The Fires of Esus - Ranger's Apprentice

Chapter 31: The Sacrifice

Before her eyes even had a chance to drift open, before her sleepy thoughts could even properly register the pungent smell, she felt the warmth of Will's arm suddenly disappear and the bed dip beside her. Only a few moments later, his hand was back, resting on her shoulder with a gentleness that contrasted their situation starkly.

"Alyss, it's happened, it has to be Lewellyn. We need to go, now."

Even in the midst of another fire, Will still had time to be gentle with her.

His boots were already laced tightly on his feet and his cloak and weapons were slung into position. Alyss, exhausted from the hard riding and traveling of the previous days, staggered out of bed and slid her feet into her own boots, not bothering to lace them.

Meanwhile, Will was dashing back and forth across the room while the smoke got thicker and thicker. First, he grabbed all their bags and proceeded to throw them unceremoniously out the window, watching them fall to the cool grass below, a safe few feet away from the edge of the inn. Before Alyss could even say a word, he had sent both their cloaks over the window sill as well. He glanced back at her with an unspoken question in his eyes, and then, seeming to answer it himself, unslung his bow and quiver and threw them down as well.

Alyss heard everything hit the ground with a satisfying thunk. At least this way, if something happened to them, their documents and weapons would be safe. And the less flammable material they carried through the inferno, the better.

Thankfully, they had both slept with their traveling clothes on. The only person scrambling to cover themselves before escaping would be King Carr in the room above them. But one glance at Will, who was leading them down the smoky hallway towards the stairs, and she knew they weren't going to get the King. They wouldn't be able to go in and get anyone if the blaze kept spreading at this rate.

It had only been a few minutes at most, but the fire had progressed from a few tendrils of smoke to huge tongues of flame that licked at the edges stairs below them. Alyss gripped Will's hand in fear, and in the bright orange light she could see his ashen face, already smudged with sweat and soot. "Will! How do we get down?" she shouted through the roar of the flames.

He didn't answer immediately, staring transfixed in horror at the flames. She knew he must be reliving the other fires he had been stuck in, and if they were going to survive, she had to help him focus.

Stepping around him, she pulled on his hand and hoisted her skirts as high up as they would go, clutching them tightly to her thighs and hips, leaving only the riding leggings she wore underneath. Seeing the narrow path of safe wood they would have to follow, she led him down the rickety stairs, moving quickly and lightly on the balls of her feet like she had seen Will do for so many years.

She felt him follow her, and when she spared a moment to look back at him, he nodded to her, his eyes more clear and his face set with determination. They paused at the bottom of the stairs and he reached out, taking a handful of her skirts from her and ripping the edge quickly. He tore two handkerchief-sized pieces and pressed one over his mouth, handing the other to her. She squinted into the flames through the haze of smoke, her lungs already burning.

The damage upstairs was nothing compared to what had already transpired below. The inn's tavern was burning, and fast. The smoke rose quickly, ash and sparks flying through the air wherever the fire wasn't burning. Only a few patches of wood remained untouched still, leaving a tiny path to the door and windows that were wide open, spilling smoke out into the cool night air.

"That way," Will croaked, gesturing with his hand to the same path she had seen. They both dashed forward, leaping over piles of flaming wood, tables and chairs twisted and blackened, metal tankards shining in the flickering fire rolling across the floor under their feet as the charred, crispy floorboards tilted and groaned against the stone foundation underneath. The cloth over their faces didn't do much to hold out the smoke, and Alyss was starting to feel woozy. She felt Will's hand press against her back, pushing her onward, holding her up.