Sinister Minds

Chapter 2 Antiquen

When Tel had woken up in a basement, the family thought she was a ghost and hid for their dear lives. She couldn't blame them. Though it was probably because of that she was able to eat to her full and changed her clothes. 

A brown skirt and a tight red sleeved blouse. She wore breeches under hers for swift movement. 

In her pockets, she had a well folded drawing of the mansion. Her and Salah were the true artists among their siblings. Hammad had always commented on their skill. 

Tel stopped in front of a hardware building and approached a man in blue uniform, sitting by the door. A baton rested on his hips. She assumed he was a guard or something close to one.

He had a red bulbous face, short hair that seemed to have a lice infestation. She ignored his shortcomings only to be choked by the stench of his breath or all of him. She couldn't tell. For one such as him, he was quite irresponsible but who was she to judge.

He eyed her and went back to his small bottle. Tel cleared her throat, "My good man, could you please help me—" 

"There's no work for whores here. This isn't a parlor." His words were slur and his tone rough. Worse, the images in his mind were so… dirty! It made her bristle in annoyance. She left him to his peace but not before she screamed in his head. 

DIEEEEEEE! 

He jerked from his chair and spilled his drink on his area and placed a fat hand on his chest. 

Tel smiled to herself as she heard the man cursing. 

"You had something to do with that, didn't you?"  

She tilted her head towards the man who spoke. She feigned innocence. A hand going to her lips. "How can you say that? I was barely close to him." 

The man chuckled his reply. His raven black hair and morning dew eyes would surely mark him as memorable. Thank Virtue she wasn't a mooneyed girl. 

"I'm Imram." He held out his hand. She took it. "Tellese." 

She ignored his questioning eyebrow, pushing her drawing towards him. "So what can you tell me about this drawing, Imram?" 

"It's pretty good. You drew it?" 

"Look closely." 

Imram narrowed his eyes on the paper. His reaction was slight but she picked it up. The muscles around his eyes quirked in recognition. He knows it. 

"The Antiquen. Why?" 

How to put it without sounding funny? 

She smiled and briefly read his mind. It's all the way in Valdrell. They didn't tell me she was this pretty. 

She frowned at him for his jumble of thoughts. 

"How can I get to Valdrell from here?" 

"You have an appointment there?" 

She snatched her drawing from him. "You could say that. So, Imram, are you going to be a gentleman and help?" 

"Of course. This way." 

She matched his steps easily. She was tall for a girl like that should matter. 

Tel itched for a conversation. She loved conversations for obvious reasons. 

"Imram, I hate to be intrusive but what do you do for a living?" 

His mind went blank. Odd. It must be a secret then. With that she knew his next words were going to be lies. "Just your average mint. A jack of all trades, you might say."