Page 15 of Inferno
But at the same time, there was no way in the world he could say that to her directly, given public sentiment about some of the older and more experienced warriors. It was an unwritten expectation that the serving women wanted to marry one of them, and a longstanding cultural rule that said that which specific warrior didn’t matter nearly so much as the fact that a woman had nabbed one at all.
“Henrick doesn’t want a wife,” Liatra snarled, folding her arms. “He wants a pretty ornament to put on a shelf. He wants someone who will tell him every day how wonderful he is, and then he wants to go drown himself in a barrel of whisky and make up stories about battles he never actually fought. Gods above, I can’t believe I…” She cut herself off sharply, turning away and pacing off up the pathway towards Nerik’s cottage.
Nerik shot Yorin an apologetic look, then eased up behind Liatra. “Hey,” he said, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. Yorin’s not going to judge you for any of this. He knows perfectly well how difficult some of the warriors can be.”
The sentiment was true, and yet at the same time, Yorin couldn’t help but wonder how Nerik knew that about him. He usually made an effort not to badmouth customers in front of company, though with trusted companions, the occasional complaint did tend to slip out. It was a shock to realise that Nerik was both trusted enough and had been listening attentively enough for him to have got a solid grasp of Yorin’s personality.
“I can’t believe how stupid I’ve been,” Liatra muttered.
Well, on that front, at least, Yorin could related to her. He’d only realised yesterday evening what his true feelings were for Nerik, despite having had three years to ponder them. “It can be very difficult to see what’s directly under our noses,” he said, hoping he didn’t sound patronising. “Goodness knows I’ve been blind enough about what’s in front of me, at times.” Unintentionally, his gaze drifted up to meet Nerik’s. A brief flash of satisfaction and mischief crossed Nerik’s face, as he caught Yorin’s meaning, the expression quickly banished before Liatra saw it and thought he was laughing at her.
“Come on,” Nerik said, gently turning Liatra around and steering her back down the path towards Yorin. “Three heads are better than two for figuring this all out.”
Liatra came slowly, but willingly. A few stray tears leaked out of her eyes, but unlike Helen’s, these seemed to be entirely genuine. “Sorry,” she muttered to Yorin, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand. “I haven’t quite figured out whether me hating myself or the entire town hating me is worse.”
“The entire town doesn’t hate you,” Nerik jumped in. “Kit will stand by you. And so will Gosta. And Stanley, and Yokuta, and Mr Fensworth, and Tish the baker… Trust me, Liatra, you’re not the only one who’s getting sick of the attitude of some of the warriors.”
“The rest of the serving women hate me,” Liatra said, not quite ready to finish her sulk yet. “But…” She looked up at Yorin, brow creased, seeming to plead with him to understand. “That’s actually one of the reasons I started questioning all this. Do you remember Nalyx?”
Yorin nodded. “I didn’t know him well, but he seemed a decent fellow.” Nalyx had been one of the warriors, and he’d mysteriously decided to leave Minia all of a sudden, back in spring.
“Just before he left town, I was competing for his attention with another serving woman named June. It was stupid, and selfish, and I’m absolutely not proud of the way I behaved. But before it was all over… June tried to kill me. She poisoned me.”
As if today hadn’t held enough shocks already, this one actually made Yorin’s knees shake. One of the serving women had tried tomurderanother one? Because of simple jealousy? Gods above, how deep did the rot go?
“That was the beginning of the end, for me,” Liatra went on. “It took me a while, but I had a good long think about it all, and it made me realise how shallow everyone is over in the barracks. Nalyx didn’t want me – and rightly so – because I was petty and childish, and most of the women are just as bad as I was.” Liatra trailed off and chewed on a thumbnail.
“There’s the cabin where Mr Sorrich used to live,” Nerik said, looking uncomfortable, but wanting to be helpful as he changed the subject. “He passed away last winter, and no one’s wanted to move into his cabin since then.”
“Why not?” Yorin asked, concerned about tossing Liatra into a shack with a leaky roof or a rat infestation.
“It’s too close to the gate,” Nerik explained. “People are concerned about demon attacks. Now, I can pretty much guarantee that’s never going to happen,” he added quickly. “I live here, and I’ve never had a demon make it this far into the forest. Vivi lives closer, just up by the river, and she’s never had any problems. Stanley lives on the other side of the gate, but pretty damn close to it, and he’s never had any… Well, okay, he said he occasionally gets a unicorn running through his farm, but he’s never been attacked by one. They just knock over a barrel or two and be on their way. So I know it’s maybe not the most appealing solution, but the rent would be cheap.”
“For all their bad attitudes, the warriors actually do a very fine job of holding back the demons,” Yorin added, wanting to reassure Liatra.
Nerik tensed at that for a moment, making Yorin wonder if perhaps he knew something he wasn’t letting on… but then he charged on, “It’s a nice cottage. The fireplace is solid and well built. The outhouse is only about a year old. There’s one large bedroom off the kitchen, and it might need a good weeding, but there used to be a lovely flower bed around the house.”
Liatra sighed. “I suppose I could at least go and look at it,” she said, with no particular enthusiasm. “At least it’ll be convenient for work.”
“If you don’t mind me asking,” Yorin said, knowing he was probably poking at a sensitive topic, “what are you planning on doing now that you’re not serving the warriors?” A serving woman’s main source of income was gifts from the warriors. And without that income, along with no further access to the food and clothing from the barracks, Liatra was likely in for a rude shock about how difficult it was to make a living in Minia.
“She’s going to join the workers who clean up the bodies after the gate closes,” Nerik said, once again jumping in to answer the question. After each cycle, the battlefield was littered with hundreds of dead demons. The clean-up crew spent the half of the cycle when the gate was open digging a couple of mass graves, and the week or two after the gate closed carting the bodies – or body parts – off to the graves to be buried. It was awful work, physically demanding and disgusting, both from the sights and smells, but it paid well. The city paid the workers out of the taxes it collected, just one more necessary expense to allow the warriors to keep doing their jobs.
“It’ll keep me fed and clothed until I can find something better,” Liatra muttered, once again avoiding Yorin’s gaze.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of when you’re doing honest work,” he told her firmly. Under only slightly different circumstances, Yorin could well have ended up in a similar place. “And if you’re ever having a bad day, feel free to drop into my shop and have a chat. You’re not alone here.”
“Thank you,” Liatra said, managing a weak smile. “Well, I suppose I’ll head over to Mr Sorrich’s old place and have a look.” She squared her shoulders, bolstering her determination. “One day at a time, right?”
“Absolutely,” Nerik agreed. “And remember, you don’t have to make a decision right now. Take a couple of days to think about it, if you need to. Brass isn’t going to kick you out of the pub – or if he does, I’ll go and kickhisass.”
“Thank you,” Liatra said, a display of gratitude that seemed to wound her pride. “I’ll see you later, then.” She nodded to Yorin as she passed him, heading down the path, and they both watched until she’d disappeared around the nearest bend in the road.
“I’ll check on her tomorrow,” Nerik said, pre-empting Yorin’s concerns on that front. “It must be a rude shock, suddenly being out on your ass like that.”
“No doubt,” Yorin agreed. “And let her know I meant what I said. I know it can be hard to ask for help, but she’s more than welcome to drop by, if she needs anything.” While Yorin had never been particularly close to Liatra, he was more than familiar with how it felt to be down on one’s luck. He’d had the good fortune to have a few good friends rally around him when he’d been struggling, so he was more than willing to repay the favour now.
Yorin was just preparing to make his excuses and head back to Minia – his clothes weren’t going to make themselves, after all – when a high pitched screech sounded overhead. He jumped in surprise, gasping as he looked up and saw the huge, dark shadow of a dragon sailing by, a hundred metres up in the air. “Oh gods, that’s something I haven’t got used to yet,” he muttered, taking a deep breath as the dragon moved on and he caught a glimpse of the human rider on its back. He looked over at Nerik, anticipating that the man would make some joke about the beasts, or at the very least, a light-hearted comment about his own shock… but instead, Nerik was watching the sky, entirely calm, with a studious look on his face. Yorin glanced at the sky again, where the dragon was disappearing over to the west, in the direction of the gate.