There are half a dozen rooms on the second floor of the inn. Here, finally, is a lane he can see in its totality, an end towards which he can track.
He presses an ear to the door on the immediate left – hears loud, girlish giggling and a man’s gruff response. Not Eve. The first door on the right – a man already snoring. The second pair of doors aren’t Eve either. Then the last two, at the very end of the hall –
It’s the fifth door he’s checked that gives him nothing but silence. Somewhere below, he can hear Taalviel stalling the bartender, argument rising in pitch. But they can’t keep the bartender away forever, and if someone calls the Wave Guard –
He knocks on the door. Loudly. Again, louder. It could very well be empty – and if it’s empty, there’s no one to complain about his barging his way through.
The door is thin, already splintering, the lock just a hooked latch, no more protection than might be given to a garden gate.
At the far end of the room, struggling to open a window, is Eve – he’s seen her once, twice, maybe more if he’d cared to pay attention – but there are the scars on her arms, the recognition flitting across her face. And above all, there’s Ian bundled up on the bed.
Eve shrieks, but the window only gives an inch, the warped wood holding it fast. What was she planning to do, jump with Ian out the window?
“He’s mine,” Eve exclaims, throwing herself upon Ian, snatching her up into her arms. She backs away sobbing into the corner as Caspian advances. “He’s mine, you bastard, he’s -“
“Ian Caldera,” Caspian shouts over her, “and needs to be with his mother, Shiress.” In the folds of his jacket, pressing down on his rapidly beating heart, is his spiral dagger. But he doesn’t need it – he shouldn’t need it, in such close quarters, with Ian too within harm’s way.
“You don’t understand,” Eve replies wildly. “You could never. To lose one’s child – Shiress did this to me. Shiress has to pay – “
How to do this without hurting Ian?
Sudden movements are risky – Ian isn’t gold, a trinket to be tossed around, something nicked from someone’s parlor. The fear that he’ll inadvertently cause Shiress’ child harm has him hesitating – but he sees the way Eve’s clutching him, almost reverently. She may be behaving erratically, but this is all about Ian, sharing a life with him – and so Caspian gambles on that reverence, that their wanting to avoid harming the child at all costs is mutual. He lunges forward, attempting to snatch Eve around the waist. But she sidesteps him, hurtling for the door, and –
Stumbles backwards at the sight of Taalviel, right into Caspian’s arms. He’s got one arm around her waist, the other around her neck and pulling tightly enough to choke.
“Give her the baby,” Caspian growls in Eve’s ear. “Now!
Sobbing, Eve finally relinquishes Ian, falling slack in Caspian’s grip, as if the source of all her power had just been siphoned. He drops her unceremoniously to the ground and draws his dagger, pointing it at her heart.
“Taalviel,” Caspian says, making a decision, eyes still trained on Eve, “I’ll take Ian. Fly to Shiress and bring her here. So someone can vouch for us before we all get arrested by the Wave Guard.”
Knife in one hand, Ian curled in his other arm, he sets his back against the door and waits.
-
WC: 589
He presses an ear to the door on the immediate left – hears loud, girlish giggling and a man’s gruff response. Not Eve. The first door on the right – a man already snoring. The second pair of doors aren’t Eve either. Then the last two, at the very end of the hall –
It’s the fifth door he’s checked that gives him nothing but silence. Somewhere below, he can hear Taalviel stalling the bartender, argument rising in pitch. But they can’t keep the bartender away forever, and if someone calls the Wave Guard –
He knocks on the door. Loudly. Again, louder. It could very well be empty – and if it’s empty, there’s no one to complain about his barging his way through.
The door is thin, already splintering, the lock just a hooked latch, no more protection than might be given to a garden gate.
At the far end of the room, struggling to open a window, is Eve – he’s seen her once, twice, maybe more if he’d cared to pay attention – but there are the scars on her arms, the recognition flitting across her face. And above all, there’s Ian bundled up on the bed.
Eve shrieks, but the window only gives an inch, the warped wood holding it fast. What was she planning to do, jump with Ian out the window?
“He’s mine,” Eve exclaims, throwing herself upon Ian, snatching her up into her arms. She backs away sobbing into the corner as Caspian advances. “He’s mine, you bastard, he’s -“
“Ian Caldera,” Caspian shouts over her, “and needs to be with his mother, Shiress.” In the folds of his jacket, pressing down on his rapidly beating heart, is his spiral dagger. But he doesn’t need it – he shouldn’t need it, in such close quarters, with Ian too within harm’s way.
“You don’t understand,” Eve replies wildly. “You could never. To lose one’s child – Shiress did this to me. Shiress has to pay – “
How to do this without hurting Ian?
Sudden movements are risky – Ian isn’t gold, a trinket to be tossed around, something nicked from someone’s parlor. The fear that he’ll inadvertently cause Shiress’ child harm has him hesitating – but he sees the way Eve’s clutching him, almost reverently. She may be behaving erratically, but this is all about Ian, sharing a life with him – and so Caspian gambles on that reverence, that their wanting to avoid harming the child at all costs is mutual. He lunges forward, attempting to snatch Eve around the waist. But she sidesteps him, hurtling for the door, and –
Stumbles backwards at the sight of Taalviel, right into Caspian’s arms. He’s got one arm around her waist, the other around her neck and pulling tightly enough to choke.
“Give her the baby,” Caspian growls in Eve’s ear. “Now!
Sobbing, Eve finally relinquishes Ian, falling slack in Caspian’s grip, as if the source of all her power had just been siphoned. He drops her unceremoniously to the ground and draws his dagger, pointing it at her heart.
“Taalviel,” Caspian says, making a decision, eyes still trained on Eve, “I’ll take Ian. Fly to Shiress and bring her here. So someone can vouch for us before we all get arrested by the Wave Guard.”
Knife in one hand, Ian curled in his other arm, he sets his back against the door and waits.
-
WC: 589
x
