Bound to the Abyss (18 page)

Both Bran and Ean watched her go, mouths hanging agape. Bran was the first to shake himself from the surprise, but instead of going after Jaslen he turned to Ean.
 

“We should talk,” he said, his speech slightly slurred, “about Jaslen and us.”

Ean stared at him for moment, then raised his hands in defense. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Bran laughed again, although there didn’t seem to be much humor behind it. “Listen, I’m not as blind as you think. I’ve seen how you look at her. And I don’t blame you, she is a wonderful girl, both inside and out. She can sometimes be a bit oblivious though, and I don’t think she’s realized how you feel about her. I just hope that it isn’t going to become a problem with the three of us traveling together.”

“Listen, Bran,” Ean said, noticing his own words sounded funny as they tumbled out of his mouth. “I don’t know why you think that, but I know Jaslen and I are just friends. Just like we’re friends.” That was the first time he had actually admitted Bran was his friend. It felt weird coming out of his mouth. “I think you are seeing something that isn’t there.”

Bran stood, unsteady on his feet, voice slurring. “To be clear, I’m not worried about someone like you coming between me and Jaslen. My concern is solely that it could cause problems between you and me, which could interfere with our mission.”

“Someone like me?” Ean asked, a frown touching the corners of his lips.

“Don’t get defensive, little buddy. I’m just saying Jaslen is out of your league, even if she wasn’t in love with me. She deserves someone with a bright future -- one that doesn’t involve forbidden magics and dangerous creatures.”

Bran patted Ean on the head as if he were a little boy. “But don’t you worry -- the right girl will come along, and you’ll be just as happy with her as I am with Jaslen.”

With that he wobbled over and joined the other singers, leaving Ean sitting there alone.

Anger and frustration starting to bubble up inside of Ean as he sat there. Bran acted as if he was nothing! And patting him on the head? The nerve! He shot the two of them a glare as he downed the rest of his mug. Of course they didn’t see his face, wrapped up in singing as they were, but it made Ean feel a little better at least.

As the two continued to sing on into the night, Ean continued to drink. He couldn’t believe that a day that had gone so well was ending so badly. Bran belittled him; Jaslen hadn’t even bothered to ask what he had done all day; and Zin had disappeared again. Ean couldn’t feel the imp anywhere nearby. Well, that was fine. He didn’t need any of them to have some fun. He had proved that earlier in the day. Waving the serving girl over again, he decided he would find out how good this Burnbeer could make him feel.

Chapter 13

BUMP IN THE NIGHT

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.

At first Ean thought the pounding was originating in his head. Lifting his face off his pillow, head swimming, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. His tongue felt like sawdust. The pain behind his eyes made him wonder if an anvil had hit him. He had no idea how he had ended up in bed. Or why he was still in all of his clothes from the day before. Except for the light flickering through the window, the room was dark. Is it still night? For that matter, what day was it?

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.

It took him a second to determine if the thumping was coming from outside his room or inside his head. When another round of pounding rattled his window, he realized it was coming from outside. Deciding to investigate, he rolled out of bed. His legs gave out, and he found himself sitting on the cold wooden boards of the floor.
 

"Is anyone here?" His words came out as a groan but didn’t elicit a response. He couldn't even feel Zin in the room.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.

If only the pounding would stop, maybe then he could figure out what was going on. With another groan, Ean climbed the side of his bed until he was back on his feet. He was able to stay up this time, although he swayed about. He could hear voices now, muffled shouts, but they seemed to be coming from outside instead of below. That was a blessing. Ean didn't think his head could handle the dulled roar of the common room below.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.

The voices might not be coming from below, but the banging was coming from the first floor. Wasn't the noise bothering anyone else in the inn? Well, there was no way he was going to fall back asleep now so he might as well go check it out. Maybe Bran and Jaslen were still downstairs as well. He would love to smack Bran for getting him to drink so much Burnbeer. At the very least he could get a mug of water.

With some effort, Ean made it out the door of his room and into the hall. The banging sounded even louder here. He slunk down the hallway, his legs still wobbly. Ean would much rather be in bed with a cold cloth across his eyes and complete silence. Reaching the stairs, he took each one with a slow, calculated step. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, the sounds of a subdued conversation reached him in between the pounding. What he saw in the common room caught him by surprise.

The room was in shambles. Tables and chairs were overturned, half-eaten food sat on plates and was scattered across the floor, and puddles of various liquids were everywhere. His first impression was that he was looking at the aftermath of a rowdy night of celebration. His eyes followed the path of destruction to the front door, where a number of tables and chairs had been piled up against it. A barricaded door sent up dozens of red flags.

The pounding continued. It was coming from the door. Someone or something was trying to get in.

"Get away from the door!" came a harsh whisper at Ean's right. Even low, the voice made him jump. It took him a moment to locate the origin of the voice.
 

Ean spotted the innkeeper, the innkeeper’s wife and a serving girl he had never seen before huddled together behind a table. They were shaking and disheveled, making him wonder how long they had been hiding out. The serving girl was covered with flood splatters and drink, and her face was puffy as if she had been crying a long while.

 
“What’s going on?” Ean whispered.

“She saw one of the regulars get taken down by an arrow right outside our door,” the older woman whispered. “Poor Garrad — if only the warning had rang out earlier.”

“Warning? A warning for what — whoever is outside that door?”

“Raiders,” the innkeeper answered. “A larger group than we’ve see in a long time. Saw a dozen or so entering town from the south.” Shaking his head, he reached out for Ean. "You don’t look like the fighting kind, lad. Best for you to hide out here with us while the hunters take care of things outside."

Ean jerked away. "The two I was with, have you seen them?”
 

“I saw them sneak out a little after they put you to bed,” the waitress whimpered.

“Is there any way, other than the front doors, I could use to get outside?” Ean asked.

The waitress started to cry out before the words were even out of his mouth. “No, no! He’ll let them in. Please don’t let him do that!”
 

The last few words were muffled as she buried her head in the chest of the innkeeper’s wife. The older woman patted her back a few times before turning her attention to Ean. The look she gave him was full of scorn.

“I’m sorry about your friends, but I won’t let you risk the few of us that are safe in here. We have a few families hiding upstairs, all women and children, with no way to defend themselves. The doors will stay closed until the bandits are either driven off or take what they want and leave.”

“I can’t just leave them,” Ean tried to control the frustration in his voice, but it was difficult. “I need them. Open the door and then close it again once I’m out.”

THUMP, THUMP.

The woman just shook her head. “Even if I wanted to help, you can hear them pounding on the door. They would rush in and kill us in a heartbeat. Sorry, son. Best if you just head back upstairs like the rest.” Turning her attention back to the serving girl, she waved Ean away with a hand before resuming her attempt to comfort the girl.

Ean’s hands clenched in anger. He was about to tell her exactly what he thought about her caution, when a small tug at his leg caught him by surprise, almost making him jump. Foolish. He had been so focused on the stubborn woman that he hadn’t felt Zin approaching. The invisible imp gave his pants another tug towards the stairs and then started heading that way.

Sending one last frown toward the three cowering villagers, Ean followed the imp back towards the stairs. They walked on in silence back up to the third floor, at which point Zin became visible and rounded on him.
 

“There is no way you are going out into that mess! All I need is for you to get yourself stabbed by some bandit, which would send me right back to the Abyss. I’m sure Bran and Jaslen are fine. I saw them running off somewhere long before the raiders arrived.”

“How do you … wait, you were out there?” Ean got down so he could look the imp square in the eye. “Which means you know another way to get in and out of this building. Can you go find them and bring them back here?”

“Just because I’m invisible doesn’t mean I can’t still catch a stray arrow or get trampled. I’m not risking my life for them.”
 

“Then you have to tell me how to get out. I’ll go get them and bring them back.”

The imp flashed him a wide grin, which showed off his pointed teeth. "We don't need them. Well, maybe we need their money. But that's not why you want to go off to their rescue and get yourself killed. You want to be the big hero again for Jaslen.”

"Shut up. Did you ever think I might care about them?"

"I'm sure if Bran was killed tonight, you would shed hundreds of tears. It doesn’t matter either way. Like I said, I'm not risking you getting killed, regardless of whatever excuse you come up with.”

Reaching down the front of his shirt, Ean pulled out the clay piece that held Zin's summoning rune. The imp's smile slowly faded as he realized what was happening.
 

"Now, there is no need for that," Zin said, rubbing and wringing his hands. "What good will sending me back to the Abyss do?"
 

Ean ignored him, holding the clay piece between thumb and pointer finger of each hand.

Zin began to hop from foot to foot. "If you get killed tonight, the magic on that rune fails and I go back to the Abyss anyway, so breaking it isn't much of a threat.”
 

Ean remained silent, instead applying a small amount of pressure to the clay piece. After a few moments a small crack appeared on the edge.

"Fine, fine!" Throwing up his hands, Zin began to pace back and forth in the hallway. "If you want to get yourself killed for a human girl, you go right ahead. What do I care? I was just trying to look out for you.”
 

He stopped then and pointed a finger at Ean while glaring at him. "But if you think I'm going to help you out WHEN you get in trouble, you can just forget it." Gesturing for him to follow, Zin headed back towards the stairs.

Ean followed behind while returning the clay piece back under his shirt. He hated threatening Zin like that, especially when he knew how horrible of a place the Abyss was for imps. He would make it up to him if they survived this. A nice steak would do the trick. Hopefully the town butcher, if there was one, survived the night.

Zin turned invisible again as they reached the first floor, but his shimmering form continued down towards the basement. The inn at home had a basement for food and drink storage; it usually stayed cool which helped keep the food from going bad. This one was apparently no different, although as far as Ean knew, the inn at home didn’t have an exit in the basement.

The cellar was about what Ean would expect in an inn. The room was dark, the only light coming through the doorway from the lit candles on the stairway. Barrels of what Ean guessed was food and drink littered the floor. Zin turned visible again and continued on towards the back of the cellar, finally stopping at the back wall. Ean looked around for a moment then scowled at the imp.

"What is this?” he growled. "Zin, if this is some trick, I swear I'll ..."

The imp rounded on him before he could even finish. "Oh yes, I understand how you can continue to threaten your only real friend.”
 

The imp looked as if he would attack, and Ean backed off slightly, just in case. He had never seen Zin this angry before.
 

"This is no trick. There is a way out down here.”

“And the raiders won’t be able to use the same way to get in?”

“Not if you are smart enough not to lead them back to where this comes out. But before I tell you where I saw them last, I have a question for you. What exactly do you plan on doing if Bran and Jaslen are in trouble?" The imp glared at him, his hands resting now on his hips as he waited for an answer.

"Well, I could always summon something ..."

"Brilliant," Zin cut in. "What would you summon, your Hound? Because setting him loose in a village would be a great idea. I mean, you've had so much control over the beast in the past."

"Well, I could try something else, maybe a ..."

"Oh yes, even better. In the mess that is already going outside, you want to experiment? You don't even know what half of those creatures are in the Abysmal Tome."
 

Zin shook his head in disgust. "Do you know what makes a normally calm Cruxlum explode with a rage that lasts at least two days? Or how about what can cause a Vauropus to spawn dozens of children in just one day? Either one could end up destroying this whole village if left unchecked, and I bet you wouldn't even know which one you had summoned.”
 

The imp’s scowl was replaced with a self-satisfied grin. "So, do you have any other bright ideas? We know you have absolutely no skill when it comes to weapons or fighting. What does that leave? Am I missing anything?"

Ean just stood, stunned at his friend’s tirade. Of course he had thought of all of those points. They had been running through his head as they marched down the stairs. It would be easy to just stay inside where it was safe.