Chapter 33: The great bath

My heart raced, I glanced at the door left ajar. “Eh, are you sure?” 

“I swear to God I’ll slap you.” 

That meant a lot coming from a preachers daughters. I gulped and began the arduous process of climbing out of the armour, then unsummoned it. “Sorry.” 

The veil around me shuddered and swirled. It caressed me with its electric touch, making the hairs on my arms and legs stand on end. The slow bleeding stemmed completely, as ambient energy flowed inside the wound and stretched strings of luminescent green to tie my skin together. It stung a bit, just like your skin stitching together should. Not at all like the warping of my body when Sera entered me. 

When all was said and done, the wounds closed up, the wisps of glossy green faded from sight and left me with a few white blemishes where gnarly wounds had adorned my skin just no more than a minute ago. 

“Wow…” I muttered. 

“Glad you enjoyed it.” She sighed and sat down on the bed next to me. “So what happened to you?” 

“Long story.” 

“Luckily we’ve got plenty of time.” 

I bent forward and leaned my arms on my knees and closed my eyes, thinking back to the beginning. ”Well… When the hotel caved in I was crushed by debris… I thought I was done for, then one of the ruptures kind of just swooped me up. I woke up a hallway, paintings lining the walls, time worn cracked floors. I remember thinking my luck had finally turned around, when the cursed jailor strolled over to me.” 

I sighed and laid down on the bed with my eyes glued to the ceiling, my voice cracked. “I begged him for help, which I guess he gave me in his own sort of twisted way. He mended my wounds with a branding iron and then strung me up on a hook to…  don’t know. Marinate…? He left me there for weeks.”  

She gasped. “Weeks?”

“Yeah.”  

She nodded her head silently. 

“Anyway. There was this corpse in the middle of a room who turned out not to be a corpse, she helped me escape.” 

“What was the catch?” 

“What do you mean catch?” 

“Would she help you out of the goodness of her heart?” Joanna snorted. “Like hell she would. We’re in the Forgotten lands. No one does anything for free here.” She spoke as if she was used to the place. 

“Well… She did.” I scratched my ear and turned away. 

“Like hell she did. You know I can tell when you lie.” 

“Well, you see…” 

She inched closer, placing her hand on my knee. “It’s alright. I won’t be mad.” 

I’d been working with the priest and Joanna for a couple of years now. She wasn’t one to tattle, but she was a priest’s daughter … and I—I was whatever the hell I was now. 

She sighed. “Did she corrupt you?” The fresh sheets crinkled.

I twitched, whipping my head to stare at her.  “What are you sayi-” 

She laid on her side, face close to mine as I turned. She wasn’t amused, not in the slightest. “You know what I mean. The sanctuary resisted you. That only happens to scourge.”

I cleared my throat and looked away, muttering, “I’m not corrupted.”

She jabbed me in the side where my skin was still pale from the healing. “Drop the charade. What happened to her?”

I spoke quietly, “She didn’t make it.” Well her body didn’t at least. 

“Is she the one who corrupted you?” 

I groaned, “It’s not her fault… There were some complications when we tried to find our way out.” 

“I’m all ears.”

“Well. There was this vault, right? We figured we would take a look, who wouldn’t? So I opened it…” I sneakily left out the part about the text that very clearly told me not to open the damn thing. 

“And?” She asked like a disappointed parent. Oddly comforting. 

“Not sure. But I got this mark, it’s started to change things.” 

She groaned. “You speak in riddles.” 

“Well I’m not too sure either. These last few days have been hectic like you wouldn’t believe. Haven’t really had time to think.” 

“No. I’ve heard. Our scouts told me about the horde. If I knew you were there I’d have sent someone to get you.” 

I got up on my elbows, she followed me with her eyes.“Why didn’t you help them?” 

She shook her head. “Couldn’t trust them. Their numbers were teeming with scourge.” 

She got up on her elbows, placing her eyes level with mine. “We didn’t make the call lightly. We couldn’t just march over and risk our own people.”

I slumped back into the soft embrace of the bed, my eyelids heavy. “… I understand. It’s just… a lot of good people died. Nea, the girl with the hole in her stomach, her twin sister died. So did this sweet woman, Anna. She had kids back home…” 

Joanna placed a hand on my chest. “I know. It’s hard, and I wish things had turned out differently. But we’ll just have to make do with what we got. We’ve got to protect the kids. They don’t deserve any of this.” 

I stayed quiet, she sighed. “You must be tired. You can rest up here, I’ll make sure no one disturbs you,” she said and climbed off the bed.  

“Where will you sleep?” I asked.

She let her eyes linger on mine for a moment. “There’s room for two…” To her elation I swallowed visibly. “But I’ll just sleep on the sofa. Or another empty room. This is a one time deal, alright?”

“Got it.” 

She closed the door. My stale stink already made the room smell less like her and more like the battle torn streets of the city. I wanted to shower. I didn’t enjoy being the smelly guy the kids all laughed at, but the pillow had other plans. As soon as I let my head rest on the cool softness of the silken pillow-case all thoughts of having a shower flew out the window. I was asleep in a few moments. 

***

I didn’t know how much time had passed. All I knew was that I felt good. Damn good. Better than I had in weeks. For the first time I could feel a completely new strength circulate within, one that hadn’t been there before receiving the blessing. 

With a glance I concluded that I was still alone. There was a mirror on the work desk. I barely saw it below the pile of clothes.

“Morning,” I yawned at Sera.

“Good morning little hellion.” She smirked. 

I raised an eyebrow.  

“You really like to tread the line.” 

I rolled my eyes. “She may have a gentle appearance, but there is no doubt about the fact that she will kill me if I lie to her.” 

Sera clicked her tongue. “Will you tell her all your secrets?” 

“I already told her all she needed to know.” I shrugged.

For the first time since I’d gotten to know Sera, she was speechless. There was nothing else. Nothing that needed to be explained or told. 

She nodded in approval, lips curling into an approving smile.

I called forth my status. 

Name: Caleb Kane

Race: Human (92%) ??? (8%) 

Title: One of reviled flesh, Outsider's mark

Blessing: W??ver

Acclaim: Whisper

Accolades: Silent Scream, Battle-worn thimbles, Cherished blasting wand, Embrace of Innocence

“Shit,” I groaned. ”Will this thing ever stop?” 

“Not unless you do something about it.” Sera’s voice lacked emotion and urgency. Despite her being the one in the most amount of trouble. I knew that. I just wanted to suffer in solidarity. Obviously that wasn’t going to fly with her. 

I grabbed my armour and buttoned my shirt then left the room. The halls of the amphitheatre were empty, no one seemed to be up, no one but the guards on rotation of course. Samuel leaned against the archway. He shot me a sharp glare as soon as he noticed me stalking the halls alone. 

I approached with a sheepish smile. “Got anywhere I can clean up?” 

He rolled his eyes. “Should have done that before going to bed, what are you, a child?” 

That’s rich coming from one. 

“Down the hall,” he said and pointed with his spear. “First room on the right after you pass the oratory.” 

“Got it. Thanks Sam.” 

He twitched at the mention of the nickname. I thought everyone called him that… I scratched my neck and smiled wryly, leaving him behind with a wave.

All throughout my walk to the washroom I felt his glare pierce me. “You’re on guard duty damn it, stop looking at me,” I whispered quietly enough that he couldn’t hear. 

Why the fuck am I even worrying what the little tween thinks? I shook my head and brushed the cloth hanging in the doorway to the side. 

The washroom was simple, but much better than the one back at the library. It was an actual washroom. It had toilets that weren’t just holes and an actual pool of water with active pumps. 

I breathed in the sweet smell of chlorine and water, then threw my clothes to the ground. 

The warmth of the water felt like it seeped deep into my bones. I moaned. “That’s the stuff.” 

I scrubbed myself clean of filth, dried blood, sweat, and tears, like my life depended on it. It took a good ten minutes of intense cleaning before I felt like a human again. Satisfied, I laid back in the water and floated across the surface. 

The ceiling was a beautiful piece of art. Happy people dancing and smiling around a large bonfire. They wore clothes of silk with colourful ropes tied around their waists, like one of the loose garbs they wore in the Middle East. The scene was full of life and joy. I had seen neither since coming here. 

Footsteps bounced against the walls. I sank down in the water so that my privates weren’t left on open display.

“Oh! Cal! So this is where you’ve been hiding.” Yusuf laughed and got undressed almost as soon as he entered. 

I relaxed. “Hey. Did you get any sleep?” 

“Did I ever?!” He exclaimed. “If I had known they had beds like these I would have defected from Samara and the others long ago. No offence to them.” 

I chuckled. “I hear that.” 

His clothes fell to the floor softly, without so much as a sound. He was much thinner than I imagined. Ivory ribs pressed against his olive skin, he almost looked translucent. He tried to cover up with his arms, obviously unsettled by his mangy body being seen.

I looked away. “Well get in. They’ve not only got soft beds but hot water too.”

His eyes grew wide. “You’re kidding?!”  

Carefully he let his toes submerge then practically rushed into the water.

“Dear Allah,” he exclaimed. “I’ve never felt such relief.” 

“You and me both. I swear I had another set of dirt-made skin there for a while.” 

He smiled constantly while scrubbing away at his arms and legs. 

“How’s Nea?” I asked.

“She’ll be alright. You?” 

“I’m already better than fine.” I beamed. “What happens next?” 

“Samara seems content to stay. There’s already a group here, which makes things easier.” 

I clicked my tongue. “So she still just wants to progress?” 

He shook his head. “No she wants to escape. The death of Lea weighs heavily on her.” 

“Lea?” 

“Nea’s sister.” 

“You’re joking.” 

He looked at me, confusion written in his eyes. “Why would I?” 

I shook my head. It’s like parents lose the ability to name children whenever they have twins. “Never mind.” 

He whistled and splashed his face with water. “She’s already gotten acquainted with your friend. She seems like a capable woman, Joanna. Well liked and respected.” 

“Yeah. She’s great.” 

“With their information adding up it seems like they’re getting closer to figuring this place out. We just need to hold out until then and help them in their day to day.”

The cloth at the door swung open as Samuel pushed inside, he cleared his throat, “Caleb. Joanna wants to see you. She’s in the upstairs booth.”