didn’t really want to hurt her.
Getting to his feet, he turns and races after the others. The street ahead of him is deserted and quiet, he hopes he’ll be able to find them.
Leaving Jiron behind to deal with the club wielding woman, Shorty races after the other fleeing figure. Suddenly, the hood of the cloak falls back and reveals a much younger and prettier woman than the one facing off against Jiron. When she passes through light spilling from a window, Shorty is shocked to see just how lovely she is. This can’t be that woman’s sister!
She ducks down a side alley and Shorty follows. He casts a quick glance back to see James and Reilin not too far behind before he enters after her. The woman ahead of him shouts something into the dark as she runs and then all of a sudden several forms detach themselves from the shadows. He sees the moonlight glint off the weapon in one of their hands.
Before he’s even conscious of the decision to draw one of his throwing knives, one is in his hand. The four forms ahead of him move to block his way and call out to him. Even though he can’t understand what they are saying, he knows they want him to stop. But if he lets that woman get away, they may never find her again.
Letting fly his knife, he draws another quickly as the first one strikes home and sends one of the forms to the ground. No sooner does the first one hit the ground than another begins to fall with a knife embedded in his chest.
Suddenly, light fills the alley as an orb springs to life in James’ hand. The two remaining men stand blocking the way with swords drawn. Shorty draws his fighting knives and advances, Reilin comes up behind him to give support.
As they engage the two men, James looks further into the alley and sees a face framed by yellow hair watch the fighting from a doorway. She locks eyes with James for a brief moment then ducks into the building, slamming the door shut.
Reilin blocks his opponents thrust and then lashes out with his fist, connecting with the man’s face. Blood bursting from his nose, the man reels backward. Beside him, Shorty has managed to get within the defense of his opponent and sinks a knife to the hilt just below the man’s sternum.
Shorty shoves his man to the right and Reilin bowls over his man to the left just as James races between them toward the door where the girl had looked out. Following along behind, Reilin and Shorty keep a look out for any others who may try to impede them.
At the door, James finds it’s barred from the inside. Placing his hand against the door, he sends his senses to the other side. Finding the sliding bar that’s holding the door closed, he gives out with a micro burst of magic and splinters the bar in two. Pulling on the handle, the door now swings open and the light from the orb reveals a room on the other side.
Small and dirty, this room looks to have been the living quarters of vagrants. Possibly even that of the men they left in the alley behind them. Another door stands ajar on the far side of the room. Crossing the filthy room, James opens the door and enters the hallway extending into the building.
Dark and quiet, the hallway reveals no clues as to the whereabouts of the woman. He pulls out his cloth and with the hope that the brief glimpse he had of her will be enough, sends forth the magic to find her. Concentrating on the face he saw, he directs the magic and the cloth rises to show the way. It points down the hallway and slightly to the right.
Moving slowly with Shorty and Reilin right behind, he makes his way down the hallway. As he progresses, the cloth at first moves slowly to the right. Then as they approach the fourth door on the right, it begins to move quicker until they come abreast of the doorway and it points directly to the door.
Putting away the cloth he turns to the others and whispers, “She’s in there.”
Shorty nods and moves to the door. Placing his hand upon handle, he slowly turns it. With a knife in his other hand, he opens the door into the room. The interior of the room is dark, and when he has the door half a foot into the room, a hand wielding a knife strikes out at him.
Dodging backward, he avoids the blow and grabs the attacker’s arm. Pulling hard, he kicks the door open at the same time and the yellow haired girl is dragged from the room. With a cry, the woman loses her balance and falls to the floor. From within the room, a small child begins crying.
Shorty and Reilin wrestle with the woman and pin the arm with the knife behind her back. “Drop it!” Reilin tells her. Shorty pulls her arm up, increasing the pain until her fingers let go and the knife drops to the floor.
From up and down the hall, doors open and faces peer out only to slam shut once again when they see what’s going on.
James opens the door and says, “Bring her inside.” Keeping an eye out for any other possible attacks from within, he enters the room.
Sitting on the floor in the corner is a small boy who is the source of the crying they heard. Arms outstretched to the woman, his cries intensify when she doesn’t immediately go to him.
To Reilin James says, “Tell her that we’ll let her go to the boy if she promises not to try to run or attack us again.”
Reilin talks to the woman and receives an answer. “She says she won’t cause any trouble,” he tells them.
“Then let her go to the boy,” James says.
Shorty and Reilin release her. Running over to her son, as that is who it must be, she takes him in her arms. Putting her back to the corner, she looks at them with fear in her eyes as she talks softly to him. His cries begin to settle down now that he’s in her arms.
“Go find Jiron and bring him here,” James tells Shorty.
“Be right back,” he replies then leaves the room quickly.
Once he’s gone and the door closes, James turns back to the woman. He feels bad to have scared her and the boy. Unfortunately, the world being what it is, there is little trust in strangers. “Tell her that we don’t plan to harm her or the child,” he tells Reilin.
When he tells her that, she relaxes only a fraction. Then she says something to him. “She says she knows why we are here,” Reilin relays to him.
Turning to look at the woman he asks, “And what would that be?”
After asking and receiving her reply, he says, “She says that her sister told her of what transpired at The Split Navel. Also Jiron’s visit at her home.”
“Ask her if she knows anything about the necklace that Gryll had,” he says. When he spoke Gryll’s name, she visibly perked up.
“You know Gryll?” Reilin asks her.
“Yes,” she replies with eyes downcast.
“Do you know anything about the necklace bearing a heart and two stones?” he asks.
A tear wells in her eye as she nods her head.
Turning to James, Reilin says, “She knows. But something about this has her very upset.” After a second he adds, “And I don’t think it’s us.”
Then she starts speaking and the words just gush forth, as do her emotions. It takes her several minutes but when she’s done, she cuddles very closely with her son as sobs wrack through her. His tiny hand pats her head as if he’s trying to reassure her.
“She got pregnant with the boy before being married,” he says. “Around here that means no man can honorably marry her. She is considered ‘soiled’. The lives of such can be very bad at times, many don’t survive or wind up in brothels.”
“Then she and her sister came up with a plan. They figured that considering how beautiful she is, she might be able to win the heart of a man before he found out about the boy. While her sister kept the boy, she began frequenting places the affluent go. She met a man and worked her charms on him. Their plan had been working off and on for some weeks. During this time, the man had given her the necklace as a present, he never said where he had gotten it.”
“Deciding she couldn’t put off telling him any longer, she told the man about her son. He became enraged at her for deceiving him. He demanded the necklace back but she new it had to be worth many coins that she and her son would need. Saying that she would bring it to him, she then went and hid until her sister said the man had left town.”
