Chapter 5 #2
They removed their shoes but left the rest of their clothing on and climbed into bed.
Leila perched herself on his hip, and Drew snuggled up against Zach’s chest, giving him a sweet kiss to show his appreciation for the effort he’d gone to to keep Drew safe.
Then, with only a thought, he used his magic to turn the light off, plunging them into darkness.
They were woken sometime later by the sounds of shouting coming from the front of the inn. This was followed by the pounding of fists on the front door and a voice yelling, “Open and allow us entry, under the authority of the Shadow Blades!”
“Fuck,” Zach cursed into the darkness, and a dim ball of light appeared above the bed.
Drew blinked sleepily as his eyes adjusted to the light. Across the room, Andras was looking around wildly, real fear in his eyes. “They’ve found me.”
“We need to go,” Zach said, and although his hands were gentle, he urged Drew up and off the bed, upsetting Leila in the process. “Come on, sweetness, quickly.”
They hurried into their shoes, and Zach cracked the door open and peered into the hallway.
From downstairs, they could hear the innkeeper opening the door and conversing with the guards.
From closer by, several panicked conversations were happening behind closed doors.
It appeared they weren’t the only guests staying at the inn who were avoiding the Shadow Blades.
“It’s clear,” Zach whispered, pushing the door all the way open. “Quickly, now. To the rear stairs.”
Holding Leila securely in his arms, Drew slipped past him and jogged as quietly as he could towards the door they had identified earlier as being an escape, with Andras on his heels.
He gently opened the door and cast a furtive glance outside.
Somewhere to the right, he could see the flickering light of flames, maybe from an old-fashioned torch, and shadows danced on the walls, but the immediate vicinity was clear.
He glanced over his shoulder and nodded at Zach.
They had reached the bottom of the stairs and were racing across the small courtyard towards the alley entrance when they heard a commotion behind them.
In one swift move, Zach had pushed both Drew and Andras into a patch of shadows and covered their bodies with his wings.
Leila gave a single squawk of protest, but then fell silent.
They all froze as the door at the top of the stairs was flung open.
Drew could just make out the figure in the doorway through a gap in Zach’s feathers.
It was too dark to see details, but they were large and broad, likely male.
They were wearing a cloak, their features hidden by the darkness cast by the hood, and they held a sharp sword in their fist, the blade glinting in the moonlight.
Drew held his breath as the person—most likely one of these infamous Shadow Blades—surveyed the area below.
There was no way to tell for sure, but a shiver went up his spine, and he was sure they were looking directly at the place where they were hiding.
Despite the tense and perilous situation, Drew couldn’t stop the nagging feeling of déjà vu.
He himself had never been in a situation such as this before, but it felt so very familiar, and it gnawed at his brain, even as they stayed as still as possible.
Eventually, the Shadow Blade turned, and with a swirl of their cloak, disappeared back inside the inn, the door closing with a loud click. As one, the three of them let out an explosive breath, and then Zach was folding his wings away. He pulled Drew and Andras to their feet and urged them onward.
They had just entered the dark alleyway when it hit Drew. He stumbled to a stop and slapped one hand to his head, even as he cradled his familiar with the other. “The Prancing Pony!” he exclaimed.
Zach had skidded to a halt when Drew had, and his face screwed up in confusion. “What?”
“That’s where this has happened before,” Drew explained.
Badly, clearly, as Zach did not look enlightened.
“I had such a sense of déjà vu back there,” Drew expanded, hooking his thumb over his shoulder towards the inn.
“The cloaked figures searching the inn and the protagonists making a hasty getaway. It was a bit like the scene at The Prancing Pony in the first Lord of the Rings movie, when the Nazg?l are looking for the hobbits!”
“Sweetness, is this really the time for this?” Zach asked, sounding half amused and half exasperated. “We’re in the middle of escaping here.”
“Yes, I would really prefer it if we could be far away from here by the time they’re done searching the inn,” Andras agreed. “You know, since it’s my hide they’re after.”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry,” Drew said, feeling a little foolish. “Let’s go.”
They hurried down the dark road, not quite at a jog since they couldn’t see the uneven ground beneath their feet, but faster than a walk. Zach reached out and took Drew’s free hand, and in a conversational tone said, “You do know that I’m totally Aragorn in this situation, yeah?”
Drew snorted. “Yeah, alright, Strider. That’s fair. So long as I get to be Frodo.” He glanced down at Leila, who didn’t seem at all perturbed by their dash for freedom. “Leila would be my faithful friend, Samwise.”
“Which one does that make me, then?” Andras asked.
Without missing a beat, Drew and Zach said unanimously, “Gollum.”
They were lucky that Andras’s shout of protest didn’t reach the inn behind them.