“There’s plague in a town near here?”
“There was as of last winter. The town quarantined themselves for many months and only recently lifted the ban on travel.” Omos thinks for a moment and turns to Kalos. “You may stay with me as long as you like, my lord, but all I ask in return for my hospitality is that you harm none upon these grounds. I get visitors and I would hate the thought of infecting them with plague when all they need is a bed and a bite to eat.”
Kalos looks to me.
I’m surprised by that. He’s the one making everyone sick. Is he giving me the power of choice over this, too? That if I said no, he’d willfully infect everyone he could?
…and I realize that yes, that is exactly the situation. Because he doesn’t care about any of them. They’re not people to him, just pieces on some sort of big chessboard. My heart hurts with the realization. All of this and he still doesn’t get it. I turn to Omos. “Of course not. Kalos won’t hurt anyone. We simply want to be left in peace.”
“Then I welcome the company.” He beams at us.
My smile in return feels weak. It’s like I’m failing Kalos with every step we take. How do I get through to him? Isn’tthat my job? Not only to be at his side but to make him realize that people matter? Yet he cares more for his goat than an entire continent of people.
How do I get through to him?CanI even get through to him?
Chapter
Twenty-Six
After I eat an embarrassing amount of food, the fatigue of the day sets in and I yawn, and yawn. Omos finds blankets for me and makes up one of the cots scattered about the large library. “I’m afraid there’s only one private chamber and I’ve filled it with bits and bobs. Is this all right for tonight? I can clean it out tomorrow and make it ready for you and Lord Kalos.”
“This is perfect, and no need for you to displace yourself,” I reassure him as he hands me a fluffy goose-down pillow that makes me want to weep with joy. “Thank you so much.”
Eventually he finishes cleaning his tiny kitchen and heads to bed, and I’m left alone in the main room with Kalos. He hasn’t moved from his seat by the now-dying fire, legs sprawled. He’s flipping through an entirely different book, his expression just as bored as it was when we arrived.
I’m uneasy at his lack of enthusiasm for our surroundings. Omos has been so kind and I’m ashamed how much of his cheese and bread I ate without offering a penny of recompense. Kalos might think that being served is his divine right, but I amall too acutely aware of how much hard work making food like that entails, and I feel guilty. Not guilty enough to not eat, of course. Even after the fire goes out, however, I can’t sleep. My mind won’t turn off despite the quiet darkness.
I roll over on my side, facing towards Kalos’s seat. “I know you’re awake.”
“I never pretended not to be.”
“Do you want a bed for yourself? You can have mine.” I hesitate. “Or we can share. I’m sure we can squeeze in together.”
Is my heart fluttering? Am I nervous at propositioning a god? How do I even know he’s interested when he’s so good at hiding his emotions?
“I don’t sleep.”
“I know that. I was just…you know what? Never mind.” I try to hold back my…disappointment? Irritation?…that he’s being so obtuse and continue. “Is this okay? That we’re here?”
“Why wouldn’t it be okay?”
“You’ve been quiet.”
“I am Apathy. Was I supposed to be garrulous?”
His tone is even and cool, but him using a big fancy word like that tells me everything. He’s irked. “I can tell when your mood is off, Kalos. And right now, it’s off. So tell me what’s bothering you. Either we can fix it, or we can’t, but I’d rather know what’s going through your mind.”
He’s silent for a long moment, and there’s no sound but that of crickets chirping outside. I’m just about to turn away and give up on getting an answer from him when he speaks. “A lot of aspects have come through this particular spot. I don’t like that. I don’t know if that makes it safe for us or not.”
I’ve considered that, but given that we’re low on funds, a kind, gentle man who wants to feed us trumps a lot of things. “As if we have other options?” I joke.
“We do. We can rob him, steal his money, and keep moving.”
I sit upright. “You’re joking.”
Kalos is silent. He’s not joking.
“No,” I say. “Absolutely not. You need to learn that people aren’t speedbumps slowing you down along the way.”
