Page 13 of The Gambler's Prize
“Good thing you’re not used to them,” he says. “I need you fit and healthy for work.”
“Yes, Boss.”
His dark eyes seem almost angry. “I mean it, Florian. If you’re ever in trouble, I’ll handle it.”
“Yes, Boss. I get it.”
When in doubt, agree, agree, agree. He’s a dangerous man. I need to study him more, get a read on what makes him angry. I don’t want that temper turned against me. He slips a hand under his thick hood and scratches at the side of his neck, looking uncertain for a moment. Then he picks up my suitcases like they weigh nothing and jerks his chin at the door. I guess we’re leaving. As usual he’s not asking me, he’s telling me. I follow him, all eyes still on us, but no one daring to take Grimes to task for the violence.
My new life with a hooligan has begun.
Yay.
**
We kill time in the shade of a store awning until the fiercest heat of the day has passed. It’s a sketchy street. Stray dogs roam in search of food and people yell across at each other with a distinct lack of Rhennian manners. Grimes’ size and shadowydemeanor keeps pickpockets and hustlers at bay. Then it’s time for the long, silent walk back along the dust track to Grimes’ place.
Next morning, it’s time to start work. The foundations for the gym are at the back of his house. He’s got everything marked out with little rope lines, and a few trenches already dug. Apparently when he said he hired me to dig, he meant thatveryliterally. After a basic tutorial—how complex can it be, after all?—I’m set to work. We’ll need to dig down beneath the soft, shifting sand and into the impacted earth below to find a solid foundation. It becomes monotonous fast. Like, within ten minutes. I drive my spade into the dry, red earth over and over, dust rising and making me cough. I check my pocket watch sometimes, unable to believe how slowly the time passes. This is backbreaking, and dull as dishwater. Grimes works by my side but twice as fast. If this is his usual day, it’s no wonder he’s so dour and silent. This would drive anyone to a cloudy personality. The man is a machine. He never falters, even with his dark cloak on, showing no signs of discomfort. Within half an hour I’m sweating buckets, pitiless sun drying the moisture as soon as it appears. It’s hot already even in the early morning. My poor abused muscles beg for mercy. Muscles I didn’t even know I had burn and scream in open rebellion, wondering what they did to deserve this onslaught. I thought I was in pretty good shape, what with all the fencing, horseback riding, boxing and… other activities, but this is humbling on a major scale.
“Aren’t you getting tired, Boss?” I ask, massaging the backs of my thighs.
He grunts at me from under the hood, not even pausing his digging. “No. I’m not a spoiled rich boy.”
Charming.
“You’ll get used to it,” he says.
Something to look forward to, I suppose.
“May I take a break?” I ask.
It’s embarrassing to ask permission for every little thing, but I’m afraid not to.
“If you must,” he says.
My body collapses in a heap of aching, sweating gratitude. I squish myself into the tiny patch of shade offered by a huge sentinel cactus. I’m careless of my clothes now. This is my oldest outfit, but even so the shirt and breeches are too delicate for manual labor and will be ruined. There’s no point in taking care of them. I’ll have to buy new things when my two years of servitude is over. If I even survive that long. I take a few gulps of water from the bucket Grimes has brought from the well and try not to think in terms ofyears.
“Boss, can we talk about my working hours?” I ask. Any excuse to prolong the break.
He stops digging and comes over, leaning on the spade and looking down at me. He seems even bigger when I’m crouched beneath him.
“What do you want to know?” he says.
“How many days off do I get?”
“One per week.”
My heart sinks. “Workers always get two in Rhennes,” I argue. “And we’re Rhennians, after all.”
My attempt to bond over our hometown has zero effect.
“We’re in Galbrava now,” he says. “I’ll be working six days too.”
Wonderful. Even more time together.
“Are you in a big rush to get this gym built?” I say.
“Yes.”
