Eleanor (33 page)

“I got us a suite, it was easier. Room twelve,” Will said. Conlan nodded, putting the coin bag in his pocket and leading Rand down the street towards the sign that said ‘Stables’. Will showed them to their room. He unlocked the door into a large, airy living room. Its white-washed stone walls and brightly coloured mosaics made Eleanor think of Moroccan interior design. There were several low tables, comfortable chairs and colourful, cushion-strewn sofas, with lamps scattered around. On either side of the room were double doors leading into two further rooms, in each of which Eleanor could see a large double bed covered in brightly coloured throws, along with more comfortable furniture. On the opposite side of the room was a slatted wooden screen that caused stripy light to hit the cool, blue-tiled floor in front of it. Unceremoniously dumping her bags, Eleanor moved to the wooden screen and pulled it; it concertinaed apart to reveal a long, wide balcony that overlooked the street. Eleanor sat, cross-legged and ignoring the heat, watched the life bustle around her. Amelia came to join her. They sat in companionable silence for a while, until eventually Amelia spoke.
 

“Sometimes I feel so detached from this world… I would love to go shopping. Will and I have been together for three years this summer, and I want to buy him something.”

Eleanor reached to squeeze her hand. “I have money. Let’s shop!”

“Where did you get money from?”

“Remic gave it to me,” Eleanor shrugged.

“I knew that Dwarf had the hots for you!” Amelia said, her voice a little too loud. Eleanor heard Freddie sniggering behind them; she turned to glare at him and he returned to the bag he was rooting through.
 

“He was just being sweet.” She was blushing – she had really liked Remic and Cander, but there was nothing more than friendship involved. She rose to her feet. Walking back to her bags, she dug around until she found the heavy coin purse and brought it back to Amelia, who stared at it with wide, surprised eyes.

“This is a lot of money, Eleanor.”

“How much is a lot?” Eleanor asked.

“You could buy a nice house with this,” Amelia replied softly, weighing the purse in her hand.

“Would Will like a nice house?” Eleanor inquired, in a conspiratorial whisper.

“I was thinking of something a little easier for him to carry,” Amelia said, smiling.
 

“Then let’s go and find him something.”
 

Eleanor had been forced to bribe Freddie with the promise of presents so he would cover for them, but they had finally managed to get away, moving through the streets, looking in shop windows and at the wares of the traders in the stalls they passed, with Amelia asking endless questions in Eleanor’s head about what they were saying and selling. Drent was not a large town, and it did not take them long to find the main shopping street. They moved from one shop to the next, Amelia looking dispiritedly at the items for sale but never actually choosing anything. When they had viewed the shops on both sides of the street, Eleanor began to wonder if there would be anything she would think appropriate.

Amelia, do you have something in mind? It might help us find what you are looking for.

I don’t know what to get him, I don’t know what he would like; there is nothing he really needs and he won’t want to carry useless knick-knacks around…
 

Eleanor could feel her distress.
Would you like some advice on what to get him?
she asked, allowing some of Will’s stronger hopes and dreams to drift to the surface of her mind from the dark corner she had shoved them after Earth had rifled through his mind.

Amelia nodded slowly.

He always wanted to draw, Amelia, so get him a sketch pad and some pencils.

Amelia looked at her blankly for a moment.
Really?
 

Eleanor nodded.
There’s a shop at the far end of the street, it sells that sort of thing.
Taking her hand, Eleanor pulled her towards the shop. Inside it was cool and gloomy. Giving the stock a brief inspection, Amelia picked a medium-sized pad, full of thick, creamy paper, held together by a soft, red-brown leather cover, a long leather thong firmly attached so that it could be wrapped around, holding it closed. The shop sold paints and coloured pencils, but mindful of the weight Amelia selected six beautiful handmade pencils, with lead of various softnesses and a matching red-brown leather case to keep them in. Eleanor asked the shopkeeper, an older man with a friendly smile, to wrap the items, as they were a gift. The man carefully wrapped the items in colourful cloth and ribbon, handing them to Amelia.
 

Thank you
, Amelia said as they exited the shop.
 

You’re welcome. Now we have to get something for Freddie, and I suppose Conlan would be hurt if he’s missed out… Is there anything you’d like?

They wandered through the shops again. Eleanor commissioned a new bridal, saddle and saddlebags in red leather for Rand, conscious of the fact that it was her fault the original ones had been lost. She paid the saddler, giving him a description of Rand and telling him which stables he could be found in if he needed to take measurements, hoping it would be finished before they got back from visiting the Elves. She bought Freddie a new sword – she knew she had paid over the odds for it, but it was beautiful, well-balanced, sharp and sleek. Freddie took great care of his old cast-off of Conlan’s; he deserved something special of his own. Not wanting to walk the streets holding a sword, she had paid extra to have it delivered to their hotel. She bought Amelia some lavender-smelling soap in a little case and some perfume that had reminded her of Conlan’s mother’s garden. She bought herself a soft leather wrist cuff so that she could wear short sleeves and still cover her brand. Walking past a jewellery shop, Eleanor noticed the symbol of the mountain with a diamond within it on the corner of the sign over the door, and she thought of Remic and Cander with a smile; she must remember to thank Remic for the fun they were having. She bought Will a pack of what looked like playing cards after noticing that the four suites were diamonds, wands, chalices and swords. Eleanor doubted this was a coincidence.
 

She now only had Conlan to buy something for; she wanted to get him a book, as he had given her his. The bookshop was down a side street, off the main shopping area. It was quiet and dusty, and the owner, a well-fed matron, slept behind the counter. Amelia and Eleanor moved along the bookshelves looking for something suitable. After some careful consideration, Eleanor had chosen a very old-looking, handwritten book. She had flicked through some of the pages and found that many of the words were new to her, but the general gist of it reminded her of some of the Greek philosophers she had read. It was essays on what constituted good governing and what must be provided for the people to make them happy and prosperous. In short, although the book did not seem to come out and say it, its contents enlightened the reader on what made a good king. Amelia had gasped at the expensive, but the shopkeeper had refused to bargain, explaining that it was one of a kind and a collector’s item. She had agreed to warp it, however, and Eleanor put it in her satchel with the other presents.
 

Happy and relaxed, Eleanor did not notice the men that followed them as they exited the bookshop. It was getting late, and the sun was casting long shadows in the dying heat. As they turned to head back to the hotel, three men stepped in front of them, blocking their way. Eleanor and Amelia froze, then took a couple of steps backwards, only to find two additional men behind them.
 

“So you are the ones spending money all over town, eh? How about you give us some?” asked the taller of the three men stood in front of the two women.

What does he want?
Amelia asked, pushing into Eleanor’s head.

Money.

“I am sorry, but we have spent all our money for today,” Eleanor answered.

“Then we will take what you have,” the man snarled.

Eleanor laughed, a harsh nasty sound intended to convey her contempt. “This is your one and only chance of leaving in one piece – if you lay a hand on either my companion or myself, you will regret it.”

The man hesitated for a moment, but then looked at his four accomplices and decided Eleanor and Amelia were too outnumbered to be a threat. He stepped forward, grabbing Eleanor’s right arm painfully, just above the elbow. She moved into a fighting stance, twisting her right arm up in a block and punching the man as hard as she could in the stomach with her left hand. She knew it had not been a strong punch, but it was enough that he let go. Staggering back slightly, he swung a right-fisted punch at her head. Using her left hand, Eleanor blocked. Stepping towards him and slipping her arm round his, she jerked back, pulling his shoulder back unnaturally and dragging him to the floor as she kicked one of his legs out from under him. As he landed, she dropped heavily, knee first, onto his chest. Ribs snapped and the man let out a strangled cry. Growling, Eleanor punched him hard in the face. It hurt her hand – a lot – but she heard the satisfying crunch of his nose as blood gushed forth, giving his cries a wet, gurgling quality. Her entire attack had taken seconds. Eleanor jumped back to her feet, noticing the astonished faces of the other four men.

Amelia… RUN!

Grabbing Amelia’s hand, she pushed through the two stunned men in front of her and ran down the street in the direction of the inn. It had taken a few moments before Eleanor had heard the slap of feet, as the men recovered their senses enough to chase after them. They were running fast, but the men were gaining on them. Amelia dragged Eleanor down a dark alley, desperate to find them somewhere to hide, but only to discover it was a dead end. Eleanor turned around, her back pushing up against the wall behind her. She could see one man blocking the alley at the end, the other two walking cautiously towards them.
Do I blast them? How much damage would I cause? Or do I try to fight them? They will be ready for it this time!
As various plans and options ran through Eleanor’s head, she stepped protectively in front of Amelia. Pulling her small dagger from its sheath, she handed it back to Amelia over her shoulder. When she did not take it, Eleanor turned to look; the taller woman had her grey eyes closed and was chewing on her bottom lip, a look of intense concentration on her face.
She’s shielding… OK, not a bad idea, but all that is going to do is create a stand-off, and eventually she is going to drop from exhaustion.
Before Eleanor could make this point, the men came further down the alley; they were talking to each other.

“… so where are they?” a short, bearded man asked.

“It’s a dead end, they must be here somewhere,” replied the taller, thinner man behind.

The short bearded man nearly walked into Eleanor as he looked around the end of the alley in consternation.
They can’t see us… holy crap! Whatever Amelia is doing, they can’t see us.
 

“Are you sure they came down this alley?” the bearded man asked.

“For the tenth time, yes!” the thin one snapped in reply.

“Well they are obviously not here, they must have used magic to get away!” the bearded man said sarcastically, heading back towards the entrance to the alley. The three men argued for a few moments and then walked away.
 

“Amelia, I think they’ve gone,” Eleanor whispered as she returned her knife to its sheath. Letting out a slow, tired breath, Amelia opened her eyes and smiled.
 

Eleanor gave her a hard look. “OK, spill! How long have you known you could do that?” Amelia shrugged. “I didn’t, I guess I needed the adrenaline kick to figure it out. I manipulated the energy particles in the shield somehow, split them down and then wrapped them round us. I made the shield at the front project what was being reflected onto the shield at the back – the wall – making it look like we weren’t there. The two halves of the particles were still connected somehow, so what affects one, affects the other.”

“Wow, I didn’t even know that was physically possible. Could you do it again?”

Amelia nodded, a huge grin spreading across her face. A thousand tactical advantages to being invisible went charging through Eleanor’s head.

They returned to the inn, stopping at the reception to collect Freddie’s sword, which had been delivered for them. Walking slowly back to the room, Eleanor felt strange, as if she were giving up something important, a small piece of freedom maybe. Before she opened the door, she turned to Amelia and whispered.
 

“I don’t think we should mention our little ‘adventure’, OK? The boys will never let us out of their sight again.”
 

Amelia nodded. “Thank you for a fun afternoon.”
 

Eleanor smiled at her and opened the door to their suite.

Freddie looked up at them miserably from the corner of the room, where he sat on the floor. Will was trying to look stern, but Eleanor could see the relief in his eyes and Conlan was pacing the length of the room. He stopped as they entered and glared at them.

“Hi,” Eleanor said, stepping over the threshold and closing the door. Conlan marched towards them, and towering over her he jabbed a finger into her chest.
 

“Where have you been?” he snarled.

“Shopping,” Eleanor said innocently.

“Have you any idea how dangerous this place is?” Conlan snapped. “You were shopping!? Where did you get money?”
 

Eleanor gave Amelia a sideways glance and they both dissolved into giggles. Conlan grabbed her by the front of her shirt, yanked her forwards and shoved her back, her head bouncing solidly off the door. Her good humour gone, Eleanor glared back at him.

“Being in this room with you right now is the most dangerous thing we’ve done all afternoon. Take your hands off me,” she hissed.
 

“We were worried about you,” Will said, giving Conlan an angry glance.