Pernicious Family

Chapter 14

Lex's POV

The room was just a bit bigger than a broom closet. There was a long handled shovel on one of the hooks hanging on the back wall.

Lex stepped into the middle of the room and reached straight up. The bio-lumous bulb in the ceiling is dark.  When was the last time it was recharged.

Lex felt around the base of the bulb for the indents, and bumps. The key was coded thankfully, so I just have to punch in the dot sequence.  The wall clicks softly.

Lex lifts up on one of the hooks on the rear wall, then pulls down on a different one, finally she moves the shovel over one. The back wall pops open towards Lex, she reaches around the wall and places three fingers into the small holes, releasing the hidden door to open completely.

The bio-lumous in this room is out too. Lex steps into the room and pauses.  The bathroom is off to one side and has no door.  It should have an eyewash, full decam shower, regular shower, toilet, large sink, autoclave, and ours had an electric ceiling panel light.   

Lex steps into the room walking straight.  she turns slightly the wrong way then corrects herself.  She steps through the bathroom doorway and hits the wrong side of the wall to switch on the lights.  She puts her kit into her other hand then whacks the other wall getting two switches.  The ceiling light and the exhaust fan both switch on at the same time.  

Lex places her kit on the empty table off to the side.  Lex cleans and sanitizes everything in the room while running all the equipment ,that can be, as well as the containers,  through the autoclave.  

Lex starts the healing cream she uses most often on patients first.  I am glad that I have all the ingredients for this in my kit, I just did not have time to make it before.  And it actually prefers if the equipment is on the warm side during the initial start of the process.   

While this has to sit i might as well check out the rest of this still.  there should be a small closet sized room in the back of this that leads to both the small greenhouse attached and the dark storage room.

Lex detaches the bio-lumous from the ceiling and brings it through to the green house.   The pipe to the self watering system is detached and all the plants where dry and dead.  Lex added water to the bio-lumous and shook it.  She then placed it in the window.  Lex carefully checked all the dead plants for seedpods.  Finding non she threw it all in the compost pile.  

The edge of the bio-lumous started to turn black.   Yes not dead just dry.  Lex picked it up and reattached it to the ceiling of the still room.  Lex fixes the self watering line and turns on the water.   She shuts off the line to the greenhouse plants.  

Lex washes her hands and returns to her cream.  She gets the squat containers, and their lids, out of the bin and puts them off to the side.  She cuts off the required amount of sealing wax and places it beside the containers.  While hand squeezing the methanol leaves a single drop of blood falls in finishing the cream.  Then she separates it into the storage containers.  She hand works the wax, then seals the jars.  She scratches the creams numerical code, her initials AMA, and the date into the wax seal.  She then places the containers on the labelled spot on the shelf to cure.  

Lex exits the still room to the hall single shovel room.  Looking up she sees the water in the bio-lumous, and it has started to give off a very slight glow.  She shuts the wall and moves the shovel back to its original hook.  She listens to make sure that no one is in the hallway, then she exits the closet.  

Walking up to her door she realizes that she forgot her door key in her room.  She looks both ways and sees no one.  She punches in the sequence, that her grandmother taught her for her fathers door, between the inlay and door frame.  The door opens and she enters her room.

Lex grabs a shower.

Lex finishes her shower and hears knocking at her door.  She throws on cloths and answers it.  Thomas is standing there with her dinner.  

"You missed lunch." 

Lex shrugs and signals for him to enter the room.  He walks in and places her tray on the table.  Lex closes the door behind him.

"Lex I need to talk to you.  I heard that Raven attacked you today, and you defended yourself without causing her extra harm.  Why did you do that?"

Lex holds up her hands and shrugs.  Rubbing her hands together she realizes that she forgot to put her gloves back on.  She goes to her cloak and takes them out of the pocket and puts them on.

"What do you mean you do not know?"  Thomas steps threateningly forward.  

Lex drops her chin slightly and looks directly at Thomas, the light reflects off her irises 

"I know that look.  Xan uses that look when I just did something stupid.  What did I do?"

Lex walks over to the mantle and picks up her note book.  

Your tone of voice and posture contains malice.  While you complain that I did as little harm to someone you love as a could.  As if that was a bad thing.

"But now I have a problem.  I teach the little ones first thing in the morning and Raven has been assigned to my group because of you."

I do not see the problem.

"How do I teach her and not embarrass her?"

Lex rolls her eyes.

Have you ever heard of a teaching assistant.  Talk to Raven ahead of time and give her permission to show up late the first day.  Then tell the class that Raven has graciously offered to help you with your class.  Everything she does is s test for them.  If she messes up they have to tell her and you how to correct the behaviour.  For the tricky part is if she messes up, and the class misses it,  you correct her and the class gets in trouble for missing the mistake.  As you guys get better at this have Raven correct the mistakes you make and the class gets in trouble for missing it.

"One problem.  Everyone knows that Raven would not volunteer for anything."

Really?  She was helping me earlier by sparing with me.  Katie saw us, and Raven was vollen-told to help you with the little ones. 

"Really.  You are going with that story.  Raven ran into my room yelling a different story."

Is the family more likely to believe that Raven was helping me by sparing, or that an untrained black robe healer beat her in a fight?

"When you put it that way.  People are going to believe that more.  But her mother assigned the punishment so I have to ask her if that is okay first before I even bring the idea to Raven."

Lex signaled him to the door.

"Bye and thank you."

Lex ate her dinner and places the tray on the floor outside her door.  She then gets herself to bed.