Free Malediction (Scars of the Sundering Book 1) by Hans Cummings

structure sat across a
central plaza and served as stables. Delilah observed two carts in front of the
stables and a man dashing toward the main building, his head ducked and covered
under a long coat. Torches flanking the doors sputtered and smoked in the rain.
A sign flapped in the wind above the door, its rusty hinges creaking in
protest. Delilah did not understand the writing on it. She figured it was
written in either the common trade language or an Etrunian dialect, neither of
which she had learned to read while she practiced speaking the trade language
with Pancras.
    The din of
conversation was audible through the mullioned windows, although the constant
noise of water falling, pooling, splashing, and running drowned out
intelligible conversation. Pancras stopped in front of the door, and looked
back at them, his hand poised over the handle. He nodded and opened the door.
    The aroma of
roasted meat mingled with burning wood and sweat from men in heavy woolen
cloaks. The hearth crackled and sputtered at one end of the room. A frail man
with the barest wisps of hair stood bent over, tending the fire. Opposite the
hearth, was a long bar built from sturdy oak. A younger, lanky man stood behind
the bar, his head turning to regard the newcomers.
    As the four
travelers entered the inn, the myriad conversations halted. Heads turned, and
Delilah felt dozens of eyes staring, judging. She smelled their fear.
    The man
behind the bar swallowed and placed the mug he had been cleaning on the bar. He
gripped the edge of the bar with white-knuckled hands. "Your kind ain't
welcome here. We don't want any trouble."
    "That's
good," Pancras pulled out a small bag from his pouch and tossed it up and
down in his hand to emphasize the coins inside. "We're not looking for
trouble, just shelter. As to our kind, you would turn away paying
customers?"
    Pancras was
more diplomatic than Delilah would have been. She felt like torching the whole
building just for their attitude. Then again, her way would have them sleeping
out in the rain again. The man standing behind the bar scowled and rubbed his
chin. He looked around the room, as if looking to the other patrons for advice.
    "The
dwarf can have a room. The rest of ya’s stay in the stable."
    Delilah
huffed and tapped the butt of her staff on the floor. "We're not animals,
you stupid, skinny, son-of-a-bitch!"
    The barkeep
glanced at her, confusion on his face. Delilah's outburst had been in Drak, and
it was obvious he had no idea what she said. Pancras understood her, though,
and placed a hand on her shoulder.
    "We are
emissaries from Drak-Anor, on our way to Muncifer." Pancras spoke slowly,
as if to a child. "We do not wish special treatment, just the same
accommodations any other patron of this fine establishment enjoys. We want
rooms with beds, and we will want to eat hot meals. It is cold outside. We're
just travelers, like everyone else here, I suspect."
    "You'll
kill us in the night!" One of the disheveled men shouted from across the
room. "You'll suck the marrow from our bones!"
    Fire burned in
Delilah's belly. Her thoughts turned toward summoning a swarm of boggins to
devour the rude man. The small furry balls of teeth and hate would make short
work of him and everyone else in the room. Pancras squeezed her shoulder.
    "We are
neither oroqs nor ogres. We don't eat people."
    Her brother
leaned in close and spoke out of the side of his mouth. "Bargle
does." Delilah kicked him but was glad Kale's whisper was in Drak.
    A younger
man, seated alone near the bar, cleared his throat. "Let them stay, Josef."
    "Quiet,
Ivan. They're beasts. They should stay with the beasts." The barkeep spit
on the floor for emphasis.
    "They're
customers, with money. I took a caravan up to Drak-Anor last year. Remember?
The old ways are changing." He pushed his chair away from the table and
stood. "I'll give up my room if I must."
    Josef looked
down at his bar and shook his head. "I can't put your wife out in