The Last Inn

  Miles ran out of the room and looked up and down the hallway before going around the bend and stopping short when Kota, sitting sprawled out on the steps leading up to the attic, waved his hand and motioned for him to be quiet.

  In between Kota and the attic door lay a bowl, full of milk by the smell of it. A small, gray ball of fur with long, draggly ears stopped with a point that might have been a nose stretched out toward the bowl, and large, milky blue eyes stared at Miles.

  Kota made a small, calming noise and the little creature slowly inched toward the bowl and began to lap it up with a catlike tongue. When he gently stroked the top of its head, it barely paused in its guzzling.

  “I found him in the attic a few weeks ago,” Kota said, quietly so as not to disturb the creature. “I think he’s the one that’s been eating the dust on this floor.”

  “Great, you’ve found yourself a pet dust bunny,” Miles said, too exasperated to be curious.

  Kota managed to pull his attention away from the creature and look at Miles. “Is something wrong?”

  “We need to talk. Now.”

  “About what?”

  Miles rubbed his eyes. “Let’s start with what happened yesterday.”

  Entry 39: Bruised Apples

  Erin arrived back at the inn just as the sun was starting to set. Shadows nearly hid the back door, and she almost fell off of her bike when it hit a hole in the yard.

  Kota opened the kitchen door in time to see Erin kick the bike in the middle of a pile of spilled grocery bags.

  “Need some help?” he asked, glancing up at the sky before stepping out.

  “What do you think?” Erin snapped, kicking the bike again for good measure. The sight of Kota scurrying around her, dusting off apples and picking up bags while trying so hard not to get in the way, only annoyed her more. “Did Elzwig finally leave?”

  “Hours ago, I think,” Kota said. He straightened up, his chin on top of a heap of bags to keep them from sliding out of his arms, and led the way back into the kitchen. There Miles sat at one of the chairs around the kitchen table, facing the door with his arms crossed.

  “About time you got back,” he said.

  “What?” Erin looked over her shoulder to be sure and said, “What’s that supposed to mean? The sun is still out, you two couldn’t have left any earlier.”

  “Kota told me what happened yesterday, with the wayfarers,” Miles said. He glanced at Kota as he walked around the kitchen, apparently absorbed in putting away the groceries and washing off everything that had hit the ground. “Or at least, as much as he tells me anything.”

  “So not much,” Erin said and Miles nodded. She threw a handful of keys down on the table and said, “Well, I think they’re gone, for now at least.”

  She told them about someone in town finding the keys while searching for Kota and Miles visibly stiffened.

  “So they saw him change?”

  Erin looked at Kota and wondered how much he had left out. “They saw enough to know something was going on, and now Peter from the farm is going around telling everyone he can about the trail of prints the mercenary found, the day he killed the cannishift.”

  “Pawprints turning into footprints,” Miles said, and this time it was Erin’s turn to nod. “Well, Kota, looks like it won’t be long before everyone knows your little secret.”

  They both turned at the pattering sound of now severely bruised apples hitting the ground.

  “Sorry,” Kota murmured as he bent down to pick them up and wash them again.

  “Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to just tell people,” Erin said. “Let them know before someone hurts Kota thinking he’s some kind of monster. I mean, one look at him and anyone could tell he’s not dangerous.”

  Kota’s shoulders hunched at the sense of their stares on him, and he said nothing.

  Miles looked back at Erin and said, “And do you really believe they won’t do anything to him then?”

  Erin could not answer, but she knew Miles was thinking the same thing. No matter how people reacted, Kota would run as soon as they learned of his curse.

  “The mercenary,” Miles said suddenly, thumping his hand on the table. “That’s how Elzwig found out!”

  “Elzwig knows?” Erin said, turning a shade paler. “So when she asked Kota to come work for her?”

  Miles shrugged. “She has something on everyone who works for her, so it might have been a legitimate offer. She’s also not above using people for leverage or whatever other scheme she has going on right now, so it’s hard to tell.”

  Erin kept looking back at Kota, worried by his continued silence. At the moment he was still running the apples under the water, staring at them with a quiet intensity that suggested he was thinking about something else entirely.

  “Kota?” she said.

  He turned off the water and put the apples off to the side where they could dry. “I think that I’m going to—”

  “Nope,” Miles declared. He stood up and clamped a hand on Kota’s shoulder, smiling at his surprise. “Whatever you think you’re going to do, you’re wrong. You and I are going to go to town tonight.”

  “What?” Kota and Erin said simultaneously, and Erin continued, “You’re really going to go, after everything that’s happened?”

  “Of course,” Miles said. “Like you said, one look at Kota and anyone would think he’s harmless. What better way to deflect suspicion than to let people get to know him?”

  “This is a bad idea,” Kota said. He tried to pull the vampire’s hand off of his shoulder and failed. “Tell him, Erin.”

  “Oh, she already gave me permission to take you,” Miles said. He not too gently led Kota to the door and pushed him out of it when he tried to brace himself on the door frame.

  “And neither of you thought to ask me how I felt about this?” Kota said, but Erin shrugged as Miles dragged him across the yard to the road into town. He started to struggle and pushed the vampire away. “Let go of me already!”

  “Don’t make me get the leash,” Miles said, and Kota scowled at him. Miles rolled his eyes and said, “Scary. Look, this is for your own good. The longer you stay cooped up in that inn, the more people around here will begin to think there’s something wrong with you.”

  “There is something wrong with me.”

  “Yes, but they don’t need to know that,” Miles answered. He threw an arm around Kota’s shoulders, the friendly gesture covering how he practically had to pull the young man into town. “Lighten up, it’s not going to kill you to talk to other people. Do you still have that money Erin gave you?”

  “Yes,” Kota said, grudgingly. He looked at the houses they passed, each with their windows alight and the sound of people laughing, talking, scolding, and everything else they did with family and friends coming out muffled but still identifiable.

  Miles frowned as he had to put more effort into dragging Kota along. “Then I know our first stop.”

  Entry 40: Dressing the Scarecrow

  Kota blinked in the light of the shop and looked around at the mannequins staged around the room in various poses, each clad in the style of clothes they seemed to favor around here, as well as the latest fashions from the city: lots of vibrant colors and prints that hurt his eyes.

  “Clothes?” he said, just before a pair of harpies descended upon him.

  “What is this?” one of the women cried as she tugged at his shirt.

  “An absolute disgrace to the idea of fabric,” the other woman declared as she shook her head at his baggy pants, tied around his waist with a spare piece of rope he’d found while helping Erin to fix up the inn.

  “Well, they’re, ah,” Kota said, tripping over his words and glancing to Miles for help. He’d changed after the comment from Elzwig’s servant about his clothes, which left him with the stuff he’d found in the attic, all of which fit him about as well as they did a scarecrow.

  “You should see what he normally wears,” Miles said, stepping back so t
hat the women could circle him and give the occasional cry of shame. “Think you two have something for him?”

  “Well, we could always burn them,” said the shorter of the two women, who had blonde, curly hair swept up into a bun on top of her head. She had a roll of fabric absentmindedly thrown over her shoulder, and after looking him over she said, “Some gray or black would help that skinny frame…”

  She murmured to herself as she walked away while the other woman flipped out a tape measure and began to take Kota’s measurements. Jotting a few notes, she said over her shoulder, “ Look for some grays and blues too, Agatha.”

  “I know, I know,” came the reply from the back of the shop.

  Kota stood by uneasily as they bustled around, holding up roll after roll of fabric to him that he barely got a look at before they whisked it away. Miles threw in the occasional suggestion, and before long the tailors pulled him around to a space behind the dividers and made him take off his clothes and put on the ones that they passed around to him.

  When they finally led him back around, Miles whistled. Dressed in a suit made up of black and various shades of gray, he looked like a completely different person. “Wow, Kota, you look almost human now.”

  Kota glared at him and said, “I think these are little too dressy for working at the inn, aren’t they?”

  “Oh, you’re Erin’s boy!” crowed Agatha, and both women had a laugh at the look on Kota’s face. “Well, they’ll be good if you two run off to the city together, won’t they?”

  Kota’s face flushed red and he tried to ignore Miles’s smile.

  “Of course, we’ll have to take them in a bit for you,” the measuring lady said. “You’d look even better if you got some of that hair out of your face.”

  Kota quickly but gently took the hand that she reached out to brush the hair out of his face and said, “No, thank you. Do you have some other clothes that might be better suited for work?”

  After what felt like an eternity, he had the receipt for the clothes in hand, including the suit. It was the only way to get the vampire to be quiet about it. Miles had flirted with the tailors the whole time, dragging the ordeal out even longer, but Kota did have to admit they got a good price on their clothes.

  “Do you mind coming to pick them up tomorrow morning at the earliest?” Agatha said. “Normally we would offer to have someone take it to you, but with that monster fiasco everyone’s scared to walk around town, much less go to that inn.”

  “Is that so? Well, I’ll be sure to keep Kota safe when we come back tomorrow,” Miles said, flashing them a smile that made the women giggle and Kota shake his head. “Is that why the streets are so empty?”

  “A lot of people are home, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t see everyone else in the town circle trying to get their word in with the mayor.” Agatha shared a look with the other woman and said, “He’s been shut up in his office all day, sending out letters across the empire by the sound of it.”

  “Really?” Miles chatted some more as they left, but the moment they walked out of the tailors’ shop his expression changed. “Not that way, Kota. We need to go to the town circle.”

  “You mean walk toward all of the people who want to kill me,” Kota said. “That sounds lovely.”

  “Good,” Miles said without listening and walked off down the street.

  After a moment of hesitation, Kota sighed and followed, if only to avoid being dragged along. It did not take long to figure out what Agatha was talking about. In spite of the chill in the air, a group of people were gathered beneath the clock tower in the center of town, speaking in far from friendly murmurs as they kept glancing at one of the official-looking buildings across the street.

  “Ah, a mob.” Miles hesitated, surprising Kota. Before he could decide what to do, the main door of the building opened and they had a glimpse of the short figure of the mayor before the group of people descended upon him and all tried to talk at once. “Quick, let’s get over there.”

  Miles sidled up to the group until he blended in, but Kota stayed at a distance, scanning the crowd and noticing a few familiar faces from yesterday morning, as well as that of Peter, the farmhand who nearly shot him.

  “Quiet! Quiet!” Mayor Geld bellowed, the tips of his fingers just appearing over the heads of the others as he raised and lowered his arms to get some space.

  Kota noticed a movement across the street and spotted one of Erin’s brothers, Art he thought she called him, standing at the corner and visibly straining to hear while trying not to be seen by the crowd.

  “I know that you’re all upset over the incident with the wolf—”

  Geld was interrupted by a cry of “Monster, more like!”

  “We have no proof that this was not just an ordinary wolf,” the mayor said. He had to raise his voice again to be heard over the muttering and murmurs. “All the same, we can not allow a potentially dangerous wild animal to roam around town, supernatural or not. As such, under the advice of one of our esteemed Judges, Madame Leviette Elzwig, I have sent out for professional help to deal with this nuisance.”

  Waving off the barrage of questions, Mayor Geld said, “Until then, I must ask that all of you take proper precautions. Avoid going out alone, especially after dark. A curfew will be issued for the children, and any of you who are willing and able to do so may sign up for a temporary volunteer guard to patrol the town. I am sure that Eli Smith will allow us to work out the details in his forge, where it is warmer.”

  A few laughs came from the crowd, possibly at some gesture that Kota could not see. He did not wait around for the people to separate, many of them headed home while a smaller group followed Mayor Geld in the other direction. Like Art on the other side of the street, he slipped away before the others could see him and walked as far as the bridge.

  He stopped there, expecting Miles to catch up at any moment, and stared out over the river, which gleamed now that the moon had risen.

  “You do have a way of getting this town worked up, don’t you?”

  Entry 41: Shame

  Kota came close to falling over the railing, and would have if the fisherman had not reached out a hand and grabbed him.

  “Sorry,” he said, letting go of Kota’s arm. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “It’s...I…” Kota looked around and, seeing that they were alone, said, “Thank you again for your help yesterday, Mr...”

  “Wen. Just Wen.” The old man leaned his fishing pole against the railing of the bridge and added, “Again? I don’t recall a first time.”

  “Sorry,” Kota said. “And thank you. You saved my life.”

  “Did I?” Wen shook his head. “No, you look the sort to stay alive. You mean I saved your secret.”

  Kota tightened his grip on the railing of the bridge, feeling the rust crinkle under his hand, and did not know what to say.

  “The wayfarers are gone,” Wen said, propping his elbows on the railing and looking out over the water.

  Kota nodded, not bothering to ask how he knew. A silence settled around them, the fisherman apparently content to stay in the same place all night while everything from the last two days ran through Kota’s mind until he said, “If they knew...”

  He did not finish the thought, but Wen looked at him with an understanding that surprised Kota, tinged with sadness. “If you’re asking for advice, I’m not the one to go to. But I can tell you that history is not on your side there, when it comes to this town.”

  Kota sighed and turned his head at the sound of Miles calling his name. “I should go,” he said, thinking that it would not be good to let the vampire get frustrated. “Thank you, for yesterday.”

  Wen nodded and stared out over the water. As Kota came to the end of the bridge, a thought occurred to him and he looked at the darkness under the bridge and said, “Thank you, too.”

  A grunt came from the troll, which was probably about the best he could have expected. Kota followed the sound of Miles??
?s voice until he found him down one of the town’s side streets, peering behind some trash cans.

  “Miles?”

  The vampire dropped something small, which scurried away, and wiped his mouth before turning to face Kota. “Ah, there you are. Ready to return to the inn?”

  He saw Kota’s expression and sighed. “Look, I get hungry when I have a lot on my mind. I’m a stress drinker.”

  “And chasing down rats helps with that?” Kota asked.

  “Again, unless you’re offering, don’t criticize,” Miles said. He flipped up the collar on his shirt and said, “Come on, let’s get back before the patrol volunteers get too eager for some hunting.”

  They walked back to the inn in silence, Miles unusually silent and Kota still thinking about what Wen said. Erin looked up when they walked into the inn and Miles slammed the door behind him before slamming down into a chair.

  “Did it go that bad?” Erin asked.

  “The mayor’s calling in hunters, and there’ll be a patrol in town now,” Miles said. “Under Elzwig’s advice, of course.”

  “Hunters?”

  “Well, he said ‘professionals,’ but Elzwig tends to go for the straight shot.” Miles scowled. “What is she playing at?”

  Erin looked at the two of them and wondered why Miles seemed to be more upset about this news. Kota sat down at the table with the two of them and stared at nothing in particular, his face blank and his eyes unfocused.

  “Are you okay, Kota?” she asked, when this went on for a little too long.

  “What? Oh, yes.” Kota shook his head and, seeing the two of them staring, felt that he should say something more. “I bought some clothes with the money you gave me.”

  “Good?” She looked to Miles for help, but the vampire just gave her a shrug and a look that said he had no idea what was going through Kota’s head. “Are you worried about what the mayor said?”

  “Him? No, not really.” Kota rubbed his eyes. “I’ve been expecting it, since yesterday. But why call in a professional? Are there no hunters here?”

  “Wouldn’t complain too much when they throw you a bone,” Miles muttered.

  Erin shifted uneasily and said, “I don’t think anyone around here does that sort of thing anymore. There are a few guys who go into the forest and wastes to hunt, but always in a group and never that far. I can’t see any of them going after some kind of ‘monster,’ no matter how tough they act.”