The walk from the shopping district was refreshing from the cool evening air. The lanterns that adorned every building dwindled in number the further she walked until light became sporadic. The cobbled streets gave way to pockmarked back alleys as she neared the boarding house where she rented a room. It wasn’t the nicest part of the city, not much money there and, sure, plenty dangerous. But she knew every boarded up building, every hole in the street, every broken sign.
She tapped her stick on the ground and hopped over a large hole. Besides, she didn’t need fancy things. One day, she’d be off with nothing but a cloak on her back, whatever food fit in her pockets, and her walking stick. So what if she didn’t have any nice stuff? Couldn’t take it on an adventure anyway.
Footsteps tapped behind her. A man a few streets away walked the same direction as her. She quickened her pace and peered down the street through the fading light. Her boarding house was visible, still a few blocks away. The tempo of the footsteps behind her increased and gradually neared, outpacing her slightly. She glanced back just as her pursuer passed under a working lantern. A tall man, broad across the shoulders, a long enough scar along the side of his face that she could see it even from a block away. They locked eyes and he reached to his belt. Metal glinted as he pulled out a knife and he broke into a run. She bolted down the street, the coins’ jingling betraying her with every step.
“Git back ‘ere, girl!”
She fled down the street, dodging potholes and debris. Her boarding house loomed two blocks away and she risked a look back. The man had closed the distance by half, only thirty paces behind her now. She pumped her arms furiously, her walking stick cutting through the air. His footsteps thundered behind her.
An arm clamped onto her shoulder, causing her to stumble. She jerked free with a shout and tumbled to the ground. In a deft roll, she popped back to her feet, her stick clutched in her hands, tip extended outward. Metal rattled as a few coins that had spilled from her pocket rolled along the street.
The man stood just out of reach of her stick, his knife extended out towards her. His eyes danced between hers, her stick, and a coin that toppled onto its side on the ground.
“Gimme yer money and I’ll even letcha go.”
She edged a step away and he hissed. He darted forward and she swung the stick at his head. He raised an arm and her stick thwacked off his forearm. A moment later, his knife pressed against her throat. She panted, heart racing.
The man’s eyes meandered towards her heaving chest and a new greed crossed his face. She reached into her pocket. The kind of hunger he had wouldn’t be slaked so freely. A lifetime of living in the seedy section of Xufont had taught her all she needed to know about human nature. She jingled the coins in her pocket and his gaze snapped from her body to the source of the sound. Using her fingers to coax a soft tinkling from the coins, she raised her right hand up and his head followed the motion. Her left hand tightened on the walking stick and slowly cocked back, the tip aimed for his groin.
“Oy!” He pressed the knife more firmly to her neck, forcing her to tip her head up. He jerked his head towards her stick. “No funny bus’ness. Hand me yer stick.”
She stiffened and dropped her chin, letting the knife poke painfully at her neck. “Just take the money and leave.” She held out her hand with the coins.
“I said, hand me yer stick.”
“It’s not worth anything.” Not like those coins, the metal that would put food in her belly, keep a roof over her head. That precious metal that could pay for her way out of here, could start her on her own adventure. The stick, it was just wood.
He grabbed a fistful of her hair and jerked her head back. “Yeah? Well, maybe I likes the looks of it.” He traced the line of her throat with his knife until it caught the front of her tunic and pried the fabric an inch away from her neck. “Maybe I likes the looks of a lotta things.” He licked his lips. “The stick. Or yer clothes.”
It wasn’t worth her life. She relaxed her grip and squeezed her eyes shut. Wood. Metal. Just stupid things to a stupid girl.
But then again.
What kind of adventurer didn’t have a walking stick?
Her eyes snapped open and she flung the handful of coins in his face. He shouted and released her hair, batting a hand blindly at his face. She stumbled back and then caught herself.
He wanted the stick? Fine!
She shouted in challenge and swiped her stick at his legs. Enjoy the ground, asshole!
Her stick bludgeoned the outside of his ankle, but it bounced back off, sending a wave of impact through her hands. He howled and jumped back.
Shit, sweeping someone’s legs out from under them was harder than it looked.
Vaela spun and sprinted for her boarding house. The man’s curses echoed through the alley for a few seconds before trickling off to a grumbling. She flung the door open and turned around. The man was scrabbling on his hands and knees, scooping up every coin he could find in the dim light. She slammed the door shut and locked it. Finally safe, she slid her back down the door until she sat on the cold stone floor, wheezing for air with her fingers pressed against her eyelids.
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“Vaela.”
She yelped and grabbed her stick from her lap. Foral stood with his arms crossed over his barrel chest. His large frame loomed on the other side of the entry room. Behind him were the stairs to the second floor where all the rooms were. A few small tables with stools peppered the room and a small fire glowed in the hearth.
She sighed and rose to her feet. “You scared me. You won’t believe it. There was this guy out there, he robbed me.”
Foral prowled across the room, a scowl chiseled into his face. “Robbed? And right pat on today? Save me the excuses, where’s your rent?”
She held up her hands as if to ward off his hostility as well as his rapidly encroaching figure. “I’m telling you the truth, look outside!” She turned and slid the lock on the door open.
His meaty hand landed on her shoulder and spun her back around. “Rent. You’re already been late for this’ll month and you’re still owing me some for last month.”
She plunged her hands into her pockets, digging past the useless Church scroll for any remaining coins. Her fingers encountered smooth metal and she whipped it out. Foral snatched the coin and turned it over in his fingers before dropping it in disgust.
She dove to the ground. “Hey! That…” The coin landed frog side up and her protest died on her lips. She replaced the pendant to rest alone in her pocket. Nothing. There was nothing left. “I-I had it. Really, I’m not lying. Enough for this month and last.”
Foral shook his head. He clamped her arm in a vice-like grasp and pulled her towards the stairs. “That’s it. You’re out. Pack your things.”
“Foral, I had it!”
He shoved her towards the stairs and she tripped. She barely caught herself on one of the stairs, bracing with one hand and the forearm of the hand clutching her stick.
“Pack your things. You’re outta here tonight.”
“She can stay with me.”
Vaela pushed up in surprise and then exhaled a quick breath. Surah leaned against the railing at the top of the stairs, his athletic frame poised gracefully. He wore a loose silk robe dyed a mix of warm reds and oranges, and lightly tied at the waist almost as an afterthought. His amber hair, shoulder-length, fell whichever way it felt, and alluringly so.
Vaela jumped up to her feet and mouthed ‘thank you’. Foral pushed past Vaela and wagged a finger at Surah. “Ah, nah, nah. I said she’s outta here. She’s not paying rent, she doesn’t getta room.”
Surah bowed and his hair drifted over his eyes. When he straightened back up, a few strands dangled over his face, but he made no movement to brush them away. “I’m not disputing that. If a king evicted a subject, they’d leave his kingdom. And just so, if you, the board master, evict her from her room, she will no longer be a subject of your boardom.” Surah’s eyes twinkled and Vaela covered her smile with a hand as he continued. “As a boarder, I may have who I please in my room as a guest.”
Foral stomped up the stairs until he was eye to eye with Surah. After a long moment, he turned away. “If you want a freeloader in your room, that’s your business.” He poked a sausage-like finger at Vaela. “But I want your stuff outta your room tonight.”
Vaela jumped up the stairs two at a time. “Fine. And I’ll get you the rent and get the room back.”
“Last month and this month.”
“Right.” She brushed past him and stepped down the hallway.
“And an advance. Half of next month, too.”
She spun back around. “What? That’s not how we do it.”
“Too bad. You wanna stay another month, from now on, you’ve gotta be showing me you’re good for that month.” He stomped off towards his own room without waiting for a response.
Once his door slammed shut, Vaela’s shoulders drooped. Surah patted her on the back. “Go and pack your stuff. You can stay with me until you have things sorted out.”
Vaela squeezed his hand and raced to her room. It only took a few minutes to throw everything she had together and wrap it up in a blanket. She hauled it all to Surah’s room and stepped inside. Candles cast the room in a warm glow. It was small like her room with relatively little furniture. The bed was set against the far wall and a desk with a chair on another wall. Surah sat on the bed, leaning back on his hands. The bed had a soft blanket delicately draped over it. Vaela threw her own blanket full of worldly belongings in the corner of the room. Surah arched an eyebrow. “So… a little flame told me you were having money problems.”
Vaela groaned and collapsed into the lone chair at the desk. “Yeah, you could say that.” She leaned her stick against the desk and squeezed both hands into fists. “And just a few minutes ago, I had more money in my hands than I’d had in a long time.”
“Uh huh, sure.”
“I did!” Vaela laughed and shook a fist at him.
Surah stroked the bed in a tantalizing motion. “Well, if you ever needed work, the Madame would be happy to have you…”
Vaela hugged her arms around her stomach. Nothing against Surah’s line of work, but her?
Surah glided across the room with his characteristic grace and brushed her cheek. “Oh, come now, it’s not bad. People need comfort and Warmth in this cold, cold world. I give it to them.” Heat Blossomed from his hand, Warming Vaela’s cheek.
She leaned her head into his hand. “I can’t do what you can, though. I’m not a Warmer.”
Surah knelt down and brought his other hand to her cheek, Warming her entire face. He surveyed Vaela’s body appreciatively. “I’m sure plenty of people out there would find you warm enough.” He brightened and a grin spread across his face. “After all, you do have your own charm.” He chuckled to himself and shook his head as if he couldn’t believe his own wit.
Vaela rolled her eyes, but pulled him into a hug. Surah wasn’t the brightest flame around, but he was certainly the warmest. “Oh shit, Surah. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
He pulled back and squeezed her hands. “What you need is to release some heat. We’ll go out and do something.”
“Like what? I’m destitute, remember?”
He cocked his head, as if he was just remembering. “Oh, never mind that. There’s plenty for us to do in this city for free.” He paced around the room, tapping his chin. “Now, let’s see. Ah! One of my regulars keeps bragging about his prowess in the Hoops arena. We could go down and watch the local talent. No entry fee and we won’t gamble.”
“Aw, but gambling’s the best part!”
Surah snapped his fingers. “Or I serviced a lady just today. She’s a street performer in one of the city squares. She moonlights near the Bull Tavern. We could listen to some music if you want.”
Vaela emptied the contents of her pockets onto the desk. She unraveled the scroll with the Church summons. It spelled out an invitation to the main church. No doubt, they’d try to brainwash her with the allure of joining the Church. There’d probably be a free meal in it. Better be, at least! She fished the pendant from her pocket and placed it on the desk, the frog facing her.
She snatched her stick and fiddled with it in her lap. No money. No home. Just a girl and her walking stick. She grinned and jumped to her feet, thrusting the stick overhead. “Let’s go!”