Page 16 of The Searching Songbird

And you? Are they too strong for you, as well, Suzu?

“I could do some damage, I'm sure, given the element of surprise. But then your secret would be exposed to everyone around us. Are you sure you'd want that?”

Not really, but what other choice do I have? I can't abandon Willie.

“If that's what you want...”

“Fine. If yer not gonna beat it, than ya'd best get ready fer a beatin'. Grab her, Hops,” the taller one growled. Lily let out a startled cry as the shorter one lunged forward, grabbing hold of her arm and pinning it behind her back.

“Let's take a lil' walk, shall we?” He pushed her toward a narrow alleyway. She dug her feet into the ground, resisting. “Come on, now. Don' make me break this wee arm of yours. Tiny lil' thing like this, don' reckon it would take much to snap.”

Do it now, Suzu.

Heat spread across her shoulder blade, starting in her mark and flowing over her shoulder and into her chest. Her skin began to glow as a soft light poured out around her.

“Hey! You, there! Take your hands off the lady before I'm forced to take them off for you.”

Lily turned her head to the side in surprise, letting the light flow back inside her. A man was striding toward them, his gait purposeful yet graceful, like a cat. A thick beard covered most of his face and a cap was pulled down over what appeared to be dark brown hair. He had a vicious looking knife held loosely by his side, and he looked at the shorter man's arm pointedly as he casually flipped it over in his hand.

“Lookee here, Hops, we got us a hero,” the taller man chortled, reaching back and pulling a knife out from his belt. “Think he's as brave as he likes to pretend?”

The shorter one seemed less amused, and he released Lily's arm as he took a step back in the taller one's direction. “We ain't got no issue with the chit, 'sides from her puttin' her nose in where it ain't belongin'. Take her, and leave us to our business.”

“Aw, c'mon Hops, where's the fun in that?” the other one goaded, his eyes narrowing in the newcomer's direction.

Lily moved to the man's side, touching his arm lightly. “Please, sir, they're trying to rob this poor man of his honest money. Won't you help him?”

The man tensed at her touch, and she dropped her hand to her side, taking a small step back. He glanced at her sideways, a muscle in his jaw clenching. Turning his steely gaze back to the men, he shrugged.

“Well, you heard the lady. I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist you leave that man alone.”

“Ha!” The taller barked out a laugh, a crazed grin lighting up his face as he angled his blade at the man. “Hero's got hisself a pair o' balls, does he? Let's see if I can't slice 'em off fer ya, eh?”

He lunged forward, blade flashing in the sunlight. The other man seemed unconcerned as the large man hurtled himself toward him. Lily found herself choking on a scream when it looked as though the large man was about to gut the stranger, but it dissolved into shocked confusion when the attacker suddenly fell forward with a sharp cry, hitting the ground with a thud. Blood dripped steadily from the man's head, and she had to cover her mouth with her hands when she realized the man's ear was laying on the ground.

Her protector looked down at the man with a bored expression. Pushing the man over with his foot, he turned to the shorter man. “Do you have something to prove, as well, or shall we wrap this up?”

The shorter man held his hands up in surrender as he slowly backed away from them. “It's jest a few drams. I'm not that hard up.” And with that, he turned and ran off down the alleyway.

“What about you down there?” The man looked down his nose at the thug who lay curled up on the ground, one hand clutching his head. “Are we finished?”

The thug grunted in pain rather than respond. Her protector made a tsking noise while wiping his wet blade on his pants. “I'm afraid that won't do. I can't have you coming after this fine, old man for revenge the moment I'm gone, either.” His expression hardened as he stepped down on the thug's free hand, grinding his heel into the ground. The man let out a howl of pain.

“You should know I have friends here in Devon. Friends who will be made aware of just who you are. And should they discover you've so much as spoken to this nice man, well... let's just say, they aren't nearly as civilized as I am. You get me?”

The thug nodded his head, whimpering. The man pressed down even harder. “I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. I said, do you get me?”

“Yes!” the thug howled. “I get ya. I won't go near the ol' man again, I swear.”

“Well, alright then.” The man removed his foot from the thug's hand. “Now, why don't you go ahead and pick yourself up and – how did you put it? Piss off?”

The thug scrambled to his feet, still clutching at his ear. Turning toward the alleyway, he ran off, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

The man slid his knife into a concealed pocket inside his jacket and held his hand out to Willie, who was still crouched on the ground. He eyed the man's hand in wonder, before taking it and rising to his feet.

“Bless ya, sir,” Willie rasped, shaking the man's hand profusely. “I don' know what might o' happened if ya ain't come along.”

“It was nothing, really. Anyone else would have done the same,” the man replied with a dismissive wave. “I'm just glad you and the lady are alright. Now, if you'll excuse me...” He tipped his hat at Lily, then turned on his heel and started walking away.