The darkness and chill claws at me. I’m curled into a ball, wishing I still had that warmth.
I look for Her again, and this time She’s kneeling beside me.
I beg for more of that warmth, but She opens Her hands to show me She has none to give. I ask Her where to find more, and She only quirks her head. A look Sangoma would give me when I was being terribly stupid.
Then the darkness wraps itself around me, and I’m drug off into the dark, where all kinds of monsters wait to ravage me.
I awaken to pain.
I’m on my side, so I’m able to turn my head and bury my face in a pillow. The horrors of the dream overlaid with the terrors of yesterday. A dryness in my mouth reminds me of the iron taste of blood mixed with the vile flavor of the fingers the thing had shoved in my mouth.
My dry heaving gag lets someone else know that I’m awake.
Kque is the only one there. She helps me drink some normal water and asks to check on my injuries. She has me stand and do some flexing to see if anything healed wrong. Then walks me through some stretches and makes me promise to do them every few hours.
“You didn’t drink much of the healing waters, but the alchemy will still have soaked into you.” She explains. “You’ll need to do these a few times a day to make sure the potions don’t cause problems.
“My Sangoma let it slip once that it was something to do with… um... an unbinding?”
She nods. “Unbound Principles. Alchemy will build up inside if you don’t burn it out.”
Sangoma avoided telling me much more as I got older, knowing my curiosity would latch onto it. But I do remember her talking about what could happen if the body ended up with too much alchemy running through it. Growths and mutations, twisting and often very difficult to notice before they were fatal.
“I’m not an alchemist so I don’t want to pretend to be an expert. Just trained and well read in how to apply care.” She clarifies while taking up my right arm. “Healing waters aren’t rare, but outside Lyttoral sometimes people treat them like miracles instead of tools.”
As she unwraps it I brace for the sight. Expecting the whole thing to be a charred nub. But as she peels away the bandages all that greets us is paler skin. More red mixed into the turquoise hue.
“How does it feel?” She asks.
“Numb.” I wiggle my fingers a little. “Sore though. Stiff. Like if I move it the skin might crack and fall off.”
Her eyes tighten as she carefully feels along its surface, “Sorry again. I didn’t… I didn’t even consider the glass.”
“You couldn’t have known!” I wince as she pokes at a particularly raw area. “If you hadn’t been there I don’t think I would have been able to stand.”
She pauses, looks at my face. “I’ve just never… I’ve never healed something like this. This bad of a burn, with glass and who knows what else buried into the skin. I just…” a deep breath, then a whisper, “Like… FUCK! What even was that thing?”
I don’t know how to answer. Something they call the duenna to deal with? The second woman’s broken spear flashes in my mind, of how little their weapons seem to slow it. A monster of old nightmares.
Something the Sun Spoken go after. The thought terrifies me even more than the memories.
“I’m sorry.” She sighs, “I even chased Yrelia and Tasii out today, told them it’d be impossible for me to work with them here when you woke up. Thought they’d be too much. I’ve totally helped women recover from worse than this. I’ve delivered Forty-Two babies, three times in the wild.”
She waves one hand to try and illustrate the words. “And here I am, getting hysterical.”
“It’s fine.” A twinge of worry, and guilt. I’d not even thought to make sure everyone else was okay. “How um… It didn’t look like they’d gotten hurt. Right? And those women from the other group? How is everyone else?”
“Our girls are physically fine. Just some bumps and bruises. Mostly from Lule’s panic.”
She waves her hands at my legs, a little nervousness beginning to creep into her voice. A careful effort to keep her voice calm and reassuring. “I um… I checked last night. When we got here. As best I could with the light on hand. You let me, but you were pretty… out of it.”
The shift catches me off guard. “I don’t even remember how I got in this room.”
She nods, not surprised. “It um…” A sigh of relief this time. “From what I can tell, and please let me know if I’m wrong, It looks to all be pretty surface level.”
A question. I think back, and it hurts. The punching and clawing, the smothering cold. Ignition of flame and anger to burn and rip and kill that fucking–
I shake my head, both an answer and to try and dispel the memory. “No.” My voice quivers, Kque moves to help me sit on the bed and takes my less bad arm in her hands. “I don’t think so. I think you're right.”
Most stories only hinted at this, at what these things were. How they would drag women off and either the duenna or a Sun Spoken would go after them. Save them… but… never details. The books, poems, and songs never seemed to convey what it would do to those women, what it tried to do to me.
A hand on my shoulder steadies my sudden quickened breath. “Okay.”
“Thank you Kque… for patching me and–”
“You're very welcome, but honestly thank you. You saved all of us.”
We wash up, then Kque helps me get dressed in a very loose gown of deep blue, then leads me outside the room and down the hallway to the main room of the inn.
The room holds about 5 tables, some round and some rectangular, and about half are occupied. The one closest to the exit on the opposite side of the room seats 2 duenna, both had mugs but no food. Another has half a dozen women, a full meal before them as their chatter and laughter fills the room.
The last occupied table is where Yrelia sits. Her back is to the entrance, her eyes locked on the contents of a mug in front of her. She notices us a few seconds after we round the corner.
She nearly bolts up, worry concealed within a tired smile.
We move to meet her half-way, but she crosses the space between us and takes me into a very gentle hug. “Hey, good morning! Though I guess it's afternoon at this point.”
I notice the bags under her eyes, “Hi. How um… How long was I sleeping?”
“Oh it’s only mid-afternoon.” She hastily adds as she moves toward the table and the two of them help me sit.
“How are…” Yrelia glances between us.
“Nothing more than we saw last night.” Kque’s voice is soft, but deliberately final. “She’s going to be okay. Probably hungry though?”
Yrelia shakes herself, but an obvious relief passes through her. “Oh yeah yeah. The food here isn’t anything special but they should still have some of the lunch left over.”
I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I downed three bowls of their lunch stew alongside an entire two-thirds of a loaf of some kind of sweet bread. Can’t even remember the last time I ate that much in a single day, much less a single sitting.
When I ask, I’m told that Yrelia and Tasii already had lunch, but Kque does pick at some kind of sandwich.
It’s not until I refuse any more food in favor of some of the inn’s warm cider that any kind of conversation starts up.
“So, how did trading go?” I ask.
Yrelia had been not so subtly watching my every move, but her response to this is a vacant look. Confusion at the question.
“You’d been talking about… trading in this town. Right?”
A beat, then comprehension.
“Oh. Oh!” A shrug. A small hint of her usual self. “That was put on hold for now.”
“Then… The rooms? I thought you’d needed to trade to…”
Did… Did they spend everything on me? My horrible thoughts must have shown on my face.
“Nope.” Yrelia puts on her first genuine smile since we’d entered the room. “It’s eh… courtesy of the duenna. Food too. I Didn’t even need to put on the charm. Those other women you saved told them what happened. It’s why the duenna met us on the road.”
“Oh… how’re they?”
“Er, Not sure. The two who walked back to the city seemed…” Yrelia looks to Kque, “Honestly I have no idea. Haven’t actually stepped out of the inn today and they’re bunked elsewhere.”
There is a long pause, then Kque breaks the silence. “You said Tasii went out to check on Jevita and Lule?”
Yrelia lets out a huff and glares down at her drink, “Yeah.”
Kque sighs, “It’s not their fault.”
Yrelia doesn’t reply, just continues to stir her cider with a little wooden spoon.
“What?” I ask. Confused.
“It’s Nothing.” Yrelia grumbles.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
I can’t help but stare at her. This is the first time I’d ever seen Yrelia genuinely upset, angry even. I’m not sure how to handle it.
“Um…” Before I can voice more, I notice the two duenna watching us. My heart skips as they rise and begin to approach our table.
Kque follows my gaze.
“Oh!” She pats my hand. “It’s fine Ina.”
The makes Yrelia lookup, then turn just as the duenna reach us.
Both are wearing simple shawls with their hoods down, and bronze shortswords on their backs. Calm settles over me as I see them carrying their drinks and tired smiles.
“Can we join you for a bit?” One with dark skin and muddy blonde hair pulled back into a neat series of buns asks. From her expression it seems like a genuine question. “I hope we’re not interrupting.”
“Not at all. Please have a seat.” Yrelia motions to the open chairs at our table. “We just finished a meal. Thanks for taking care of our tabs, by the way!”
They accept her offer, sitting across from us, a chair separating one of them from both Yrelia and Kque.
“Of course.” She looks at me, “I’m Gretila, and this is Nutati. We’re both duenna here in Deledita. You must be Inamatorii?”
I swallow and nod. “Just Ina is okay, It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” Then a more serious aura slips over the two duenna as they look between us. “So… We found the… remains of whatever it was that attacked you. Spoke with the two from the other group. There’s no telling how many more people might have been hurt if you hadn’t killed it.”
“I… I just got lucky.” I look down at the half-empty mug of cider in front of me. “Happened to have some waters of Lyttoral when it… um… attacked.”
“Really?” I look up to see Gretila arching an eyebrow, “Because from the way the other two women tell it you burned it to slag with some kind of crazy magic.”
A spark of memories. The face in the potion’s glass, the fire in my chest turning into rage as it spread down my arm and the thrill at crushing whatever heart that thing had. At these a coldness settles in my chest. I shiver and take a drink of the warm cider to cover it.
“I think it bit down on the hand holding the potion.” I mumble as I recover, “It accidentally drank it or something. Those two women told us to get some ready before it attacked. I didn’t really…”
Don’t be stupid. You stoked a flame in your chest and used it to burn that thing away. Why lie to yourself? A little gnashing voice hisses from deep inside my mind.
Nutati nods, “They did mention using some on a spear. Said the tip broke off in its flesh and drove it off for a bit. No mention of fire though.”
The table goes a bit quiet and I glance between them. Real worry settles on the two duenna’s expressions.
Gretila runs a hand over her hair. “Was hoping you were all exaggerating. Got jumped by a Cretilla or some other forest cat and didn’t know how to explain it.”
“Do you think there are more?” Nutati looks to me for an answer.
“I… what?” I look to Yrelia and Kque. Both seem to look to me for an answer. “I don’t know. I didn’t see anymore.”
“In your professional experience then?” Gretila asks, her voice lowering to a whisper. “Could there be more nearby?”
“How…” I begin to reply How the fuck should I know? When something bumps into my right leg. Not hard enough for me to jump, but hard enough to stop me from answering.
I look over and see a spark in Yrelia’s eye and stop myself. She turns to the duenna, face full of weariness and concern.
“Possibly.” She sighs and spreads her hands, “It’s impossible to be certain. But we’d love to stay in Deledita anyway? So Ina can recover.”
I’m caught in a moment of disbelief. Is she… Did she tell them I’m Sun Spoken? Is that why they think I know about all this? Because I got lucky with the water?
You didn’t get lucky.
I watch in shock as the two nod, then Gretila speaks up. “We duenna already talked that over. Deledita would really appreciate it if you’d remain here for… another week? At least? We’ve already spoken with the innkeeper and your tabs will be handled.”
They look back to me, and I don’t know how to respond. An awkward silence passes, Yrelia nudges my leg again, much more gently this time. A silent, Go on.
“I… I mean. I didn’t… I’m not really sure I can–”
The duenna nod, and speak up before I can come up with a reply.
“There is also the issue of… well… we’ve occasionally paid a hunter to deal with aggressive Cretilla and other pests.” She reaches down into a pack and withdraws a small pouch, then slides it across the table to me.
Free rooms and food for a week, and a reward?!? I don’t know how to process all this.
“Oh um… That’s…” I can’t help but look between Yrelia and Kque this time. “Will that mess up our travel plans? Would you all be okay with this?”
Yrelia puts on a thoughtful expression, but I can see the glimmer in her eyes. “We should be able to make that work. However… Could we get a second room? One was fine for one night, but we are a party of five after all.”
What?!?! No no no. One is more than–
“That shouldn’t be a problem.” Gretila adds quickly.
“Perfect!” Yrelia smiles. “Now we can’t possibly refuse.”
Visible relief passes over the two duenna. The room itself seems to take a deep breath. It’s only then that I notice that the cacophony of laughter and chatting from the full table of women behind us had died down.
“We’ll speak with the inn-keep, she’ll have your second room ready by tonight.”
Yrelia and the duenna seem to work out a few other details while Kque excuses herself to go tell Tasii and Jevita the news. I finish up my cider and try to sneak a few covert glances around the room.
General talk starts back up, but I can’t help but catch a few glances back our way from the other tables. Curious, but also… relieved? I’m not sure. Voices do seem to carry and Yrelia and the duenna don’t seem to be trying to keep their volume down.
Then the duenna are gone, and I’m sitting alone at the table with Yrelia. She lets out a long sigh, takes a drink of her cider, and leans forward.
She places her chin on her palm and settles a look at me. After a few seconds she finally asks. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure what just happened.” I reply honestly. Then drop my voice to a whisper. “Did you… Did you tell them about… about me? Is that why they want us to stay here? Because you told them I’m Sun Spoken?”
“What? No, Ina, I’d never.” Surprise and worry crosses her face. Then her voice drops back to a whisper. “I just let them believe, well… whatever they wanted.”
It makes sense. Why not use me to try and get as much back as possible? The healing waters alone must have cost them a ton. Those weren’t just water taken from the canals of Lyttoral, those were actual alchemically brewed potions made for healing. Crafted by the Sororitas of one of the guilds, a single bottle alone was very valuable. And the farther one carries it from Lyttoral the more value it gains! I’d basically had their long term profits poured out into the dirt.
“But, Yrelia… I can’t do anything if…” I take a deep breath and bury my face in my hands. “ If another one–”
The fear clenches my throat shut at the thought.
“Hey Ina, relax. Take a deep breath.” Yrelia lays a hand on mine, “I only expect you to rest up and heal.”
“They seemed really worried. What if another one shows up? And… and they expect me to handle it?”
She snorts, actually snorts! And grips my hand tighter. “Then we bail. Not like they can do anything about it. We didn’t actually agree to that.”
“But they gave us these rooms,” I motion to the untouched pouch, “Paid us.”
“Look Ina, you have to be ready to take luck when it comes your way.” She winces, “Especially when it comes after incredibly shitty luck. If these duenna want to throw free rooms, food, and coin our way, let them. We’ll leave before they realize how much they invested in agreements you never made.”
I hate this. I want to take the pouch, find the duenna, and tell them everything. But… I can’t. These women have given me so much, and I want to pay them back. From what Yrelia talked about the other night a room in an inn was a luxury they don’t always get. Not to mention the cost of those potions!
My thoughts are interrupted when the door to the inn opens and we see Kque returning with Tasii.
Tasii looks even more exhausted than the rest of us, and the two come over to sit. Tasii wearily asks how I’m doing, and although I’m certain from the lack of worry in her tone that Kque already told her, but it still seems to help relieve some stress when I let her know I’m fine.
It’s in a pause of uncomfortable silence that follows that I reach out toward the pouch of coins, then pause with my hand a few inches from it. “I’m not sure who to give this to.”
All three of them give me different shades of confused looks.
I pull my hand back and wave at it, “Take it. For the potions you used on me, the healing waters. And… well… everything else too. The clothes and food and–”
Three different versions of surprised negation speak up at once. Yrelia mentions the rooms, Kque tries to mention that I saved them, Tasii even tries to push the pouch toward me.
I lean away from it. “Stop it. Seriously. I wouldn’t even know what to do with this!”
“Buy a few outfits.” Tasii suggests, poking the pouch. “There’s at least two or three worth in here I’m guessing.”
“But… I still owe you for the ones you let me use and the ones that got.. That got torn.” I choke on the memory.
It’s okay. You're safe here. Deep breaths.
“No. Ina, that wasn’t…” Yrelia huffs. “Those were gifts.”
“I don’t know much about trading or money,” I recover, “But I do know those healing waters were really valuable.”
Tasii sighs, “We got them for emergencies, and very cheaply for that matter. They served their purpose.”
“What about the ones you gave to the other women?”
That makes her pause. “What about them?”
“You said that you’d work out things in town.” I point out, “Did you? You were expecting them to try and pay for them.”
“I’m surprised you even caught that.” Tasii shakes her head. “It’s not the same.”
“Isn’t it? Have you talked with them?” I press.
“Haven't even tried.”
“Then if you won’t let me pay for mine, then take this for theirs.”
She purses her lips. “That’s not even remotely fair to you. Not after…” Her expression twists like she’s eaten a sour fruit. “I think I speak for everyone when I say we won’t feel right if we take this.”
“Well… too bad!” I reply, leaning back in my chair and trying to comfortably cross my arms. I fail, and have to settle for an awkward crossing of my wrists over my lap. “I’m not super comfortable getting paid for this either.”
After a bit of a pause Tasii offers, “How about this. So long as you're traveling with us we can keep it safe with our other valuables. When or if you ever go your own way or decide to settle somewhere, then you’ll take it.”
“But–”
“Oh we’ll totally spend some in the meantime.” Yrelia adds with a smirk.
“Yrelia does owe you something nice.” Kque adds.
Everyone looks at her, confused.
“What? Why?” Yrelia asks.
Kque shrugs, trying to look nonchalance, but with a bit of a red touches her cheeks. “For making her squeak a bit the other night.”
I feel a heat burn along my cheeks. “Wha… What?!?”
“I do not… did not squeak!” and for the first time I see Yrelia blush, like really really blush. Big and messy.
Kque can’t hide her smirk, but only shrugs.
“Is that who that was?” Tasii adds, genuine mirth returning to her expression “Are we sure that wasn’t Ina? I’m certain it was.”
“I. Do. Not. Squeak.” Yrelia bites back, but with an annoyed grin fighting at the edges.
Tasii looks to me, “It’s totally fine if you do, I find it incredibly sexy when a quiet woman makes a bit of noise in bed.”
I feel the blush rush down my neck, and I really hope they can’t see it. “I… um… I…”
“Hey!” Yrelia growls in warning.
“You have a really pretty blush by the way.” Kque says, patting my hand.
I hide my face beneath my two mangled hands. Not having dealt with this sort of teasing since… well… ever really.
“What?” Kque replies to a look Yrelia must have given her. “She does. I’m jealous. I just look like a bruised Pupos fruit.”
“I’m not ready to share.” Yrelia can’t keep the giggle out of her voice at that, “Thus the two rooms.”
“I… what? Share what?” I peek at her between my fingers.
She winks in reply, and my heart stutters.