Hey all,
This will be my last chapter for quite a while. I'm sorry. My plane leaves for Mississippi early in the morning and I have to report to the armory by 630 am. After that, I will be training rather hard for a while. I'll write and post again as quickly as I can, but it is going to take a while. Here is chapter 16. I hope it satisfies you for a while!
Love,
Kristy

CHAPTER 16 ~ RUMA

AIDEN

She certainly was a strange girl and she kept just as strange company. The pseudo-dragon had barely left her shoulder since joining us the other night. He kept steady watch on both Maglynar and I, his golden eyes daring us to come any closer so he could use that spiked tail of his. Neither Maglyanr nor I wanted to give him the satisfaction. He also provided a better protect for Kristalyn. If possible one more barrier had been placed between us. That was fine with me, of course. The farther away she stayed the better. Now I just had to figure out how to get rid of her.

We had left the forest very early this morning and were crossing the fields. There were varying sections of trees all around, but mini forests they were not. I hadn’t known what the layout of the land would be, so I had been storing up extra meat. Now, it seemed a good idea, but perhaps a little unnecessary. Ruma was about a day and a half away if I was guessing right, enough time to get more food. Of course, that also meant only a day and a half to plan a way to get rid of my tag along.

I also had to figure out where I was going to stay, the layout of the city, and where the Hunter was. The first two would be relatively easy. It was the third I was worried about. I still didn’t have a way to track the illusive menace.

“Screech! Screech!” The rather joyful noise came from above. I glanced up and watched Maglynar doing loops in the sky and enjoying the freedom.

What in the world was I going to do with a griffin in a city?

“Are you going to take Maglynar into the city?” Her voice questioned from behind me.

“Are you taking the dragon?” I retorted annoyed. Was she reading my mind?

“He won’t be a problem.”

I snorted.

“He’s small,” she continued, pointedly ignoring me.

“He’s loud and annoying,” I replied.

I didn’t move fast enough to avoid the dragon’s spiked tail. It flicked hard against my hurt arm leaving behind a torn sleeve. I swung around and quickly glared at the puffed out dragon.

“You little monster!”

“Egan!” Kristalyn cried. “That was uncalled for.”

The pseudo-dragon clacked crisply, putting his snout in the air.

“You have to stop being so sensitive. Ignore the stupid lout.”

I listened to the exchange with amusement as I inspected my arm. It was bleeding, but it wasn’t deep. By the time I would be able to fully use my shoulder the cut would be healed. I was more interested that Kristalyn as defending me again. I didn’t understand the girl.

It was a surprise to see a hand holding a strip of cloth enter my view. A second delicate hand joined the first and Kristalyn pulled the cloth against my arm. I moved my own hand out of the way so she could tie the bandage tight. I watched her hands work steadily and when she was done I moved my eyes up to hers. Her green eyes widen startled and her hands stilled. Slowly, she removed her hands and took a step back, but I kept her eyes locked on mine. Who was this girl?

She knew what I was going to do yet she persisted on helping me in unusual ways. Why? What made her do something so foolish? Anyone else would have killed me by now or at least let my injuries alone. She patched them with care. She was calm and cool about it too. I needed to get her off balance.

“You are going to have to temper your attraction to me or I’ll need to put you back in your place,” I said, deliberately lowering my voice.

Her eyes went from a hesitated and confused state to a snapping green. She clenched her jaw for a moment as if she was biting back whatever comment she wanted to make. I wanted to know what it was.

“You are an egotistical, self-centered, rogue,” she finally let me have it. “Women would kill not to be with you. And if you ever say anything so ridicules again, I’ll let Egan do a whole lot more than just scratch your stupid arm.” With that, she pushed past me and started walking at a really fast pace. On her shoulder, Egan sent me a death glare and flicked his tail in warning.

I was highly amused. That had almost been fun, but it still didn’t solve my problem with Maglynar. He couldn’t’ just go into the city with me, but he couldn’t stay outside by himself either. He needed both cover and the freedom to fly. He’d also never been left alone for so long before. Travon saw him everyday and on the trail I wasn’t away from him for much more than that. It had been a while since I had thought of Travon. For once, it would be helpful to have the kid around.

Still, there was enough vegetation around I could leave Maglynar outside the city. I just had to find the right spot and find him enough food to keep him occupied. The food I’d been storing would come in handy, but I’d still need more. It was only a short time solution, yet it would work for now.

I watched Kristalyn’s straight back as she walked purposefully in front of me, her dragon on her shoulder and her panther at her side. All I had to do was convince her to leave the jester and minstrel behind with Maglynar to keep him company. With Kristalyn’s current feelings towards me that shouldn’t be any problem.

***

Maglynar threw a griffin sized fit when I told him to stay. Even Kristalyn assuring him Kuroiden would stay behind did not help and the two had become friends over the traveling time. Eventually, I promised to be back that night and gave him the largest piece of meat I had. Kristylan gave her panther his own stash and I took the rest away. I wasn’t able to negotiate the dragon staying behind and after two hours I was sick of trying. He’d hide in Kristalyn’s pack, all three annoying feet of him.

I had a major headache when I finally got a better look at the castle. Egan had been hissing and clacking ever since he’d been put in the girl’s bag. She hadn’t bothered to attempt to quiet him yet, but I was pretty sure it was because she thought he was bugging me. I studied the city walls to better ignore them both. The gray city walls were at least two stories tall if not more. There looked like there were four towers in all, one at each corner. The south gate was by the tower, hopefully, each tower had a gate. That would be easy enough to figure out.

The gate was open and two guards were searching someone’s bag by poking. I shot glance at Kristalyn. She frowned and looked at her pack when Egan was shifting inside. If Egan was poked the whole country would know about it.

“What are you going to do?” I asked.

She shook her head and bit her bottom lip. “I’m not sure yet.” She cast ame a look. “re you going to be a pain about this?”

I lifted an eyebrow. “A pain?”

“You don’t want Egan going in.”

I shrugged slightly. “He should have stayed with the other two.”

Immediately, she shook her head. “Not an option.”

“Then you have a problem,” I said calmly, moving past her.

I heard her heave a sigh and follow. I wondered what she planned and could hear her talking quietly to Egan who clacked back. We reached the gate quickly, where the guards pulled us up short.

“Business?” the one questioned shortly.

“Carpenter. Just got a job inside,” I lied smoothly.

The guard looked at me suspiciously. Thankfully, I had pulled out a cheap worn cloak caller and carried it now on my back with my weapons stashed inside. By all appearances I was weaponless.

“Where are your tools?”

“On my back. Anything else indeed I’ll buy at the market.”

He glanced at Kristalyn, who stood behind me and closer to the second guard. “And her?”

I leaned closer and said in a lower voice, “Companion.”

His eyes widened slightly and nodded his head in understanding. The other guard got a goofy grin and looked at Kristalyn with new eyes. She glanced at me and her eyes widened slightly, then she turned and gave the guard a coy grin. I watched amazed and amused as the guard turned to putty. Was she really that pretty or was I missing something?

I turned back to the guard near me and gave a slight shrug. “I need a tighter leash.”

“I might be able to help with that,” the guard stated helpfully.

I could actually feel the heat from Kristalyn’s gaze now. I couldn’t resist one more jab. “I might take you up on that. Are we finished here?”

The guard grinned. “Yeah. I’ll be here.”

I nodded and turned to a quite furious Kristalyn. “Let’s go.”

She moved past me with impressive furious speed. That was not going to be fun to deal with, well not totally anyway. At least we had all gotten into the city. She should really be thanking me for getting Egan in. I’d have to remind her of that.

***

KRISTALYN

I’m going to kill him. My only problem was no death was good enough. I had heard boiling in a pot of oil was painful, but I was too furious to let it stay. Skinning alive and then oil would be a little better.

What was he thinking? He had no right to claim me as his anything, let alone that. And what was worse, was that he kept pushing! He had amply opportunity to back off, but he had enjoyed it. I could see it written all over his face, in his eyes. He thought it was amusing! The thought only made me even more furious. I could feel my whole body shaking with suppressed fury. I wanted to let him have it so badly.

We were all well into the poor section, when I swung around suddenly.

“What were you thinking? I spouted angrily.

He raised an eyebrow. “That we needed to get into the gate.”

“Not like that we didn’t and you know it! You had no right to claim any relationship with me! How dare you!”

“We got in, didn’t we?” he asked calmly.

“There are other ways to do it and you are well aware of that. You simply enjoyed trying to humiliate me.” My voice came out low, because I was trying to scream at him. He just would have thought that was funny.

“Would you have wanted me to let them catch Egan instead?” He asked with an amused smile.

“I would rather you showed a little respect,” I said smartly.

I stared at him in shock. “I should have killed you when I had the chance,” I responded through clenched teeth.

“Yeah, that’s what a smart person would have done. You didn’t. It’s your own fault you’re attracted to me. You need to grow up.”

Something white hot raged through me as my breath come in short heavers. He had just… had he just… Oh!

“No wonder I couldn’t kill you before,” I finally managed. “You don’t have a heart to kill at all. It’s stone.”

He looked at me with his burning shale blue eyes. “You just now understanding that? You pathetic girl. My heart was buried long ago.” He paused fro a moment, though those burning eyes never left mine. “Don’t attempt to reach it. That foolish mistake will only make you more furious…” his voice lowered and became dark, “and cause you pain.”

He took a tep closer to me so that he was only an inch away. In a low voice he commanded, “Now, move.”

Numbly, I obeyed and he walked past me. I watched in wonder. What had happened? My fury was gone, dissipated completely in the wake of his pain. How could one man hold so much pain? I had been through so much in my life, more than anyone had the right too, yet it was nothing compared to what I heard in his voice and saw in his eyes.

“Oh, Deus, how stupid I have been. I get it now. I’m so sorry.” I looked to Aiden and felt Deus’ familiar peace settled around my shoulders. “I’m so sorry.”

Quickly, I picked up my pace and settled in to walk behind Aiden again. This was exactly where I was supposed to be. Deus was far from through with Aiden.

***

I followed behind him through the poorer section of the city and into the more middle class. I watched the city with as much interest as I did Aiden. Tray had a good reason for banning me from this city. Our father had been killed here. It also meant this was where he had spent his final days alive. Had he walked this same street?

It was narrower in the poor section. The whole place stank from rotten meat, trash, and unwashed bodies. There were kids and teens everywhere and each one was obviously a street rat. The adults were all older and most looked crippled or worse. What an awful way to grow up and live. Did the king not care at all about his people? The question almost made me laugh, except that I could seethe result of his neglect. I had heard the stories, even seen some of the results, but this was heart wrenching and I had a feeling this was the least of it.

The difference between the poor section and the middle of class was enough to pull even Aiden up short. He cast a glance behind him and then looked in front again. The dark dinginess of the alleyways and houses contrasted horribly against the whiter tan houses with their open windows and flower beds. It was truly two different worlds. Even the narrow streets widened as soon as the white tan houses started. Not to mention that the air was actually breathable. Aiden shook his head in disgust and then walked on. So, even the impassive warrior could be moved a little. I wondered if he’d even noticed.

His armor had definitely slipped earlier when he warned me away from his heart. He would have done better to keep it firmly in place. I was convinced it would have stayed in place had Deus not needed to show me the truth. Aiden was in pain and Deus wanted to reach him, why I didn’t know, but it was my task to get some truth into him. I wanted to laugh, but I didn’t. If Aiden thought I was trouble before, he wouldn’t know what hit him now.

I stiffened a giggle when he glanced behind him again. He was checking on me. It wasn’t’ the first time I had caught him doing it. I hadn’t said a word since our argument and that was more than a little bit ago. He probably thought I was back here plotting my revenge. How amused would he be to know I was plotting to win him over to Deus? The thought was definitely amusing.

I pulled out of my thoughts to see Aiden talking to a well dressed fat woman. She reminded me of a very red tomato. She had a terrified or disgusted look on her face. I wasn’t sure which it was. The woman sniffed and put a handkerchief to her nose in a dignified manor. Aiden’s look was one of quickly losing patience, as if he had any to lose.

“Look, Lady, I’m not gonna mess up your dress. I just want a room.”

“I believe there is such an establishment a block back where you came from and to your right,” she managed.

Aiden nodded and walked away quickly. I saw his right finger twitching and wondered how close the woman had come to a premature death. Lucky for her Aiden’s weapons were currently storied on his back, though I wasn’t sure about all the hidden daggers.

We walked where she had directed and found the tavern right where she had directed. Aiden laughed when he saw the name Red Thornbush. Maybe he was thinking of the red tomato woman again. He pushed open the door and walked in. The smells of old ale, cooked meat and veggies, and stale perfume wafted out to me. Basically, it was a typical tavern. I was about to follow Aiden in when I realized I had totally forgotten about Egan. Quickly I lifted the flap on my pack to see the dragon curled up and sound asleep.

I shook my head amused. For all the fuss he had put up before, he certainly looked comfortable. I ran my finger down his nose in an affectionate pat and closed the flap.

I entered the tavern to see Aiden sitting at a table and talking to a woman Mother never would have approved of. I frowned and walked to the table.

“…so one room and a hot meal,” Aiden was saying.

I crossed my arms and cleared my throat rather loudly.

Aiden looked up at me with a totally innocent face. He must have thought we had never met. “One room?” I questioned.

“Oh, did you want one too?” He asked with a cocky amused smile.

I ignored him and turned to the woman. “We need a second adjoining room and another hot meal. Be quick about it please,” I commanded.

She gave me a once over, sniffed her nose, smiled coyly at Aiden, and walked away. Her hips never stopped swaying. I rolled my yes at the spectacle and yanked out a chair.

“Just how do you think this is going to work?” I asked Aiden.

He shrugged. “I’m not the one interested in keeping tabs on myself. You can do whatever you feel like. You lose me and its your fault. Figure it out yourself,” he replied with no concern.

“You’re not going after him,” I whispered fiercely. He was right about one thing, I was going to have to figure out a reliable way of keeping eyes on him.

Aiden’s eyes light with a mischievous light. “I can’t wait for you to try and stop me.”

I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms as I smiled slowly. He was challenging me and he had no idea what he was walking into, though I could tell when he cocked an inquiring eyebrow at me, he might be getting the idea. This was totally business, but it was going to be fun. After all, Deus was on my side and He didn’t lose. Aiden was going down.

***