The Shadow's heir

begun to leave her. He would be happy to know that she was safe, and that thought cheered her up.

And then, at last. . Malvern.

She chose to go on foot for the last leg of the journey, wanting to see the famed city for the first time on her own. This was an experience she wanted all to herself.

It was bigger, far bigger, than she had expected. At first it looked like a black blob, squatting on the horizon, but as she drew nearer and nearer, she began to get an idea of how enormous it really was.

The city had walls around it, as she’d expected. They were enormous, built from stone, and she could see guards patrolling along its top-tiny from that height. But beyond the wall were the five towers of the royal Eyrie, rearing into the sky.

They looked like ordinary griffiner towers, but. . huge. Laela could see the openings in their sides and the banners flying from the tops. The towers varied in size-the one in the centre was the thickest and tallest. She could see what looked like bridges connecting them to each other.

The city gates were open, and travellers were passing in and out of them apparently unimpeded. Laela strode through, unnoticed.

So this was the big city.

She wandered through the streets with no particular destination in mind, staring in wonder at everything she saw. In most ways it was no different from the smaller towns she had already seen. . but so full, and so busy! The streets were simply packed-people were everywhere, walking in all directions. She had never seen so many people in one place. All of them, of course, were Northerners, and for the first time in her life, Laela felt like she was just a face in the crowd. Everywhere she looked were people with black hair. Wonderful, ordinary black hair. Long fingers, angular features, a tall and long-limbed build. . the features that had once singled her out, made her an outsider wherever she went. . here they were normal.

Exultation filled her.

Like one in a dream, she wandered the streets, going wherever she pleased. She found the marketplace and spent a few oblong on trinkets before her empty stomach brought her back to the present. She bought an apple and a few pastries from a stall and ate them as she walked along. But the gathering darkness quickly reminded her of her original plan. Find a job, and somewhere to stay, and quickly.

The former could wait.

She left the market district and wandered further into the city, hoping to find an inn or a tavern where there could be a room to let. But she had no idea where to find one, and the city was enormous. Eventually, tired and foot-sore, she stopped a passing woman.

“’Scuse me. .”

The woman looked at her. “What d’ye want?”

“I was hopin’ t’find an inn or somethin’ like it around here,” said Laela. “I ain’t been here long, an’ I need somewhere t’stay.”

A suspicious glare. “Where did ye get that accent?”

“Dunno. Found it lyin’ around somewhere,” said Laela, trying to sound nice and light-hearted though the woman’s unfriendly tones weren’t helping. “Look, can yeh help me? I’m in a hurry.”

“Try the south end,” the woman said briefly, and went on her way.

Laela glared at her back. “Hope that didn’t cost yeh life savin’s or nothin’, yeh bitch.”

Lacking anything but these brief directions, she headed in what she hoped was a southward direction. The streets darkened as the sun sank lower, and although the city guard were lighting the lamps, it had the effect of making the shadows that much deeper and gloomier.

Laela, beginning to feel nervous, sped up. Eventually, after much wandering around and with her belongings chafing painfully on her shoulders, she did come across a public building of some kind. She couldn’t read the sign over the entrance, but light and loud, cheerful voices spilled out of the windows, drawing her toward it.

The door was open, so she peered through. Her heart leapt. A tavern!

She strode in, ignoring the curious stares from the almost exclusively male customers. At the bar, a young and not exactly overdressed Northern woman was serving drinks.

Laela walked up and leant on the bar. “Oi. You.”

The barmaid shoved a mug of beer down the benchtop toward a customer. “What’ll it be?”

“I’m lookin’ to find a room,” Laela said, raising her voice over the chatter. “D’yeh have one here?”

The barmaid looked slightly puzzled. “Ye’re lookin’ for a place t’stay, is that it?”

Laela opened her mouth to reply, and shut it again as a chorus of shouts and clinking mugs from behind her drowned her out. “Yeah, I’m lookin’ t’spend the night somewhere,” she said rather irritably. “Have yeh got anythin’?”

The barmaid only increased Laela’s bad temper by taking a moment to sell several more drinks. Laela waited and growled under her breath until the woman’s attention was on her again.

“Sorry, love, what was that?”

“I said-” Another uproar from behind her. “I said, do yeh have any rooms here where I could spend the night?” said Laela. “I can pay.”

The barmaid gave her a look. “How old are ye, girl?”

“Nineteen,” said Laela. “Can yeh just answer me?”

There was a long pause, while the woman gave her a long, slow look. Then she put down the mug she was trying to clean and leant down toward her. “What sort of place d’ye think this is?” she asked kindly. “Does this look like an inn?”

Laela glanced around. The place was full of tables, and there were men everywhere, drinking and laughing among themselves. The few women were dotted around the room, some of them sitting in laps or pausing to caress a face.

She looked back at the barmaid. “Well, there’re men drinkin’ here, ain’t there?”

The barmaid laughed. “Well, yeah. We don’t get that many women here. Most of the girls what come here are lookin’ for a job, not a drink.”

“What does that have t’do with anythin’?” Laela snapped. “D’yeh have a room or not?”

“We got a few, upstairs,” said the barmaid, going back to her cleaning. “But I don’t think ye’d want t’stay in any of ’em. Pretty noisy up there, if ye get my drift. Them rooms sees a lot of use.”

Laela frowned. “What are yeh talkin’ about?”

“Good gods.” The barmaid wiped a grimy arm over her forehead. “Where’ve ye been livin’ all this time-under a rock?”

“I ain’t from around here,” said Laela, still thoroughly mystified.

“This ain’t an inn,” said the barmaid.

Laela turned to look at the clientele, and the scantily dressed young women walking among them. Realisation finally dawned.

“Oh, holy. .”

She almost ran out, her ears ringing with raucous laughter and lewd comments hurled at her, face burning with humiliation.

Outside, she flattened herself against a wall and breathed deeply. Then she let it out again in a string of swear-words. Her foster father had known plenty of curses and had never been shy about using them, but just now they seemed hopelessly inadequate.

She rubbed a hand over her face-it was actually as hot as it felt. Gods damn it. She swore some more, and then dusted herself down and walked away as quickly as she could.

Well, how was I supposed t’know? she thought furiously. I couldn’t read the damned sign. I was too tired t’notice. .

It didn’t make her feel any less of an idiot.

She stopped on the corner of the street to wipe the sweat off her forehead. It was completely dark now; how was she supposed to find anything in this twice-damned city?

A hand touched her shoulder. “Lost, are ye?”

Laela turned and saw a couple of men. “Yeah,” she said cautiously. “A bit. I’m lookin’ for a place t’stay.”

They glanced at each other. “Ye could stay with us,” said one.

His breath stank of beer. Laela tried not to gag. “No thanks. If ye know where there’s an inn or somethin’,