King of Dust

Chapter 22

"This doesn't make any sense."

"Look, I'm just as confused as you are."

Yra and I stood, arms crossed, in front of the general store, an air of confusion plastered on both of our faces. We had walked for about forty-five minutes outside of town, following the scent in between the dark and foreboding trees outside of Nessden, until the trail led us back into town and to the general store. The shutters to the store were boarded closed and the store had not been open, it seemed, for some time.

"Welp, I guess that means we go back to the inn, ya?" I asked.

"No," Urien interjected. "Why would this assassin go to a store that looks like it hasn't been open in months?"

Urien put his eyes to work and carefully walked the perimeter of the store. It looked like it had been closed and abandoned, and when I rounded the back, I found a sign that read "Closed until further notice." After a few moments of searching, Urien muttered, "I don't think anyone would be upset if we broke in."

"Wow, Mr. Straight and Narrow is suggesting breaking and entering?" Yra quipped.

"I've never broken into anything before," Astrid muttered.

"Darius, grab this board," Urien instructed. "We're just going to pull it off."

I stretched my fingers and grabbed at the board, ready to pull it from the wall, when I got a splinter. The sharp piece of wood stuck into me, and I yelped out, pulling my hand away from the board. I shook my finger to get rid of the throbbing and sucked on the tip of it in an attempt to quell the minute stinging.

"What happened?" Urien turned to me to make sure I was all right. "Is there holy water on the boards?"

"No," I muttered as tears came to my eyes. I held out my finger to him, which was now red and throbbing. "I got a splinter."

"Awe," Astrid muttered and took my hand. "I'm sorry that happened."

Yra stomped his way up to the boarded door and grabbed at the wood. In one swift pull, he had completely dislodged the board, the wood splintering and snapping in his hands. A few more boards were tossed to the ground this way, the loud sound of lumber reverberating off cobblestone echoing down the street.

"Could you be any louder?" Urien took a board from Yra's hands before it was thrown and set it to the ground gently.

"You didn't tell me to be quiet," Yra simply replied.

Urien huffed and crouched down as he wiggled the doorknob with his hand. It appeared to be locked, and after a moment of fussing with the lock, the door popped open. With one silent step, he pulled his cloak about himself and slunk inside. I crept behind him, nothing more than shadows, but felt no one follow behind me.

"I don't want to go in," Astrid whispered.

"Why not?" Yra seemed uninterested in being quiet.

"I feel bad about it. This is someone's business."

"It's been abandoned. No one will care."

"I care."

While they argued, Urien slapped his hand to his forehead. There was really no point in being stealthy now, for if someone were inside the abandoned store, they surely would have heard us. Canned goods had been tossed from shelves, some of them opened and half-eaten. Little handprints made from mud or something else covered the floor, the ceiling, and some of the store's shelves. The perishable goods in the store had long gone rancid and everything was covered in a fine layer of fuzzy mold. I covered my nose with the crook of my elbow and Urien and I made our way through the darkness.