Creator of the Curse by Laura Greenwood

Author:Laura Greenwood [Greenwood, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Drowlgon Press

Ten

Nerves fill me as I wait for the family of the deceased to join me outside the coffin builder's craft room with Matia waiting beside me. I have no idea how this is going to go, and there's a part of me that worries they're going to be as difficult as at every other part of the process. The difference this time is that we're with a contractor whose relationship with the temple could be affected by the things they say.

Tey and Sebu are soon shown in my direction by one of the temple guards.

"Good morning," I say, trying to be as welcoming as possible despite the annoyance that I'm still having to deal with them. Hori prepared me for a lot of what the funeral planning would take, but I don't think I was in the slightest bit ready for just how much time the family themselves take up. I'm sure not everyone is this bad, and it's better to get an overly involved family like this, than one that doesn't care.

Maybe I'll change my mind on that.

"Can we get this over with?" Sebu demands. "I have things to do with my day."

I give him a tight smile, unsure how he can be so oblivious to the fact we all do, and that his arguments are the thing that keeps taking up the time needed for other things for all of us.

"It should be a quick one today," I assure him. Though really, it's up to Sebu how long it takes. "This is just to check progress on the coffin and make sure you can request any changes you want based on what you see."

"And how much is that going to cost?" he mutters.

"The checkup and conversation is all part of the coffin price," I remind him. "Any changes would need to be discussed with the craftsman and will be reflected in the invoice."

"Then it's all fine. We'll pay what we agreed. We should leave," he says to Tey.

She looks as if she wants to protest.

"I don't think you should do that," I say softly.

He turns to me, surprise and anger blaring in his eyes. "We're paying you, we get to decide what we do."

I resist the urge to point out that he isn't paying me, he's paying the temple, and they pay me. And they'd be doing it regardless of whether I put up with his attitude.

Instead, I take a deep breath. My job is to make the journey to Duat better for the dead, and that involves dealing with the living, no matter how little I want it to.

"I understand that this is time consuming, and that you'll have had plans for the time you're spending on your grandmother's funeral," I say, keeping my voice level and keeping my eyes on him. My whole body shakes and I'm acutely aware of how young and inexperienced I am.

But they don't know that. And the impression I'm going to give them is that I've done this dozens of times before.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.