Towers [BOOK ONE]

Chapter Fourteen

We stayed at the inn for a while, sitting at one of the tables and looking uneasily about as we wondered what to do. Finally, we left and walked the chilly streets. It was growing late. Not many people were out. Our only companions were the lanterns, bobbing in the fog like will-o'-the-wisps.

Suddenly, rounding a corner, Channing bumped into two older boys, both of them giants in our eyes. He stepped back, surprised, and so did we. "Sorry. I didn't see you there."

The boys shared a look, then smirked. Their faces were menacing in the darkness. One of them shifted his glare to Channing and cracked his knuckles. "Maybe your eyes need fixing. I'm sure I can knock them back into focus."

Channing raised his eyebrows, caught off guard. "Um," he said. "Right. Okay. Well, nice to meet you, boys, but we were just leaving. We, uh, have somewhere to be, and I'd really hate to be late..."

"Oh, I'm sure you can spare a minute," the boy said in a low growl, clenching a fist and coming towards us.

In the blink of an eye, Lily stood between the boy and Channing, head held high.

"Are you threatening my friend?" she asked softly, tilting her head to one side. "Now, that would be silly of you."

"Out of the way, little girl," the boy spat.

"Little girl?" Lily narrowed her eyes and rolled up her sleeves. "Little girl?" Her fists balled into knots. "Oh, you've done it now, mountain boy."

Before anyone could stop her, she launched herself at the giant, leaping into the air like a ballerina and punching him in the stomach. Whipping around, she kicked his feet out from under him, then tackled him as he fell, pummeling him with her tiny fists.

Channing's jaw dropped. Emmy covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes as round as an owl's.

Lily stood and backed away, calmly dusting her hands off. "Oops," she said. "Clumsy me. I must have tripped."

Baffled, the second boy stared at his companion, who was unconscious on the ground. Then he growled and whipped his head up to look at Lily. "Hey!"

Lily smiled and waved. "Hi there."

He glared. "How'd you do that, you pathetic little grasshopper?"

"First of all, it's a secret," Lily said flatly. "And second, what sort of dope uses grasshopper as an insult?"

With a roar of fury, the boy charged at her. Lily was as nimble as a dancer, skipping about on tiptoe. It was only a few seconds before the second boy joined his friend in the dirt.

"That did the trick," Lily said with satisfaction, putting her hands on her hips.

Channing gaped at her. "You...you just, but, but you can't..."

"That was amazing!" exclaimed Emmy, clapping her hands with delight. "They were nearly twice your size!"

"Yes, and ten times as dull. I mean, really? Grasshoppers? Can't he come up with something a bit more inventive than that, like flea or dung beetle or something?"

Channing was staring at Lily as if she had suddenly transformed into an angel.

~~~

We returned to the Middling Inn and found the common room packed with people. Men sat at nearly every table, shouting, arguing, laughing, and drinking. Someone threw a vase across the room, and it smashed against the wall near us. Taken by surprise, we stood in the doorway for a moment, adjusting to this new situation and trying to decide whether to go in or stay outside in the cold.