Spice & Wolf I (21 page)

He felt unpleasantly weightless for a moment, but his feet soon collided with the hard ground.

Unable to bear the force of the impact, Lawrence landed in a squatting position.

He was lucky not to have broken his leg, but Holo still laughed loudly at him, although she did extend her hand.

“We’ll have to run. We’ve no time to collect the horse.”

A stunned Lawrence glanced back at the stables. The horse had been strong and cheap but more importantly was the first thing he’d ever bought.

Part of him wanted to make a break for the stables, but prudence told him not to. Holo’s course of action was the right one.

Lawrence clenched his teeth and restrained himself.

“They will gain nothing by killing your horse; we’ll wait for things to calm before retrieving it, yes?” said Holo by way of consolation. Lawrence could only hope that it was true. He nodded and took a deep breath, grabbing her outstretched hand and pulling himself up.

“Oh, also—”

Holo took the pouch that hung from her neck and undid the string that bound it closed. She poured roughly half of the wheat it contained into her hand.

“Just in case. You should take some, too,” she said, casually thrusting the grains into the pocket on his chest without waiting for his reply. They felt warm; it was probably Holo’s body heat.

After all, it was the wheat in which she lived.

“Right, now let’s run.”

Holo smiled as though speaking with a trusted friend. Lawrence was about to reply but simply nodded his head and dashed with her toward the town in the night.

“So, what I was going to say to you was this—if the Milone Company could check up on that boy, surely the reverse is true. His backers were bound to be alerted. If they discover we’re gone to another company with a deal, they’ll try to silence us, no?”

The only light on the cobbled path was the moon, but it was enough to see by. They continued to run without spotting another person, then turned down an alley.

Lawrence could barely see anything in the darkness there. Holo led him on, tugging on his hand as she ran, Lawrence stumbling after her.

They ran near an intersection and saw a group of men behind them, shouting. He caught the words “Milone Company” among their shouts.

They, too, knew that the only place Lawrence and Holo would find sanctuary was the Milone Company

“Oops. I don’t know the way,” said Holo, still pulling on Lawrence’s hand as they came to a fork. Lawrence looked up and checked the moon’s position and phase and mentally roughed out a map of Pazzio.

“This way.”

They ran down the western fork. This part of Pazzio was old. Buildings were constantly being rebuilt, and the road wound through them like a snake.

But Lawrence had visited Pazzio many times. Furtively checking their position against the main road as they went, the pair came closer and closer to the Milone Company.

But their opponents were no fools.

“Stop. There’s a guard.”

They needed only to turn right at this intersection, follow the road to its end, then turn left. Four blocks later, they’d be at the Milone Company. There should still be men loading and unloading wagons at this hour. If they could make it there, the thugs wouldn’t be able to touch them. In a city of commerce, the best security was the wealth implied by the signboard of a large business.

“Tch. We’re so close.”

“Heh-heh. I’ve not hunted in many years, but this is my first time being hunted.”

“This is no time for jokes. Oh, well, we’ll have to take the long way around.”

Lawrence backtracked to the original road, turning right along it. He decided that they’d take an alley after the next block and circle around to the Milone Company.

But he was stopped after he made his first right turn.

Holo grabbed his shirt and pushed him against the wall.

“Did you find them? They should be close by! Find them!”

The current of fear that ran through him was worse than when he’d been chased by wolves in the forest. Two men came dashing violently out of a nearby alley. If Holo hadn’t stopped, she and Lawrence might have run right into them.

“Damn. There are too many of them. And they know the area.”

“Mmm...’tis a bad situation,” said Holo. Her hood was down, exposing her wolf ears as she scanned left and right.

“Shall we split up?”

“Not a bad idea, but I’ve a better one.”

“Which is?”

Footsteps could be heard nearby. Undoubtedly every main road now had a guard on it. They’d be cornered as soon as they tried to use one.

“I’ll head down the main road and draw them off. Then you can take the chance to—”

“Wait. You can’t—”

“Now you listen. If we split up, you’re the one that will be caught. On my own, I won’t be caught, but you will. And when that happens, who is going to go to the company? Shall I show them my ears and tail and beg for your rescue? Well?”

Lawrence had no retort. He had already informed the Milone Company about the depreciating
trenni
silver. They might even abandon him and Holo both. Should that happen, his only recourse would be to play himself as a trump card and threaten to invest in their opponent.

And only he could conduct those negotiations.

“Either way it’s no good. If the Milone Company sees your ears and tail, they may turn you over to the Church. And I needn’t mention the Medio Company.”

“So all I need do is avoid capture? And should I be caught, I’ll just hide my ears and tail for a day while you come to rescue me.”

Perhaps because of her bravado, Lawrence wanted to stop her from doing this that much more. She smiled up at him.

“I’m Holo the Wisewolf. Even if my ears and tail are discovered, I’ll pretend to be a mad wolf, and none will want to come near me.” She grinned, showing her fangs.

Yet all Lawrence could think of was embracing the sobbing girl who spoke of loneliness, with her impossibly slight form. He couldn’t imagine turning her over to these hired thugs.

Still smiling, Holo continued. “Your dream is to own a shop, is it not? And just a moment ago I said I was in your debt. Are you trying to make a dishonorable wolf of me?”

“Don’t be foolish! If you’re caught, you’ll be killed! What honor is there in that? I’ll wind up owing you a debt I can never repay!” raged Lawrence, his voice low.

Holo smiled thinly and shook her head. She poked him lightly in the chest with her slender forefinger. “Loneliness is a deadly illness. We are even.”

Lawrence had no words at the sight of her calm, grateful smile. Holo took advantage of the silence and continued. “Besides, you’re a quick thinker and clever—I promise. I trust you. I know you’ll come for me.”

She quickly embraced the silent Lawrence and then slipped free of his grasp, dashing away.

“There they are! On Loinne Road!”

As soon as Holo ran out of the alley, the shouts could be heard, and the pursuers’ footsteps grew distant.

Lawrence clamped his eyes shut for a moment, the forced them open and ran. If he missed this chance, he might never see Holo again. He quickly ran down the dark alley—stumbling a few times, but always moving forward. He crossed the wide road and entered another alley, heading west.

The commotion continued, but his opponent could not afford to make noise for long lest they alert the town guard.

He continued running, sprinting again across the main road, and heading down another alley. He needed only to turn right, then left on the next main road, to reach the Milone Company.

“Just one? There should be two!”

Lawrence heard the voice come from behind him. Had Holo been captured? Did she escape? If she’d escaped, that was fine. No—he hoped desperately that it was so.

He jumped onto the moonlit boulevard and turned immediately left. Soon he heard voices behind him. “There he is!”

Ignoring them, he sprinted with all his strength, hurling himself against the gates of the Milone Company’s loading area.

“I’m Lawrence—I came earlier today! Help! I’m being pursued!”

Wakened into action by the commotion, the men on duty opened the iron gate.

Immediately after Lawrence disappeared behind it, a group of men carrying wooden staves rushed up to the gate.

“Wait, you! Give that man to us!” said one of them, hitting the gate with his stave. The men began trying to use force to pull the gate open.

But those who held the gate closed on the opposite side were used to long days of loading and unloading. The gate would not open so easily

A bearded man on the far side of middle age emerged from within the company building. “Scum!” he roared. “Whose house do you think this is? It is the Milone Company’s Pazzio branch, owned by the honorable Marquis Milone, recognized by His Grace, the thirty-third Archduke of Raondille!

Anyone within these walls is a guest of the Marquis! Know that when you strike these gates, you strike His Grace’s throne!”

Cowed by the man’s grand speech, the attackers faltered. Just then, the whistle of the city guard sounded.

The men seemed to realize this was their chance to escape. They soon scattered.

Within the gates, everything was still for a while. At length, the sounds of footfalls and guard whistles faded, and the man who’d delivered the impressive speech finally spoke up again.

“That’s quite a commotion so late at night. What’s going on here?”

“My humblest apologies, sir. I offer my deepest gratitude for your sanctuary.”

“Save your thanks for the Grand Marquis of Milone. What did they want?”

“I expect they were from the Medio Company. Undoubtedly they are displeased with the deal I’ve struck with your company.”

“Oh ho. You’re a merchant who’ll take risks. I haven’t seen many of your kind lately.”

Lawrence wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled. “It's my partner that’s the reckless one.”

“Must be rough.”

“I don’t want to think about it, but that same partner may have been captured. Would it be possible for me to speak with the branch manager, Sir Marheit?”

“We’re a foreign company. Raids and arson are a fact of life for us. He’s already been contacted,” said the man with a heart) laugh.

It drove home to Lawrence how formidable the man who ran this operation must be.

Perhaps they really
would
be able to guarantee his safety.

Uncertainty swirled in his mind, but Lawrence soon composed himself. He would get them to guarantee not only his safety, but his profit, too.

His pride as a merchant and his debt to Holo, who’d taken such a risk for him, demanded no less.

Lawrence took a deep breath.

“Anyway, come inside, will you? Even wine gets better with time,” said the man. Lawrence, thinking about Holo as he was, found it hard to calm himself.

Still, the old man was used to situations like this, and seeing Lawrence’s agitated state, he offered some consolation. “In any case, if your partner’s all right, he’ll come here, eh? As long as you give us his name and description, we’ll shelter him even if the Church itself comes after him!”