Chapter 15
fifteen
Orelia’s bare feet slapped across the wet cobblestones as she flew around the corner and down the alley, not stopping until she reached the crates and wooden barrels Vade mentioned.
No one seemed surprised to see a scantily dressed woman running through the street, which worked out in her favor. She tucked herself behind the tall stacks of crates, avoiding the light shining down from a corner lantern.
Orelia crouched in a puddle of cool water, trying to suck more air into her lungs. The smell of rain hung in the humid night air, and a few stray droplets landed on her cheek. She kept looking between the slats in the crates for Vade, but over a minute passed, and he still hadn’t shown.
Her legs burned holding the stooped position, but she wasn’t about to wreck Vade’s plan and get herself caught again. She’d already ruined the night enough as it was.
After another agonizing minute, a dark figure dashed down the dark alley, moving too smoothly to be anyone but him.
Blood streaked across his face in lines, and before she could ask if he was okay, Vade lifted her pack out of one of the barrels and gingerly handed it to her.
“Change. Every Watcher in this whole fucking city is going to be after us, and we need to get out of here immediately.”
“Why would they—”
“Now, Orelia!” Vade turned and widened his stance, blocking the only opening where someone could see her changing.
With what little light she had to work with, Orelia opened her pack and shoved her hand inside.
Her nails clinked on glass. She pulled out Bute’s jar and set it on the ground.
The frog seemed a bit jostled, but he croaked, letting her know he was still alive.
She’d fully expected Vade to leave him, and Orelia couldn’t help but smile, even as she hurriedly changed into a pair of leathers and a tunic.
“Someone followed me to the Pony,” Vade said. “I did a detection route to try and draw them out, but whoever was tailing me must have picked up on what I was doing and left me alone. We need to be careful about how we get out of here. I don’t want anyone knowing where we go.”
“Do you have any idea who it is?” Orelia asked as she buckled her belt. The twin daggers he’d bought her sat comfortably next to the seidr one.
Vade scanned both ends of the alley. “I thought it might be someone related to the target from my stone, but this felt different. I don’t know how to explain it. I just know I don’t like it.”
Without a clue as to who could be following them, Orelia continued readying herself, noticing the weight of her pack was heavier than it had been when they’d arrived in the city.
She reached inside for the reason why, and her fingers found smooth material and laces.
She pulled out a brand-new pair of brown boots smelling like polished leather.
They were beautiful, and her eyes went to Vade, who was still facing away from her.
“Are you almost done?” he asked over his shoulder.
“Almost.” Orelia pulled on a pair of socks, then laced up her new boots. A perfect fit. She smiled. “What about my sword?”
“Fuck. I must have left it at the inn.” Vade pulled all his weapons out from another barrel and strapped them to his body before retrieving his pack. “We’ll get another one somewhere else.”
Orelia left the gold rope lying on the ground and tossed the dress aside. The sheer fabric turned translucent as it soaked into a puddle, disappearing as if her time at The White Pony had never existed at all.
She donned her pack and grabbed Bute just as someone yelled, “Check down here!”
Batalins entered the alley from the far end with one ordering the others to check the next alley over.
The two of them snuck through the maze of crates and took off down the main street. Orelia tried to run as smoothly as she could so as not to shake Bute around, but the poor thing would have to deal with it until they could get to a safe place.
They wove through several alleys and side streets, stopping next to a furniture store and pressing themselves to the wall as five batalins ran by, armed to the teeth. “She’s practically naked. She shouldn’t be that hard to find!” one of them yelled.
A muscle in Vade’s jaw ticked. They waited for a few more seconds until the sounds of thundering footsteps disappeared, then moved through a side of town with few lights and even fewer people.
After rounding a corner, they came upon a dwarf sitting on his cart smoking a pipe, his donkey half asleep.
“Take us west of town,” Vade said, flashing coin in the man’s face.
A huge gap-toothed grin greeted the fae. “For that much, I’ll take you to the king himself.”
Vade slapped the money in his dirty palm, and the dwarf marveled at the silver, turning it over in his purple-grey hand. “Hop in,” he said, motioning to the cart.
Orelia climbed into the back of the cart and took the bench half occupied with crates of onions while Vade took the seat across from her next to turnips and other vegetables she couldn’t make out in the dark.
Vade dropped the cloth over the back of the cart just as a handful of Watchers rushed down the street, the gold rings around their horns catching the corner light. They blew past them, and only when their deep shouts ceased did Orelia take a full breath.
The rickety cart rolled across the cobblestones as the driver took them out of Ricaboro. She could only make out Vade’s outline when they passed a street lantern, but even in the darkness, she knew he was staring right at her. His wrath filled the cramped space.
“Thank you for—”
“Don’t talk to me right now, Orelia.”
She hadn’t heard that much disdain in his voice before, even when he’d choked her in the river. “Vade—”
“What did I just fucking say?” The light of another lantern illuminated half his face, his brow furrowed so tightly she could barely see his eye.
They traveled in silence until the lights of the city disappeared and the cobblestones faded into dirt. When the cart came to a halt, Vade tossed the man an extra coin for his discretion.
The dwarf turned his donkey back toward the city, whistling as he went. He’d dropped them off high on a hill lit by the silver light of the moon. The lights of Ricaboro were flickering dots in the distance, and even though she knew it was improbable, Orelia swore she could still hear the music.
If not for the spell, Vade probably would have tossed her into the rocky valley below and been done with her. His stone face and pursed lips told her as much. They ventured a minute or so into the woods with Orelia silently following, clutching Bute’s jar.
When he seemed satisfied with the area, Vade threw his pack down. “I’m going to get firewood. If you leave the fucking grass you’re standing on I will tie you to a tree with my shadows and make you sleep standing up, do you hear me?”
“Yes,” she said, shrinking from his tone.
“Good.” He stomped off, axe in hand.
Orelia was too afraid to even set up her bedroll. She knew she had screwed up, and in her decision making she’d managed to lose most of the items she’d purchased, and the rest of the money in his purse. At least she still had the necklace, but otherwise, the night was a complete loss.
Vade returned a few minutes later, and only after he had made a fire did she feel comfortable moving. Orelia had just set her pack next to Bute’s jar when Vade stormed toward her.
“From now on, you do everything I say, exactly how I say it. You could have gotten yourself killed tonight, Orelia, and you would have damned us both. What you did was fucking selfish.”
She rubbed her gilded arm. “I know I shouldn’t have left, but I only had one night there, and you were clearly occupied so I knew if I asked you to show me around that you’d say no.”
“You’re right. I would have,” he seethed.
“I’ve never been anywhere, Vade! I couldn’t just stay at the inn. I shouldn’t have left the main road, I know that, but I—”
“I know you took my money, by the way. Hope it was well spent, considering whatever you bought is back at the Pony.” His hardened eyes made her shudder.
“I’m sorry, Vade. Truly.”
He yanked the tie from his hair and raked a hand through the wavy locks. Vade paced around the fire, rubbing his jaw like he was debating what to yell at her about next.
“How did you find me?” she asked softly.
“I went to celebrate my kill with a nice, good fuck, and who do I happen to see? You being dragged down the hall by two of Doyle’s dogs dressed like a whore.”
“I really thought I could get in and out without anyone noticing.”
He let out a humorless laugh before taking a long sip from his waterskin.
When Orelia realized what he’d said about the hallway, she frowned. “Hang on. If you saw me in the hall, then you saw me before they painted me. Why didn’t you get me out then?”
“And cause a scene inside?”
“You could have knocked them out or something. And if you were able to see me in the hall, that means you were behind me, near the side door I came in.”
He capped his waterskin and tossed it aside. “There wasn’t enough time to dispose of both guards and get you out before someone noticed.”
She huffed. “You’re the king’s killer. You could have incapacitated them in a multitude of ways, so why didn’t you? Why did you wait so long to get me out?”
He stepped toward her. “Are you seriously complaining that I was the one that messed up here?”
“No, I’m just saying, you had time and there was no one else in the hall but us.” He owed her a better explanation than the one he was giving her.
A vile smirk twisted his lips. “You needed to learn a lesson. And guess what, you learned, didn’t you?”
Her mouth fell open. “You let me be painted in front of everyone and taken to a room thinking I was about to be raped, all to teach me a lesson?”
He cocked his head. “Smarter than she looks.”
She freed a dagger and went for his stomach. Vade blocked her, but Orelia twisted his arm, bringing the tip of the blade to rest at his throat.
His smile widened. “So, your lover did teach you a few tricks.”
Anger boiled her blood to a scorching heat. She shoved him away as hard as she could. “I can’t believe you! You put me through that torment for your own amusement!”
He tried to approach, but she stuck the seidr dagger out between them. “Don’t you dare come any closer,” Orelia said through her teeth. “You’re a monster.”
He scoffed. “A monster? I just saved your fucking life. You should be thanking me, witch. You could’ve been stuck in there for your entire life if not for me.”
She angled the blade in his direction. “Go ahead and tell yourself whatever you need to in order to sleep at night, but what you did was damned heartless.”
He pointed at his chest. “You think I’m heartless?”
“You are! You kill for a living, and you let me go through all those terrible thoughts thinking I was about to be assaulted just to prove a gods-damned point. So fuck you!”
He was in her face in a second, weapon slapped from her hand and her collar in his fist. “I paid triple Doyle’s price so none of those slimy assholes could get their hands on you first! A little more gratitude might be fucking nice!”
Shadows snaked around his arm, coiling at his wrist, the tendrils so close they were almost touching her face.
Vade’s nostrils flared like it was taking all his restraint not to pummel her.
When his shadows didn’t recede, Orelia lost a bit of her nerve.
In his own twisted way, he had saved her from a potentially wretched fate.
Her eyes fell to the ground. “I just wanted to help them,” she whispered.
Vade released her collar, and his shadows retreated to wherever it was they came from. She waited for him to continue his ridicule, but he simply said, “Your bleeding heart is going to get you killed one day.”