Fugitive's Flight (Dragon Castaway Book 2)

Chapter 4

"Well now, on top of making a dragon lord look like a complete fool this young man also likes to leave quite the messy trail behind him. I like him already."

The cloaked and hooded man stood in the middle of the street and watched with some amusement as several men worked to replace a window that had been smashed during his quarry's latest daring escape. He had to admit that he admired this brash interloper to an extent. Not only had he stymied Rindar at every turn, he did it with a flair for the dramatic and that was always something to be respected.

Rubbing his thin beard, he turned away from the scene. His mouth curved upwards into an ominous smile as he spotted a pair of familiar figures heading towards him from up the street. A tall and burly man with brown hair and a brutal unshaved face was flanked by another much smaller individual who, despite the clothing was clearly a woman. Her long blonde hair had been tied up in a tight bun and hidden under a hood but her feminine curves were an easy giveaway. Improper as it might have been it was not his place to care. Nor did he blame her for not wanting to advertise her femininity.

He waited for them to approach, using the time to relish the feeling of being in a position within the order where people had to come crawling to him, sometimes even literally. It was one of his favorite perks.

"Menk, Krynna" he said with a polite nod of his head before his expression darkened significantly.

"It seems that we were of one mind on this hunt. What do you have to report so far?" He grumbled before either of them could speak, dismissing his perverse sense of pleasure as he focused on the matter at hand.

The pair cast each other a sidelong glance before the taller of the two began to speak.

"We had an informer in town who recognized them. The story we got was a bit vague, but it seems that he stirred up a mob in the hopes that he could capture them himself. It didn't turn out very well and several were killed during the pursuit before they made their escape by dragon back."

"So it seems that he was more interested in the reward than our good graces. That is very disappointing. At least we can confirm that it was them without question then" the man replied as he motioned for the pair to walk with him. "For now, we might as well content ourselves with questioning this informer of yours further about what exactly happened here."

Krynna took up a position behind him while Menk led the way as they made their way through the winding cobblestone streets. The man's nose rankled as he caught the pungent smell of the filth that was part and parcel of the town's slums.

"He lives here" Krynna said quietly as the trio stopped and approached a four-story ramshackle stone tenement building. It was an unremarkable drab stone block its windows were covered by wooden shudders rather than glass and even from the outside it was obvious that there were far more people to a room than it was ever designed for.

"I can see why he wanted the reward then." The man said his face an emotionless mask as he was led through the front door and up several flights of stairs, inwardly sneering down at the numerous street scum that lay sleeping on the filthy floor of the hallway as he went. There was no doubt in his mind that they were responsible for the vile stench that his nostrils were having to endure.

Moments later the group stopped in front of a rickety looking door at the far end of the dank hall. Reaching out Menk banged hard on the door several times.

"Real solid construction here" the man thought amusedly as the door came clean off its hinges and fell inwards to reveal a small rundown apartment. Broken furniture and half-eaten food were scattered about in an unruly mess. "I should look into having them redecorate if I can find them"