I Built This City Chapter 71: Chapter 71

Read chapter 71 of I Built This City by ThePudding on NovelPedia.

Cale “… down to…” “… innkeeper…” “… our body…” The voices were muffled and distant as Cale came to, gasping for air and feeling cloth suddenly suck into his mouth. His vision was obscured by what he immediately identified as a pillowcase, the same one he’d stabbed. He could smell the blood from his dagger that had seeped into the cloth of the half-torn casing. There was a pause as the voices went silent, then resumed more quietly, only heard as faint murmuring nearby. This gave him a chance to assess his situation, flexing his aching arms and legs. His hands were bound behind him, his ankles as well, and another rope linked the two so that he was curled in an uncomfortable position on the floor. Cale quickly considered the knots. He was good enough that he could probably get out of them, but it would take a little time… and doing it while being watched by an unknown number of people was far too risky. He’d been caught well enough that he wasn’t sure trying to escape right now would be a good idea. It was likely to make the situation worse. He stayed silent, though he knew that the people in the room knew he was awake. Instead of worrying about it, he took the time to steady his breathing and try to get his headache to go away. Between the near-suffocation and the knock to the floor, that was a lot more work than he’d have liked. The movements he heard didn’t make sense, but he was pretty sure some of them eventually started to leave. One by one, and then… the last one left. Not a word to stay still, nothing to indicate she knew he was awake. The last girl just… walked out of the room. He was alone. Cale twisted and tugged at his wrist, flexing after he’d determined the tightness of the ropes. Whoever had tied him had been thorough but amateur. It wasn’t a bad knot, but he could get out of it. He stilled to listen for anyone nearby before he started his escape. Unfortunately, he heard footsteps coming toward the room. Cale was good, but he wasn’t quite good enough to get out of a hogtie that quickly while he was injured. He’d only had a few minutes, and had barely identified the likely weaknesses before the steps approached. He knew he should have taken the Escape Artist Perk at more than one rank. The door opened again, and someone was sat down beside him. Two others were in the room, and one yanked the pillowcase off his head. He flinched as the sunlight from the window—now open—lanced through his eyes and forced a few blinks into them before he could see who was in the room with him. The innkeeper was there, staring down at the floor where the first girl Cale had killed still lay there, covered by a sheet. The redheaded girl that was supposedly his target was also there, though dressed and glowering at him. She held his dagger in one hand, fidgeting with it as she sat on the bed that was now stripped of sheets. Beside him sat a terrified Tabitha. The dark-haired girl was one of Cale’s people, and worked at the inn. She was the one who had covered for him, but he rarely used this asset. Used too much, such a resource would lose its efficacy. He squinted at her nervous expression, but it wasn’t surprising to him that she was terrified of what was going on. Of the other girl Cale had killed, he could see no trace beyond a few spots of blood on the floor. “So I don’t think he intended to kill my sister when he came in here, but I’m pretty sure someone put him up to this,” the redhead said. She passed the dagger from one hand to the other again, and Cale noticed she held it properly. She’d had training in holding a blade suitable for combat, though her motions were unpracticed and hesitant. This matched the amateur moves of the girls he’d fought. “I’m very sorry, miss. This really is a stain upon the good name of our establishment,” the innkeeper hastily assured. She cut him off before he could continue the apology, her lips tight. “Let’s just find out what we can. I want to know why my sister and I were targets. Then we can fig