I approve, but I still can’t pull myself up. My strength is gone and these arrows in my back are making it increasingly difficult to-
“Shit!”
My abrupt landing causes me to re-aggravate basically everything. Rolling over with a few muffled screams and then limping into the inn and up the stairs without a word or acknowledgment to anybody else in the lobby, the few who noticed are too shocked at my shredded appearance to do anything as I make my way up to Jessica’s room and knock on her door.
When she answers the smile is gone and is replaced with a look of worry.
“How’s your foot?”
Looking down I see a few bones sticking out the side.
“I’ll live, thank you.”
With that I collapse on her, eliciting a yelp of surprise as I take us both to the floor in a heap.
“I really did need help.”
“Sorry, I wanted to get back at you, but I took it too far.”
“I’ll still pay for dinner, but you’ll have to go get it.”
“Help me get you to the bed, I can barely lift you.”
“I’m rail thin you need to workout more.”
“Shut up and help me.”
Struggling over to the bed she drops me a couple times when my leg gives out, by the time we get over I’m practically crying.
“Lay me on my stomach, all the arrows are in my back.”
“You need to take off the robe so I can see the arrows.”
“… No peeking.”
“You haven’t got anything to look at anyway.”
“I’ll have you know that when I was-’
“Shut up. Take off the robe. Lay on the bed. In that order.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Afterwards we’re quiet for a few moments as she examines my wounds.
“Why aren’t you bleeding, you should be covered in blood with how deep these arrows went.”
“Have no blood to give.” As I gesture to my hair.
“Part of your power?”
“Is this part of your ten-”
“Yes.”
“Y’know you keep interrup-”
“Yes I do, because you should stop with the stupid defense mechanism, the sooner you behave yourself, the sooner I stop doing it. You came to me for help, remember?”
Burying my face in the pillow so I don’t have to look while I say it-
“Okay, thank you for helping me when you didn’t have to.”
“Anything else?”
“...and I’m sorry for throwing you out a window.”
“Thank you. Okay lets get on with this. Sorry but it’s gonna hurt.”
Saying that she pulls out a knife from her belt, and gives me that same smile from before.
“Please don’t stab me in the back.”
Cocking her eyebrow again, and pursing her lips, she gives me a level stare.
“Sorry.”
“Well since you somehow managed to break off. Every. Single. One of them in your back, the only way to get them out is to dig them out. Hold still.”
The digging out of the arrows is a painful process made easier by the fact that I keep blacking out every time she starts on a new one. Soon enough, after an indeterminate amount of time the arrows are out and I awaken to my entire torso, leg and arm wrapped in bandages, with a splint on my foot.
“I wrapped your injuries, but you don’t bleed so I don’t know if that will help with the healing, but it’s better than looking at open wounds.”
Looking around I spot Jessica sitting on the floor across the room leaning against the wall sweating and looking much paler than before.
“You look awful.” My voice cracking as I try to speak.
“You obviously haven’t looked in the mirror lately kettle.”
Saying that, she gives out a weak laugh and continues as her face grows serious.
“How do you do it? You have eight open wounds and a broken foot. You shouldn’t be alive, let alone moving around.”
I’m too weak for sarcastic replies, and she doesn’t look like she’s in the mood either. So for once I’m honest.
“Nearest I can tell I’m already dead, or at least something close to it for humans. I’m still alive, I think, but it’s complicated.”
Seeming to accept it quicker than I thought she would, she gives a slight nod and closes her eyes, breathing shallow and steady as she falls asleep just like that.
“Good idea.”
When I next awaken Jessica has found her way back over to the table and is currently eating part of a large feast of food. The color on her face is much better than before.
“I filched the ring and some of your money to pay for dinner, I hope you don’t mind.”
“I did say I would pay. How long was I out?”
Shrugging her shoulders-
“Don’t know, I was out for a while, too much gore for one day I suppose. It was night when I woke up.” As she points out the dark window.
“How long are days here anyway?”
“Days? It’s light out for about nine to ten hours, dark for about eighteen when the moons are passing over, which is more often than not. Do you need help over? You should eat before it gets cold.”
“Not worried about opening my-”
“Already checked, they’re the same as they were before. How do you heal anyway? The wounds on your hands are gone, so you have some way of doing it.”
“How did you know about my hands?”
“Siraceal told me before our first meeting.” So she says as she gets up from her seat to help me over to the table.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
‘Siraceal? What kinda name is that… It’s like his parents only wanted him to be called “sir” the rest of his life.’
“Food mostly.”
“Mostly?” Meeting my eyes as she loops my arm over her shoulder to half carry half drag me over.
“Or steal from others.” I mutter as I break eye contact.
She pauses for a second after that, but continues to the table after the brief hesitation.
“Thank you.”
“Just eat, we can worry about the rest when you’re not about to collapse again.”
Still hesitating to eat I look and finally meet her eyes.
“Why are you-”
“Contrary to what you said earlier, I’m not just ‘playing’ at being a hero, I try to be a good person. Eat.” The tone in her voice brooking no argument.
‘I really insulted her earlier.’
After eating in silence for a while, and feeling my wounds starting to close I finally notice something else.
“Do you have any extra clothes? It’s fine if you don’t, I- just- using my tail as underwear isn’t great.”
Jessica freezes right as she was bringing a spoon full of soup to her mouth, turning bright red in the process. Throwing the spoon back into the soup she rushes to a wardrobe in a corner of the room calling out-
“I totally forgot!”
Bringing some underwear and a simple woolen dress over, she turns away while I get dressed. The dress is just barely long enough to cover the top half of my thighs when I’m not sitting down, but it’s better than nothing. Both sitting back at the table to continue eating, the awkward mood is forgotten and in the past.
“What’s the first thing you want to do when you’ve healed up?”
“I want to take the longest bath in history in the largest tub I can find. Can you believe none of the baths that I have found fit me?”
Looking me up and down she bursts out laughing.
“I believe it. The people around here are short enough for me to feel tall for once, and I actually found out what it feels like to be asked to get something off the top shelf.”
“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be is it?” As I return the laugh.
Soon after clearing out everything that was on the table the conversation goes back to being serious.
“I haven’t heard from any of my group since you threw me from the window.”
“Wasn’t me. I’m surprised I wasn’t surrounded when I was escaping.”
Frowning, and then shaking her head she continues.
“So EVE, this is one of my questions. You said earlier that you steal from others to heal-”
“Only when I have-”
Holding up a finger she continues.
“Not the question. Atlas kept interrupting and correcting himself whenever he started to say your name switching it back to EVE. He said ‘Pesti’ but never finished the word, is it short for Pestilence?”
Seeing me shudder. She continues-
“Why does he call you Pestilence?”
“You’re really looking to kill the mood aren’t you. Do you really know nothing about me?”
“Knowing about you and hearing it from the source are different things. Remember what you told me before throwing me out the window? Verify. Everything.”
“Ya… I remember… mmmmm. You know about the black death, millions of people dead? People just… took to calling me that, y’know, I guess I’m just like a plague. Does that fit in with what you’ve heard?”
“Well you didn’t really explain anything, but it fits. Is it all true?”
“Millions dead? Maybe. Who was there to keep count at the end?”
With that she starts chewing on her thumbnail again while staring at the table. She looks like she doesn’t even notice she’s doing it.
“But you didn’t do it. Your father-”
“Please don’t mention him.”
“I- I-”
I guess a little too much emotion leaked into my voice, because she reacts like I slapped her in the face.
‘My neck is twitching again. This needs to stop.’
“Sorry. Just not now. Maybe not ever. I’m in control here and that’s all I care about. So, no, it wasn’t just me doing it. I had… ‘help’.”
“Different subject then?”
“Yep.”
“Why did you disappear? I haven’t heard anything about you in years, until suddenly you’re here, transported with the rest of us.”
“Why? Same answer. Who was there to count at the end? Just me. I left to go hide in a hole.”
“You? Hide?”
“How safe did you feel when I picked you up and forced you out?”
Her thumb has begun bleeding from how much she’s been chewing on it in just this short conversation, and I make a sudden realization.
‘Oh. She’s stressed out. Good job Lexi.’
“Never mind, don’t answer that. What I was going for is… that’s how I felt all the time there, y’know, forced… and afraid.”
Reaching over, I grab her arm and pull her thumb out her mouth, and show it to her. The startled look of focus that comes over her face actually makes me smile.
“Didn’t know you were a cannibal? Y’know you don’t get very far eating yourself.”
‘I would know…’
“Can I have my hand back?”
“Wha- oh sorry.”
‘What is wrong with me today?’
Releasing my accidentally too tight grip on her arm, she buries her hand in her armpit like she’s hiding her thumb before continuing.
“Forced huh? I take it you’re not too happy about that collar then?”
“That would be a major understatement.”
“Okay okay. What will you do then? You can probably disguise yourself for a while, but how long will that last?”
Hearing that brings me back to the reality of the situation. I’m surrounded on all sides. Folding my arms on the table and burying my face in them-
“That’s the question isn’t it? Any ideas?”
“Mmmmm nope.”
“That’s helpful.”
“At your service.”
“That’s for morning me to decide then. I’m going back to bed.”
Hobbling over to the bed I flop into it and look over at an affronted Jessica.
“And where am I supposed to sleep?”
“On the floor, up here, or in a different room. Flip a three-sided coin to decide I guess.”
Saying that I roll over against the wall and go to sleep while listening to her muttering under her breath.
----------
‘Is she really as irredeemable as everybody says?’
“Flip a three sided coin? What. The. Shit.”
She doesn’t stir at all from me talking to myself, and I’m left to decide where to sleep on my own.
“Super intense, and then she just decides to go to bed. Know what? Screw you, that was my bed first.”
“Plenty of space.”
Raising one arm, she gives me a thumbs up, then pats the bed without looking over at me.
‘Dammit. She was awake.’
“I’m not getting into bed with you.”
My reply is a shooing motion from her hand.
“You got comfortable fast.”
Walking over, I yank the pillow out from under her head and take it back with me to the table to lay on. She growls for a few seconds while I settle in but does nothing else, eventually shifting herself closer to the wall in a huff.
‘All bark… Siraceal says she’s dangerous even if she doesn’t act like it, but... how much can you blame someone who didn’t have a choice? She looked like a little kid when she was avoiding looking at me earlier.’
Sleeping on the table even with the pillow isn’t very comfortable, I end up only dozing a couple times before the sun is shining through the window for a far too early start to a new day.
‘Looks like the moons aren’t passing over for once… what the hell am I supposed to do about her.’
Looking over at EVE reveals her splayed out in an unflattering position, seemingly dead to the world.
“So much for being a southern belle.”
Seeing how comfortable she is, I throw my pillow at her a little harder than necessary. Hitting her in the face with a thump she begins flailing wildly for a moment before curling into a ball around the pillow, after a while of waiting and staring at her it occurs to me that she fell back to sleep.
Getting a little closer.
“Alright! Come on! Wake up! I’m only paid up for this morning!”
That makes her jump up with every hair on her tail standing on end like a startled cat with the pillow held out in front of her like that would do anything.
‘Truly adorable.’
Sleep still clearly evident on her face she starts glaring at me, stating only one word before collapsing back onto the bed.
“Rude.”
“Boo hhhooo. You’ve done nothing but make my night harder, least you can do is not drool while I sleep on a table.”
“R?ka r?k? myje, noga nog? wspiera” Waving a hand at me.
“Oh ya? And what will you do for me?”
“Scratch, scratch.” Sounding on the edge of falling back to sleep while miming scratching the air.
“That’s not very specific.”
“Usually when one provides a favor, they are the one that asks for something. You pick.”
“For someone who wants control, you sure are quick to offload it.”
“Forgive me for being a bit out of practice.” Sleepily waving me off again.
‘Ya, she has no idea what she’s doing either.’
“Fine then, help me.”
“Help you how?”
The way her eyes dilate when she locks on to mine sends a shiver up my spine, her voice thick with suspicion as she tilts herself onto one elbow.
‘No need to be that apprehensive.’
