Page 44 of Chasing the Night
“Who is us? Oh. Demetri. Wait. Demetri was a slave?” Chalice’s thoughts were being verbalized as fast as they came to her.
“I think the basket’s full now,” I noted, desperate to change the subject.
In that moment of discomfort, I completely forgot my original intent. It was still daylight. We would be home before dusk if we left now.
She nodded her head and brought the basket closer to her body to prevent spillage. I had promised to prove that the root wasn’t for me. At the time, it had seemed like a fine idea, clueing her in on my side of the family business. Maybe it would keep her off Messiah’s tail and all the things she wasn’t ready to know yet. She was, after all, a potential source for the product… but now, my good sense had suddenly come crashing back to me.
Maybe she forgot. It’d been a nice trip. We’d spoken on many things since then.
“Where to now?” she asked, the minute we crossed the bridge. Her big brown eyes were shining up at me and an expectant smile lingered on her lips.
“Uh… well.” Well. Fuck. I closed my eyes and cursed myself. How the fuck had I spent all day detouring her, only to end up at House Kantor anyfuckinghow? I cleared my throat with more than a little contempt and started for Klarissa’s mansion.
By the time I found the porch, she was looking twice as uneasy as I felt. Realizing she thought I didn’t know about her little excursions with Kantor, I stood a little straighter. A bit of calm and superiority briefly soothed me, and I wondered how much disgrace I could dribble over Keifer.
“Bold. Always the bold one, eh, Krypt?” Klarissa’s husband called from behind Chalice. I turned to see him ambling toward me with a solid looking cane. My eyes narrowed on it. My brain warred that he wouldn’t have the balls, but I knew he was just that ignorant. He swung and Klarissa bellowed like a sound from Lake Last itself.
“Enough.”
Her spiked heels clicked crisply against each step. The lengths she went, to get a notable entry. Someday she would learn it wasn’t the decor or paint that left impressions. Charisma, personality—those were the things that swayed crowds.
“You are really bold, Ender. Coming here. After what your people did.”
I knew by her tone that it wasn’t my people she blamed. The hate in Klarissa’s dark eyes was all for me.
“I didn’t kill your son, Klarissa. I’ve a good deal of blood on my hands, but I assure you, none of it is his...” I hated to argue with people, especially when I knew they were in the right.
But there was no way I would ever admit to any knowledge of what she was spewing. Nor would I help her with evidence toward my family. We both knew it was a House Krypt order, but only I knew that it hadn’t come from Atticus.
“Get out,” she hissed in a tone that was flat and deadly.
Chalice’s chin lifted, and she stepped toward us a little. Klarissa laughed and cut her gaze toward Chalice. It was a look of warning but carried more than a little taste of dare with it.
“If I go, I take the Root trade with me. Can you afford…”
“Never you mind what I can afford,” Klarissa spat, turning her attention back to me.
“Stop the performance, Klarissa. If you cut me out, you’re fucking yourself out of a hundred gold a week. You can’t even afford class as it is. Believe me when I tell you, there isn’t much that you can afford to lose… Save another heir.”
She flew toward me, hand raised high, and intent shining in those dark eyes. Chalice caught her arm before she could swing and managed to send her stumbling and sprawling backwards.
Root had begun to fall from her basket, I grabbed what I could and hurried her out the door. Once I was on the porch, the magnitude of my error hit me.
What the fuck had I just done? Had I really just tossed away that much fucking coin?
“Fuck,” I whisper-hissed, nearly taking the decorative gate off its hinges. I palmed my hair and shook my head with a groan.
“Give me,” I offered, taking the basket before she could object. I really expected Klarissa to fly out there and put on a show. It didn’t come, though. I continued toward the surgery, and Chalice followed along without incident… or so I thought.
Chalice
My heart leapt into a race I hadn’t expected, and everything went in slow motion when I saw Klarissa preparing to strike Ender. Admittedly, I wanted to slap the shit out of him almost daily, but damned if anyone else would. Especially not her. I wasn’t sure what it was about her, but I didn’t like her.
I followed along, listening to him curse and stomp, until I made it to the district that boasted the Surgery and Law Office, then had seen him home. Now I had places to be. Keif to meet. Supposing he still wanted to see me… I had sort of put my hands on his mother. But she asked for it! What was I supposed to do? It’s not like I hurt her or sought violence.
I meandered through the market, trying to decide if I would mosey past his mansion, or maybe I’d linger closer to the lower district gate and wait to see.
“Are you okay?” a voice hesitantly called from behind me.