The Mercenary Knight by Elyzabeth M. VaLey

Conrad let go of Tanya. There was another cry and the sound of doors being thrown open could be heard throughout the inn. Conrad glanced down at Tanya, the worry and confusion in her eyes mirroring his own. She nodded and he sprinted into action. Jumping out of bed, he donned his trousers while rushing to the door. He was still tying his breeches when he swung the wooden structure open. Chaos greeted him.
    Women screamed and cried while men cursed. All of them pushed in their haste to get away. Some ran through the hall, dressed in nothing more than their nightgowns. Others in not quite such a hurry took their time to dress fully. They were the ones that tried to drag along their belongings. Suitcases, chests and boxes littered the hall and obstructed the path. Conrad couldn’t see what was occurring downstairs, but he guessed by the level of noise that the situation was much the same. Alarm bells began to be heard throughout and the reason for everyone fleeing became apparent.
    “Fire. Fire!”
    Conrad turned to face Tanya but she was already out of bed, tying her bodice with trembling hands. Conrad rushed to her side and gazed into her eyes.
    “It’ll be all right, love.”
    He squeezed her shoulder and searched for his chemise and weapons. He quickly put on his shirt. While he strapped on his sword he looked outside the window. From his vantage point, he could see the bottom floor of one of the new buildings under construction burning brightly. Unless the town folk organized themselves quickly, the whole inn would soon catch on fire.
    “We have to get out of here, Conrad.”
    The tremble in Tanya’s usually melodious voice brought him out of his contemplation. Taking her by the hand, he led her to the cluttered hall. She stopped before the door, fear etched on her features.
    “Conrad, what about the other men?”
    “They can care for themselves, love. Besides, they were sleeping downstairs, they’re probably already out of the building.”
    Tanya nodded, but he could see that she wasn’t entirely convinced. It didn’t matter. What was important was for them to get out.
    “Hold on tight,” he warned her before stepping outside.
    Conrad navigated through the human mass that was fighting to get out of the burning building. He used his bulk to good advantage, pushing and shoving aside those people too stubborn to move quickly and leave behind their material belongings.
    They reached the stairs relatively fast, but once there, they were forced to stop. A man, in his haste to escape, had fallen down the stairs, breaking his neck in the process and blocking the way with his body and his large chest of belongings. People were bottling at the steps, crawling over the body and the chest and leaving behind those that weren’t as apt at climbing. Conrad swore.
    “Out of the way,” he cried, dragging Tanya down with him.
    A man with curly brown hair and a moustache turned to confront him, clearly not pleased that he was bossing them. For a moment, Conrad thought he recognized the man, but he dismissed the passing thought.
    “We’re all trying to escape, mate.”
    “I know that well enough, friend, but with that chest and body we’re all going to bake in here. Don’t stand there, help me move the chest. Stay here, love. I’ll be right back.”
    The man’s gaze riveted to Tanya and an uneasy feeling swept through Conrad, but he forced it away. This was no time to be possessive. With a reassuring smile to her, he clapped a shoulder on the man and led him down the stairs. Edgy, he turned one more time to look at Tanya. He was comforted to see that she was standing in the middle of the steps, her hands on her hips, trying to force people to wait for them to clear the way.
    “We’ll have to move the chest first and then we can come back for the man.”
    “Why don’t we throw him across the rail and get it over with?”
    “We can’t, there are people down there.” Conrad said, pointing to the common room where