Page 67 of Above
This time, I did understand. And I was not about to agree.
“Absolutely not,” I argued, trying to stand on my own. She let me, this time stepping away as I swayed. “I will not be dining with a bunch of eadi like some animal.”
With that, I promptly tripped, fell to my knees, and vomited. The acid-like liquid burned its way up my throat, pouring out of my mouth and nose.
“Good luck finding a way home then,” Tershetta gloated, turning on her heel and heading up the stairs to her shack of a home. When I was done, my head pounding to a war drum and my insides raw, I wiped the sweat off my forehead and stood.
“Fine, I’ll be good,” I vowed. She smiled, her bright teeth shining in the light of the candle that lit her home. Her hand lifted before I could blink, the burning sensation of magic sizzling against my skin making me more nauseous. When she had finished healing me from a few feet away—an abysmal attempt if the ache in my smashed nose was any sign—Tershetta nodded and turned.
“Excellent, now come on.” Before I made it up the steps, she was knocking, bouncing on her toes like a child on their birthday. Eadi were so very odd. It was only a few moments untilfootsteps could be heard from inside, a lock clicking followed by the door swinging open.
A woman that looked remarkably similar to Tershetta was there, her brown trousers stained and her pale pink shirt worn. Her hair was above her shoulders, sporting the same curls as Tershetta, but her face showed clear signs of age, small wrinkles and slightly sagging skin making me aware of just how mortal they were.
“Starlight?”
“Heavens!” Tershetta screamed, leaping into the woman’s arms. Her mother, perhaps? I couldn’t remember how old eadi usually were when they had children.
“What are you doing home?” The woman asked, grabbing Tershetta’s cheeks and staring at her as if checking for abnormalities. While I was fairly certain the akhata looked the same, the woman seemed to disagree. “You’ve changed so much.”
“I know, but I wanted to come home and see you all. We had a…short day. We’re celebrating our progress, and I thought I’d come home for dinner.” What were we celebrating? I couldn’t remember anything exciting.
No, she was lying. Peeking up from Tershetta’s swirled hands, the woman gave her a skeptical look. Ah, she knew a liar when she heard one. But then her eyes caught sight of me, and I found that I was far less intrigued by the deep grey of hers. They were off, somehow. Unsettling.
Don’t vomit, Az. Have some decorum.
I was definitely going to vomit.
“So you brought some random man with you to see your family?” The woman stepped away from Tershetta, the loving moment gone as tension thickened the air. Seemed that even eadi hated one another. Lovely.
“That’s not what happened. My”—she seemed to choke on the next word, her shoulders rolling back—“friendwas having a bit too much fun, and I didn’t want him to get hurt, so I figured I’d bring him just to get a tonic in his system. He’ll leave as soon as he’s sober.”
Twice she called me friend tonight. She must have been close to a stroke by now. The thought brought a smile to my face, and suddenly, I was more than ready to play my part. Stepping forward, my foot slipping slightly, I reached out my hand.
“Hello, my name is Az. It’s lovely to make your acquaintance.” The woman only stared at my hand, her lip curling in disgust as she crossed her arms. Had I slurred the words? Was it my hideous clothes? Did I not fully wipe off the blood on my face?
“Can we come in now, please?” Tershetta asked, her voice turning almost shrill. How much more obvious of a liar could she be?
“Celeste, who’s at the door?” came a lovely and soothing voice from somewhere in the house. In moments the door was swinging open further, revealing the source.
A woman with light blonde hair that had become slightly grey at the roots stood before me. Her pale skin was wrinkling on her forehead and at the corners of her soft grey eyes. She had a wide smile and a startlingly thin frame, as if she were terribly unwell. She wore equally worn and old clothing, but hers were so big they hung low on her bony frame.
“My Starlight!” she shouted, jumping forward and wrapping her arms around Tershetta. I watched in bafflement as the woman burst into tears, holding on so tight it must have hurt. Tershetta at first didn’t react, the surprise evident, but soon she too was crying softly, her arms securing around the small woman.
“Hi, Mama.” Ah, her mother. Then was the other woman her sister? They looked alike, but that didn’t always mean much. Mother said all eadi were similar in appearance, and I so rarely looked at their kind.
At their backs, Celeste—her sister?—glared my way, not so much as blinking.
What was with her?
Had I gotten vomit on my shirt? Or worse…was my hair a mess?
I quickly reached up, knocking my hood fully off and righting the strands. Celeste’s eyes grew wide, shock stretching her face. But the surprise lasted only seconds, followed closely by suspicion.
“Nice hair,” she seethed.
Somewhere in my mind, a little voice screamed the wordtrap. Tershetta had said they weren’t to know who I was. While I was loathe to listen to an akhata, I didn’t have many other choices to make. So I shrugged, leaving my hood off and remaining calm.
“I pay good coin for the bleach.”
