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uncoordinated to respond to the threat.
    One of the men decided that I was an easier target and drew a knife, which soon clattered to the ground as I broke his arm and drove him face-first through the nearest table. I dropped the unconscious and bloody mercenary and stood back watching as even the drunkest of soldiers had decided that they needed to get involved, advancing on Thomas with swords drawn.
    Within moments there were bodies and blades being thrown around the room. Thomas remained in human form, which kept the ensuing carnage from reaching the point where severed body parts started flying, but even so, I made sure to stay well out of the way.
    The fight didn't last long; Thomas was far too strong and fast for anyone to land even a glancing blow. Besides, once you've been hit by a werewolf, you tend to stay where you fall. So, a few minutes later and Thomas was sitting on a table, holding one of the few remaining conscious mercenaries by his throat, before throwing him over a nearby pile of unconscious bodies.
    "That was fun,” Thomas said with a smile, climbing down and walking over to the table where we’d shared our dinner, to drink whatever remained of his beer.
    I turned toward him, my back facing the door of the tavern. "Did you leave anyone in a condition to talk?" I asked.
    "At least one," he said and pointed behind me.
    I turned and found James standing by the door, holding one of the tavern owner's daughters by her arm in an iron grip.
    He saw me and placed his sword against her throat. "We're leaving here," he announced.
    "Or what?" I asked. "If you kill her, you’ll die pretty soon afterwards."
    "Yeah, but do you really want innocent blood on your hands?"
    I thought for a second. I doubted I could get to him before he killed the woman. "I'm going to count to a hundred and then I'm coming after you. If I were you, I'd be as far from here as possible by then."
    James opened the tavern door allowing the wind to whip inside, before dragging the terrified daughter out into the elements with him.
    "What are you doing?" the mother screamed at me as the tavern's door slammed shut.
    I turned to look at her. She was holding her second daughter in a tight embrace, anguish on her face.
    "Please find my daughter," the father said, his voice shaking.
    "Thomas stay here and make sure none of these men bother this nice family," I said. "If any of them are capable of speech, maybe find out where they were meant to go next."
    "You sure you don't want me to track him?" he asked.
    I shook my head. "He won't be hard to find, besides I have a few questions for him."
    I wrapped my cloak around me and opened the tavern door.
    "Please find my daughter," the mum wailed, mirroring her husband’s words.
    I didn't answer, instead stepping out into the night.
    "Good hunting, Nathaniel," Thomas called behind me as the tavern door closed.

Chapter 7

    Too much time had passed without finding James or his hostage, and I couldn’t shake the feeling I’d missed something important. There were no horses in the stable, apart from my own, and he didn’t have time to try and saddle it to ride off. Instead he’d taken to the woods.
    Fortunately the rain had stopped, so for about fifty yards, his track had been easy to follow. He’d stuck to the well-walked path and I’d noticed the dragging marks from the woman he'd taken, but after that, his tracks had vanished. At first I had assumed he'd taken her further into the dense forest, but I was beginning to doubt that theory. There were no obvious breaks in the forest, and no disturbed plants or wildlife that I could find.
    It should have been an easy search, should have been over and done with before James knew what had hit him. Instead, I was standing in the middle of a dark forest, my magic the only thing allowing me to see where I was going.
    I decided the best course of action was to re-trace my steps and try to track James over again from there. It didn't take long to make my way