Two days here was two days too long. In fact, one minute in this gritty, filth-ridden city was too long. I didn’t care if it meant someone recognized me and returned me to Shivani’s Vineyard; better there than anywhere near here. If the Artierans weren’t too mad about me running away, I could have them send a whole army to burn this place to ground. Thankfully, I’d managed to make myself as undesirable as possible to the patrons and no one had asked me to sleep with them. In my spare time, I’d watched the way the brothel ran. Jamel hardly batted an eye at the girls while they were out on the floor, but Dominick had stuck around to make sure I didn’t try to escape. Unfortunate for him, while he’d been so focused watching me, I’d been observing him. The only time he took his eyes off me for long periods of time was when a particular prostitute, Teally, came out. His eyes would follow her from the second she came out, all the way around the brothel, until she disappeared into a room with another man. So, this morning I’d persuaded her to show some affection to the “trader gentleman who admirably watched her.” I made sure to give her enough detail about who Dominick was so she wouldn’t go off with the wrong person and ruin my plan. Now all I had to do was wait for her to come out.

As I stood at the bar, forcibly dressed in shameful garments, my eyes stayed on Dominick. As usual, he was watching me from across the room near the main entrance. I had to keep myself from flashing a smug smile. There he was guarding that door like it was the only exit in the place. No, it was just the exit he thought a naive girl like me would ever think to use. I smelt Teally’s perfume as she came through the wooden swing doors. She walked past me, her head swiveling looking for the man I’d described to her. Her eyes finally landed on Dominick and she strutted up to him. Instantly Dominick’s focus was off of me and onto her exposed breasts. I didn’t want to, but I had to watch the two so I wouldn’t miss the exact right moment of opportunity. Teally stretched herself across him, dangled herself around him, and rubbed herself on him. If that man’s knees weren’t weak yet, he had a stronger will than I thought. Within a few minutes, Teally was leading him to one of the rooms.

Without even a second to doubt my plan, I left the room and headed for a bathroom I’d come across in the very back of the tavern. It was so far in the back, I doubted anybody used it except for maybe an emergency, or very impromptu relations. I closed the door behind me and stood on the toilet so I could reach the grimy window. It was already slightly ajar, so all I had to do was push it out further, then hoist myself up, and then jump down onto the ground. Barely landing on my feet, I realized I was behind the tavern in an alleyway. I quickly scurried down the alleyway and out into the streets, feeling like a rat the entire time.

I had a little bit of time before someone noticed I was gone, so I needed a plan quick. I knew I couldn't check into an inn or anything; that would be one of the first places Dominick and Jamal looked for me after combing the streets. Maybe I could leave the city and head for one of the neighboring ones. Who was I kidding? I didn't have any bearings, I had no clue what direction the nearest city was in, and choosing the wrong direction would either get me re-kidnapped, or dead because I had no idea how to survive on my own.

Whether I'd find some place to hide in the city, or if I'd try to travel to another, I needed to change into some new clothes and get something to eat.

I came across an open bazaar a few streets over. The first stand I found selling clothes, I used what little money I'd shoved into the pocket of my dress to buy a cheap, ugly brown tunic and pant, as well as some gray ratty boots. I'd have to find some place I could go and change. Having just enough left to buy some food, I settled on a large loaf of bread.

As I tried to balance the boots on my arm and tilt the bread toward my face to take a bite, my pants slipped off my arm and onto the ground.

A boy—who I hadn't even noticed near me—bent down and picked it up. He had sandy blond hair, with loose strands that poked down into his eyesight, tiny freckles across the bridge of his nose, and a gentle smile. He wrapped the pants around my arm.

“Thank you,” I said.

“No problem. Are you okay? You seem a little frazzled.”

“Frazzled? No, I’m not frazzled,” I replied. Anxious would have been the right word. “I’m just trying to find some place to stay tonight. But I don’t have any money, so there’s that.”

“I have a place you could stay,” the boy said.

I glanced at him, dubiously.

He smiled softly. “I realize how that must sound. I just mean, if you really need a place to stay for the night, and you don’t have any money, I do have an extra bedroom.”

I bit my lip, considering his offer. I didn’t know him at all, but I couldn’t afford to be out in the open on these streets any longer. “I… I don’t know. I’ve already gotten myself into a pretty bad predicament from trusting a stranger.”

The boy nodded. “I understand. Well if it gets late, and you still find yourself needing a place, I live just a little up town. You start to get out of the main city, and my house is right across from an incense shop, with a yellow door. Oh, and my name is Will Yarberry.”

I force my lips into a tense smile. “Thank you, Will.” I took a moment to memorize his face, then scurried off out of the bizarre.