To Hold Back The Dark - Chapter Seven
Corin was surprised to find Aline waiting with Emilia at the hospital. She explained that her path was her own choice, and for now, she chose to go to Tralik with them. David agreed to let her join them, although sine she was a healer, he couldn't very well refuse her. They got going well before the sun was visible. Corin had found it very relaxing and enjoyable to spend time with his family, he only wished that Allanah had been there. His father had informed him that they were going on to Tralik, but a few days later, and that he would look for him once they arrived. Once out on the road they didn't do much talking, mainly because they were going too fast to do anything. By the time they stopped to eat, it was noon, and David estimated that they were a good part of the way there, judging by the landmarks that they were passing. He figured that they would be in Tralik by the next evening if they didn't run into any trouble. Everyone agreed and mounted up, determined to let David make it there by the time he wanted. Pushing the horses as hard as they dared they made it to Dorr by nightfall.
"Ah, real food at last." Corin rubbed his rear end , the tied the reins to the hitching post in front of the inn where they had chosen to stay. "I'm also looking forward to a bed right now."
"And a bath," added Emilia.
David was still mounted, "Well," he said, looking away from them, "I was thinking about pushing on through the night."
Everyone stared at him, dumbfounded. Finally, Rhea found her voice,
"Are you out of your mind? We have ridden practically non-stop all day and there is no way that these horses can go on! They need a decent night's rest , and decent food, too! We need the same."
"We can get fresh horses and leave a message for Lord Gorin to bring these with him when he comes through. If we leave tonight, we can reach Tralik that much faster."
"I can not understand why you are so obsessed with reaching Tralik. The King has been sent messages and knows just as much by now as we do. There won't be any new information until Allanah and Michael get there and report on their findings, and unless they can suddenly fly, they won't get there before we do." Corin stated.
David sighed, "I still feel uncomfortable about what happened back in Aluntaa. The sooner we reach Tralik, the easier I'll feel." With Emilia present, David didn't want to add that he was very anxious to return to King Mark those items that belonged to him.
"Once we get there, you'll only worry yourself silly about those two. David, if you want to push on, then go. We are staying here tonight.", Rhea went on into the inn, closely followed by Corin, Emilia and Aline. David sat there for a moment and then alit, silently conceding defeat. In his mind, he knew that they were right, but his heart and intuition told him to get there fast. He went into the inn and joined the others just as they were ordering dinner and asking to have their horses stabled.
"Well, we should call it an early night so that they can leave at dawn.", David said, hoping that they would agree. Everyone nodded, much to his relief.
Michael and Allanah pushed hard, too, but were unable to know just exactly where they were by the time night fell. They had left the road hours earlier and estimated that they were in Trayille, but they had never been in this region of their own country, and the landscape wasn't familiar. Their horses were frisky and ready to go, despite the running they had just completed. This impressed the duo and they decided to allow the horses to push on through the night. Therefore, it wasn't long after dark when they came upon another road, and this one was marked with Elven runes. Allanah now knew that they were definitely in Trayille and figured that about four more hours of riding would get them to an Elven city, so they decided to ride on. Shortly after midnight they reached Trannelle and Allanah went to the Rusty Tankard inn to get them rooms while Michael sought out a telepath to send a message to Dari and one to Tralik.
By the time Michael joined Allanah at the inn she had already ordered dinner and he was happy to see that a plate of roast beef and vegetables was waiting for him. So was a mug of hearty ale.
"This smells delicious," he said as he cut into the beef.
"It is. This is my second helping. It feels so good to be home."
Michael nodded since his mouth was full. After taking a drink he asked, "Where are the horses?"
"At a stable down the street. I figured they would be better off there than at the small barn they have here. Those horses are not tired, even after all the running we put them through. We got a really good bargain on those steeds. They fly like the wind and never tire."
"Definitely not your average horse, just like that wasn't your average wolf. I guess that they just grow things differently in Morvalia."
"They need fast horses to get away from the wolves!", Allanah finished her ale, "I'm going up to my room. Your room is at the top of the stairs, first door on the right."
"Oh. And where is your room?"
She smiled, "Somewhere else. Sleep well."
She went on upstairs, leaving a dejected partner behind.
"Damn," he thought, "I've really messed things up with you, haven't I? Why on God's earth did I have to go and say those stupid things? Why can't I just come right out and tell you that I love you? "
When Michael awoke the next morning, it was with two realizations. The first was that it was after sun-up, and the second was that he had one of the worst hangovers he had ever had in his entire life. If his memory served him right, not long after he had finished eating, he had gotten involved in a drinking match with a few travelers from Dari. He smiled as he remembered how he had won a few silver coins by drinking those poor souls under the table. Well, if Allanah hadn't beat the door down by now then he supposed that he could try to get a little more sleep before heading back out on the road. Closing his eyes he rolled over and his hand came into contact with soft, supple flesh. He remembered with a smile how secretive Allanah had been about where her room was, and that she had known where his was located. It was sort of nice for her to surprise him like this! When he opened his eyes he was very surprised indeed, for the eyes looking back at him weren't Allanah's golden ones, but rather the mouse brown eyes of one of the serving wenches from downstairs. Mentally he kicked himself several times for doing something as dumb as luring a wench into his bed with Allanah in the same inn. That was a really fine way of showing her how much he cared! He then realized that he couldn't remember the girl's name, or what, if anything, he had done with her.
"Good morning." Her voice, like her eyes, was plain.
"Morning. Uh, do you know what time it is?"
"It's around seven. There's no need to rush. Your friend said that she wasn't in a hurry and that messages had been sent back here, whatever that means.", she cuddled up to Michael, "We have time to enjoy ourselves a little bit more.", she kissed him and then began to nibble at this ear.
"Don't you have to work?"
"I'm off today", she pulled away and sat up, staring down at him, "What's the matter? I was good last night, wasn't I?"
"Sure", Michael struggled to keep his eyes away from her fleshy attributes, "But, I, well, I really should get up to see what those messages were about," he finally stammered.
"You don't have to go anywhere to find that out. They're on that table."
Michael felt a surge of panic as he finally understood that Allanah had been in the room, "Allanah was in here?"
She nodded, "About an hour ago."
"What exactly did she say?"
"She woke me up and asked me to please tell you that some messages from Dari were on the table and for you to read them. Elves are so polite, aren't they? Then she said that she didn't need to leave early and that you shouldn't feel pressured into rushing anything, but should just enjoy yourself since you were so good at doing that. What did she mean by that?"
"Nothing. Listen, uh, ma'am."
"Tilly."
"Sorry."
"Don't be. You were very good, even if you were drunk. At least, I think you were very good. I was a little drunk myself. Usually I don't just jump in bed with customers, at least not here." She grinned, "But there was something special about you. I don't know, I guess you looked like you needed some comfort."
"I needed it, but not with you."
"Now it's my turn to be sorry."
"No, I should apologize for being so rude as to tell you that. I really do have to go." He got out of bed and searched for his clothes, putting them on as he found them.
Tilly watched him from the middle of the bed, "Your friend won't be downstairs, if that's who you're in a hurry over."
"Where is she?"
"She said that she'd be around town. I guess that she'll be back here when it's time for you to go." She smiled and patted the bed, "Won't you please come back?"
Michael sat at the edge of the bed and started to pull his boots on, "Sorry, Tilly, but the answer is still no. I don't want to use me anymore than I already have."
"Oh." She watched him struggle to get his boot on, "You have the wrong boot there, don't you?"
Michael jerked the boot off and tried again with much better results using the other foot.
"Your Elf friend, is her name Anna?"
"It's Allanah. Why?"
"That's what you called me last night."
"I really am sorry."
"Don't be. It happens all the time." She slid out of bed and began to dress, "Besides, you paid well, so I don't really mind."
"I paid you?" Michael knew that he must have been really drunk, because he had never in his whole life, paid a woman to have sex.
"Of course! I don't do this for free, you know! Here, lace me up."
Michael deftly laced up her dress and thought about where Allanah might be and what she might do to him when they did see each other again.
"There, all laced up and ready to go."
She pulled on her shoes, "Thanks. Well, if you're ever in town again, look me up. It really was nice." She kissed his cheek and left the room, closing the door firmly behind her.
"I have sunk so low. First, I hurt Allanah, and can't even begin to tell her how I feel. Then I go and get so drunk that I take a prostitute to bed. If that wasn't bad enough, Allanah knows that she was here." He stood up and looked in his pouch. He had paid Tilly two silver coins for something that he couldn't even remember. "Maybe this is all just a bad dream!"
He went downstairs and was already eating breakfast when he realized that he had forgotten to read the messages from Dari. He was getting up to go get them when Allanah came in.
"Good morning!", she smiled and sat down across from him, examining the food that was still on his plate., "How are you feeling today?"
"I have a headache. And how are you?"
"Very rested. I got plenty of sleep last night," she looked around the room, "Did Tilly give you the messages?"
"She did, but I didn't read them yet. I was just on my way back upstairs to get them."
"No need. I can tell you what you need to know. That is, if you can stand my company long enough."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
She shrugged, "Nothing. My father was in Dari, and he said that the others had left Dari yearly yesterday morning for Tralik. With our horses we should only be a day behind them if we ride directly for Tralik. So, why don't you go throw your little friend out of bed and get packed while I go get the horses."
She was up and gone before Michael could even think of a witty reply, let alone actually say anything.
After packing and then settling his bill, he was finally able to meet Allanah at the stables. "Thanks for taking care of my bill."
"I paid for your supper and for the horses. We've always paid for what we can. You certainly had enough money yesterday to pay for one night's lodging and one breakfast. Unless you spent all your money on your little whore!", she looked as angry as she sounded.
"I didn't spend all my money on her! Just the money I won last night!" The minute the words left his mouth, Michael was sorry that he had said anything. Then he felt angry at Allanah for goading him into admitting that the girl was a prostitute and that he had, indeed, paid her.
"Besides, when you pay for quality, you usually get it! And, her kind of quality comes with no strings attached!" He swung up into the saddle.
"Strings? All I mean to you is strings? I'm sorry I wasn't aware that I should have charged you." She mounted her horse and they glared at each other across the small distance that separated them. While Allanah's stare was one of defiant anger, Michael's was one of rage.
His hands clinched the reins, "If I could do it from here, I'd spank you for that remark! Don't you ever, in your entire life, make the insinuation that you are a whore or that I ever considered you as such! If you ever do so again, I will put you over my knee and personally beat some sense into that thick Elven skull of yours! Do I make myself clear?"
She glared back at him, "Don't threaten me, McShane. I don't take too kindly to threats from people like you." As she spurred her horse forward, Michael reached out and grabbed the bridle.
"We're not going anywhere until you answer me. Do you understand what I said?"
"I understand you perfectly. Did you understand me?"
"I'm not afraid of what you could do."
"You should be." This time, when she urged her mount forward, she was free to do so. She headed out on a path that would take them across country towards, Dorr, and never once looked back to see if Michael was following. As far as she was concerned, he could ride straight to Hell and she would have been glad of it.