A Girl Named Calamity (Alyria 1)

“You ran into me. It was an easy save. I’ll count it as my good deed for the year.” He said it as if it had been an inconvenience to him.

The thought that I could literally walk to my demise was gut wrenching. I was waiting in anticipation for the song to begin again. But I wouldn’t beg someone who didn’t want anything to do with me. Was it so hard to give advice to someone who needed it? The assassin was insufferable, and I was tired of all men.

“I’ll take the money,” I blurted before I could stop myself. He narrowed his eyes, grabbed a coin off the small table against the wall and tossed it to me. I caught the copper coin and looked at it with a frown. “This is all I’m worth?”

His smile was wicked. “Care to prove your worth?”

I couldn’t have left faster.

CHAPTER FIVE

TWO TYPES OF TAILS

The first thought I had as I awoke was of relief when I realized I didn’t get sung anywhere again. I was also itching to leave the city; the rider could have caught up with me by now. I needed to find an escort this morning, and if I couldn’t then I would be traveling alone. The thought left a nervous pit in my stomach, but I couldn’t stay here much longer.

I rolled out of bed to get dressed, and that was when I believed I’d gone crazy.

There had been a table next to the door.

I was positive because I had set my clothes on it, and now they were in a messy pile on the floor. Maybe the innkeeper needed it for something? It sent a chill down my spine thinking he had been in here when I was sleeping, but he hadn’t seemed all that harmful. I pushed the oddity away; I had much more to worry about.

I headed down to the bathhouse, and when I noticed it was empty, I washed up before anyone wandered in. There was some dried blood on my neck from the Red Forest, and I wondered if the assassin had seen it.

It was probably a regular sight for him.

I braided my hair and put my cloak on before heading over to the Smoky Tavern. I was about to go in when I heard a familiar deep voice behind me. “Get your horse and be ready to head out within the hour.”

Thank you, Alyria.

“But I thought I would be lucky to find someone desperate enough,” I said as I turned around. I had no idea why the assassin changed his mind, but it sent the blessed feeling of relief through my body. He knew about the Saccar, and maybe he could teach me how to resist it on the way. Or at least save me from walking to my demise like the night before.

He watched me for a moment, that heavy gaze burning me. “Don’t make me regret this.”

I couldn’t guarantee anything . . .

“Why did you change your mind?”

Could I trust an assassin? I didn’t think I had any other choice.

“Turns out I’ll be heading that way anyway. Might as well make some money on the way.”

It was a reasonable explanation. “Listen. . .” I stopped because I didn’t have a clue of what to call him. I didn’t think ‘assassin’ would suffice this entire journey.

He supplied it before I had to ask. “Weston.”

Weston. I mulled it around in my mind before I spoke. “There might be some people . . .” Well, this isn’t easy to explain. “. . . following me,” I finished.

The gleam in his gaze appeared almost amused, but he only said, “Be ready in an hour.”

Of course he wouldn’t have been worried about a little trouble. Assassins were trouble, and I saw in his eyes that he might have liked it a bit too much.

* * *

“I want you to teach me how to resist the Saccar,” I said while we were riding down the main cobblestone path out of the city.

“I will help you get to Undaley. But no more.”

I frowned. Was it so hard to teach me something while we rode side by side for a month? “What if it tries to sing me away again?”