Page 18 of Winter's Echo
Baxley grinned. “No one else would work with you.”
I sniffed. “Good, I wouldn’t work with them either. You’d be dead within a week with any of those idiots.”
Gralen leaned back, chewing the inside of his cheek as he looked away. The captain looked relieved, and Baxley simply finished his ale, got to his feet, and tapped me on the shoulder.
“I’ll sleep elsewhere.” He handed me the key. “Keep it locked, don’t touch my stuff.”
“We leave in the morning?” I asked.
“Aye, when the others join us,” Baxley told me.
What others?
“What others?” I asked. They just said I was the only trailfinder.
He just smirked, and I suddenly had a very bad feeling, which he seemed to sense, because his eyes danced with amusement.
“You’ll see.” That was all he said before he left the inn and left me with the sergeant and the captain and an ominous feeling that I had been tricked into that bargain, and now I had nowhere to run.
Chapter 5
I thinkI may have had my best night’s sleep ever.
Baxley was true to his word and never returned. I’d taken off my tunic, my boots, and the old leather belt a merchant had given me that was too damaged to sell. Then I’d crawled under the covers, and after two ales, I was asleep in no time.
I woke up before dawn. My body was too used to being alert before the first bird sang.
The pitcher of water was replaced last night. A young serving maid met me on the stairs as I went up for the night and took the empty one for a full one.
I checked that the door was still locked, then, with careful precision, I drew the Glyph symbol for heat. Just a little, but enough to warm the tepid water to something nearly warm.
I took my time washing my face, and with practiced efficiency, I removed my layers and scrubbed my body as well as I could with a single linen cloth and a limited amount of water.
Still, it felt good to be clean. Well, cleaner. I wasn’t sure when I last truly felt clean. I was used to washing my body like this, over a bowl of water, but the last time I was fully immersed in hot water… I couldn’t remember. Maybe it was at the Gilded Swan, before I went down to supper that first night.
I didn’t want to think of how many moons ago that had been.
With my tunic back on and my hair braided tightly enough to hurt, I surveyed the room. After a moment of thought, I picked up Baxley's pack, nearly staggering from its weight. Carrying both packs, I headed downstairs for breakfast.
I looked more alert than the serving girl, but she moved quickly when she saw me, a promise of coffee on her lips.
I saw him sitting in the same corner as last night. He looked amused to see me carrying his pack, but he said nothing when I carefully lowered it at his feet.
I took the same seat as before. “Weapons? Or are you stupidly rich and it’s all that coin you’ve earned?”
His lips twitched. “What’s stupidly rich?” he asked gruffly.
“Rich enough to be comfortably wealthy, but stupid enough to be robbed easily.” I nudged his pack once more. “If that’s coin, you’re stupidly rich.”
Baxley laughed, the sound echoing in the empty room. “It’s just my weapons.”
I thought about it as I saw the server coming back with a tray. “Still worth something.” I grabbed a mug of coffee before she set the tray down. “Stupidly rich.”
Baxley chuckled as she unloaded the tray, which held two steaming bowls of porridge, two thick slices of bread with a generous spread of butter — better than the thin scraping some places served — and one more mug of coffee.
A hearty breakfast, and we ate eagerly and in silence.
Captain Marson came downstairs shortly after we began. He chose a table near us but was content to eat alone. Soon, his soldiers appeared one by one, and while he said nothing about their punctuality, his look clearly conveyed judgment.
