Chapter 15

Herndon sat at the table, spinning his drink.
The staff was cowering from him, and the other customers had left some time ago. Either by choice or by being thrown out.
Herndon was very particular about who he spent his time with.
He looked at the bar to see the bartender cowering behind it. No longer was he cleaning the bar with a carefree attitude.
Herndon glanced at the body on whom he was resting his feet.
The man had tried to be a hero and make him leave, Herndon recalled. But his heroism was no match for Herndon's knife.
The only good thing the man had done in his life, as far as Herndon was concerned, was providing him a footrest.
He smirked as he called over the serving girl to refill his drink.
"She should be coming around any time now," He said.
The girl stayed a bit longer than he wanted. He glared at her.
She winced. "Pardon me, sir, I thought you were speaking to me." She kept her eyes lowered.
He did not respond, all he did was fix her with an ice stare until she went away.
Talking with her was beneath him.
He went to take a drink of his newly refilled cup, when the door burst open and one of his spies ran in, out of breath.
"Sir!" He said, saluting between his huffs.
"What is it?" Herndon demanded.
"She's coming south! She didn't take the bait." The man reported.
Herndon didn't respond, thinking it over.
"How did she know?" He asked quietly, glancing over at the bartender and the serving girl, who'd both peeked their heads out from behind the counter, ducking back when they saw that he'd seen them.
"I don't know, sir." The man said, standing at attention. "She just turned south after her horse threw a fit."
"Her horse?" Herndon repeated. The man nodded.
"Yes, sir."
Herndon thought for a moment.
"Get back to work, but reported back here tomorrow, I'll have a new assignment for you." He said.
"Yes, sir." The man said, bowing briefly before turning on his heel and running out the door, leaving Herndon with his thoughts.
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Deanna dismounted and led Krennan off the road into the trees for a rest where she loosened the girth to allow him to breathe easier.
She searched her packs for the food, taking out some bread and cheese and an apple. She held the apple out for Krennan to eat; when he was finished, she sat beneath one of the trees and ate her own meal.
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"I see them!" Finn said to Cadman as he glanced out the window of the Inn.
Cadman looked up from where he had been studying the map. "About time." He said as he got to his feet.
They walked out the door and stood by the wagon to wait for Cayle and Alroy to reach them.
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Cayle had been trying unsuccessfully to get Alroy to tell him how he knew the customs of the Gypsies, but Alroy would just change the subject or remain silent. So they spent the remainder of their journey in silence.
There has to be some way to get him to open up. Cayle thought to himself.
He saw his companions waiting in front of an Inn and decided to let Alroy be, and allow him to reveal more of his past to them when he was ready, though Cayle burned with curiosity, he finally let the subject drop.
"Have fun?" Cadman asked.
"Oh yes, tons and tons of fun." Cayle answered sarcastically. "Can we go inside? We've been on our feet all day."