44 lines
2 KiB
Markdown
44 lines
2 KiB
Markdown
|
---
|
||
|
|
title: Payment
|
||
|
|
teaser: >
|
||
|
|
Hours later, Karin was enjoying the bliss of a good glass of whiskey. Her injuries weren't bothering her for the night and she was ready to fall asleep. But she had one more visitor before she slept.
|
||
|
|
---
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
A few bells later, Karin enjoyed a blissful buzz that took the edge off her pain and made the seconds race past in a blur. She smiled to herself and looked down to her glass; she kept it on the joint of her leg and hip. The caramel-colored liquid was almost the same shade as the patch of hair next to her knuckles.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
She lifted the glass and took a deep breath of the heady scent before sipping it. The warmth and sting of it sliding down her throat felt good. She smiled and set it back down.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Suras knocked quietly on the door. "Still awake?"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
"Yes."
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
The waitress came in and held up the bottle. "Another?"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
"No, I think I'm done for the night. Oh, that's for you." Karin gestured to a small stack of crowns on the corner of the desk. It was a healthy amount but more than a tip.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
"What's that?"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
"Just some coins for your trouble."
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
"Oh, thank you." Suras immediately gestured to Karin's packs. "You want me to clean those? It looks... and smells like you went through a swamp."
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Karin laughed bitterly. "A swamp? Yeah, two of them, one at each end of this last tour."
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
"How long?"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
"Just shy of three months, about a hundred fifty days or so. It's pretty rank in there, I'll deal with the larger bag when I'm on my feet. That is just my clothes."
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Suras wrinkled her nose and then walked over to the bed. She rested her hand on Karin's outstretched knee. "Anything else tonight?"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
There was an instant flush of heat coursing through Karin's body. Her hand tightened on her glass as it shook. "N-No."
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
"After the night guests leave, I'll have a bath drawn for you. Have a good night."
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
"Night, Suras."
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
The younger woman turned and headed out, but not before picking up Karin's clothes bag and carrying it out of the room. The door clicked shut behind her.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Karin stared for a moment, surprised.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Then she realized that Suras had ignored the stack of coins.
|