Of Blood And Fire by Ryan Cahill (best classic books of all time .txt) 📕

bald head. She had seen pigs in better shape; his big round belly drooped out from under his fine silk shirt, and he looked as though he were out of breath just from standing still. With one last regretful look towards Ella, the little boy bolted away into the crowd.

“Damn street urchins…” murmured the merchant, shaking his head as he fussed over the arrangement of his fine clothes.

“Better an urchin than a pig,” Ella snapped. The man looked at her in shock as she picked up the corner of her skirts, turned and headed after the boy. She found him leaning with his back against a wall, a steady flow of tears rolling down his cheeks. “Hey… Hey!” She hunkered down in front of him and dipped her hand into her bag, producing a shiny green apple. “Take it. Go on.”

The boy looked at her, caution painted on his face. He clearly wasn’t used to someone helping him. He reached out and wrapped his fingers around the green apple. He pulled it back towards himself, as if he thought it was a trick. As soon as it was out of Ella’s grasp, he pulled it to his mouth and sank his teeth into it longingly, spraying his cheeks with its sweet juices.

“Thank you,” he said, his mouth still full.

Ella gave the boy a weak smile. She looked back into her bag, at the loaf of bread and the block of cheese she had gotten herself and Rhett for later that night, and then back at the boy. He had eaten the whole apple, core and all. “Here,” she said, pushing the bread and cheese into his arms. “For you and your brother.”

The boy’s eyes were a mixture of joy and confusion. “I… I can’t take this… how did you know I had a brother?”

Ella raised her hand into the air, with her palm out towards the boy, like she had seen her mother do to Calen whenever he argued with her. “Take it. I won’t hear any argument.” She stood straight up, brushing her dress down with her hands.

“Thank you.”

“You are very welcome. What is your name?” Ella asked.

“My name is Gareth, Miss,” the boy said sheepishly.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Gareth. My name is Ella. You look after yourself, okay?”

“I will, Miss Ella. Thank you.”

Ella smiled. Gareth stood up and made his way down a side street nearby, looking back towards her with a smile on his face every couple of steps.

She laughed to herself as she walked along the market stalls. She would have to find something else to eat for later, but there was no way she was going to let that boy go hungry. I suppose that is what happens in cities like this. There are so many people that some of them are just forgotten. That would never happen in The Glade.

Ella picked up another loaf of bread from a bakery nearby but didn’t have enough coin to replace the cheese. They would just have to go without. She quickened her pace as the sun got lower in the sky. She hadn’t noticed the time passing. Rhett would be back at the inn, and she’d never been in a city on her own after dark before. She had insisted to him she wanted to do her shopping on her own, that he would only slow her down and that he should let a girl do what girls do. She was regretting that as the streets began to thin out. The orange glow faded, blending into the pale light of the moon, and the merchants and hawkers packed up their wares into the carts and cases.

Ella became overly aware that the faces that were left on the streets were not as friendly as the ones she had seen earlier in the day. These faces were hardy. Dark-circled eyes. Rough leathery skin marked with cuts and scars. Each of them stared at her, tracing her from head to toe. Their eyes did not look like there were good intentions behind them. She picked up her pace again. Any faster and she would be jogging. Shadows lurked around every corner and side street, growing as the sun retreated. She brought her eyes down, tracking her feet. Just walk. She wasn’t sure why her heart was racing. Nothing had happened, but she was scared.

“All right, love, fancy a bit of company?” came a gruff voice from the other side of the street.

Ella glanced over. The voice came from a man at least twenty summers her senior. He had long, greasy greyish-black hair. A horrendous scar ran diagonally across his face. A shiver ran up her spine. She looked back at the ground in front of her and kept walking. Not far now. Only a few minutes. Why did I insist on going alone?

She was only around the corner from the inn when she walked into what felt like a brick wall. She looked up to see the face of a reasonably handsome man. He was about an inch or two shorter than Calen, but maybe ten summers older. Despite his disarming good looks, his eyes were different. They unnerved her.

“Well, well, well. Look what we have here, Rufin. Looks like a lost little lady.” The man’s voice was oily. A pungent smell of cheap spirits wafted from his open mouth. Ella leapt backwards with shock.

“Now, now, little lady. Don’t go running away.” The other man, Rufin, was a ratty man with a wiry frame. His thick black hair was slicked back against his head, shining in the moonlight. A thin smile painted his face. “We only want to play.”

Both men chuckled wickedly.

Ella’s heart pounded. Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking. “Please, just leave me alone. I don’t want any trouble.” The words trembled off her tongue.

“Little lady, we don’t want no trouble neither. We just want to play. You like playing, don’t you?”

The two men circled her slowly, getting closer and closer, teasing and taunting her.

“Come on now. I