The Anzu's Egg 1 by J F Mehentee

Author:J F Mehentee
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781912402243
Publisher: P in C Publishing
Published: 2020-03-25T04:00:00+00:00

7

I sat in the pharmacy rolling the qi tablet for Biyu, the practice’s purchase ledger open before me. Because of my depleted qi, I wasn’t sure how efficacious the tablet would be later tonight. Half an hour had passed since I’d opened the ledger and Biyu had left for the vault. Susilo Tarigan had sent over some of Supervisor Pak’s folders in the hope they might help us with our search for the anzu’s egg. I had left Biyu to the documents, claiming I was behind on the pharmacy’s stocktaking, which was a half-lie.

Back in the temple district, Toojan had told me Biyu often sold her shed skin to the amulet seller. Without my knowing, she’d been doing so for the past three years.

After her mother’s death, Biyu managed the practice’s bookkeeping for Master Healer Lee. I was happy for her to keep doing so after her father passed the practice on to me. With the additional income from the Ministry’s finder’s fees for those relics we delivered to them, I thought we were flush.

According to the pharmacy’s purchase ledger, Biyu used the money from her shed skins to help re-stock the pharmacy with some of our more expensive ingredients, ingredients for which we didn’t charge our poorer patients. News of our discounts had led to more such patients registering with us. Now, after checking the ledger, there were months when our costs exceeded our fees.

Why Biyu had kept such a thing a secret escaped me. I wondered if it had anything to do with us having to get by on one income and her thinking our situation was her fault. Whatever her reason, and not wanting to dent her pride, I’d said nothing.

I dropped the tablet into a separate pill holder and, so I didn’t forget it, slipped the box into my trouser pocket. I slid off the seat and put the ledger away to avoid alerting Biyu I was on to her.

Biyu arrived in the hallway at the same time I locked the pharmacy. The light shining through the reception door had dimmed to a dusty orange. I glanced at the clock on the wall next to the door: Five-thirty.

‘I haven’t finished rolling a second tablet,’ I said to her.

Nothing in Biyu’s eyes suggested she thought the lack of qi tablets a problem.

‘It’ll take me three hours to fly to Kazera,’ she said. ‘You’ll have plenty of time to continue rolling the tablet.’

I wanted to remind her I’d be wrapped in blankets and wearing mittens, but I recognised the determination in her eyes. We had less than twenty-four hours to find the anzu’s egg and save Rahmat. With so much at stake, Biyu running out of energy before we could return to Bagh-e-Khuda was a risk we’d had to take.

‘Learn anything from the folders Tarigan sent?’ I said.

Biyu stopped at the foot of the stairs up to our living area.

‘I did,’ she said, and began to climb the stairs. ‘I’ll explain on the way.’

Upstairs, I’d already packed a rucksack with Biyu’s clothes, my relic hunting tools and some dried fruit.

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