Free Sunset of Lantonne by Jim Galford Page A

with Raeln, Ilarra knew that he was likely just as dangerous without them.
    “Stay right there, big guy,” the same voice from outside ordered as someone shoved Raeln back a step to clear the door. “Check the room. We need to know what we’re dealing with. Play nice and no one gets hurt.”
    Though Raeln moved aside for the newcomers, Ilarra saw him adjust his footing, bracing himself to fight. He was giving them the benefit of the doubt, but preparing to kill them all if he had to.
    Coming around Raeln, two red fox wildlings in battered leather-and-chain armor hurried into the room, carrying shields and short axes. The man and woman pair had dried blood in patches across their clothing but moved with the stubborn determination of trained warriors. Both gave Ilarra a quick look and began searching the room for anything or anyone else. Apparently not finding whatever they were looking for, the two wildlings went back out into the hallway.
    “Alright,” came the first voice again. “Both of you come out and downstairs. Our pack-leader may want to talk with you.”
    Raeln gestured Ilarra to his side and she obeyed, following close behind him as he led the way out of the room. The speaker for the foxes coaxed them out, repeatedly telling them that they would be fine and not to worry. When she reached the door, she could see an older fox male waiting at the edge of the door, watching them carefully.
    As they left the room, Ilarra found herself quickly flanked by three foxes on one side and the two that had entered the room previously on her left. The man who had been speaking was one of the three and the only one of the foxes not heavily armored or carrying a weapon. Unlike the rest, he was dressed in a robe of heavy fabric that had seen better days, looking as though he had run halfway across Eldvar without rest. The wildling’s jaw sat at a funny angle, as though it had been broken badly at some time in the past.
    “Downstairs…now,” the spokesperson told them, moving aside and gesturing toward the stairs. “Please hurry.”
    Playing the part of obedient servant, Raeln helped Ilarra past the foxes, keeping them from getting too close to her. The whole time, he kept his eyes down like he was deferring to Ilarra, though she knew he was using the guise to watch the foxes. Whether they bought into his behavior or not, she could not be certain.
    Once they passed the foxes and made for the stairs, the five strangers closed behind them, making sure that Raeln and Ilarra could not go back up the steps.
    Ilarra could immediately see what the noise had been earlier. Whereas the main room had been mostly clear during their arrival, it now had been fortified heavily by the foxes. The tables had been lined up on their sides at the bottom of the steps in rows that appeared to be intended for use as barricades. Stacks of weapons, ranging from axes to spears, had been set up at each row of tables, giving defenders fresh weaponry if they were forced to fall back.
    Despite all the preparation, Ilarra only saw three more fox wildlings downstairs, and they appeared less ready for battle than their fellows who were escorting Raeln and Ilarra. Those three were badly bloodied and tending to their wounds in a hurry. The wounds were fresh.
    Leading the way down the stairs, Ilarra tried to smile at one of the fox men at the bottom floor, but he gave her a nervous stare, before looking away. The other two appeared too scared to even glance in her direction. Whatever was happening had terrified and hurt these people, which made Ilarra more scared than she had been at the surprise of them being there in the first place. She then noticed another fox, lying off to one side of the room in a pool of blood, her arms crossed over her chest.
    “Sit,” the spokesman ordered once they had gotten into the middle of the main room, past the flipped tables.
    Smoothing her dress as she sat down, Ilarra made a point of not looking at Raeln, who knelt beside