The Whore's Daughter: The Dreaded Coterie Book One

The Brothel

The stench of blood hung in the humid air as Kali quickly sewed the jagged wound that stretched nearly from shoulder to shoulder across the man's chest close. As she worked, she could feel his mistrustful stare boring into her skin. She knew what he was thinking. But then again she always knew what people were thinking, because when it came to her, they always thought the same thing. The dirty figure resting warily on his back on the table in front of her was no different. She knew he was worried that she would somehow use dark magic to steal his soul or possibly make him her love slave. If she were a bolder person, she would have told him that if even if she were able to steal souls, she wouldn't have bothered with his as it was most likely sub-standard ; and as she looked at his oily grime covered torso, she definitely had no amorous intentions. But Kali was far from bold, at least verbally, so she kept quiet merely shaking her head in disgust. The citizens of Iodyl were a useless superstitious lot, but she had learned to manage them in her on way. With a small sigh of frustration, she pulled the last stitch tight using slightly more force than necessary. Her wounded patient yelped in pain and eyed her with even more suspicion. She ignored him and carefully knotted the thread at the end of the stitched cut.

Her stitching complete, Kali stood and washed her hands under the water spout. When she had cleansed herself properly, she grabbed fresh cloth and returned to her patient who followed her every move with his beady eyes. "Is that it then?" He asked in gruff nervous tone. She did not answer, instead she, she poured Klowa root extract on to the cloth. She then flicked her wrist quickly splashing the area around the stitches with the same mixture. The man bolted upright to a sitting position bellowing loudly. Bits of foamy white spittle clung in his unkempt beard, and his eyes bulged like a madman.

"By the God's Wench, that stings!" Again, Kali said nothing. Instead she methodically cleaned the area around the stitches removing all traces of blood and sweat. When she was done, the skin around the wound showed a fresh pink color, that she doubted this creature had seen in many years. It looked out of place compared to the rest of his soot colored flesh. The Klowa extract would help to prevent infection even in a filthy specimen like her current patient. "Why didn't you warn me?" The man's face, which had been pasty from his blood loss and fear, now turned an impressive shade of crimson as he shouted at her. Kali met his gaze evenly and spoke in a flat tone that did not give away her inner amusement.

"Would it have stung less if I had?" Not waiting for a response she turned from him and placed the now soiled cloth in the wash basket. She would have to boil the cloth later. She had been trained well and took great efforts to keep her materials clean to prevent the spread of sickness. Her patient fumed and sputtered behind her. She did not acknowledge this. Instead, she walked calmly back to him. She reached towards him and he flinched visibly, she couldn't hide the small half smile that came to her lips. She carefully traced her fingers across the stiches chanting softly as she did so. The dark brown stiches, glowed golden as her fingers and lips danced in tandem to the ancient healing rhythm. Her patient was tense and his beady eyes had somehow widened to the size of saucers as he stare at her hazel eyes which were now glowing a brilliant amber. Her ritual complete she step away from him quickly. "The Klowa extract will speed your healing and prevent sickness." She wrinkled her nose at her patient's poor hygiene before continuing. "You must wash the stitches with soap and water daily and apply the Klowa twice per day for one week. You should also chew Glorium leaf twice per day for 3 days. It will help you to rebuild your blood supply. Purchase the Klowa and Glorium at the apothecary. That will be 60 Bulon, sir." She placed her in front of her palm up and waited. The man's face reddened even more, and he looked as if he were about to say something, but instead he grunted and reached into the pockets of his filthy trousers. Ignoring her hand, he slammed the fee on the table. He then stood on shaky legs and his companion, who had been seated by the wall rose to help him make his exit.