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Will pulledme across the road and we wove through the carts and pedestrians to reach the other side. We ducked into a narrow alley behind a crowd of people. I finally had a chance to catch my breath and I set my hand over my chest to feel my heavy thumping heart.
“What the hell is going on?” I whispered to my guide. “Who are those guys?”
Will pursed his lips as he peeked around the corner. “If the balding man was not a distraction then he certainly played the part well for our real foes.”
“And the carts in the street?”
“A way to get us to stop so they could attack us and steal you away.”
“So what do we do now?”
Will tightened his grip on my hand. “Now we try to elude our pursuers and reach the perfume shop before it closes-”
A scream came from a woman in the crowd in front of us and the tall head of the ax-wielding maniac rose out of the group. He grasped his weapon in both hands and lifted his ax above his head. The people scattered and Will and I took that as our cue to do the same down the alley. The bulky man was slowed by thenarrow confines but his thinner companion followed us without a problem.
Will slammed his shoulder against the rear door of the building to our right and the entrance gave way. We tumbled inside and found ourselves in a kitchen. The sweet smell of confections filled our nostrils. A pot of boiling oil sat on a stove near us. Will dipped his clawed hands into the rolling oil and drew out the most dangerous of weapons: the donut.
Our thin pursuer climbed in after us as the trio of chefs raised their voices in protest.
“Get the fuck out of here!”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“You’d better pay for those!”
Will pulled me to the island in the middle where he dunked the donuts into confectioner’s sugar. They were amply coated before he threw the treats at our pursuer. The man sliced them into bite-sized pieces with his sword, but his blade couldn’t stop the cloud of white puff that exploded in his face. He was sent into a coughing fit and Will tossed a few coins on the table before he pulled me to the front of the sweet shop.
We rushed out the front doors and crossed the less busy street. Unfortunately, the behemoth lay in wait and slammed his ax down at us. Will was forced to release me and he threw up his arms in front of him. The heavy ax clanged against his limbs and a slice in Will’s shirt showed me that scales now covered his arms.
Will threw the man backward and the monster stumbled a few feet before he righted himself. A noise behind us made me turn. The thinner, powder-encrusted pursuer staggered out of the front of the sweet shop with his sword in hand. The pair surrounded us and the heavy man clapped the handle of his ax in his other palm.
“Thorn!”
The shout came from down the street and all four of us whipped our heads in that direction. Raines drove the carriage at break-neck speed toward us. Pedestrians and carts scurried out of the way as the fine brown steeds stampeded down the cobblestones. Will wrapped his arm around my waist and stepped aside, allowing the horses and box to fly past. He grabbed a handle at the rear for liverymen and leapt onto the small platform. Will pinned me behind his body and the back of the carriage as we bounced along the road.
The swordsman and ax man lunged at us but their shimmering blades missed us by a hair.
I didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until we had rounded a corner half a mile from where we had left our foes and curved back onto our original road. Will’s heartbeat didn’t slow until then, either, but he remained tense. His eyes scanned the road for another half mile before he rapped on the back of the carriage.
Raines slowed to a stop and Will hopped off. He grasped both sides of my waist and eased me to the ground. My shaky legs were glad for the soft landing and I looked up at him with a frail smile. “That was different.”
“And unwelcome,” he added as he took my hand and guided me around the side of the carriage.
Raines leaned over the side of the box and looked us over. “You’re not hurt, My Lord? My Lady?”
Will smiled and shook his head. “Not a bit thanks to your timely intervention.”
Raines bowed his head. “It was my pleasure, My Lord.”
I stepped forward and set my hand atop Raines’ own and smiled up at him. “We can’t thank you enough, Raines. You saved us.”
A slight blush accented his cheeks before he cleared his throat. “Yes, well, I was only doing my duty, My Lady.”
“Thank you for doing that,” I persisted.
Will opened the carriage door. “The hour is late and we should get going.”
I offered Raines one last bright smile before I slipped inside. Will followed and we soon sped off down the road. There was a slight draft from the ventilation the ax man had left us.
