Galen Vesa

“You dead?”

Chuko sat an arm's length away from my bed. Her eyes looked even more bored than usual. A sign she cared about something. Or so Li said.

“No.”

I stretched and discovered somebody put a gown on me and braided my hair.

“Good. You stay.”

She got up from the chair placed next to my bed and left the room in total silence. A person of few words. With fangs like the ones she inherited from her ferru mother, no one would be too talkative.

An interesting thing about being a ferru. Both the guild master and Chuko were ferru. One could not be more different from the other. However I thought of her, Altina looked like an oversized woolf. A wolf speaking at least two tongues and being one of the strongest mages in the city if not in the empire. A noble lady of high society that thought me which fork to use first and how to hold a glass so I won’t look like a whore. Chuko on the other hand resembled a young human teenager that became infatuated with the gothic maid fetish and kept on brooding day in and day out. That is, as long as she kept her mouth shut. Her smile encouraged people to vacate the room and her teeth made eating unusually messy. One evening I came upon her in the kitchen, mid meal. She was gorging herself on a pufftet carcass, a four-legged chicken analog of this world. She had half of it in her mouth, chewing, when I walked in. Her first reaction when she saw me? She pulled the other bloodied part of the pufftet closer to herself as if I came to steal it from her. I did the only thing I could and fetched us some watered-down wine and poured her a bowl and a glass for myself. In the end she offered me one leg. The smaller one. We ate the half-cooked meat in silence. It really tasted like chicken and Li was right, Chuko had a good heart. I guess.

You know roomie, that does not look like dawn.

The sun shone from high above and birds of the morning songs made way for those hunting through the noon.

*Do not complain. You took your time.*

Softie. Been giving me a handicap again, were you?

Erta ignored the obvious bait and relaxed, watching the world through my eyes. Eh.

I cast away my blanket and slide my legs off my bed.

“Don’t you even dare!”

Vittoria barged into the room. She still held the quill in one hand. Had she left her client in the lobby?

“You will keep your anorectic elven ass in that bed until the healer says so!”

She tucked me back in.

“What were you thinking, burning out like that! Beatrice had given me hell for what you did! You were that far out of juice and you pulled out an eleven, honestly…”

For a moment it looked as if she would hit me but instead, she threw her arms around me in a hug.

“You crazy tree hugger. Don’t go killing yourself off on my behalf…”

She kept on sobbing.

“Vittoria, if you mind.”

Altina arrived guided by Chuko and followed by someone I didn’t know. A company that did not bode well for my future.

“And if you please, keep your hands to yourself. I already lost four employees to your fluttering heart. Do I have to remind you of our last conversation and of your promise?”

If I could, I would look confused right now. Instead, I just sat motionless and observe.

“No.”

Vi spoke meekly and with wet eyes, excused herself from our company.

“Go after her. Make sure she won’t do something irresponsible.”

Chuko acknowledged the master's order with a nod and followed Vi at a hastened pace. Behind her, Altina waved her hand and I felt magic spreading through the room.

“Forgive me Tala, I wished not to involve you.”

“Vittoria and I are a history. One I already forgotten. Do not blame a butterfly for being a butterfly. She loves everyone in her own way. You just need to know what to expect from her. Wish I did. Now,”

Tala, the healer, I suppose. Held my hand and looking deep into my eyes, asked.

“Why are you not dead?”

*Not the politest question. *

Regardless, over the past few weeks I’ve been asking myself the same thing on many occasions.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“I cannot feel any mana from you, yet, here you sit breathing and your heart is still beating. Even though your pulse seems, odd at times. Why is that?”

I looked back at the guild master, her inhuman face told me nothing.

“I am under a spirit contract…”

*Dolt! Careful with your words! Contracted spirits are rare, and people do not have more than one bound to them! *

“…All my excess mana is consumed as a part of the deal.”

Did my eyes device me or did Altina just relaxed a bit? The healer did not seem too convinced.

“And my mana recovers quickly. I am well.”

“Are you? That is my responsibility to tell and, honestly, I cannot.”

She turned towards Altina.

“Unless there’s been an error in the log, which I doubt, she has used up more mana than Zee and Vittoria combined. And I can’t see any signs of overspending. No bleeding. No nausea. Her skin is warm and perfect to the touch. ”

Accusing, her eyes found mine.

“It’s almost as if you faked that collapse and took a nap. Explain yourself.”

Oh, of course I faked it. Just so the people wouldn’t learn what a monster am I. Yup, just the thing to say to her. I abstained and instead decided upon half a truth.

“I knew I could do it and I did. The seal took more energy than I thought it would. There is nothing else to it.”

My bored poker face held strong under her gaze. After all I take pride in my ability to outstare a rock.

“I call bullshit on that. Whatever tree humping pervert made you with some monstrosity, nobody recovers over night from that kind of abuse.”

She got up, her golden locks reflected sun rays, creating a halo around her head. Erta had a sudden urge to grab ad rip out the ring from the healer’s nose. As tempting as it seemed I ignored it.

“Keep her resting for a week at least. And have someone watching her. Perhaps the fatigue has yet to catch up with her body. There were cases of late onset. “

Well, that won’t happen.

Tala stopped half way as if hearing my thoughts.

“Oh, and about what you asked me. No, she's not an elf. That I’m sure of. She’s something much worse.”

She turned to leave the room but stopped when my mouth opened on its own.

“I could say the same about people spreading rumors. Monsters destroying people’s lives.”

Tala clenched her fists but said nothing. Did I hit a sore spot?

“Thank you, Tala. I will make sure somebody has an eye on her.”

Dismissed, the healer nudged her head and left us. Altina went to the window and stood by it. After a while she spoke.

“Please do not antagonize Tala. She and Vittoria go a long way back. It pains her to see someone else stealing away her loved one’s heart.”

*Well dolt, are you happy? Have I not warned you? *

“I do not understand. There is nothing between us…”

“And better it stays that way. Vittoria’s heart is like the one of a butterfly, she loves all the flowers in a garden. Tala and many others learned too late she won’t give them what they desire. Although you do not strike me as one looking for a relationship, I’ll say it as a precaution. Sleep with her if you want but do not expect anything more to come out of it. She does not wish to be bound.”

I have seen few of those, people scared of long-term relationship. The kings and queens of one-night stand. I decided to change the subject.

“The noble, I hope I did not upset anyone.”

Altina turned her head to me, her unblinking eyes searched for something. Not finding what she hoped, she looked away.

“You did well. As much as it pains me, you did very well. That was the niece of the emperor. She will be getting married next month in the imperial capital. You have impressed her, and gossips are the driving force of economy. We are swamped with requests for your service. I have raised the price of your blessings to a million gold rua and the requests are still coming.”

Oops.

“How many of those can you make a day without harming yourself?”

She asked but I kind of felt she already knew the answer.

“How many are necessary?”

“We will say you can handle eleven.”