The Shadow's heir

though. .”

“We know a good one,” said the other man.

“Yeah,” said his friend. He hadn’t taken his hand off Laela’s arm. “C’mon, we can show ye.”

Laela tried to pull away from him as politely as possible. “Just tell me where t’go, an’ I can find it myself.”

“Oh, c’mon,” said the other, somehow managing to get behind her without seeming to move at all. “We’re all right; just a couple of friends lookin’ t’help a nice young lady like yerself. Nothin’ t’worry about.”

Laela didn’t trust them in the least. “All right then,” she said, deciding to play along for the time being.

They led her away up the street, keeping uncomfortably close. Laela had the feeling that they were ready to grab her arms if she tried to run. Her heart beat fast. But she didn’t want to risk making them angry-they were obviously drunk, and besides, maybe they were just being overfriendly.

She walked as quickly as she could, hoping to outpace them. They sped up, too, not moving away.

“Could yeh move back a bit?” she said at last. “Yer kinda crowdin’ me.”

“Oh, we’re sorry,” said one. “We din’t mean t’scare ye, girl. We’re just makin’ sure ye keep safe, like. Wouldn’t want anythin’ t’happen to ye.”

His friend sniggered.

The instant Laela heard it, she snapped. Without a sound, she twisted away from them and ran.

After her first mad dash, she began to look at where she was going, hoping to find somewhere she could lose them. But the crowds had thinned out by now.

And they were chasing her. She could hear their pounding footsteps behind her. Her heart pounded, too, as if it were trying to keep pace with the sound.

She sped up and darted away in a random direction, searching now for a place to hide. But the two men were fit and strong, and she was exhausted after days of long travel and too little sleep. They were gaining on her.

Finally, unable to run any further, she ducked into an alleyway and huddled into a shadow, hoping they would miss her.

She kept as still as she could, scarcely breathing, offering up a silent prayer to Gryphus that he would keep her safe, stop them from seeing her. .

For a few moments, nothing happened, and she began to think that maybe she had escaped.

“Where are ye, miss?”

The voice came drifting down the alley toward her, full of hateful confidence. Laela felt her stomach twist. She started to edge her way toward the end of the alley, but it was too late.

The two men stepped toward her, leering. They had her cornered now, and the sight of them sent cold despair through her whole body.

But not for long. Laela’s eyes narrowed, and she reached behind her and drew the sword.

“Stay away from me!” she snarled.

They backed off a little at that.

“Well, damn me!” said one. “A lady with a sword.”

The other looked unperturbed. “I’d put that down if I were ye, girl,” he drawled. “Ye don’t want t’get hurt, do ye?”

“I want you to get away from me,” Laela said. “I know how t’use this sword, see? So move away before I show yeh.”

The first one pulled a knife out of his belt. “Reckon we’re gonna have t’deal with this one together, Aled.”

The second, Aled, drew his own knife. “I reckon so, too. C’mon girl,” he added, almost gently. “Ye don’t want us t’have t’hurt ye, do ye?”

Laela felt her arm beginning to tremble, but she didn’t lower the sword. “I don’t want to kill yeh,” she said. “An’ I will if I have to.”

“All right, that’s enough,” said Aled.

He moved forward, along with his friend, and Laela panicked. They were too close, too close; she didn’t know how to fight like this-

She tried to make a thrust with the sword, but Aled sidestepped the blow and grabbed her by the forearm. He twisted, and pain rifled through her arm. She screamed.

Immediately, a hot, foul-tasting hand closed over her mouth.

“Just shut up,” Aled rasped in her ear. “An’ it’ll all be over soon, see?”

Laela struggled while the other man pulled her belongings off her back and rummaged through them. There was a rattle of oblong.

“By the shadows, look at this!” he said. He opened the bag. “There’s got t’be at least two hundred in here!”

Aled, holding Laela with his knife to her throat, grinned disbelievingly. “This is our lucky night! Quick, hide it away in case anyone sees us.”

Laela squirmed and bit his hand. He pulled it away for an instant, and she took her chance and screamed for help.

Aled hit her, hard, in the face. “Try that again, an’ ye’ll crawl out of here with one less ear.”

His friend stuffed Laela’s bag of money into his tunic. “Hurry it up, will ye? We don’t want no guards findin’ us.”

Aled ignored him. The hand holding the knife crept down Laela’s front. She struggled again, harder, trying to scream through the hand still muffling her, but there was nothing she could do. His hand slid inside her dress, down and down to clutch at her breasts, and she felt herself slide into an abyss of pure terror and despair. She was going to die. .

No. They weren’t going to kill her. It would be worse than that, far worse. .

Aled tensed suddenly, and his hand stopped.

“Who are ye?” Laela heard him grate out.

Someone else had appeared in the alley entrance. “What, ain’t ye gonna give me a go, too?” they asked.

Aled spat. “Sod off.”

The stranger came closer. “Selfish, ain’t ye? C’mon, give me a piece of the action why don’t ye?”

Aled’s friend pointed his knife at him. “Get lost, or I’ll stick this in yer gut.”

The stranger sighed and leant forward, until they were almost face-to-face. Laela heard him say something- she didn’t know what. Whatever it was, it had a terrible effect on Aled’s friend. The man jerked away from the stranger, paused a moment, and then ran.

That left Aled and the stranger.

“Found yerself a nice prize, haven’t yer?” the stranger said, in conversational tones. “Got any t’spare?”

“Clear off,” said Aled, though he was beginning to sound uncertain. He pulled his hand out of Laela’s dress and pressed the knife against her throat again. “Go on, get out, or-”

“Ye’ll do what?” said the stranger. “Ye want to be a murderer, too, do ye? Wanna know what that feels like?”

Aled realised his game was up. He abruptly removed the knife from Laela’s throat and thrust her toward the stranger before turning on his heels and running away.

Laela collided with the stranger and fought to get away from him as he grabbed at her, trying to hold her still. He caught her by the wrist, and held on. His grip was cold, and horribly strong.

“Let go!” Laela almost screamed at him, half-mad with fear. “Let go!”

The stranger looked past her, to where Aled had disappeared. “Coward,” he muttered.

Laela tried to hit him in the face. He avoided the blow easily and pinned her arms to her sides. “Calm down,” he said. “Calm down.”

She stilled, panting. The stranger was. . she couldn’t tell who he was. He wore a hood that hid his face in shadows, and his clothes were all-concealing. He was even wearing gloves. He smelled of cold.

“Let me go,” Laela said again. She started to shake. “Please, just let me go.”

“Keep calm,” the stranger advised. “I ain’t gonna hurt yer, see? I just wanted. . want t’know if ye’re hurt.”