The Poison Prince

Chapter XVIII

MISTHAVEN was flooded with darkness when they arrived there the next evening. Night time always fell in Misthaven before anywhere else in Lyris, despite it being far from the north of the kingdom. Superstitious rumours of a curse had existed about it for years, and some of the warier merchants avoided it for those very reasons. At times Misthaven could be a spooky place, but the people overcompensated for its reputation and tried their best to disprove the tales of ancient curses by being a little too friendly and welcoming. That was before nightfall though. Once the sun had set it paved the way for Misthaven's shadier characters. There was a high level of violence and crime after dark in Misthaven, and many of the inns wouldn't open their doors to guests after a certain time in case it was a ruse by criminals who hoped to raid their rooms and rob their customers.

"We best hurry if we hope to find beds tonight." Taiden whispered, keeping close to Xylia's side just in case of any danger. In Misthaven he wasn't afraid to reach for his sword and think about it later.

He had experienced Misthaven's trouble first-hand when he had been thirteen. He had been on a royal visit with his father when a man dressed in black had tried to knock him to the ground and mug him. It hadn't mattered that he was the heir to the kingdom. The man had only seen the gold on him, and had been transfixed by how much coin might be in it for him if he could grab something from the young boy. Julius had put his sword right through the man's throat and watched him bleed out. The memory had given Taiden nightmares for the best part of a month and he didn't return to Misthaven until he was eighteen and needed to take care of business there. On that trip he had undone the enchantment upon the Lord of Misthaven. If they became desperate he supposed he could call on him to provide shelter and beds for the night, but Taiden would rather not pull anyone else into this fight now; not when Devanna was bold enough to try to kill him and anyone with him.

There was a scream in the distant streets, followed by a loud bang and footsteps running in their direction. Taiden wrapped his arm around Xylia's shoulders and ushered her quickly down the paved walkways.

"The last thing we want now is to be noticed." He told her quietly, keeping his head down and his hood up.

"I feel like we've been trying that this whole time and it's hardly worked." Xylia mumbled, though she followed suit and kept her hand closed around her dagger just in case she might need it.

"In Misthaven after dark it doesn't matter if you're the prince or in the gutter. If someone thinks they can earn coin by robbing you or slitting your throat they'll do it." Taiden explained seriously, his eyes constantly glancing around for a moving shadow in an alley.

However, it was Xylia who tugged him up a side street just before a trio of men came striding along the main street in the opposite direction. They spoke in hushed tones about their take, and in the glimmer of the moonlight the smallest of the three could be seen wiping blood from the blade of his dagger. Taiden waited until they made a left and were well out of sight again before he turned to Xylia with wide, curious eyes.

"Where did-"

"The window up there. I heard them opening it from the inside. Windows often creak, even slightly." Once again her hunter's senses had outshone his own and saved them.

He nodded, checking that the coast was clear again before leading the way back out.

A little further up the street he pointed to a stable. "That belongs to the inn. We can use it as a shortcut to get to the front door. I just hope they let us in at this late hour."

Quickly and stealthily they crossed to the door and Xylia opened it after insisting in angry whispers to Taiden that she was better equipped to watch his back than he was to watch hers. As she closed the door and turned she almost crashed into him. He hadn't moved forward at all and for a second she feared they may have walked straight into trouble.