Page 6 of Bloody Business

It should have been done last night, but she'd been stupid tired and had forgotten.

“What?”

“Nothing.”She finished eating and brought the tray over.

The gobbling noises were the same as the night before.He managed to pee on his own this time, along with other things.She got to dump the chamber pot, though.

The innkeeper was right.Half a goldwasn'tenough money, and here she was, doing this for free.Sucker.

Since she was dumping the commode, she casually glanced at the sheep cart she'd parked near the compost pile.It looked undisturbed, as expected.No one was going to mess with an empty cart in this weather, especially not one parked by a rank compost pile.

A glance at the sky revealed thick dark clouds.It was going to rain buckets at any moment.At least she had a roof over her head.

The sheep was in a corral under a shed, eating his head off.There was nothing to do, so she went back to her room.Maybe if she fed the goblin more medicine, he'd heal faster and she could leave.

.....

Artur stared at the blurry ceiling.He'd recently been rethinking his life.Being attacked by bandits was deeply ironic considering his origins.As he lay there temporarily (he hoped) blind, and dependent on a grumpy angel, he considered his transgressions.

He was a bad man.Born into a family of murderers and thieves, he'd killed on command and fought for his brutal father's approval.He'd rebelled in his early twenties, and it nearly cost him his life.

Only a twist of fate had kept him from dying, beaten to death by his brothers.

In the years since, he'd learned that trade was far more profitable than banditry...although sometimes there wasn't much difference between them.

He'd made a name for himself, started other businesses.He had a nice house now and a vault full of money, but he was still a killer.

Perhaps this was a redirect.He wasn't delusional.It's not as if he could make up for his past.But maybe he could do things differently going forward.

He heard Julep come inside and shut the door.

“What happened to your eyes?”she demanded.“They're swollen shut!”There was a clatter as she quickly ditched the chamber pot and washed her hands.

She leaned over him.“Can you open your eyes at all?I’d heard that the redfly medicine could do that, but I didn't think it happened often...unless that was a bad batch?”

She touched his cheekbone, just under the eye, and gently pried his lids open.He could barely make out her blurry outline.

The light touch surprised him.She'd been quick and rough washing him last night, and brisk ever since.The gentleness was new.It must mean she was worried she’d actually done some damage with her rough doctoring.“I'm sensitive to it.It should get better in a few hours, tomorrow at the latest.”

She made a dissatisfied noise.“I'm going to rinse your eyes.The medicine should have done its job by now.I think it would be best if we washed it out.It would help if you could hold your face over the basin.”

It was agonizing, but he managed to hold the wash basin in his lap while she splashed his face.They managed not to get water everywhere.

It was worth it to get the burning goop out of his eyes.

He lay back down and she wandered over by the window, by the sound of it.

“Thank you for helping me.I’d be dead right now if not for you.”He paid his debts, and he owed her a huge favor.

There was a long pause.“Maybe.”She thought about it for a moment.“Probably,” she admitted.

When she remained silent, he said, “My name is Artur Bloodhand.”Somehow, they'd skipped right over introductions.He ended up with her name, but couldn't recall giving her his.

She didn't say anything.She was difficult to engage.Was she afraid of him?That was common enough.It was surprising that she’d helped him, if so.

“Do you have a family, Julep?”

“That's none of your concern,” she said sharply.

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