Novel Jumper

Chapter Seventeen

 The conversation that the group of miners was having died out as Lilia and Connor stepped out of the forest and into view. Lilia kept her gaze fixed on the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the men breaking away from the others and approaching them. Connor reached out and grabbed her hand, holding it tightly.

"Hey there," the man said in a low, drawn-out way that made Lilia know it was directed at her. She shivered and pressed herself into Connor, wishing that she could retaliate, tell the man to back off - but no. They had to pass through the town without incident to reach the Wizard. So she remained silent, hating the intrusive feeling of their gazes.

"Anywhere here we can stay for the night?" Connor asked in a friendly, booming voice, quite unlike his usual tone. Lilia felt his hand tighten on hers as the man moved closer and knew he was reigning in his anger.

"Sure," the man said in the same drawn-out voice. "I'll escort you there."

Lilia heard murmurings from the other men as they started walking away from them, felt their gazes on her, and moved even closer to Connor. She felt violated already, and none of them had even made a move for her.

"I'd like to - " The man's voice dropped out, too quiet for her to hear him. The other men chuckled and hooted

What was wrong with these miners?

The man who had spoken to them - she still hadn't looked at him head on - led them to a small, ramshackle building. For the first time since arriving in the camp, Lilia dared to raise her head.

The building was loosely constructed as if it was not made to be permanent, and yet the paint on the boards was chipped and peeling. On a sign above the wide open doors, it read, "Inn." At least the bar and the inn were separate buildings, it seemed. She remembered what had happened only mere days ago in the basin town.

The man turned around to face them and Lilia saw that he was gaunt, with skin stretched tightly over his bones and messy stubble. His eyes were sunken in his face and his teeth were yellow. He looked around thirty, but Lilia supposed that he could have been sixteen, aged by poor health. He leered at her and she scooted behind Connor slightly, never releasing his hand. He shot her a reassuring smile, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Get a key from the man at the counter," the man drawled. "Feel free to find me if you have any...other requests." He winked at Lilia, who quickly lowered her gaze, anger coursing through her veins. If Theresa were here, he would be dead by now, she thought.

"I don't think we will," Connor said pleasantly, an undercurrent of hardness in his voice. He stared down the man until the miner cleared his throat and took his leave.

Lilia sighed. "This is gonna be harder than I thought," she muttered as she followed Connor into the inn. She only wished Connor had warned her about this particular problem in advance instead of mere seconds before entering the mining camp.

The man at the counter raised his gaze, obviously very bored, but his eyes widened when he saw Lilia.

"One room key, please," Connor said, extending his hand. "We're just staying for the night."

The man, never taking his eyes off of Lilia, handed over a room key. Lilia glanced down at her clothes, thankful that she had chosen one of the less form-hugging outfits for the day. This man, though, didn't seem as pervertedly attracted to her as the last miner - he was simply in shock that she was a girl.

Other women have had to deal with this sort of thing their entire lives, she reminded herself. They live in Dwirinel. I'm just passing through. I can survive one night.