Prisoner

Chapter 29

John Hansson

"I look ridiculous," I complained, tugging at the gaudy faded purple jacket that was one size too small for me. Underneath it was a frilled tan shirt with gold buttons. A green striped tie that looked like it had come straight out of the 1800s was wrapped a little too tightly around my neck. My black trousers fell just above my ankles, exposing an inch of skin between the cuff and my stained socks.

Adaryn shrugged into a similar outfit. His, however, was all black except for the shirt and silver buttons. His shirt, choppy hair was slicked back, and he had shaved. He would look more presentable if it weren't for his combination of freakish scrawniness, pale skin, eyepatch, and small stature.

"You look like a Malorian," he assured me, though I could tell he thought I looked as bad as I knew I did.

I pretended to think. "Well, I sense a correlation there...."

Adaryn chuckled and shook his head.

"I would not say that in public if I were you. Besides, that was all I could get with the money from the telescope."

Yes. Adaryn had stolen the inn's telescope and sold it for stupid looking clothes. Apparently the device was very valuable.

I balanced on one foot and finished pulling on my worn shoes. Holes were beginning to form in the soles, making them an uncomfortable and uneven choice if footwear. What I wouldn't have given for a pair of tennis shoes...

"We should get going," Adaryn told me. "It would not be wise to arrive late."

"Why? Back on Earth people are late to everything all the time."

"We would stand out. It is not polite to be tardy."

"You sound like my mom," I joked (not really).

There was a long silence while Adaryn tried to determine whether I had just insulted him.

Finally: "I do not know how to respond to that."

I laughed.

"Right. Okay," I tried to focus back on the subject at hand, "do we have everything we need?"

Adaryn pulled back his coat to reveal a dagger and the remainder of our arrows that were tucked into his belt. Luckily, the coat fell almost to mid-thigh on him and concealed the weapons well.

I could feel the weight of our only remaining stick of safely-packaged dynamite in my jacket pocket. Adaryn, with the few bits of money left over after buying our clothes and a loaf of bread, had purchased a small flint and steel. I kept this in my other pocket, paranoid, though it was very unlikely, that the explosive could be ignited if the two were in close contact. Better safe than sorry.

Sorry? Wrong word.

Unexploded.

That works.

Adaryn let his coat fall back into place and inhaled deeply. I could feel the tension in the air, thick like a blanket of humidity, making it difficult to breathe.

"Ready?" He asked.

Though, my hands were shaking from the combined nerves and anticipation, I forced out my answer as cooly as I could.

"Let's go."

*

"We are going to be caught," Adaryn whispered anxiously into my ear. I elbowed him in the side hard enough for him to take a step away.

"We will if you don't stop all the paranoia!" I hissed back at him.

We were standing halfway through a long line of finely dressed Malorians that led to the front doors of the castle of Nekros. Guards posted at the head of the line were checking invitations, then letting groups inside one by one.