Shadow Rider (Vampire Academy Fanfic)

Chapter 62 - Thanatia

I was in the pig stalls, shoveling shit, periodically wiping my brow with a towel, my nose pinched against the stench.

I was enjoying every moment of it.

When I said yes to staying at James' farm, I should have known he wanted to put a strong-looking girl like me to farm work. And I probably would have said no instead, if I had known just how exhausting the work would be.

Only a week had passed, but it felt like a month. Turns out, time passes very slowly when you're knee deep in shit and hay! But the work had the peculiar effect of calming my mind. I worked mechanically and efficiently, just focused on the task at hand. It was just as good as travelling, and god knows it was great to enjoy warm showers and feast on restaurant dinners every day. So I managed to reach some kind of...inner peace. Life here felt completely shut off from the rest of the world, and that suited me just fine.

James and I and the rest of his workmen got up at seven in the morning, had a hefty lunch break around noon, and finished work at around four or five in the afternoon. It was an exhausting workload, and the first few days I had been so tired that I just went straight to bed afterward. But having eventually recovered my sense of routine, and being a dhampir, I worked harder and better than the rest of the guys, and even had some energy to spare in the evenings. Little Johnny had taken a liking to me as well, so he usually sought me out when I was free, eager to race or play tag or hide and seek.

Currently he was stationed outside of the pig stall, screaming "zorro" at my poor horse, who only snorted in answer. I ventured out of the stall, placing my hands firmly on my hips.

'Oi, Johnny! Leave the poor horse alone!'

Johnny continued skipping around Shadow, pulling his tail every now and then. 'You don't tell me what to dooooooooo.'

'Yes she does,' interjected a male voice, and I looked up to see James approach us, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. He'd been working in the fields again and looked thoroughly overheated. He smiled first at his son, then at me. 'If you want her to chase you all evening, you better to do something for her in return, son.'

Johnny stopped dead in his tracks, considering this new piece of information seriously. He studied my face, trying to read any truth there of his father's statement, and I adopted my pokerface expression, revealing nothing. Johnny sighed and dropped his head, kicking a stray rock.

'Sorry,' he mumbled.

I had to swallow back laughter. 'Hey, it's not me you should apologise to. It's to Shadow. Poor horse must have a smarting backside.'

Johnny directed his apologies to Shadow, then turned to me eagerly. 'Can we play now?'

I turned toward James, making a show of checking an invisible watch on my wrist. 'I don't know, can I?' I beamed at James.

'It's only quarter to,' James replied, but his expression was bemused. There was a peculiar glint in his eye that I couldn't read. He began walking past us, shaking his head good-naturedly. 'I was coming up here to relieve you early anyway,' he admitted, but then he shot a stern look at Johnny. 'You'd better let your best friend have some dinner first.'

Johnny let out a dramatic, acquiescing sigh. 'Fine.... I'll be running in the fields!' he yelled, tearing off.

James gave me that "I know my son is crazy" parent look, but I only laughed. We went inside the restaurant, and later the rest of the crew joined us at the main booth. We enjoyed a hearty dinner, me chatting more than the rest since I had quite a bit of energy left even after such a long and hot workday. James' crew mostly consisted of elder guys in their forties and fifties, but one of them was a young and sprightly eighteen-year-old, a cousin to James' kids. He constantly made pointed jokes about my stamina and strength, several times calling me "supergirl" and "wonder woman."