Not that anyone cared.
She huddled down, making herself as small and inconspicuous as she could. There was a scattering of refuse in the alley that she pulled to herself and pushed around her. Between that and the hood on the dark cloak she was given when she arrived in this world, anyone passing might glance into the alley and see nothing more than piled trash.
Sleeping at night was dangerous, but she needed the daylight hours to find the gate. So she found places of relative safety and dozed off sitting up, sleeping lightly despite her exhaustion. If she managed to find what she was seeking she could go home, go back to her father’s tree and sleep for days on end in a real bed, with the breeze blowing through the window.
That breeze whispered softly in her mind as she slid into a fitful sleep, and for a short while, she went home.
♦ ♦ ♦
“Heh. What’s this?”
A rough, deep voice, with an unhealthy phlegmy sound, woke her. She jerked awake and looked up.
The man watching her was typical of this place; thick arms and legs, dressed in rough-spun clothing that was stained from any number of vile things. He watched her from beneath bushy black eyebrows, out of small, dark eyes that glinted in the dim light of the lantern he carried.
Two boys were with him, both standing behind and leering past the older one. They looked much like he did, and for a moment she wondered if they were his sons or merely foundlings. Not that it mattered.
“I don’t want any trouble,” she said.
“Oh. Well, excuse us then. We’ll be on our way.”
But they didn’t move on, as she knew they wouldn’t. Instead he laughed, and the two boys behind him echoed it.
“Please.” Politeness never seemed to work here; it only seemed to encourage them. But she couldn’t get herself out of the habit of trying to reason her way out of trouble first.
“Please? Aren’t we the hoity-toity one? Hear that boys? The lovely lady said please. What do we say to that?”
The laughter was guttural, sounding more like grunts of pain than expressions of merriment. The woman took this time to size them up. The paunch on the man was evidence that he was well-fed, which on the streets at night made him dangerous. He was able to take what he wanted and keep it. The boys were less so but still didn’t have that starved appearance that so many did. This group was doing well for itself, a bad sign.
If the man attacked, the boys would join in, whatever his intention. If the man was driven away, they’d follow and maybe she wouldn’t have to hurt them.
“I’m asking one more time,” she said quietly, shifting into position as she did. “Please go away and leave me alone.”
“Nah,” the man said, and licked his lips. “I don’t think we’ll be doing that. Right, boys?”
He turned his head and started to laugh again, which was when the woman lashed out. She pushed against the wall, kicking out and catching the man in the side of his knee with the bottom of her foot. There was a loud crack and his laughter turned into a scream as he collapsed to the ground.
She kept the motion going and sprang to her feet, towering over the boys. Keeping her eyes on them, she kicked again, catching the man in the temple, and his screams stopped, his body going limp.
“Take him and go,” she said.
The boys stared at her, eyes wide and frightened. They slowly reached down, never taking their eyes off her, and grabbed the man under his arms, pulling him away.
She was taller, faster, and stronger than those in this town. And she had been partially trained by the best. Those were advantages. But she was also alone, and this city held more dangers at night than she could fight her way out of.
The man’s screams would draw attention, the worst kind. Abandoning her hiding place, she quickly moved away in search of another.
♦ ♦ ♦
She yawned and stretched when the sunlight woke her. It was a good night, relatively speaking. The earlier attack was the only one she endured, and she even slept through the dawn hours, when the hunters stalked the streets, which was stupid. It told her how tired she really was though. If she didn’t find the gate soon, she’d have to do something. Carelessness like this would get her killed here.
She rose, wincing at the stiffness she felt every morning and walked from the alley.
The city was in full-blown activity by now. Vendors hawked their wares from hastily set-up booths, and the bars and taverns already had their doors open, trying to lure people in with the promise of cheap alcohol and welcoming women.
Everywhere, the woman saw people shuffling along, either ignoring others or arguing. There were no friendly conversations, only sullen expressions and dangerous glances.
What a far cry from the Greenweald. And how foolish she had been when she was there. She was so convinced that her life was horrible, because her father didn’t approve of Solomon, wanted her to be safe and protected her. Now she would give anything to be back with him, safe and warm in his embrace.
And Solomon? Who knew where he was. The spirit that dumped her here in this place had either killed him or taken him somewhere else. She didn’t expect to ever see him again.
She didn’t want to think about that. As much as she missed her father and her home, the memory of Solomon threatened to bring her to despair, and she couldn’t afford that.
Concentrate on finding the gate, she
