Streamfield Shifters: Hide & Seek

Chapter Thirteen

Rachael and I hastily threw on the cloaks and faced the wall once our meal arrived on a silver cart, both tiers laden with food, drink, and utensils. Two maids accompanied the runner, helping him to set the table. Leihalani called the runner over and whispered something in his ear. He nodded, bowed, and exited the room, somehow making urgency look graceful. By the time everything was laid out, the runner was back. He dropped a small tin in Leihalani's open palm, then left with the maids, closing the door firmly behind them.

With a  sigh, I tossed off the cloak and ran a hand through my tangled black hair. I wasn't cut out for subterfuge.

"Here," Leihalani said, passing me the tin. "For your travel bruises."

I turned it over in my hand. It was no bigger than my palm, a little thing that fit perfectly in a lady's purse. Unscrewing the cap, I took an experimental sniff.

Huh. Almost odorless.

"Thanks," I said. "Do you mind if I put it on now?"

Leihalani sat down at the table and paused, hand outstretched over a teapot. "Go right ahead. The bathing room is to the right."

"Ooh, this looks so good!" Rachael exclaimed as I went to go find the bathroom.

It was where I had suspected—right off the bedchamber. I slid into the room and automatically slapped my hand on the wall, looking for a light switch. My fingers met a slim sconce instead. By the light streaming in through the bedchamber windows, I was able to see a small knob on the enclosed sconce. Turning it, a shutter fell open, shining light into the room.

I drew back, then peered forward curiously. A small orb of glowing white light bobbed in a little glass bulb. Well, isn't this something, I thought, impressed. Some sort of magic light bulb. Neat. Definitely something we didn't have back home.

The room was dominated by a massive, clawed-foot tub in one corner. All pristine porcelain and gold trim, it sat raised up on a slight dais. A curved gold spigot arched up and over the middle of the tub. Expensive-looking glass bottles lay arranged on a shelf nearby, along with a row of the fluffiest, whitest towels I'd ever seen. Above the tub was a painting of elven women dancing and cavorting at some sort of party, their attire all gauze and nothing else.

Closing the door, I sat on the toilet and gently pulled down my jeans. Owww ... Dare I look? Ah, shit. My inner thighs were red and slightly bruised—sure to turn to fully-bruised by tomorrow morning.

Uncapping the ointment tin, I dipped my fingers in the colorless paste and smeared it on one leg. A cool, blessed numbing sensation spread out along my skin, working its way deep into my muscles. I sighed with relief, spreading it around the affected area. Then I turned to the other leg.

"You're coming home with me," I told the tin, holding it up to my face.

Capping the tin, I wriggled back into my jeans and washed my hands in the marble and gold sink. It was such a mundane action that I forgot for a minute that I was in a non-industrialized magical land. How did water flow without technology?

Pulling the cabinet doors open, I peered beneath the sink. A series of pipes actually ran from the floor to the faucet, but inscribed on the copper tubes were a line of small runes. Huh. The elves had managed to figure out how to enchant indoor plumbing. That was something human witches and sorcerers had yet to do.

I left the bathroom and returned to the table, finding that neither my cousin nor Leihalani had decided to wait for me. I claimed my seat at the table and shot Rachael a look as she stuffed seasoned potatoes into her mouth.