Total pages in book: 210
Estimated words: 200837 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1004(@200wpm)___ 803(@250wpm)___ 669(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 200837 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1004(@200wpm)___ 803(@250wpm)___ 669(@300wpm)
I feel like I need some space. Some time to think.
“Hey?”
I open my eyes and watch Tyse come out of the kitchen, dressed, but wet. “Don’t you believe in towels?”
He squints at me. “What?”
“You’re always wet when you come out—never mind. What were you gonna say?”
He’s still squinting at me. “Did you sleep well?”
“No.” It comes out as a pout.
“OK. Well, I was gonna say, I don’t think you should go down to Eight today.”
“Done.”
“What?” His squint is deeper now. He’s even cocked his head.
“Done. I don’t want to go down to Eight today either. But just for the sake of argument, why should I not go down to Eight today?”
“Oh. I just think you should stay inside. Until we figure out what you are.”
“What I am? What’s that mean?”
“Well…” He tries on a smile. Like it just hit him that I’m in a bad mood and he’s about to do his best to navigate around it. “Clara. We don’t have Spark Maidens here. It’s not a thing. And this is what you tell me you are. So I’m thinking that you’re maybe… special.” He smiles bigger, believing this to be the way forward.
“Special?”
“Yeah. Like… you know. A genius or something.”
I sigh. “Whatever.”
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing. You’re going to get me home. What could possibly be wrong with me?”
Again, he squints. Then he smiles. “You like me. You’re gettin’ attached, aren’t ya? And you’re gonna miss me when you leave and go back to loverboy.”
I huff.
But when I don’t refute any of his statements, he points at me. “Noted. And I like you back. So I want you to be safe. That’s why you should stay here all day and I’ll tell Rodge you’re not coming on my way down.”
I sit up in bed a little, not wanting him to go yet. “What time will you be home?”
“Sixish, maybe?” He sits down on the footstool so he can lace up his boots. “I’ll bring food. But there’s rations in the cupboard. They’re supposed to be the best there is. I bet they’re really tasty.”
He gets a side-eye from me for that remark. But it’s not enough to break his mood, because he winks. Then he stands up, hooks his weapon belt around his waist, and shrugs on his jacket as he walks towards the door and pulls it open. I get one more glance from over his shoulder before he leaves. “Stay out of trouble.”
Then he’s through and the door closes behind him.
A whole day to myself doesn’t sound as interesting as it did yesterday. Yesterday I was going to snoop. That kinda backfired.
A sharp knock on the door startles me right out of bed. I hesitate, then call, “Who is it?” Because I know it’s not Tyse. He would not knock.
“It’s Anneeta.” Her voice is chirpy and she drags her name out like it’s a song.
I walk over and open the door. Anneeta is a small child of about… eight, maybe. I’m really not an expert in children, but I do like them. With long brown hair and big brown eyes, she’s very cute and her personal style is off-the-charts whimsical. So I brighten. “Hello, Anneeta. What can I do for you?”
“We’re friends now because Tyse said so. And he said I could come keep you company since you’re staying home alone today.”
“Oh. Well, this is a nice surprise. Come on in.” I leave the door open, then walk over to the chair where my clothes are draped and start pulling on my pants.
“I like your undies. Ruffles are my favorite.”
I blush, even though it’s not Tyse commenting on my underwear this time. “Thanks. They’re the only pair I have, so I’m a little bit sick of them, to be honest.”
“Oh. You need more clothes?”
“Yes. Desperately. But the only coin I have is right there.” I point to Tyse’s jar of coins. I added my own coin to the collection last night. “Does that buy much?”
Anneeta walks over to the coins as I put on my boots. She takes the jar down and gives it a good check. “Yes. That’s Tyse’s tip jar. It’s quite a lot. Especially with the groat in there. Does he tip people groats?” She frowns. “He’s never tipped me a groat.”
“Is that the odd one? No, I earned that yesterday working for Rodge.”
“Oh. Well, I was right. Tyse doesn’t tip groats.”
“How much is it worth?”
“Fifty of the little coins.”
“Wow. Did I work that hard yesterday? To earn that?”
Anneeta shrugs. “You must’ve. Or else Rodge really likes you.”
“Hmm. So maybe I can afford new clothes. Do you want to go to the Canal District shops with me?”
“Can’t.”
“Oh.” I deflate a little. “Not even if I buy you something sweet on the way home?”
“I would love to go, but I really, really can’t. I can’t leave the ruin. I’m a spark baby, you see.”