Sin: Path of Poison

Chapter 10 Part 1

Lei was outside, not too far from my window. He was probably in charge of both watching me and making sure nobody tried to come in from outside. My room was on the side closest to the road. The front yard was large and the gated fence around the perimeter didn't exactly make it convenient to get outside or in.

Removing Blake's robe and hanging it nearby, I laid down in the bed. It was comfortable and the blankets were of excellent texture and quality. I stretched out, arching my back, taking note of which parts still needed the most healing. Laying on my side, I focused, trying to figure out what exactly Lei was trying to accomplish down below. I could hear him pacing from left to right over and over. Sometimes mumbling nonsense and sometimes looking at the nearby pebbles.

After an hour of waiting for him to calm down, I decided to make my move. Quietly I opened the window. Looking down below, I waited for him to move away. I silently jumped down, pulling the windows almost closed behind me as I came out. Landing in a low crouch, covered in white robes, it was hard to hide well in the dark. I stood quietly, spinning out of view. While hiding behind a small tree, one of the parameter patrols walked by. I waited.

Lei wandered back, he stared up at the small opening in the window. This time, instead of just looking at the small pebbles on the ground, he picked one up and gently tossed it into the opening. I placed my hand to my forehead, shaking my head silently as I wondered who taught him these things. Just what did these guys think about all day?

Lei didn't even have time to yell as I rushed at him from behind the tree before the night patrol came back. I used a burst of energy despite the instant pain. Grabbing him around the waist, I used shadow step to get to the outside wall before using light step to jump us outside. Lei teetered forward slightly before regaining his balance as I released him from my grip. He shook his head, turning to look at me, but quickly looked away again the instant he realized what I was wearing.

"The Crown Prince is safe here for the night. I've already confirmed there aren't any threats here. Do you want to go back or do you want to come with me?" I asked.

"You're going out like that?" He asked, still looking away.

"I don't have any other clothing to wear, except Blake's outer tunic. I don't want it picking up any smells that might make him suspicious." I commented offhandedly.

"You have Blake's outer tunic in your room?" He seemed confused and slightly shocked.

"It's not important. Are you coming or staying? I need to hurry, I don't want to be out long." I pressed for a decision.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"A small room I rent a few roads away." I said.

"Okay." He decided.

Not waiting for further conversation, I wrapped my arm around his waist again, shadow stepping us through the streets. Anyone walking by saw a blur as we passed through. Luckily the location really wasn't far away, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to make the trip. A few small beads of sweat appeared on my forehead from the pain that came from channeling my energy through my wounds, I took care to disperse the scent it released.

I stopped abruptly in front of a simple noodle shop. To the side of the shop a sign blocked a narrow alley, barely wide enough to walk sideways down. Quietly tilting the sign, I stepped behind and into the darkness. Wondering if he'd change his mind and not follow, I disappeared into the shadows. The darkness swallowed my white robes as I walked further from the light. Surprisingly, I heard the slight scratch of the sign move as he followed. Coming out the other side, I grabbed his hand and light stepped us up onto a balcony overhead. Setting us down lightly, I opened the door. Inside was a lantern, I lit it quickly and ushered Lei inside the small space.

The room was only several paces square, barely the length of a cot. A small table was centered in the middle of the wall opposite the door, nearby was a narrow cot with simple bedding folded and stacked neatly at the head. On the wall across the bed was a shelf holding a few types of underclothing, all neatly folded. Hanging above that was one elaborate robe and one simple common robe. On the remaining space of the wall were a bunch of shallow shelves with a variety of small medicine bottles and a few simple hair pins below them.

I pointed at the bed, signaling for him to take a seat. Closing the door, I pulled the curtain to block out any light that may come out from the lantern. All of the buildings behind us were facing in such a way that no other balconies or windows lined up to the door, but I was careful nonetheless.

"What is this place?" He asked in a whisper.

"Just a room I keep." I casually commented.

"But, I mean, what is this? There's no stairs down or anything." His eyes still looked around in shock, as if he was missing a piece of information. I laughed lightly. I suppose it would seem weird, not knowing who I really was.

"It's just a hideout, somewhere to stay if I'm in the area. I pay the store owner enough in rent each month so he can keep the building, despite the rising prices in taxes around this area. It used to be a simple street, not like what it is today with the upper class moving in."

"He can still sell his food and live upstairs with his wife, in exchange he agreed to wall off this room from the house, lending it to me. They don't have children so their remaining space is big enough." I explained while shuffling through a series of bottles until I found the two I needed. Reaching for a stone bowl on one of the shelves, I tapped out a portion of each of the contents, one liquid and one powder. I stirred them together with one of the silver sticks that sat nearby.

I loosened the thin white belt around my waist and shrugged out of the top layer of night robes. Lei, distracted by the small room, forgot to be shy about my outfit. Now his eyes widened in shock as he tried to look away. The room was so small there wasn't anywhere else to really hide his view of me.

Under the robes was an even thinner white tunic that came down just below my waist. It was so thin you could clearly see where the final layer of a white cloth wrapped around my chest, barely wider than my hand. Beads of sweat appeared on his brow as he changed his focus towards the bowl and silver stick.

Carefully grabbing a thin flat silver tool, I scooped up a portion of the paste and lifted my tunic to expose my lower abdomen. I spread the paste over the area Silver had stabbed me. The stitches were still intact and there was no sign of new blood, but I'd been unable to sterilize the wound properly and patches of red surfaced near the wound. It would become infected if I hadn't been able to treat it soon.

I planned on stealing medicine from the palace, but this actually worked out in my favor. It'd also help with my recovery time. Removing the tunic from my left shoulder, I exposed the strap of my undergarment around my neck. One of the arrows had gone in deeper there than the others, while I was able to stop the blood with powder I could feel it was also starting to show signs of infection. I applied the remaining paste across the wound and pulled my clothing back in place.