Previously, I’d refrained from offering gold for information because I knew the ways of country folk. I’d known plenty of people who’d make something up if there were money in it for them. I would’ve said no to this man if it weren’t for the fact that I hadn’t offered in the first place. He suggested it, leading me to believe he really knew something.
The man watched while I pulled a gold coin out of the pouch at my waist, and at the same time Will-o’ came out of my hood and bumped me on the side of the head. “Get back in,” I whispered to the glow, ignoring its protest when it drew nothing but a hard glare from the innkeeper, and then I handed him the gold piece.
“There’s a cave,” he supplied, putting the coin into his pocket. “Less than a mile eastward and just on the other side of the river from here. You’ll know it by a crooked tree. The branches hang down and nearly cover up the opening. I heard tell someone saw a girl there.”
I gave him my gratitude and returned outside to where I’d left the rest of my caravan. Out of sight of the man, Will-o’ left the cover of my hood, and when I mounted Brande, it pushed against my chest to try and stop me from going forward. It didn’t do much to prevent my motion, and when Brande started forward, it carried Will-o’ along at my breast. Still the little wisp tried, until I let go of the reins to grab it with my hands.
“What’s the matter with you, Little Will-o’?” It wiggled until I let it go, and then tried to bring me to a halt again. “I’ve got to find the princess. She could be in the cave.” The orb made that ‘no’ motion. “You don’t think she’s there?” Another no. “And why not?” Will-o’ made a frantically loud ringing noise, and I sighed. “I can’t understand you, tiny friend. If she isn’t at the cave, do you know where she is?” I continued to let Brande carry me toward the river despite the wisp’s protests, but to answer my question, it nudged the falcon on my shoulder. “That’s not the princess. It’s her bird, Maddox.”
I knew the bell-like chatter was an attempt to get me to stop, but I was growing impatient. I finally had a lead on the princess’s whereabouts, and unless Will-o’ had a better idea of where to search, I had to follow it up.
“We’re searching the cave,” I said with finality, but to try and keep the blue glow from being too disappointed, I pulled at my hood. “Come on, get in for warmth.”
It did as I said, but not before letting me hear what sounded like a very discouraged sigh. We reached the river after less than a mile, just like the innkeeper had said. I dismounted Brande a little ways from the bank, and, while I tethered Maddox to the saddle horn, Will-o’ left my hood to float near Brande’s head. Before crossing, I crouched in the snow to have a look at it from a distance. Sure enough, there was a tree on the opposite side of the water, with low hanging branches that nearly concealed a small cave in the uphill bank.
Albus was at my side, so once I got his attention, I motioned to myself. “Eyes.”
He stayed put when I got up, but I could feel his brown eyes on me as I crossed over some rocks in the river. He was so perfectly camouflaged I could barely see him from the other side. In order to not feel so alone, I put my hand on my dagger, creeping up the small incline toward the cave.
“Hello,” I called when I reached the opening. It was only a few feet tall, and not much wider, but it appeared to extend more than a body’s length on the inside. Perfect shelter for a fugitive like the princess.
There was no answer, and so I crouched down to have a peek inside. “Hello,” I said again, even though I could see nobody was home.
Right when I straightened up again, something pressed against my back, and something else much harder and colder reached around to touch my throat. Whoever had the blade against my neck let out a whistle, and a man left his position behind a shrub farther up the hill. Perfect. A set up. Surely I wasn’t the first to fall for this scam. Who knows how many people the innkeeper had scouted for gold and led straight into this trap. I wondered what his take was.
“Hand over any money you’ve got,” commanded the man holding me. “Jewelry too.”
I began to reach for the pouch of coins at my hip, right beside my dagger, but the man in front of me growled, “Slowly!”
I slowed my hand, knowing if Albus wasn’t in mid air already, he was on his way. Sure enough, the moment my hand brushed the pouch, there was a snarl, and the man holding me screamed. I pushed away from him while I pulled my dagger from its sheath, ignoring the pain in my neck that resulted from him nicking me with his blade. I launched myself at the man in front of me, taking us both to the ground, and before he had a chance to grab his own weapon, he had to take hold of my armed hands to keep me from plunging my knife into his chest.
I forced my entire weight against his arms, trying to stab him, but he was much larger and stronger than me. He shifted both of my hands to the side just long enough to hit me in the face. His fist got me so hard that I rolled off of him, but I kept a hold of my knife, pointing it straight up when he tried to get on top of me. Instead of being able to strangle or hit me, he had to continue wrestling with me for the dagger. I wished I was stronger, because he began to twist my hands inward, gradually turning the point toward my chin. Toward my neck. Toward my chest.
I thought I was done for, all he had to do was push, but then a blue glow smashed into the side of the man’s head. My tiny wisp was too small to do any damage, but it startled him enough that he momentarily released his hold on my hands to swat at it. It was just momentary enough for me to force my point upward into his breast, and I wiggled out from under him as he collapsed. After glancing up to make sure Albus was all right, I lay near the bloodstained snow for a minute, panting for air.
The wisp bounced on my chest a couple of times, clearly concerned, but I wrapped my arms around it in a tight hug, so grateful that I kissed it when I let go. “You saved my life, Little Will-o’.” I couldn’t help but chuckle, “I’m glad you can’t say ‘I told you so.’” It ignored my remark and nudged my chin upward, bringing my attention back to the cut on my neck. I touched my fingers to it to assess the amount of blood. It was bleeding, sure, but the wound wasn’t deep. “I’ll be fine,” I assured the orb.
Once I’d recovered enough to breathe, I sat up with purpose, and paced back to Brande with equal determination. I had a score to settle. Before I could do that, I had to make sure we had somewhere to camp out for the night, seeing as the sun was setting by now. Unsure of how often the river was frequented by people who lived near the village, I built a fire a little ways away from it, where the light was sure to be hidden from anyone at the water’s edge. When that was done, I removed Maddox from the saddle, and perched her in the safety of a tree nearby.
“Albus,” I said, kneeling down by the dog at the fire. “You stay here. I’ll be back before you know it.” When I said that, there was a concerned hum, and I knew immediately where it had come from. “You stay here too, Little Will-o’. Make sure Albus behaves himself.”
I could tell the wisp didn’t like it by the way it floated with me a few paces after I mounted Brande. But where I was going, I needed to stay hidden, and that charming blue light would be difficult to conceal. Besides, I didn’t plan on being gone for too long.
I rode Brande at a gallop until I could see the faint lights of the village, and we came to a stop just outside of it. By this time, the sun had gone down, so I pulled on my hood and crept through the shadows of the various edifices until I’d reached the inn. There was a back door in the ground outside of it, which, after pressing an ear to it to listen for movement from the inside, I crept into. It opened to the food cellar beneath the tavern, and I was pleased to find it was completely dark. Above me, I could hear the faint laughter of villagers drinking and eating, and I knew it was only a matter of time before someone wandered down into the cellar for more ale or food. Judging by the homely size of the village and the inn, I imagined the innkeeper to be one of the only people with access to the cellar.