Ageless

Chapter 15

By the time I rose out of the bath in the washroom, my skin was pink, and scrubbed to the point of rawness; the sponge provided was so coarse that I was convinced it might really just be a piece of pumice rock. The steam parted like a curtain as I made my way to the far edge of the room and slipped into the simple clothes the innkeeper's wife had left for me. It was a well-worn dress the color of peat with frayed edges, still stiff with starch, but compared to my tattered pair of pajamas they made me feel like a real, presentable person.

This was the first time I had washed in days, and I expected it would make me feel better, but somehow, I left the washroom still feeling like scum. It had very little to do with actual grime, and much more to do with the deal I had cut earlier with a stranger named Barth. I walked down the hall towards the bedroom, a miasma of slime following behind me like a cloud. I tried to tell myself that I didn't have a choice, that I would pay Ko'sa back, but the justification did little to alleviate the pit in my gut.

The bedroom was dark when I entered, Ko'sa already fast asleep on the bed, the covers curled up in a ball at her feet. It looked like she had been thrashing around in her sleep. For a second I considered giving her the entire bed- she had been through a lot today- before looking at the rotting wooden floorboards and thinking better. I collapsed on the empty bit of space on the mattress and closed my eyes.

It was good to be on something soft, to rest, even if for just a little...while...

***

BANG BANG BANG

My eyes shot open. Ko'sa was still asleep next to me.

I rolled off the bed and crashed onto the floor.

"Hey! Your time is up!" The innkeeper's voice yelled, muffled from the other side of the oak door. "You need to leave unless you want to be charged for another night."

I rubbed my eyes and yawned. What time was it? I looked out the window. The sun was already high in the sky.

"Come on, Ko'sa," I said, shaking the girl on the shoulder. "We need to get out of here." She barely stirred.

BANG BANG BANG

"You hear me ma'am? I ain't playin' around!"

"Okay!" I called back. "Just give us a minute."

"Give you a minute? I already gave you four extra hours. It's past high-noon. Get your ass outside now or I'm charging you double."

I shook Ko'sa again, more vigorously than the first time. She gave a feeble moan, and rolled over on the bed, showing zero willingness to move. I bent down to examine my friend. Her cheeks were flushed red. I held a hand to her forehead; it was covered in sweat and burning hot.

She has a fever, I realized.

I swore loudly, then strode over towards the door.

BANG BANG BA-

I swung the door open mid-pound to face the bewildered man, on the verge of kicking it down with his boot.

"Hi," I said brightly, trying to turn my charm on. "How is...how's your morning?"

The little man scowled back at me underneath his thick mop of curly black hair. "You mean afternoon." I could see his wife, broom in hand, watching me from the end of the hall. "You'll be on your way then? My wife has been waiting to clean that room for hours now."

"My friend is sick," I said.

"My horse is brown. What's it to me?"

"She needs rest. Or maybe a doctor. I don't know, but she's in no state to leave that bed. We need to stay another night."