Temple Palace

Chapter 7: Tracer

Trey glanced over at Tek, amused by her fascination with the clocks. She held her palm over the gear, amazed as it turned under her hand.

“And you have to wind it every day?” She asked, her eyes wide.

“Yes, some of the bigger ones run on water power. They have a dam up at the top of the hill, closer to the castle. It runs most of the mechanics for the royals, the others are run by steam.”

Her eyes darkened. “Steam ... that is the one that puts all those black clouds in the sky?”

He chuckled, “A small price to pay, for hot water and easily made materials.”

He held his breath as she ran her hand over his shirt, trailing her fingers down his chest. Her eyes frowned at the uniform stitches and seams and pulled away from him.

“In the Realms, everything is handmade with the love of the maker. The clothing is more about who made it, and what they put into it.”

“But think about how much less work it would be to have a machine make it! Then the tailor could have some time off, take a holiday.”

She shook her head, and smiled at him as if explaining it to a small child. “Why would she want time off from what she loves? And if she wants a holiday, she can take it in the form of a pilgrimage to a different city. She can meet with other tailors and confer about technique.”

“That is not a holiday. That is a business trip.”

Tek smiled, her little secret smile and turned back to the gears. “Work is not a word we use much in the Realms.”

He joined her at leaning over the railing over-looking the insides of the large clock. It was the one that stood in the centre of the city. Officially it was closed off from the public, but Trey knew the guard on duty. It was ten stories tall, but the height didn't seem to bother her.

“So if you're always working, what is your job?” He asked.

She turned back to him, a small teasing frown on her face. “Didn't you realize? It's looking after you.”

His bristled. “I don't need looking after.”

“No,” she said, “you think you don't need looking after. But there are somethings broken that need fixing.” She reached her hand up and pried his eyes wide open with her fingers. He kept on expecting her to poke him in the eye accidentally, but she always seemed so in control of her body. Like she did this a lot.

“Have you gotten any more memories back?” She asked him.

“No.”

She stayed there staring at him a moment longer. Trey wondered is she knew what it felt like when she touched him, the weird hungry feeling in his stomach. The need to pull her closer to him.

He turned his head and pulled away so that she couldn't sense it. She was good at picking up on things like that.

Out of the corner of his eye he watched as Tek slowly let her hand drop back down to her side. She hesitated on what to say, her breathing hitching. “If you come back to the Realms, and go to the Temple Palace, the Chamera might give you your memories back.”

“Who?”

She frowned at his confusion. “Our goddess, the one I told you about.”

Trey didn't believe in the power of gods. Mostly no one did. It was all bullshit anyways. They got you to believe in them using fear and trickery. The only business the church was in was the business of money, not faith.