Chapter 24 #2
“Baker, you have worms in your guts,” Kalos says in that deadly calm voice.
“That haunch of deer your husband brought home last fall was diseased. It made you all sick afterward, remember? But living things transferred from the deer to you, and they’re eating you from the inside out. Your stomach pains you, doesn’t it?”
The baker’s expression changes from irritation to fear.
“And your belly is bloated and hard after you eat. You vomit even though you’re not pregnant. Too old for that, right? And your husband hasn’t touched you in a year anyhow. It’s probably a good thing, since he gave you the pox. He got that from a woman the next town over.”
Oh my god. This is awful. I want to look away, but I can’t. Kalos is all insouciant confidence, casually holding the handle of the paddle while the now-trembling woman grips the other end, her eyes wide.
“The pox is going to kill him,” Kalos continues.
“But by that time, you’ll be long dead. Your bloody stools will get worse.
You’ll drop weight and no matter what you do, no matter how much you eat, you won’t be able to stay ahead of it.
The pain in your belly will be excruciating, and you’ll grow steadily weaker until you die.
They’ll eat you from the inside out, and when you die, the worms will explode from your corpse’s belly. ”
The woman’s jaw hangs slack with shock.
“But,” Kalos says, tilting his head, his expression one of utter confidence. “If you give us some bread and some coin so we can be on our way, I’ll help you.”
“H-how?” she asks. “How did you know?”
He lets go of the paddle and slowly crosses the room, moving towards the frozen woman. When he stands mere inches away from her, he stares down into her face. “Ask yourself that again. How would I, a vagabond strolling the world during an Anticipation, know what ails you?”
I’ve never seen someone’s face go so pale so quickly. She drops to her knees and bows her head as Kalos gives up our anonymity. “My Lord Kalos. Take what you want. I am but a humble baker.” Tears clog her voice as she touches his mud-crusted cloak. “I didn’t know. Forgive me.”
He glances over at me, a hint of triumph on his face.
I cross my arms. Does he think bullying people into giving us bread makes me happy? If so, he’s wrong.
“We’re not here to rob you, good woman.” He places her hand atop her head and keeps his gaze on me. There’s a hint of grim amusement in his gaze, as if he takes none of this seriously. “But I will trade you a cure for some bread and coin for my Anchor.”
“Anything. Anything,” the desperate woman sobs.
“And silence,” I chime in, since I guess we’re doing this. “We don’t want anyone to know my lord Kalos is here.”
“I will say nothing,” the baker continues, weeping and pressing her face against Kalos’s cloak. “Only help me.”
“Of course.” Kalos’s voice is smooth like butter.
“Am I not benevolent?” He smiles at me when my brow goes up, and heads farther into the bakery.
I follow him as the woman staggers to her feet, trembling all over and clutching at her belly.
He moves to the work area in the back, with small pots full of spices and flour.
As I watch, he picks up a wooden cup and puts a pinch or two of this and that inside, then pours a little bit of sludge that might be a sourdough starter into the cup.
He adds a dipperful of water, swirls it in the cup, and holds it out to the woman. “Drink this.”
She takes it from his hand and gulps it down greedily, her eyes never leaving Kalos.
“The worms will start leaving you tonight,” he says. “Within a month, you will be back to your old self. As for your husband, tell him to avoid the dockside ladies.”
Tears flood the older woman’s eyes, and she clutches the now-empty cup to her chest. “How can I thank you, my lord?”
He nods at me. “Thank her. She insists I be kind and benevolent to all, even when it’s a bother.”
She moves to me and drops to her knees, fawning over my skirts. “Mistress, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
“Okay, no need for all that,” I say cheerfully, helping her back to her feet.
I’m surprised at Kalos including me, but I’m not interested in being thanked and worshiped.
The woman’s fear and groveling gratitude are as unnerving as Kalos’s cruel description of her earlier worm-filled fate.
“Like I said before, we just want some bread and we’ll be on our way. ”
A short time later, we’re leaving the village behind.
My belly is stuffed full of fresh fruit and nut-studded bread.
Dingle chews on the crusts as he trots a few feet ahead of us.
Kalos has a pouch of coin at his waist, courtesy of the grateful baker, and he wears a smug look on his face that doesn’t ease even as we leave town.
I say nothing until we’re well down the road, because I don’t want anyone to see us arguing. I’m still stewing over what just happened. That was Kalos’s version of being benevolent? Scaring a woman to death and more or less blackmailing her into giving us coin and food?
We are so, so very far away from being the good guys.
“You are quiet, Elsie,” Kalos finally says. “Are you not impressed?”
“Oh, I’m definitely not impressed.” I glance behind us to make sure we’re not being followed, and when I’m satisfied it’s fine to speak freely, I scowl in his direction. “What the fuck was all that?”
His brows go up, and he seems genuinely surprised at my anger. “What do you mean?”
“I mean all that shit about worms and busting out of her corpse. Were you making that up? Were you telling the truth?”
If anything, his smile grows broader, the self-satisfied look on his face intensifying. “Oh, it was the truth. She was absolutely full of parasites. I could feel them inside her before we even stepped into the bakery.”
My stomach, full of her bread, churns. “You could?”
“I can see what’s inside her, just like I can see what’s inside of every person. I made up the bit about her husband, but I thought it came across as believable.”
Sometimes I forget that he’s a god and the rules for him are different than the rules for common people.
Is it horrifying, seeing all the things wrong with people when you meet them?
Or does it feel more like a half-completed puzzle missing a few pieces to make whole?
Knowing Kalos and what he just did, I suspect it feels more like weapons to be used against them. “What was in her drink?”
“No idea. Whatever was on the counter.” He waves a hand, dismissing it. “I killed the worms inside her the moment I touched her head. I thought it was a nice bit of theater, though.”
Theater. Because that’s all it was to him.
Just a bit of bluffing and playacting to get what he wants.
We’re still not real to him. We’re not more than interesting bits of flesh moving around in the world.
I don’t know how to make him change, and I’m growing increasingly worried I won’t be able to.
That I’m bad at this job. That I’m not the right person to help him.
Maybe that’s why I was brought here—because I’m supposed to fail and bring him down with me? The thought’s a depressing one.
“You’re quiet,” Kalos points out. “Let me guess. You’re not pleased with my actions.”
“How can I be? You threatened a woman just because she wouldn’t help us.”
“Yes, but I ended up helping her. I gave her her life back, and I think that’s worth far more than a bit of bread and a few paltry coins.”
Dingle returns to my side, nosing my hand and looking for more scraps.
I was saving the end of the loaf of bread for an afternoon snack, but all this talk about worms inside the baker has really killed my appetite.
I pluck it out of the wax paper I’ve been holding and hand it over to the goat.
“But you would have killed her just because she was cranky.”
“So?”
I’m suddenly so very tired. “So until you realize that’s wrong, I’m not going to be happy with you.”
He’s not offended by my response. “Oh, Elsie. I would have killed her, but I did not. Doesn’t that count for something?”
Does it? Because he definitely would have just killed her.
Seen the worms inside her and made them go into hyper mode or something, just because she refused me a job.
Can I blame her? We’ve been sleeping in the roads, in the rain.
We’re covered in mud and dirt, our clothing wrinkled and tattered.
We do look like vagrants. I wouldn’t hire us either.
“You just saw the problems inside her and decided to use that against her to get what you wanted. I don’t think that’s better. ”
He shrugs.
“You see what’s inside everyone. What do you see inside me? What are you going to use against me?”
That makes Kalos pause. I stop, too, and we stare at each other for a long moment. I’m suddenly afraid of what he’s going to say. Am I full of worms? I drank from a stream. I ate a wormy baker’s bread. Plague? I could be full of all kinds of horrible things at this point.
“I see inside you,” he says softly, “And I see kindness and strength. I see a relentless spirit that refuses to give up. I see someone who urges me to be better at all times because she truly wants all good things for me, not because it’s easier for her.”
Oh. I suddenly feel like a jerk. My cheeks get hot and I bite my lip to keep from breaking into a goofy, awkward smile at his compliments.
His gaze falls to my mouth. “I see a person I want to kiss when I’ve never wanted to kiss anyone since…”
“Belara?” I blurt out. I’m so curious about what happened.
Kalos’s softer expression changes to a wary one. “I don’t like to say her name. I don’t like to even think about her.” His gaze flicks to mine, and he starts walking again, leaving me feeling like I just ruined a good kissing opportunity.
I trail after him, my curiosity burning a hole in my gut. “Will you tell me what happened between you two?”