The Four Chimes

Chapter 6 - LERA

I woke up in the middle of the inventory room, shelves up to the ceiling filled with extra stock. I rolled over and saw the boxes next to me; they were almost completely empty. I didn't even remember unpacking those.

I got up and pushed my hair out of my face, surveying the room. Four more days. Holy crap.

I stepped out of the inventory room. "Tsano?"

"Yeah? Lera? What is it?", she answered from upstairs.

"Nothing. I was just checking if you were there."

"Okay." Tsano smiled and walked down the narrow flight of stairs, leaning over the railing. "I didn't want to wake you up and take you upstairs. So I let you sleep."

"Thank you," I said. I had no clue how long it had been since I last got a good night's sleep. Probably not since I packed up and moved to Psara.

"If you want to come upstairs, I made breakfast."

I bounded up the stairs two at a time following Tsano to where we lived, a fragrant aroma wafting in from the apartment. It was a great bargain for such a convenient location; right above our shop in the heart of Psara. But we did have to make some concessions. Our bedroom was a bunk bed separated from the living room by a curtain, our bathroom was, in essence, a closet where you had to step over the toilet to get into the shower, and our dining room was a folding table and chairs we kept flat against the wall when they weren't in use. But, looking around, we did do a good job of making it look like a home. With my knack for organization and Tsano's sense of decoration, it was actually pretty cozy.

Tsano used her conduit to unfold the table and chairs and set them up in the center of the living room. She took two bowls of oatmeal with fresh fruit and spices and set them on the table. "I hope you like it!"

I looked down at my bowl. The fruit was arranged in what looked like a flower, with the spices scattered on top. I smiled. "It's amazing. I almost feel bad eating it."

Tsano laughed. "Well, you should at least have some. We have a long day ahead of us."

"Yeah." Paint the sign, get the cash register, take out our final loan, scrub the floors, get a doormat and entry bell, finish filling out all those fucking papers, and then maybe take a quick break. And then back to work.

I sighed. "I seriously can't--"

Ring.

Tsano looked at the window. "Wait, wha--"

Ring.

I ran to join her. "Is this--"

Ring.

"Some kind of mista--?"

Ring. Silence.

Tsano looked at me. "Who died? Was it--"

The floor shook beneath us, the bowls on the table clattering and almost falling off. The largest bell. "It's probably one of the dukes. They're so old, I'm surprised they haven't fallen apart into dust by now," I said.

"Which one?"

"Probably Duke Calsei," I said. "It's not like they usually toll the largest bell for a duke, but if they were going to use it for any duke, it would be him."

"We should go downstairs and see what's going on."

"Shit."

"What?"

"Today's a public holiday now."

"So?"

"So we can't get the cash register or take out that loan or get our doormat or that goddamn bell. We're screwed. We're screwed."