Chapter 8 - Mana

  This is the first time I’ve come here with permission. I thought as I stared nervously in front of Beginner’s Rest. Let’s do this shit. Resolved, I stepped through the front doors.

  Immediately, I was greeted with chatter, yelling, and clinking silverware. Meat, butter, and bread wafted into my nostrils. It was busy and smelled like adventure.

  “This all there is?” shouted a man by a large board lining the wall by the wrap-around bar in the middle of the inn. “There’s nothing new since yesterday.”

  “The only jobs on there right now are from locals,” said one of the two owners of Beginner’s Rest, Tannin. The other owner, her husband Bruno, served food across the room. “We’ll get a new batch of requests in soon. Just be patient.”

  “Hard to be patient when you’ve got a grumbling belly,” mumbled the man.

  “That grumbling belly knocked down four tankards of beer last night,” muttered Tannin. She started cleaning the bar, but almost as if she could feel my eyes on her, she looked up. Her brow furrowed when we made eye contact. “You snuck in again, Yennifer?”

  A few eyes tilted in my direction. Most didn’t care about me. Some were annoyed, partially because I was a child and partially because I was a filthy, disgusting devil freak. I’m sure that’s how they would have described me, at least.

  “I have permission,” I said excitedly. “Quintin let me. I’m here to see Jessie.” Proudly, I pointed a thumb at myself. “Guess who awakened?” I asked while my bangs covered my eyes.

  “Congrats, kid,” said Bruno. He passed by me and patted the top of my head, just missing my horns. It was enough to almost give me a heart attack.

  “Third floor over there,” said Tannin. She pointed upward to a door visible from down below. “She sleeps late, so knock hard.”

  “Got it!” I chirped. “Thanks.”

  Smiling, I crossed back to the entrance to the inn, where a set of stairs arched up to my right. After entering the second floor, I came face-to-face with a tall, burly man with long hair and a tattoo of a broken dagger under his left eye.

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  I moved aside for the man to pass.

  “Move, you fucking freak,” said the man. He rammed into me hard, bashing me against the railing and sending me tumbling to the ground. I felt spit hit my foot as he moved to the lower floor.

  Standing, I brushed myself off, wiped the spit off me with the underside of my shoe, sighed, and walked up to the third floor.

  I stopped right before Jessie’s door and gave it a knock. There were no noises when I did. I knocked again, louder.

  Muffled thumping and startled crashes sounded inside the room. I craned my neck to listen but pulled back at the last moment.

  Privacy is important. I told myself. I need to respect it.

  After a moment, the door opened. Jessie stood in the threshold and quickly pulled the door behind her. Her brown hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, and she wore baggy, lazy clothing with sandals.

  “What is…yes, Yen, my dear? What are you doing here?” Jessie’s eyes darted to my left and right. “Just you today?”

  “Yes, ma’am. You see, I—”

  “Oh, it’s going to be a whole conversation then. Got it,” interrupted Jesse. “Hold on. I’m starving. Have you eaten yet? Let’s eat.”

  “But—”

  “My treat.”

  “Okay.”

  Back down the stairs I went. Jessie and I ran into the man who pushed me as he came back up. He eyed me, but then his gaze drifted to Jessie, and he did nothing—not until he passed me.

  “Every bitch needs an owner,” he muttered.

  Suddenly, he fell.

  The man slipped and smashed his face against the steps. “Ahhh! My fucking tooth!” he cried. “It’s broken!”

  “Watch your step. There’s water,” said Jessie as she touched my shoulder. Her hand was damp, as were the steps the man just tripped on.

  I smiled.

  We settled into a table downstairs. Jessie freely ordered food. When I offered to pay, she dismissed me, telling me it was her treat. We had eggs, coffee, toast, sausage, and vegetables. It was all fresh and tasted great.

  Sandy Branch was once again in the midst of its harvest season, as was the rest of the country. The farms just outside of town were bringing in their hauls for the locals, meaning food was plentiful and delicious.

  Likewise, the territory around Hopeful Lake in the northern part of this country, Water’s Bastion, had started reviving after a recent civil war. It was considered the breadbasket of Zalevet. They were apparently now producing just enough agricultural products to supply most of the major cities with food, and a lot of their products were trickling into Sandy Branch with our monthly merchant caravans.

  It’d be like that for a few months; then rations would become smaller again. But in the initial periods of high production, everyone in Zalevet indulged and fattened up while they could. It’s what made life worth living, and good things didn’t last forever. I remembered times a few years ago when many people in the village, including my family, went without eating for multiple days due to crop failures. Some people died. I preferred days like these.

  “So…what’s up?” asked Jessie as she finished chugging water. “This is the first time we’ve talked one-on-one, isn’t it?”

  “I think so,” I replied.

  “It must be pretty important then.”

  “It’s about the conversation we had yesterday,” I started. Brushing my fingers upward, I lifted my bangs and looked directly into Jessie’s eyes.

  Jessie froze, but only for a moment. She quickly lunged forward and covered my eyes with her hands.

  I stared into the sudden darkness, startled.