Horns and Halos, page 25
“We really appreciate this, Dara,” I admitted softly. “I’m sorry if bringing up your husband hurt you.”
She shook her head. “Don’t worry about it.”
Elijah cleared his throat and held his stomach. “I can’t wait for that promised meal, Dara.”
As she played with her keys, she stopped and then looked at us with wide eyes. “Where are my manners? As you two know, my name is Dara. Might I have the pleasure of knowing your names?”
“Sia,” I stated, pointing to myself.
Elijah mirrored me saying, “Elijah.”
She smiled again. “Well, Sia and Elijah, for the next few days you’ll be staying with us. I hope you’ll look at it as home until all of your papers and information are drawn up.”
“What papers?” I asked.
She started to walk again as she spoke. “Oh, the usual: your names, jobs, and other information that we write down to keep track of the citizens. Once everything is lined up, they will see what sort of living situation you’re seeking and will set you up accordingly. For instance, just a few days ago, a pregnant woman and two men came into town. One of the males was set up with an apartment, and the woman and her fiancé got a small house toward the inner city.” She looked back at me and must have noticed how nervous I was. “Don’t worry, dear. They talk you through everything and pair you up with the best job and living situation. No one is left feeling like they were forced to do anything.”
I felt a lot lighter after hearing her say that. “Thank you,” I whispered.
Soon after, we were escorted to our rooms and left alone to clean up and get situated. I wasn’t sure about Elijah, but I struggled with figuring out how to get the water working. It took a little finagling and a few choice words were whispered under my breath, but I managed to get it done. I had never been happier either. Running water sure beat boiling buckets of the stuff over the fire for over an hour to fill up the bath, and it was a thousand times better to flush a toilet rather than walking to and from an outhouse all hours of the day. Yes, sir. This girl could get used to running water.
I didn’t want to take up too much time cleaning up. I could always bathe again before bed or in the morning, but I did want to make sure that I wasn’t looking like someone that slept with the pigs when I waltzed into the kitchen to help Dara prepare for the dinner rush. I made sure to lather up and rinse off quickly before changing into my last set of clean clothes. I wrinkled my nose at the small heap of dirty laundry. Maybe the coin Elijah and I earned could pay for some extra outfits?
I was still wrapped in a towel when I heard his voice coming from behind me on the bed.
“Do you have anything that isn’t bloodstained?”
Quickly, I stood and faced Draki with an angry scowl. Waving about my chosen clothing, I snapped back, “Lucky for me, I have one outfit left that isn’t.”
“We can fix that for you,” he growled.
I went still. The kind of still your body underwent when you are faced with a predator that’s stronger and is equipped with more teeth and claws than you are. I was frozen in a way where you even hold your breath as you hope the danger passes you by.
His serious glare turned playful as he gracefully stood from the bed and closed the short distance between us. “I won’t remind you of our little agreement. However, I will advise you to be on your guard here. This city might appear safe, but it is anything but that.”
“You’re just saying that.”
“No. Not when it comes to keeping you safe.”
“It’s a faith city!” I whisper-yelled.
“It’s a city of lies!” He matched my tone and was practically nose-to-nose with me. His golden gaze searched my eyes as he let the words sink in.
“You’re wrong.” But I didn’t even believe myself when I heard the words leave my mouth. Doubt was an ugly seed, and the plants it grew took root fast.
“Oh, Sia, not when it comes to this.”
“Why? Why are you destroying this for me?”
He grabbed my arms and shook his head. “Sia, I’m not destroying anything. I’m warning you that things are not as they appear. I’m trying to keep you safe.”
My eyes stung with the promise of tears. I didn’t want to cry. He had to be wrong. I couldn’t believe him. I wouldn’t. Sniffling, I pushed past the urge to weep and clutched my clean clothes against my damp chest. My free hand made sure that the towel stayed in place. “I need to get dressed,” I admitted in a voice that was hardly audible.
He nodded, slowly letting me go, but his final words rattled me nonetheless. “Don’t let down your guard.”
He disappeared, letting me get ready in peace. Or whatever peace would have me while my mind was plagued with worry. If I had to be careful, did that mean that I needed to warn Elijah too, or was it all a lie? Did Draki just not want me to be happy? Was he only sowing the seeds of doubt, or were we really in danger? I feared that we would find the answers all too soon.
A short while later, I stepped out in the hall and found Elijah waiting for me. He was resting against the wall next to my door. He had partially frightened me as I wasn’t expecting him to be standing there.
My slight jolt of surprise was noticed by him, and he smirked while saying, “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you. Thought I’d wait for you and we could walk there together.”
“Thanks for that.”
“The scare or because I waited for you?”
“The waiting,” I snipped and playfully slapped his shoulder.
He hissed in pain, and I covered my mouth before pouting. He shook his head and waved me away like there was nothing wrong with him. “Thought so, just wanted to be sure,” he said, but I could hear him straining to sound unaffected by my playful slap.
I sighed. “I’m sorry for hitting you. I wasn’t thinking.”
“I’m fine, Sia. The doctor showed up. I still feel sore, and I’m waiting for the painkillers to kick in.”
“Hey, Elijah?”
“Yeah?”
“I meant it, though. Thank you for waiting for me to come out. Honestly, I get nervous in crowded areas sometimes.”
He nodded and whispered, “Me too,” before pushing off the wall and motioning down the hall toward the kitchen. “After you.”
“This all feels so strange, still, like it isn’t happening.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. Everything feels ...”
We both said, “Too perfect” at the same time and laughed.
I managed to speak up first after the laughter had ebbed. “I know that I shouldn’t, but I keep wondering when a devil will pop up or when the village is going to turn against us, you know? It’s just ... I don’t even know how to describe it.”
“It’s just nice to feel like you don’t have to always be on your guard,” Elijah said with a sigh of contentment.
“Yeah. Yeah, it’s exactly like that,” I muttered and smiled.
He was right. It was nice to feel like I didn’t have to worry about demons, devils, or manipulative humans. We could just loosen up and exist. For so long I had been afraid and on guard that when I didn’t have tension in my shoulders as I walked a hall, the feeling was alien to me. But I should have known better than anyone that feeling relaxed and at peace wouldn’t last long. I had dared to dream for a moment. A silly mistake on my part. My mind was quick to remind me of that.
Don’t let down your guard.
I had a feeling that phrase was going to haunt me. There wasn’t going to be a single kind gesture that wouldn’t go without being thoroughly picked apart because of it. Whether or not I was thankful for that had yet to be decided. It could very well be a trick that Draki was playing on me, or he was telling the truth and I was in deep denial because I wanted some part of this world to be safe for me and countless others.
There was a series of clangs as we turned the corner. We saw the tail end of a pile of pots and pans hitting the ground while Dara looked distraught at the spill of kitchen cookware.
“Drat!” the innkeeper growled. Noticing Elijah and me in the doorway, she smiled with a look of relief. “Thank the Heavens, you’re here. I thought it was going to take you two a bit longer to get cleaned up.”
“Didn’t want to leave you alone to do it all by yourself,” I said.
Elijah raised his hand. “I hurried because we were promised food.”
Dara laughed. “Right, heh. I did, didn’t I?” She motioned for us to come closer. “Let’s get you fed and up to speed so that when the dinner rush comes, you aren’t two lost little lambs.”
She scurried over to grab a plate and loaded it with meat that was warming high over a pile of hot coals. Next came the roasted vegetables before each dish was finished off with a buttery roll. Elijah and I wasted no time diving into the meal as Dara gave us the rundown of our duties for the night which were basically nothing more than plating meals and washing dishes. We didn’t even have to cook or leave the kitchen. Two things I wasn’t going to complain about. I was too tired and sore to not burn something by accident, and I was definitely too nervous to wait tables. As for Elijah, he didn’t need to be moving around a whole lot. I wanted him to rest in his room, but he wouldn’t hear any of it.
“Where you go, I go,” he whispered to me, and there wasn’t any room to discuss the matter further.
Clearing the counter of our empty plates, Dara pointed to one of the sinks in the back. “That there will be your best friend this evening.” She then pointed to a couple of metal carousels hanging from a window that could see into the dining area. “That will be the other. All of the orders will be placed there. No need for you to worry about cooking anything. Just plate up the food requested and set it down for one of the staff to take out to the tables.”
“Seems easy enough,” I said.
“Yeah. Pretty cut and dry,” Elijah added.
Dara smiled at the two of us. “I have nothing but confidence in the two of you so let’s get ready for the first wave. It should be starting any minute.” With that, she stepped out of the kitchen and left us to it.
For the remainder of the evening, Elijah and I worked out a system that made plating food and cleanup a breeze. He handled all of the dishwashing while I fixed up the orders. We were fast and efficient and there were no complaints. By the time the dining area had died down to murmurs, Dara returned to the kitchen with a grand smile.
“Might just try and keep the two of you for myself,” she expressed, wiping her hands off on her apron.
“Won’t hear me complaining,” I admitted.
Elijah waved saying, “Or me.”
“Just the same, I thank you two. Here.” She came close and grabbed each of our hands and placed a few metal coins into them. “Take this, you’ve earned it.”
I turned the shining circles over in my hand, inspecting the strange carvings that were engraved on the surface. “Is this ... money?” I asked. I had never seen it before. When I was younger I had heard a few stories about how some places used it instead of bargaining and trading, so I knew that it could buy things.
She nodded. “It is. It’s enough to get you a couple of meals or maybe something in town. It’s not much—”
“No. This is fine. We are earning our room and meals to start with. We didn’t expect anything else out of the deal,” Elijah said.
I looked at him and then the innkeeper and nodded in agreement. “Like he said, we didn’t expect more than what was promised. We are thankful for the money. Really, thank you.”
Dara sighed with another nod. “Well, you two did better than expected. There isn’t a dirty dish in the place, and we managed to make it through the dinner rush and some of the after-hours of the diner. You did more than enough and earned that bit of coin. Save it or spend it, but it’s yours.”
“Thank you,” I said again.
Waving at us with her rag, she shooed us out of the kitchen. “Now, run along you two. Clean off from tonight and get some good rest. I’ll have Micah wake you up in the morning to explore some of the city. Just be back by lunch to help me again.”
“What about breakfast?” Elijah asked. “Won’t you need help in the morning too?”
She shook her head. “Nah, got a fully staffed kitchen come sun up. It’s the afternoons and evenings that I’ll be in need of the extra help. Lost my mid-shift and evening help a couple of weeks back, and I have been struggling to keep up with the flow. You two have been a blessing.”
“All right then. I guess we’ll see you in the morning?”
“I’ll have your meals ready. Just come to the bar area when you’re ready to eat and the staff will serve you. I fear I’ll be too busy to meet with you before lunch. Running this place isn’t easy, but I’m doing the best I can. I know Arrow is watching over me.” She laughed and waved the rag at us again. “Look at you two getting me all caught up in the chatter. Shoo. Off with you now.”
I laughed and grabbed Elijah by the arm. “See you tomorrow, Dara!” I yelled and tugged my companion to the exit.
“What are you going to do with your money?” Elijah asked once we were out in the halls.
Inspecting the coins again, I let the lamplight in the hall glisten over the face of the money as I tried to envision myself purchasing something. But nothing really came to mind. Shaking my head, I sighed and replied, “I’m not sure. Might just save it until I have a need pop up. We stocked up on a lot of supplies back in that last village. We don’t really need soap or medical supplies, and our food and lodging are taken care of by working here.”
Flicking one of the coins into the air and snatching it when it came back down, Elijah grinned as he said, “Then we shall save it. I doubt we could buy what we really need with it, anyway.”
“What would that be?”
Pocketing the money, he looked at me with a slight frown. “Clothes. We need clothes, Sia. Most of our stuff is stained terribly or shredded by claws. I don’t think that Dara would want us wearing those while toiling away in the kitchen around food.”
Do you have anything that isn’t bloodstained?
Cringing, I shook my head with a deep frown. He was right. Elijah and Draki both. We needed new clothing. It appeared that we had to get a proper job as soon as possible because we’d need to save up money to buy it. But the more that I thought about saving money and purchasing things, the more that I felt like I was just preparing to leave again. I didn’t like that. I wanted a home. I wanted to belong. I wanted Saint Augustine to be where I put down my roots. For so long I had struggled to get here to do just that, so, then, why did I feel like I was just getting ready to check off a supply list before heading out again? Why did it seem like there was a knot growing in the pit of my stomach whenever I looked at the shining coins in my grasp? I didn’t want to admit it so early on, but something momma used to always tell me was, “If it seems too good to be true, then baby ... it probably is.” If I acted too impulsively, then I would tell Draki to break my village’s curse, and if things could go horribly wrong, leaving everyone stranded out in the Wastes. I wouldn’t have a way to bring them here. I found myself holding back and wanting to inspect the faith city more. Did I trust Draki’s warning, or had I lost all of my faith in people?
Elijah bumped me with his elbow when we reached my room. “Hey, are you all right?”
“Huh?” I blinked and looked at him confused.
“You seem like something’s bothering you.”
I shook my head. “I was just lost in thought. I’m sorry.”
“You that tired?”
Smiling, I whispered. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m that tired.” It wasn’t a complete lie.
“I’d kiss you if we weren’t being watched,” he whispered back.
To that my heart flipped, and I felt my eyes bulge in fear. Was Draki watching us from the shadows? I found myself instantly looking to the darkened corners, expecting to see the golden glow of his evil stare from the dusky depths. Instead, I felt Elijah’s hand reach up, cup my cheek, and turn it to face him.
“Pretend like we are having a moment,” he said in a voice that only I could hear. “It’s Micah,” he informed softly and flicked his gaze to behind us and then quickly became transfixed on my blue eyes once more. “He’s been watching us for a while now.”
Resisting the urge to look behind me, I asked softly, “Since when?”
“Since we got here.”
“You think this place has something to hide?”
“We live in a world where there are demons and devils roaming about a wasteland and people aren’t safe anywhere but in devil-ran villages, unless they make pacts of their own. This place seems too good to be true.”
“Hmmm ... my thoughts exactly. Either this place is amazing and we’re jaded and they are just making sure the newcomers aren’t horrible psychos or ...”
“Or they are hiding something and hope we are too stupid to figure it out.”
“Until we do figure it out, we play the innocent, lovesick couple hiding their passion for one another?”
“I think I can live with that,” he said, dipping down to kiss me.
I let it happen even though I knew I shouldn’t. As quickly as our lips met, I forced myself to push him away playfully with a giggle. “Elijah, stop. They’ll see,” I whispered loud enough for Micah to hear.
“Oh, come on. We’ll be living together by week’s end, I’m sure. Why do we have to hide it?”
“I told you, I want to wait until we’re married.”
His smile froze, and his eyes lingered on me. “You’d have me?”
Pain shot through my entire being, and I forgot what I was going to say next. “I ... We need to rest. We’ve endured a rough journey and had a long night.” I took a few steps back and slowly licked my lips. “Goodnight, Elijah.”
“Goodnight, Sia.” But there were a thousand things woven into that one statement. I could feel all of the emotions he was trying to hide mingled in the sound of my name. I’d carry it to bed with me and hope that it didn’t keep me up all night.
