‘Now, listen to what I have to say, okay?’ I said, slowly and calmly. ‘I’ve put up with a lot of crap over the last few days, and I don’t have the time, or the energy, to put up with you. If you ever touch me again, I will burn every inch of your body so you can’t see, or feel, or walk. Got it?’ I poked him in the chest and war surprised to feel something hard.
I unfastened the clasp of Noah’s cloak and slipped my hand into his inside pocket, pulling out a small satchel of coins. I turned the pouch over in my hand, feeling the weight. There had to be at least twenty gold pieces in there.
‘I’m taking this,’ I told Noah firmly, tucking the pouch into my bustier. ‘Consider it compensation, if you will. After what you did to me and Madeline, I think you deserve a lot worse.’
I didn’t hang around for a response. Getting up, I walked out of the alleyway and into the sunshine.
Chapter Nine
Port
Hawthorne got quite a scolding when I found him fifteen minutes later, rummaging through a large dumpster for food scraps, with a banana peel on his head. He looked awfully ashamed of himself as I climbed onto his back and complained of the smell.
‘Oh, Hawthorne.’ I cringed. ‘You smell awful. What did you roll in?’
Ignoring the smell of garbage juice, Hawthorne and I set off … where? I didn’t know. All I knew was I had enough money, thanks to Noah, to live comfortably for a month. I might actually be able to get a decent night’s sleep at a lodge, though I’d have to make sure it was in the middle of nowhere. I didn’t want anyone to recognise me as the human-lover from the wanted posters.
One thing Noah had said reverberated through my head a hundred times as we flew over the clouds. I heard there’s a Mage in Germany that can alter appearances.
‘Can you imagine that?’ I shouted to Hawthorne over the roar of the wind. ‘A new face? Noah said there’s a Mage who can change appearances in Germany.’
Would I really be willing to change who I was for a life of freedom? Of course. Most people would make that decision. Perhaps, if worst came to worst … it could be an option.
We flew until the sky turned pink and the sun withdrew behind the mountains, casting an eerie glow across the landscape. Hawthorne was keeping an eye out for a remote lodge to spend the night – somewhere the Realm wouldn’t have dispatched a large number of posters. I wasn’t sure if such a place existed, but it was worth a shot.
We flew above a town several miles south of Frost Arch. It was close to the seaside, with an Inn that was perched on the edge of a cliff, waves crashing into the rocks. The wooden panels of the old Inn were mouldy from the constant spray of the sea, but I found the inside to be quite warm and cosy. Hawthorne looked simply ecstatic at the opportunity to go fishing, and flew out to sea as soon as he dropped me off. From the Inn, I saw him swooping and diving out at sea, trying to catch fish in his jaws.
The Inn-Keeper; a toothless old sailor with a missing arm, was extremely accommodating, and a little bit eccentric. He told me his name was Merl. I thought perhaps he had lost his mind at sea many years ago, but he was very kind never-the-less.
He hobbled up the stairs with a lantern in his only hand as I followed him to my room. He opened the door for me, and I stepped inside. The room was light and airy; it had creamy wooden walls and seashells on every surface. The large window showed a spectacular view of the ocean, which was a stormy grey at the moment. Paintings of boats and mermaids hung on the walls, and the white fireplace allowed the salty smell of the sea to drift into the room.
‘It’s lovely,’ I told Merl the Inn-Keeper. ‘Thank you.’
At the price of five silver pieces a night, I really couldn’t complain. It was a bargain, and the location gave me a sense of never ending freedom.
‘Give us a shout, Lassie, if yeh need anythin’,’ he said, placing his lantern on the mantelpiece above the fire. ‘Dinner’s in an hour, and breakfast starts at five o’clock in the mornin’. Most are up early round ‘ere to get on the boats.’
‘You won’t catch me on a boat,’ I said, dropping my rucksack on the bed. ‘I much prefer the land.’ As a Fire-Mage, I’d never been in the ocean, or in fact, any large body of water. Baths were fine, but the thought of treading water sent chills through my spine. I’d never been taught how to swim. Not that it mattered. I had no intention of swimming in the ocean, though it seemed Hawthorne loved it.
Merl gave a toothless grin, his face wrinkling considerably. ‘Aye, most o’ our customers are sailors lookin’ fer work on the docks.’
‘Well, thanks again,’ I said, pulling a silver piece from Noah’s pouch and handing it to Merl.
He turned the coin over in his hand before pocketing it. ‘I’ll see that no one disturbs yeh,’ he said with a wink. ‘And don’t worry, Lass, you’re amongst friends ‘ere. Our town’s got more outlaws than the whole damn country combined.’
I stared, wondering if Merl knew I was on the run.
‘Um, thank you,’ I said uneasily.
‘G’night.’ He grabbed the door handle and closed it behind himself.