by Rae Brooks
The woman smiled cheerfully and glanced up to him with glittering eyes. “I do, but I enjoy healing when I can. So I don’t mind.” As the rag touched the wound, he had to admit that a pain he hadn’t been entirely aware of felt as though it were being relieved. As if a thorn that he’d grown numb to was sticking into his leg, and she’d just plucked it out for him.
The leaf was obviously doing something for the simple water in the urn. He let out a sigh at the relief. He had never expected to be actually healed at all. This was Dark District—they were supposed to be more primitive. “Did you treat this yourself?” she asked after a moment.
She’d gone to acquire another set of herbs when she’d asked the question. Calis flushed. Naturally, if she was this good—she was going to know that someone had played with his wound before this. “Ah, yes. It happened a few suns ago,” he answered honestly.
“You did a sloppy job,” she told him, though with an apologetic note in her voice. Calis was confident that the smile on his face confused her. The castle healer was always so sure that his way was without flaw that hearing someone insult him so freely was nice. The blush on Calis’s cheeks was probably saving him from exposure, though.
“Well, I figured I’d done well enough. But when it was still bothering me this sun, I wanted to make sure that it got the proper treatment. Everyone here in Dark District says you’re amazing,” he said.
“Do they?” she said, mostly to herself.
The leaves she moved along his cut seemed to work more and more to reach a part of the wound that had been untouched by the castle healer’s methods. Calis could only imagine the embarrassment if the wound had been treated well. He thought back to his reason for being here while she dressed the wound. Kilik wasn’t in this room, and that meant there was only one other place he could be.
Calis couldn’t think of any logical reason for him to be peering into another room of the house, though. He didn’t want to make the residents suspicious of him, as Kilik did live here. “I, ah… heard your… son was ill. Is he better?”
The woman’s head shot up in worry. Her eyes clouded with uncertainty, and then there was a gentle smile on her lips as she returned to her task with calmness. “Ah, you must mean Kilik.” Calis knew Kilik wasn’t this woman’s son—but a traveler might not be so privy to that information.
“Yes,” Calis answered.
“He isn’t my son, but he does live with me. And he was sick, yes, most likely still is. But, his real sickness is his stubbornness. So he claims that he’s well. I haven’t any idea where he is now, but if you were to ask him—he would say he was better.” The affectionate frustration with which she spoke about Kilik made Calis smile.
Still, Calis felt a strange worry take ahold of his chest. Apparently, even living with the healer, Kilik hadn’t gotten the treatment that he’d needed. Though, perhaps living with a healer meant that she would want to treat him more than most, and Kilik knew that. For some reason, Calis was inclined to believe the former. This woman didn’t seem like one to fuss over nothing. “How do you know Kilik?” she asked.
“I met him recently—the town had a dance on my first moon here, and he was there.” Calis explained this as if it wasn’t a little shady.
The woman didn’t seem at all suspicious of him, though. She nodded her head and completed her dressing of the wound. “Should I tell him you asked about him?” she asked. Calis could swear there was a glimmer of teasing in her hazel eyes, though the question was completely legitimate.
“No, ma’am” he answered swiftly. “I was just curious.”
So Kilik wasn’t here, and he was back in society. Calis wondered if he might find Kilik about in Dark District, though the idea of being discovered here, when the healer may well reveal his less-than-courteous questioning, was not appealing.
The dressing of the wound complete, the woman stood, and Calis pulled himself from the table. He thanked her, several times, as they exited into the main room. Lee was talking with Katt, with a quiet smile on his face. Her smile was much less quiet, in fact, Calis was positive he’d never seen anyone smile quite so loudly. “Are you finished?” Lee asked. Whereas, he would ordinarily have been dying to get away—he didn’t seem in any hurry, at this point.
Calis nodded. “Yes. The healer is as efficient as the rumors say,” he said. Lady Amaral just smiled and nodded her head cheerfully.
With a quick farewell, they turned to leave at the same time a young blond stepped through the door. She spoke in a loud voice. “This was not worth six silver—this was hardly worth a copper,” she growled. “I can’t believe he ripped us off like that! To think, after everything…”
She had blond hair, much like the healer’s. Her features were similar as well, if a little younger, and a little sharper. She had the same hazel eyes, pale lips, and blond hair tied back and covered with a bandana. Calis felt his heart skip a little as he made a guess as to with whom she conversed.
Calis was right. A moment later, the black-haired boy entered and dropped a sack to the floor. His hair was a little neater than the last time Calis had seen him, though not very much. “Kilik, Alyx, you were shopping?” Katt asked.
Kilik had yet to look up and observe that Calis was standing in his house. Calis was given a moment to wonder if Kilik would even remember him—whether or not he would even react to seeing Calis again. Oh, but Calis wanted him to. “Alyx was shopping,” Kilik answered cheerfully, “I was carrying.”
The healer was not at all pleased by this statement. “Alyx, you are not a princess. You should have carried some of the load,” she reprimanded. “Especially after Kilik had been ill.”
“Ah, but Alyx thinks she is a princess. Don’t you, princess?” Kilik tousled the young girl’s, Alyx’s, hair with affection. Then, he glanced across the room to the healer, then to Lee, and lastly to Calis.
He started upon seeing Calis, which Calis took to mean that his hope had become a reality. “Ah, we have guests,” he said warily.
Hope granted, Calis still felt as though he had been caught in some very nasty trick. Instead of greeting Kilik as he probably should have, he found himself staring off at one of the far walls with feigned interest. “We do,” the healer answered for them. “This young man apparently took a rather nasty fall,” she said, gesturing to Calis.
Calis wished she wouldn’t do that. He nodded his head to affirm her story, but he said nothing. Lee bowed a greeting to the two—like any ordinary person probably should have done. Calis was normally good at showing proper etiquette, but the frightening idea that this healer was about to expose him was preventing him from doing so. Kilik’s head lowered to glance curiously at Calis’s leg, where part of his pant was still pinned up. “Oh!” the healer’s daughter spoke, “Aitken didn’t tell us. Well, I trust mother’s healing helped?”
There was a single moment in which Calis considered proceeding back to the castle with more haste than he’d ever proceeded with in his life, but inevitably, he did have to answer. “It did,” Calis answered, “immensely.”
“More than he expected it to, I’d wager,” Lee added cheerfully. Calis was quite certain that he’d never heard Lee talk in such amicable tones before.
Once Calis let his eyes observe the two newcomers to the house, he noticed that the blond girl was offering him a particularly flirtatious smile. When he tried to smile back, he had a feeling he gave the impression of being strangled. “Are you new here? If you are not, then you must have known that my mother is famous for her healing remedies.” The girl’s voice was light, airy, and completely oblivious to Calis’s inability to focus on anything but her black-haired companion.
“He is new,” said that very same black-haired companion. “He’s a traveler, I believe. I’m surprised you’re still here.” The voice was calm, collected, but due to the way the blue eyes flitted over Calis’s appearance as if they expected the blond to morph into some sort of diabolical monster, Calis doubted the calmness very much.
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nbsp; The young, blond girl seemed surprised that Kilik knew anything about their houseguest at all. “Oh?” she asked. “Well, he isn’t that new, then. It’s been two cycles since the dance,” she pointed out.
“Two cycles is not enough time to figure out all the secrets of Dark District, Alyx,” Kilik answered briskly.
Calis, not entirely sure how he felt about being talked about as if he wasn’t in the room, spoke up. “I’m skeptical. I don’t tend to believe rumors until I see them for myself.”
“Reasonable,” the healer said. Calis had forgotten her existence entirely. He also hadn’t noticed until that moment that Katt was still standing in the room. This encounter had become rather crowded.
Calis let out a steady breath and then glanced to everyone in the room. There was only one logical response to this sort of situation. “Well, we ought to be going. We do have errands to run.” He hoped fervently that Lee wouldn’t choose now to give him a hard time.
“Are you sure?” the healer asked, leaving Lee no time to agree or disagree. “I made tea, and the two of you look more stressed than a simple fall down a few stairs can cause.”
Lee looked a little surprised at the offer. People of Dark District were known for being curt, and certainly not offering random individuals tea for no apparent reason. Calis assumed the offer was one of courtesy and was not meant to be taken. “I’m sure,” he answered. “We shouldn’t impose any more than we already have.”
Calis managed a light bow, which felt odd. If Lavus knew that he was bowing to commoners—well, Calis would likely be hanged, or at the very least, severely beaten. The woman just smiled at him, though, and returned the gesture. “Well, you should at least ask Kilik how he is—as you did inquire about him.”
A flush made its way onto Calis’s cheeks. He worked to ease his mind. He had every right to ask about Kilik—after the display that he’d seen those two cycles ago. Why shouldn’t he be curious? For some reason, though, Calis couldn’t help feeling—once again—like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t.
Kilik didn’t seem to be affected by the statement, and his blue eyes rested curiously on Calis. He probably thought nothing of it, but he wasn’t going to make this any easier by saying so. “Why did you ask about me?” he asked impassively.
Calis took one moment to collect his words, and then put every lesson on how to speak under pressure he’d ever learned into practice—even the ones that he’d never used before. “After seeing you like you were two cycles ago, I wasn’t sure,” he said. “I felt a little guilty about not helping you home that sun, and when I heard a rumor that you lived with the healer, I just thought I’d ask.” The words didn’t sound as fluid as they should, but at least they were sensible words.
The blue eyes flashed with bemusement, and Kilik offered a very light smile. The smile wasn’t like the one from the dance, but there was a comfort in it. “I appreciate the gesture, but don’t feel guilty. You’re helping me home that sun would have probably made my life more difficult,” he said.
The words were probably meant to be a simple easing of guilt, but the tone with which they were spoken made Calis think there was more to it. Why would helping someone who was sick have made their life more difficult? The statement didn’t make sense, though it could easily have been ignored. “I’ve never known guilt to be assuaged by words from the person the guilt was procured from,” he said, feeling bravery returning.
Kilik watched him with subdued curiosity—a look that Calis had seen at the dance. “How else would the guilt be assuaged?” he asked.
“Time, I guess,” Calis answered. His embarrassment was fading quickly during this conversation, though he was vaguely aware that there was a party of people witnessing their conversation and no doubt thinking all sorts of nonsense.
There was a strained silence, and then Kilik seemed to decide on what words he wanted to say. “Well, my apologies, then.”
“Though, the lady,” Calis said with a quick gesture to the oldest woman in the house—the healer, “says that she doesn’t think you are well. I would probably feel much more guilty if you didn’t take care of yourself.”
This time, there was a break in Kilik’s casual expression. Calis was certain that the boy blushed for a moment before he snapped his teeth together. “I know my own body well enough to know that I am fine,” he answered brusquely. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” he said with a sharpness Calis didn’t expect, “Manali has an early shipment this sun. I promised to help.” He offered a quick bow to the room and turned.
The words formed without thought, and they left Calis’s mouth without filter. The sound shocked the blond—as he was so unaccustomed to saying things without worrying with them first. “Let me help with it,” he said.
Kilik froze mid step and turned to stare at Calis as if he had just threatened to stab him. “What?” he forced from his mouth.
“I can help you,” Calis said. “It would do a lot to ease my guilt if I could see you work, and know you were alright. Not to mention, I would be helping you.”
The blue eyes were wide with disbelief. They stared at Calis with a mix of irritation, fury, and distrust. Calis wasn’t sure if he’d really angered the boy, or if he’d just managed to surprise him to the point of irritation. “You said you had errands,” Kilik managed weakly.
“They can wait,” Calis answered. “And this seems as though it would do much more good than those errands.”
“No,” Kilik snapped. “I need the gold for it.”
Calis smiled. “I won’t take any of your pay.”
The desperation grew in Kilik’s face as he realized that he was quickly running out of reasons to refuse this offer of help. Calis had gone from mortified to absurdly excited very quickly. “I will not let you do labor and not take part of the pay for it!” he said.
“Consider my pay the easing of my mind,” Calis said, charmingly. He was sure that he heard one of the girls in the room let out a very quiet laugh.
“I will do no such thing!” Kilik’s fists clenched, and Calis thought he was coming dangerously close to stamping his foot. “What would your friend do while you spent your time doing labor with no hope of pay for it?” he growled.
Calis blinked. “Are you really so opposed to helping people for the sake of helping them, Kilik?”
Another laugh, and this one was much less contained. Kilik actually jerked his head to glare at Alyx when she did so. “Fine—help me if you must,” he snarled. “But you are taking half of the coin.” Kilik turned and didn’t wait for Calis as he stormed out the door.
Calis cast a worried glance at Lee, who was grinning. “I’ll stay here, if that’s alright with you.”
“Perfect, but I should go, I somehow doubt he’ll wait on me,” Calis said as he followed after Kilik.
For a few steps, Calis was confident that Kilik had bolted so quickly that Calis would never be able to catch him. That would have been fair—as Calis had been a bit of an ass. Fortunately, though, a few moments later, Calis caught a glimpse of the brown and black tunic that Kilik was wearing.
Picking up his pace, Calis closed the gap between them so that he was walking only a pace behind the young man. “I feel like I should tell you my offer was sincere. I was honestly wanting to help you,” Calis said.
An apology felt out of place, considering he didn’t think he owed Kilik one, but it was conversation. “I didn’t need help,” Kilik answered, without acknowledging Calis’s real reason for speaking.
“Just for my sake… you have to understand, you did look rather pale that sun,” Calis tried again.
Kilik didn’t look back though, and his pace didn’t slow. This pace, Calis was beginning to notice, was an incredibly quick one. “If you were so concerned, you could have pursued me that sun.”
Calis let out a breath. “I would have—I mean, I thought about it—but then there was that mess at the market with that vigilante,” he said.
“Well, that’s good enoug
h for me. You don’t owe me anything. In fact, you are being a burden by insisting on following me,” Kilik spoke without worrying with Calis’s feelings or thoughts. Calis found himself enjoying it.
Calis just smiled amiably and continued. “Then, this is just a burden you will have to bear, my friend.”
“We’re here,” Kilik said sharply. He stopped walking, and Calis managed to stop just a moment before he ran into the back of the boy. They were standing at the less than well-guarded gate. The gate was made of sticks, and a few under-paid guardsmen sat lazily at the gate. They gave Kilik and Calis a disinterested glance.
Just in front of the gate was a small, brown wagon, pulled by two gray, ornery-looking mules. The wagon was large enough to carry quite a bit of covered crates and barrels. There was a red-haired man tending to one of the mules before he looked up and saw them. He headed over and smiled in greeting a few moments later. “Kilik!” he said. The man was tall, broad, with a beard that was untamed at best.
“Hi, Lycael,” Kilik answered politely. Gone was the angry way with which he’d handled Calis. In the place of it was an absurdly charming demeanor that nearly made Calis’s head hurt. When the red-haired man glanced at Calis, he quirked an eyebrow. “This is…” Kilik paused.
They had never exchanged names. Calis had never introduced himself at all. Calis knew he needed a name that wasn’t his own, and he knew he needed it immediately. His eyes darted about, until he finally thought back to some of the guards at the palace and blurted out a name. “Atris,” he said. “That is… my name.” The name sounded so foolish that he was sure that Kilik and the other man might burst into laughter.
“Right,” was all Kilik said, and without a trace of humor in his voice. “Well, he is here to help with the shipment. Work will go faster this way.”
“I don’t have enough to pay two of you,” the man said with a frown. There was an agitation in his eyes when he regarded Calis.