the antechamber made me pull my eyes open, my suspicion stirred. What on earth could this innkeeper need to speak to quietly about? Slowly, I slipped out of bed and moved to the door, pressing my ear up against it to listen.
“…another, but we hear you’ve got something particularly interesting here,” a man’s voice I did not recognize muttered.
“Yeah, a woodlander. In there,” the innkeeper replied. My stomach went cold. "Woodlander" was another nickname for “faun.”
I backed away from the door, rushing toward my bag and untangling my walking stick. Whatever they wanted with me, if they had to whisper about it, it was nothing good. I pulled on my coat, not wishing to be ambushed in a naught but a nightgown. Steadily, I turned down the lamp on the wall until the room was quite dim. Then I moved to the darkest corner of the room, holding my walking stick like a club.
I did not have to wait more than a few minutes before the whispering stopped, followed by the shuffled steps of several feet, and then a loud “bang” that marked the kicking open of my door. The intruders were momentarily halted, blinded by the darkness of the room, and I took my chance.
Rushing forward, I swung the walking stick at the first man’s head, but to my horror and aggravation it did not connect. Swiftly, he had grabbed it and held fast, so I as much as I wrenched on it, I could not pull it loose.
“Hello, milady,” he said condescendingly. Though this man appeared to have no trouble seeing in the dark, the man behind him was a little more bewildered. I had no time to lose.
I gripped my captive cane with both hands and forced some magic through my palms. The man made a surprised noise, cursing as several tendrils grew from the cane and wrapped around his wrists. Then, using the cane as an anchor, I swung my legs forward, nailing the second man in the chest with my hooves. His breath flew out with a grunt, and he collapsed. I jumped over the man and dashed down the hall past the rather disoriented innkeeper. Flinging open the door, I was soon out in the rain again.
Why did people keep finding it prudent to interrupt my sleep? I had no desire to stop and ask them.
Flicking my hood over my ears, I ran down the street as fast as I could. The cobbled grey stones were slick with the water, and I nearly fell several times. The pendant fell out from under my shirt and almost hit me in the teeth as I stumbled.