Page 76 of The Demon's Delight
Sal flinched but didn’t apologize.
I turned back one last time, Sal’s bitter face burning into my mind along with all the words she’d flung at me. Then I bestowed the best curse I could think of on her and turned to leave the place that had been my home my whole life for the last time.
“I hope you have the life you deserve, Sal.”
Chapter 34
Seir
Hailon was far more magnanimous than I was. I’d have killed that horrible woman on the spot halfway through her speech about how Hailon had ruined everything. As it was, I had half a mind to keep record of everyone who so much as looked at her sideways so I could have a few words with them. To start, at least. After that, my blades could finish the conversation. Or hers. That might be better, truth be told—then they could see for themselves just how dangerous shereallywas.
I smiled. Yes. That would definitely make me feel better.
A glance at my mate left me concerned. She was withdrawn, quiet.
“Are you hungry, Moonflower? Let’s go find something you’ve missed while you were away. We’ve time enough for some food before we continue on our way. Unless you want to try to find somewhere to rest?”
“I don’t think I can make any rational decisions right now.”
“Food then,” I nodded, threading my arm through hers.
Hailon might have been upset, but she still knew how to find several of her favorite food vendors as we worked our way through town. I got a glimpse of her previous life I wouldn’t haveotherwise gotten while both filling our stomachs and keeping her momentarily distracted.
The meat skewers from the little open brazier set up outside the butcher shop were truly divine, and I wished I’d bought at least twice as many when she left me at a little wooden table situated just off a main sidewalk and disappeared into what looked like the back door of someone’s house. When she returned, I was presented with the largest baked potato I’d ever seen. I stared, marveling at the plate in front of me.
“I was a little worried they’d no longer be serving. It’s later in the day than I’ve ever been. They often sell out.” She pushed around the toppings with her fork, the brief moment of happiness she’d found already fading away. “I didn’t know what you’d like, so I got everything.”
I was salivating just looking at the very dressed-up humble vegetable. “What is ‘everything’?”
“Butter, soured cream, cheese, crispy pork belly, spices, and spring onion.” She pointed with the tines of her fork, then scooped up a hearty bite. There were no words for what I felt when I got my first taste, but she seemed less than moved.
After that, we found dessert in the form of deep-fried batter dusted with powdered sugar and sweet spices from a little cart on wheels. I playfully dotted her nose with the fluffy sugar.
“Feeling any better?” I asked. I was still positively murderous, but I could tell that’s not what my Moonflower needed. She had moved into grief and needed a bit of space to breathe around that shift in her emotional state.
“I haven’t been this full in a while, if that’s what you mean. I’m grateful none of those vendors refused to serve me. I was worried they might. None of them even seemed to recognize me, though. Perhaps after a busy day, all faces look pretty much the same.”
I clenched my teeth, and she soothed me by putting her hand over mine. “Was it always like this? The hostility, I mean.”
Hailon shrugged. “It does seem a bit more obvious than before, but maybe I’ve lost my knack at ignoring it while I was gone. Like Sal said, lots of them thought I was trading more than medicine. Even after a winter where sickness spread through most of the town, and we made enough medicinal syrup and chest rub to share with them and their families. Even though our clientele was mainly women. Rumors work like that, unfortunately. One batch of negative gossip claiming you’re in the skin trade with even the slightest bit of questionable evidence, like your spotty dating history and resistance to marriage… and suddenly you’re everything they always thought you were. Especially when you can’t save everyone who comes to you for help. Sometimes it’s too little, too late, but when the surviving family is angry, painting someone who was helping as at fault for their loved one’s death is inevitable.”
Frustration simmered in my veins, along with several new questions about this town. “You mentioned before several reasons the town looked down upon you but this… I’m sorry, Hailon. That’s not fair.”
She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.” She stopped walking and after a long pause said, “We should stop by the grocers. Get some supplies to take with us.”
“We’re leaving?” I confirmed.
“There’s no point in staying. Best to move along.”
“You have everything you need from this place?” I didn’t want to let on how relieved I was, but if we hurried, I could maybe get her safely to Revalia before I had to be banished. “Let’s go then. We can get a ways down the road before we need to sleep.”
She nodded and led us down several streets, the third of which dropped us out at a main intersection with a fountain.People were gathered around it, talking in panicked tones about how the water had slowed down. Their chatter was too muted and mixed, but we made out several little pieces, all of which pointed blame at Hailon.
“My sister saw her earlier, walking through bold as anything. It must be her!”
“The wise woman won’t let her stay, don’t worry.”
“We can’t go back to how it was before! I refuse!”
