Free Dragon-Ridden by T.A. White Page A

Nipple, a sweet concoction Riply
had dared her to drink. She smacked her lips; that last one had been pretty
tasty.
    Warmth from the alcohol stole
through her limbs. She tapped her nose. “Numb!”
    She shook her head when someone
tried to push another drink into her hand and instead stumbled to the bar to
ask for some water. The tip of her nose was her barometer as to how drunk she
was. When it went numb, it meant she had bypassed tipsy and settled on stone
cold drunk.
    The cold water felt good going down
her throat.
    The world swayed and tipped. She
blinked and realized she’d put her head down on the counter and stood up. Time
to get some fresh air.
    “You alright?” Riply shouted.
    She nodded. “Just need some air.”
    Tate opened the first door she
found, making her way down a small hallway and out the kitchen. She breathed in
deep when she made it to the alley. The quiet there was almost blissful.
    A stray breeze flowed across her
skin. The night’s cool air made it clear fall was right around the corner.
    There was a clatter as someone
kicked one of the trash bins. Tate stole a glance and immediately turned to
hurry back into the inn. A leering man blocked her way, almost blotting out the
warm glow of the inn’s light. His four companions had fanned out on both sides
of the alley, trapping her between them.
    “I thought you were going to give
me time to leave?” Tate said tersely. She was scared, the alcohol she’d drunk
roiling uneasily in her stomach.
    “We changed our mind.” Tate
recognized the speaker. He’d been the ringleader the last time they’d tried to
attack her. She’d seen him on the crew but most of the senior members were
pretty rough with him, giving him the worst jobs and heckling him when he
screwed up. He’d decided that that was her fault especially since those same
crew members had shown her the ropes and praised her when she did well. “We
decided we didn’t want to lose this chance to have a little fun.”
    Tate couldn’t believe she’d once
felt sorry for the little shit.
    “How brave,” she sneered. “Five
against one.”
    Last time there had only been
three, and she’d barely managed to get away. She didn’t know how she’d escape
this time.
    “Are you sure about this?” one of
them asked nervously. “Riply and Danny won’t be happy if she’s hurt. They’ve
given her their protection.”
    “I don’t care about those pussy
whipped louts,” the leader snapped.
    “I’ve always wondered what she’d be
like,” the leering man said grabbing his crotch.
    Tate slid further away from him.
Over her dead body.
    She snapped out two of the knives
she’d begun carrying everywhere she went. Tate couldn’t believe that after
she’d resolved to stick close to her friends she’d let herself get caught in
the open like this. Of all the boneheaded mistakes to make.
    She relaxed into her stance,
expanding her focus so she could be ready to move at any time. She swayed a
little, still feeling the effects of the alcohol.
    “Pin her arms first,” the leader
advised. “She’s good with a knife.”
    Five against one. This time, when
she put one down, she had to make sure he stayed down. No mercy. It was the
only way to survive.
    Two of them had started moving
closer. Darting in and out of her range. Testing her. She swept out with one
knife opening a small slice on one of her attackers arms and glided out of his
range before he could retaliate. His cry of pain was her reward.
    The other whore’s son barreled into
her. She sidestepped and plowed one blade into his back. It caught on bone and
refused to come back out. Tate released it and moved to meet the next attack.
It never came.
    Ryu stood with his back to her. She
hadn’t even seen him arrive. Her breath caught on a sob of relief. She’d never
been so glad to see the man in her life.
    “What’s this?” he asked lightly.
“Does Jost know you’re attacking a member of his crew?”
    “What makes you think