Call of Water by Marina Simcoe

Author:Marina Simcoe [Simcoe, Marina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rocky River Publishing
Published: 2020-08-26T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

ONE EVENING, THE bracks left me to work with Amira. She washed Yenric the pig in a plastic tub placed on the floor in the basement bathroom. I was tasked with assisting her and learning the process to be able to do it on my own someday.

The year had moved into November already, but I still only had a vague idea where the main entrance of the building was located and had no clue if it was locked or guarded.

Without Trez or Ulg around, I wanted to use the moment to get Amira to speak. I needed to find out about the exit, the number of bracks guarding it, the location of the key. Anything. However, if I started asking about those things, she might get suspicious and report me to the bracks.

Instead, I asked something else.

“Do you know where Zeph, the siren man is?”

Of course, she didn’t reply.

Keeping up with the role of a mindless obedient servant I had been playing for the past several weeks, I asked in a neutral tone, as casually as possible, “Who cleans his water tank?”

She glanced up at me, then went back to scrubbing Yenric’s tiny hooves. The pig stood calmly, letting her do whatever she pleased. Both his heads were up, all four beady eyes half-closed in his obvious enjoyment of the bath. The pink glitter seemed to completely change his personality.

Instead of snapping and biting, Yenric was a real sweetheart now. He liked to cuddle with everyone, not just Madame. He enjoyed belly rubs and would nuzzle Amira’s hand for a petting when she brought him food. The bite marks on her hands had healed, with no new ones visible anywhere.

I wondered if she had noticed the change. Would she tell Madame if she did? Especially if the docile attitude of the pig now made her life that much easier?

“I can clean it. The water tank, I mean. The room, too,” I offered, hoping against all odds for a reply from her.

Keeping my eyes down, I soaked my sponge in the warm water then brushed it against Yenric’s soft side as he leaned into my touch, snorting with pleasure.

He was definitely getting chubbier, too. He had been getting a double portion for dinner for weeks. Whereas I’d been losing weight, going to bed hungry every night. Maybe instead of overfeeding him, I should start switching food with him? Unless there was something added to his porridge, too.

Not a word came from Amira, and I decided to risk bringing her mind back to the night of Radax’s punishment. I hoped it might rekindle that feeling of camaraderie or gratitude or whatever it was that had made her speak to me back then.

“I’m glad Radax has healed so quickly. The crystals turned out to be truly magical. Is he your boyfriend?”

She shook her head, still without saying a word.

“Would you like him to be?” I asked carefully.

She gave me a cautious look, then glanced over her shoulder at the door which remained closed.

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