Page 35 of Greed of Giants
The chest piece was most important to me. I wouldn’t part with it. I’d start with the bracers that went around my upper arms. Surely those would be enough for a train ticket or two. With one last glance at the sleeping giant who had become, against all reasonable odds, the most dangerous thing I’d ever wanted, I crept out of the room.
A tall woman stood in the main room where a few early risers had gathered over the first meal. When I entered, I felt her gaze linger on me, sharp and intent. She wore a blue headdress, brown hair hanging in soft waves to her waist. In her hand she carried a shepherd’s crook for catching wayward sheep or lifting them out of danger. She was beautiful with pale skin that looked as though she’d never seen daylight, or perhaps she wore a veil. I felt her eyes on me as I exited the inn, crossing the street to the blacksmith’s. Killian was right, I still had freedom to move without invoking the blood oath. Still, the memory of what had happened to me in the ruins lingered with me, and I unconsciously rubbed my chest as I entered the shop.
A few moments later I left again, a sack full of coins, my grandmother’s bracers gone. My heart felt tight, annoyance rippling through me at what I’d done. Secretly, I made a promise to myself. I’d return and buy them back, even though it was likely that by the time I returned, the bracers would have been melted down and used to forge a new treasure. I was certain my mother hadn’t held onto the armor for lean years and leaner ones for me to trade it away for train fare. The knowledge of what I’d done made me want to weep.
As I limped the few steps back to the inn, I caught sight of the woman in blue again. She stood at the corner outside of the inn, not necessarily looking in my direction, but standing in a position where she had a clear view of the street and anyone coming and going. Perhaps she was waiting for someone.
Inside the inn, I slipped back into the room, and Killian’s piercing eyes met mine. There was something that intensified the moment he saw me. He’d dressed, and it was odd seeing him in a shirt for the first time. He still wore the same pants I’d found him in, but he’d found shoes as well. I’d expected the clothing to make him ordinary.
They didn’t.
The shirt only made clear how inadequately it fit, fabric stretching over shoulders, sleeves ending mid-forearm, the whole arrangement looking less like a man who’d borrowed clothes and more like someone testing the structural limits of them. He was no more human for the attempt. Only more vivid.
He didn’t speak, but I felt the edge of the question that lingered in his mind. I held up the sack of coins. “I have fare for the train.”
His brow knitted. “Ilaris. What did you do?”
Every time he said my name, something shuddered through me, pleasure and ache in the same instant. I turned my back to him, tucking the money inside my bag. “My armor is valuable.”
“It’s for your protection, not to give away.”
“I sold it, just a few pieces.” I faced him. “Do you propose another way we travel?”
A flicker of emotion passed over his face, brief andcontained, and he stepped closer. Close enough that I had to tilt my head back to hold his gaze. My pulse was not behaving.
“I appreciate what you’ve done, but there’s no need. There’s always a choice. We will find a way without you giving away what is important to you.”
I blinked. “How do you know it’s important? I’ve told you nothing about my armor.”
“It’s logic. You carry it. Something cumbersome, yet you’ve taken the trouble to have it here on a short, scholarly excursion. It means something. I imagine it would have been just as easy to leave it at home.”
I was struck dumb that he was attentive to something so simple. Actions, not words, told him everything he needed to know. Sitting on the bed, I tugged on the boots and tightened the breastplate. Tossing my braid over one shoulder, I picked up my bag. “Let’s go. It’s half a day’s walk to the train station, and Jasper is waiting for us outside.”
He didn’t press me, only opened the door and let me lead.
Outside, the woman in blue had not moved. I felt her gaze travel to Killian, watching him with a quiet intensity. I quickened my pace as much as my leg would allow, hoping I was walking the right way as Jasper joined us. He’d slept in the barn and came out licking his chops. I dared not wonder if he’d stolen a chicken and made a feast out of it. In his smaller form, it was easier to overlook that he was something else. More than just a dog. But as he grew, there might be questions. It was best we stayed in remote lands.
The smoke appeared before the smell did—a dark column rising from the south, black ratherthan white. Fire. I glanced at Killian, who picked up the pace. I matched his speed, even though my leg complained. Slowly the choking stench of burning filled the air, thick, billowing columns of black smoke.
It reminded me of yesterday, the bone creature burning in the wood, the trees taking on the heat. A shudder went through me.
“Wheat is burning,” Killian said at last, slowing.
I chose my next words carefully. “Why do I get the feeling this had something to do with us? Do you think the fire from the forest spread?”
He did not flinch. “In this direction? I am unsure. It is possible, though.”
I nodded. “Wheat is food. The fields down here likely feed many. Unless there’s a feud going on I’m not aware of, unrest across the country happens from time to time, but I’ve ignored political sparring. I’m not sure what factions of the government might control this.”
“Some things haven’t changed,” Killian said. “If someone set the fields on fire to be vindictive, it’s probably best we get far away from here.”
Food on fire. I thought of life in the poppy fields. I thought of my mother, refusing to sell the armor so we could have food, while I gave it up so quickly to fund my journey. Killian’s quest. Our quest. Anxiety spiked as we passed the burning fields, and I pulled my cloak over my mouth and nose to protect them. The question still pressed against my mind. This wasn’t because of political factions. This was our fault.
Without warning, Jasper leaped through the air, growing to the size of a horse in a flash.
“We need to move faster,” Killian explained.
I mounted Jasper’s back as we set off at a run.
