Imposter

Chapter 4

When the fight downstairs woke Mason up, he panicked, arms flailing as he reached for something to protect himself with.

As soon as he realized that what he was hearing wasn't the sound of ringing bells and a mob crying for a death, but the sound of chairs and tables being rearranged and men shouting drunkenly, he relaxed.

Scrubbing a hand down his face, he peeked through his fingers at his hound at the end of his bed.

Eddy lifted his head, sniffing the air.

Mason grabbed a bottle from beneath the bed, popping the cork off and petting Eddy's head as he downed about a fourth of the bottle.

It left a coppery taste in his mouth, and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Red streaked it and he frowned.

Eddy stood up and stretched, letting out a soft whimper and nudging his foot.

The fight downstairs continued, and Mason dropped back down in bed, holding his pillow over his face.

He'd only been in the small town from Terial for twelve hours and he already hated it.

Kor was not big enough to hold a monster like him, but it was also small and unsuspecting. No one would ever think he would choose it as his hiding place.

The bartender gave him a dirty eye when he walked down the stairs, and Mason gave him a withering look in return.

He hadn't been very hospitable last night. He had barely wanted to rent out a room to Mason, and if he'd had things his way, Eddy would be outside.

Eddy let out another whimper, pushing his cold nose into his hand.

There was a forest nearby. They'd go there and maybe Eddy could hunt down his breakfast.

Mason ignored the strange looks he received from the everyone in the bar. The bar was the same as the rest of the town—dirty and small and disgusting.

In the daylight, Mason could better make out the signs and banners all over the town.

We survived written in big, bold letters.

"Survived what?" he scoffed, biting the pad of his thumb. "Your own stupidity?"

Terial was hotter than his homeland, and once he was in the forest, he took shelter from the sun under a group of trees.

Mason tore a piece off the unidentified piece of food he'd bought from a small, dirty child with grubby hands.

As he chewed, he caught hints of ham and. . .mint?

Why?

It was wrapped up in a blanket of lettuce that had some sort of sticky sauce drizzled over it.

He hadn't really been thinking when he'd bought it.

Making a face, Mason tossed the offensive object as far as he could. Grimacing, he watched Eddy go flying across the field to snatch it up.

Twisting his ring around his finger, Mason tilted his head back and closed his eyes.

Maybe the town was bragging about surviving its skies-awful food? If that was the case, it was a miracle and something worth celebrating.

If he could overlook that one tiny detail, Terial would work out perfectly.

No one would find him and no one would think to look for him in the small, dirty town of Kor.

He could start over and wipe his slate clean, and no one would be the wiser.

********

Mason sat down at an empty table in the corner, fondling Eddie's velvety ear as he watched people chat and drink.