19. Colt

Colt elbowed his way into their room at the inn, arms full with food from the mess hall. Expecting Owen back from the bath by now, he was surprised to find only Brom laying on one of the beds, already snoring. He'd seen Gilda downstairs, packing a basket of fruit for sale near the front.

Setting the tray of food on the table, Colt cleared his throat loud enough for Brom to hear, but the man slept peacefully on. Perhaps it would be best to let him sleep, as he'd been the reason they'd stopped in the first place. From the way Brom already slept beneath the covers with his shirt off, it was clear he'd intended to lay down without a bite to eat. Colt didn't blame him. The man deserved some rest.

Colt began to fill two plates with food, leaving Brom's empty and giving Owen time to return. But after several minutes, he couldn't help but wonder where Owen had gone. A flutter of nervous energy passed through Colt, and he opened the door to look down the hall. There was no sign of Owen. Sighing, he came back into the room and woke Brom.

"What?" Brom muttered, his eyes opening into slits.

"Where'd Owen go?" Colt asked.

"Went to take a bath."

"This long?"

Brom groaned in pain as he tried to sit up.

"No, just stay here, I'll go look." Colt made his way swiftly out of the room and rushed downstairs, past people retiring to their rooms for the night. When he came to the baths, he found the first one empty. The next bath had an occupied sign on the door, but he opened it anyway and found an older gentleman being handled by the washing girl.

The woman gasped, and the man's eyes widened, but Colt said a quick "Sorry" and shut the door. The last bath was unoccupied, and Colt confirmed it was empty with a quick glance inside before he stepped back to leave. Pulling the door closed, he caught a glimpse of something on the floor that made him halt. Moving into the room, he bent down to find a shark tooth with a leather cord around the charm. His nerves turned to a sinking dread. He looked around the room, noticing the rug was bunched up, and water had been splashed on the floor all the way to the window.

When the floorboards behind him creaked, Colt turned to find the washing girl he'd seen earlier coming into the room.

"Oh!" she cried, startled, and she placed her hand on her chest. "I'm sorry, sir, did you need a bath?"

"No. I'm looking for the man who was in here earlier," Colt replied.

The woman looked at him curiously. "I saw him come in but didn't see him come out."

"Did anyone else come down here?"

"A tall, dark-haired man. He paid me for a bath, but by the time I went to fetch hot water, he was gone." The woman stepped back, looking frightened. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"No. Thanks." Colt rushed past her, clasping Owen's necklace in his hand. He shoved it in his pocket and scrambled back upstairs to their room. When he barged inside, Gilda jumped in fright.

"What is it?" she snapped.

"Owen's gone." Colt panted, feeling sick to his stomach. "He was in the bath, but it's been too long. I went down there and found his necklace. The woman said a tall, dark-haired man came down that way."

Gilda's face twisted in alarm. She closed the door and glanced over at Brom, who was still asleep, then she narrowed her eyes as she looked towards the window.

"What?" Colt followed her gaze.

"Owen's moving away from us. I can barely sense him now."

"Which way?"

"Southeast." As soon as Colt bolted for his bag, Gilda pulled on his arm, stopping him. "Wait, we need to think about this before you go running off!"

Colt sighed. "Gilda, I can't wait. I need to go now."

"Then I should go with you," she said.

"No." Colt shook his head and looked at Brom, who was deep in sleep. "Brom needs you right now. I'll find Owen."

"But how?"

"I don't know…" He thought for a moment. How would he find Owen? "I'll leave now and take one of the horses. When I find him, we shouldn't come back here."

For a moment, Gilda went quiet, then she said, "Greenwater. It's a town south of here, near Luthien."

"I know the place," Colt agreed.

"Meet us at the inn there. I'll give Brom time to rest and heal, then we'll be right behind you."

Nodding, Colt pulled on his bag and grabbed his bow and quiver of arrows. Then he buckled the sword to his belt and gathered Owen's bag as well.

"Stay safe," Gilda told him.

He gripped her shoulder, then said, "We'll meet soon."

Colt left swiftly, coming outside to the stable, where the stable hand was trying to pull a stubborn horse inside, but he wasted no time in telling the man to retrieve his horse. The man helped him saddle the horse as quickly as possible, and before long, Colt placed his and Owen's bags on the saddle holds and pulled himself up into the saddle. He clicked his tongue, and the horse trotted along the dirt path that led southwest, towards Greenwater.

He glanced back at the inn, trusting Gilda to keep herself and Brom safe. Then he looked ahead into the darkness. The moon was partially hidden by clouds, but cast enough light to ride by. Rem and his men wouldn't get far in this darkness either. But Colt would ride all night if he had to.

Ten minutes turned into thirty, and then an hour. At times, Colt ran the horse forward, then he'd slow down and look at other paths branching off from the main road. Frustration threatened to send him into a panic. He didn't know which trails to take, and instead navigated by intuition alone. There were also thieves to consider, no doubt lurking in the shadows of trees. Colt would happily give all his belongings to them if it meant getting Owen back.

Colt had to believe that he would find Owen, that the bond they'd formed would be powerful enough to draw them back together. He thought of Rowan, the last person he'd felt a strong bond with. They had been thick as thieves, quite literally, since their orphanage days. They'd grown up together, lived on the streets together and knew each other's motives like the back of their hands. But Rowan's life had been taken too soon, and Colt was left with the weight of his death every day.

He had made a mistake.

In a shady pub in Luthien, Colt and Rowan had worked together to swindle their opponents in a card game. Rowan had been at the card table and Colt had sat sipping ale at the bar alone, carefully eyeing the dealer and sending Rowan signals. When one of the men caught Colt tapping his mug of ale on the table twice, just before Rowan folded, he accused them of cheating.

In a flash, the men were on Rowan, and Colt had bolted after him in defense, but their opponents had taken them out back to beat them to death in that back alley. They'd gotten to Rowan first, and Rowan had paid with his life. For a few coppers, he'd lost his best friend.

Amias had been the one to find him that evening, shivering and nearly dead, curled up next to dirty trash bins and crates in the alley. Colt often wondered why Amias had helped him that night, bringing him to the infirmary and later befriending him. Amias had urged Colt to make an honest man of himself, mentoring him, providing a father figure that Colt had never had. There had to be a reason Amias chose Colt, and if protecting Owen was that reason, then Colt knew he'd find him.

He had to.

He couldn't lose him like he lost Rowan.

Colt couldn't bear that pain again.

He urged the horse to go faster now, his heart speeding onwards into the darkness.