No Solace (The Flames of Retribution - Book 1)

Chapter Twenty-four - Another Fine Mess

Chapter Warning - Violence.

I had been heading towards the door to our room to check if I could hear any hints of someone or someones waiting on the other side, but when Ursula made her bloodthirsty remark, I turned around.

"No! We are not killing anyone, especially not Janicen or Madame Claire. We need to get out of here and bring them with us," I hissed at her.

Ursula's mouth twitched a little as she took in my serious expression. She shook her head, still looking like she was going to laugh. "Solace, why do you think Larimar had you take me with you?" she asked. Her eyes glinted as they flicked over my face. "I'm not saying that I will go kill anyone. But... but we need to be able to do the hard things if necessary. I will do the hard things if you can't. I owe it to my Tavla to try to get his father back. And neither of these ladies will help us." 

With a slow exhalation, I nodded, thinking quickly. "We can't leave her here. We'll pretend she came up for drinks and carry her back home."

Ursula crossed her arms over her chest. "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go before we're too late."

I tasted a grittiness in my mouth, then hissed as I realized that my homunculus was almost out of time. I had maybe a half hour before I had to remove it and let it recharge. That was another issue. "I agree. We have to hurry. Is your leg too injured to help me carry her?"

Her face tightened a little as she pressed her leg, and then her expression softened. "No, I'm ok enough to walk right now. Just lead the way."

"Good. Come on then," I urged as I grabbed a bottle of ale from the table that the hotel had left for us and took a swig. I coughed and sputtered as the harsh liquor burned a path down my throat. Ugh! It was like swallowing gasoline! 

Ursula guffawed at my reaction and I thrust the bottle at her with a hushing sound. She took a swig and splashed some on Janicen. Then she splashed some of the ale on us as well until we smelled like we fell in a barrel of it.

Looking worriedly at Ursula's leg I said, "I have a better idea. Help me get Janicen on my back."

Ursula hoisted the woman onto my back, and I groaned under the weight. The homunculus was sturdy and added to my strength, but even though it was the tall one, Janicen was heavier than she looked. Ursula looked at me with concern, then took up the rear, lifting the other woman slightly so she wouldn't be so heavy on me. "Thanks," I grunted. "Bring the book and letters with us and our supplies. We may need to make a run for it."

I opened the door and breathed a sigh of relief to find the hallway empty. We careful stumped our way down the stairs with our load, laughing and hooting like a couple of drunks as we did, waving a bottle of alcohol we'd picked up on our way out. When we saw the innkeeper, we crowed at him cheerfully.

He frowned at us disapprovingly, his eyes raking over us, taking in our state. I grinned at him, and he looked away quickly, embarrassed to be caught staring. Happily, his prim outrage at two members of the clergy being so ribald left him too speechless to stop us.

We reached the front doors, and I pushed them open, resisting giving a sigh as we did. It was a short walk to her house, and the dog was nowhere to be seen once we were inside. The animal probably decided that she didn't want to taste another sampling of the spicy paste that Ursula still had on her body.

I dumped our burden onto her couch and rushed to the bathroom. There was no more time left for the homunculus. I was gasping for air as I fumbled with my clothes, my mouth filling with the taste of soil. As soon as I was free of the homunculus, I collapsed onto the floor, coughing up bits of loam, and wheezing. I had never gone so long with it on, and now I knew why it was a bad idea to wait until this time. It felt like my lungs were about to collapse as I struggled to free myself.