Page 35 of The Toymaker
“Yes.”
Kit wasn’t sure if the physician had done something bad, and Riju didn’t want to say, or if the treatment itself had been painful and scary. A physician would obviously have healing magic, but not all could numb or soothe pain. If they fixed a broken bone, a torn muscle, or a deep cut, it could be pretty painful for a few seconds while the bone or whatever shifted into its proper place and knitted itself back together.
What if the physician had done something else and was secretly a sick bastard?
“Riju, I’ll kick him out, and I’m coming right back, okay?”
Riju didn’t answer, and Kit firmly closed the door once he left the room. Up front, he squared his shoulders and tried to appear brave and imposing even though he was naked. “He needs to be alone, and I’d rather you not be here. You have to leave now.”
“I just wanted to see how he was. It’s been years, and he ran away from my office. Someone mentioned a man with his description working here.”
That didn’t make Kit feel any better, and he couldn’t say he’d once heard of a physician who had been abusing his patients. It would sound far too accusatory, and maybe it was the memory of the injuries that frightened Riju. “I want to tell him you’re gone and be honest about it.”
The physician frowned and turned away. “I wasn’t expecting this sort of reaction. I merely wanted to see him, and I wasn’t expecting him to act crazy and run off.”
“He’s not crazy!”
“He is if he acts like that. He also shouldn’t have a slave. I don't see why he's working in a place like this.”
“You don't need to see, and I don't like your attitude, so get out!”
“Gladly!”
Kit bit back a nastier comment, and once the man left while grumbling to himself, he locked the door and flipped the open sign so it said closed. Trig had a key and could get back in. Kit rushed to the bedroom and saw the weighted blanket among the messed-up sheets. Riju must have slept with Trig the night before.
Kit dragged it out and approached Riju who was quiet and hadn't moved from his spot. “I’m going to put your blanket over you, okay?”
Riju didn’t answer, and Kit carefully draped it around him the best he could.
“He’s gone, and I locked the door, so he can’t come back in. I promise. Do you want me to stay or go?” He didn’t want to leave Riju there by himself, but if his presence made everything worse…
Riju sniffled as he shifted to draw the blanket tighter around him. “Stay with me.”
He inched closer to Kit who hesitantly put his arms around him. Perhaps it was easier now that he had the blanket covering him.
“Tight,” mumbled Riju.
Kit hugged him and remained quiet while Riju sniffled. He wanted to ask what happened, but he didn’t dare. If even the sight of the physician terrified Riju, he certainly wouldn’t want to talk about it.
“Hey!” Kit and Riju both jumped slightly at Trig’s faint voice from the front. “Where are you?”
“Do you want me to talk to him?” asked Kit.
“Can you?”
“I will.”
Kit kissed the top of his head and got up while Riju remained on the floor and stared at the cloth carpet. He hastened into the hallway to find Trig entering it with a cloth bag from wherever he’d gone.
“Why did you close the shop?”
“This guy came in, Master,” said Kit. “He had little horns and spectacles, and he seemed happy to see Riju because he’d treated him before. Riju panicked and ran to your room. I didn’t know what to do, Master, so I made him leave, and I closed the shop. I didn’t know if I could trust the physician. He called Riju crazy.”
Trig’s expression dropped. “Let me talk to him. You can go…do whatever. Give me a few minutes.”
He hurried by. Kit didn’t want to simply sit in his room. He settled on the floor by the couch in the sitting room and figured he’d wait there. The physician probably didn’t mean to upset Riju when he came in, but his attitude afterward had been completely uncalled for. Riju wasn’t crazy for being upset over something that terrified him.
If the physician had that sort of bedside manner, maybe he shouldn’t be treating anyone either.
