitated. “We’ll have to hide all of you.”
She knew he meant her as well. “Of course,” she said, but then looked at him. “Do you know who is after us? Who would do this to us?”
“Prince Nessa would want you out of his way. Were the thieves of your guard?”
“I don’t know. There were two of them, but I kept my eyes closed and didn’t see them.”
One of his sons returned and nodded to his father. The wagon was ready. Sojee and Tanek had gone back to sleep.
“Will they ever wake up?” she asked.
“Not for a day. There is only one thing that can do that to a man.”
Kaley knew he was asking if they had access to one of the illegal pens, but she wasn’t about to tell him. “Selkan beer?” she asked.
He knew she didn’t want to tell, and he smiled. “You make me miss my daughter. My sons will take you up the mountain. I’ll stay here and lie about ever having met you.”
“I hope you are the best at lying of any man on this island.”
“Then I will have a lot of competition,” he said.
She followed the sons out the back door to a covered area. They managed to get Sojee and Tanek into the back of the wagon, then the young men climbed up to the seat.
The rain was still blasting down so Kaley went to the two horses. “I’m sorry for this,” she told them. “We wouldn’t go if it weren’t necessary.”
She went to the back of the wagon and looked inside. The two big men, one on each side of the wagon bed, took up most of the space, yet she was supposed to get between them. Collan was holding back the big canvas cover that didn’t look like it would keep out the rain. “At least I won’t get cold.”
“I doubt you’ll even live through it,” he said, deadpan.
Kaley nodded. “It might be the better alternative.” She took a deep breath, climbed up, then snaked her way between the two men. Tanek, sound asleep, threw an arm around her and Sojee put his leg up against hers. “I’m going to be squashed.”
“Better that than what might happen if you stay here.” Collan fastened the canvas down and the wagon took off.