Lifeblood

Chapter 2

Mary blew on the toy. She added the last touch to the wooden horse moments before she left, impatient to give it to her friend's son. Linette must be busy in the morning rush, but Mary didn't want to hold on to the horse after she finished it. Besides, she'd be in and out.

Shouts and laughter rang through the center of town, the commotion an annoyance to her ears and etching a frown into her face.

"Free samples?"

She expertly dodged a girl with a platter of dried peppers.

"Give it back!"

Mary held the horse above her head as a child roughly bumped past her in pursuit of a sibling.

She bit back a scolding. Children these days.

As soon as the thought crossed her mind she felt like a senile old woman. Maybe she needed to get out more.

When she'd first moved to Julla, Mary had thought the small town would be peaceful. Well, besides the steady flow of travelers that came through. And it was peaceful, for the most part, if monotony was considered peaceful. She'd lived here longer than any place since leaving her hometown, and although she appreciated a more permanent home, it wouldn't last.

Not as long as her and Rike's reputation preceded them enough for their location to be discovered by, say . . . whomever so happened to be desperate enough to track a dead race, for example.

She wove her way around the townspeople, the clacking of pans ringing one store down from where she shoved through the crowd. A line had formed outside the bakery, and although it didn't extend more than a couple feet, she chose to avoid it. She skirted the building, fingers trailing along the rough brick of the wall until she reached a door. She knocked and, not waiting for an answer, opened it.

"Is Anders here?" Mary let the door swing closed behind her. "I have something for him."

Linette shoved a basket of loaves to a boy and told him to deal with the next order. She wiped her forehead, leaving a streak of white. "Actually he's a little sick. I don't think he should have visitors." She spotted the horse Mary held. "Oh he'll love that! Why don't I give it to him?"

Mary handed it to her. "It's not bad is it?"

"Just a cough. But I don't want it to get worse so he's resting right now." Linette blew a strand of hair from her face.

"Does he need any medicine? I know—"

"He'll be fine, don't worry." She gave Mary's arm a squeeze. " The physician will look at him tomorrow if it gets worse."

"I hope he gets better soon, then." Mary took a step back, not wanting to keep Linette from her work. "I'll see you later."

Harsh spring light flooded the town, casting shadows in-between buildings. Most of the clouds had disappeared, leaving the sun to reflect against the remaining snow and grate her eyes.

She blinked, resisting the urge to sneeze.

She glowered at the crowd, but plowed through the way she came. The street was nothing like the ones in Carafrín, so she shouldn't complain. How she had managed to walk anywhere on a market day was beyond her.

To reach her shop, she had to pass the Hillside Inn, which stood above and behind the main street, partially built into the hill that supported it. She lingered at one of two unlit streetlights that stood on either side of the cobbled path to the steps, ignoring a complaint from a man who bumped past her, not expecting her to slow down.

Should she . . . ?

Better not. If she never spoke to him, he would leave, and that problem would be gone from her life. She didn't want the money nor the danger he brought with it.