Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco

Author:Rin Chupeco
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gallery / Saga Press
Published: 2022-09-13T00:00:00+00:00

THE SPRINGS

As Remy had predicted, the villagers were unapologetic, ungrateful, and very glad to see them go. The mayor was perhaps the only one who was truly appreciative, for he had insisted on seeing them well stocked with supplies before they were off. The arrival of the helhests only worsened the situation, and it was with relief from both sides when Malekh finally goaded the horses into a canter, and the village of Zelenka was lost to their field of vision.

Remy kept tugging at the gauze bandages wrapped around his neck. The village healer who’d tended to him was a young woman who had put her needle to good use. It was not a deep wound, Remy was told, though it had looked much more alarming than he had realized. In time it would heal, the scar eventually scabbing itself out of existence.

“Of course,” Remy had mumbled then, to no one in particular, really, because they’d gotten him drunk on some strong ale swill masquerading as medicine, and his mind was refreshingly numb from pain. “I know how to avoid a fucking vampire bite. I’m not a goddamn novice. He scratched me with his hell-blasted fingers, is all,” he’d continued to ramble until, finally, he’d fallen asleep, with the woman still sewing him up.

His head was much clearer now, though the speeding scenery was once again doing him no favors. Malekh had taken the reins outside though he’d claimed that his undead steeds required no supervision when en route to Qing-ye, which suited Remy just fine. The stitches were already itching despite the salve the woman had applied to it. He’d presented her with a small bag of coins as a thank-you, and also as an apology for his deranged chatter the night before. The woman had clasped them to her chest and smiled bashfully at him. That made two people in Zelenka who liked him.

“Don’t scratch at it,” Xiaodan said, though her eyes were closed. “You’ll wind up tearing it open again, and my sewing skills are worse than Elisabet’s.”

“Elisabet?”

“The girl who cared for you last night. You didn’t even ask her name?”

“After everything that happened, her name was the last thing on my mind.”

“She would be disappointed to hear that.”

Remy shot a suspicious glance her way, but Xiaodan’s eyes remained firmly shut, and she said little else for the duration of the journey.

Remy wasn’t sure where they were headed next, if it was straight to Qing-ye or somewhere else. Xiaodan and Malekh had planned it without his input, due to him being unconscious for most of the night, morning, and the better part of the afternoon the next day. But by the time dusk had fallen once more, they’d stopped at what looked to be an inn—and a fairly odd place for it to be, out here in the middle of nowhere.

“I own it,” Xiaodan said happily, climbing out of the carriage. “We’re finally past the Alurian borders and on my lands. This is only one of many we’ve built over the decades.

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