A Pinch of Salt: A Towers of the Earth Novella by Nita Round

Author:Nita Round [Round, Nita]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

18

Offers

Magda almost whistled on her way back to the infirmary. She felt more energised than she had in a while. She had a purpose. The nurses looked at her as she re-entered the infirmary but paid her no more attention after they realised she had no need of them.

“You look happy,” Ascara said.

“Yes, maybe. Perhaps happy is too strong a word.” She grinned, though. “I think you and I need to have a chat.”

“Do we?”

“Yes. In private though.”

“Is that a–”

“No, Ascara, it is just a chat in private.”

Ascara shook her head. “You know you are no fun, don’t you?”

“Well, if you have a private chat with me, you might find that your opinion changes.”

Ascara struggled to her feet, and from across the room, Nurse Mollen bellowed, “What are you two playing at? I know you’re up to no good.”

Magda drew herself upright, and at a few inches short of six feet, she towered over everyone in the ward. “Yes, nurse, Ascara and I wish to take a moment outside to discuss matters of some privacy.”

Mollen responded to the authority in Magda’s voice and her bearing. She brought the crutches for Ascara and wrapped a dressing gown around her shoulders. “Do not stay outside long.”

“Very well,” Magda agreed. “And thank you.”

Outside, Ascara ditched her crutches and, from her pocket, pulled out a pair of scissors. “Give me a hand, will you?”

“With what?”

“To get rid of these damned bandages, that’s what.”

“But–”

“Seriously, Magda, I don’t need them. I heal very fast, and this is just stopping me from strengthening my legs.”

Magda thought about it for a moment. “All right, then.” She used the shears efficiently, and in no time at all, the bandages were no more than a pile of material on the ground.

Ascara stretched. “Oh, Goddess, that is so much better. You can’t believe how much better I feel. Thank you.”

Magda laughed. “I was just talking to Commander Morales, and his assessment of you included the part where you fail to follow orders and do as you are told.”

Ascara shrugged. “I follow good orders, if they make sense. I don’t follow fools.”

“Well, we shall see how foolish a leader must be before you refuse to follow them.”

“Which leader would that be?”

Magda grinned. “Me.”

“Are you making me an offer?” Ascara asked.

“I might be. Let’s have a little stroll, shall we?”

Magda took a moment to consider her thoughts. There were things she could not mention. Not yet.

The Towers. The gifted ones. “Bugger me,” she whispered to herself. She had been lax and had not protected herself from gifted sight. She would have to be more careful.

“What did you say?” Ascara asked.

“Nothing.”

“Yes, you did.”

Magda stopped where she stood and scanned the area. There were no people around. “Sometimes I forget to take the simplest of precautions, and today I discovered that doing so could be disastrous.”

“What do you mean? What has gone wrong, Magda? Is there something I can do to help you out?”

Magda smiled. The offer sounded genuine and sincere, and she was not used to people like that.

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