16 The Thunder

"That wasn't so scary, was it?"

Serenica shook her head. "I am almost delighted by how painless it was."

They cleaned themselves and slipped back into their clothes.

Someone knocked on the door with the force of a thousand men.

Serenica had had enough of people knocking.

"Quickly! Get rid of the blood!" Herderg hissed as she was putting every item imaginable in drawers and secret hiding places.

"It's the city watch!" a man's voice yelled through the door.

"What do I do with it?" Serenica asked, her head spinning. How had they found her?

"I don't know!"

Serenica had no intention and no way of disposing of a cup of liquid neatly. She did the only thing she could imagine on a short notice.

She drank the blood, shattered the cup and hid the broken pieces under a rug.

It took a while to feel the disgusting taste. A distinct metallic mouthfeel, mixed in with the spicy aroma of the twitchleaf.

Serenica regretted her decision already. Blood didn't taste good, especially blood tainted by the image of its original owner. She visualized a little mouse crawling inside her mouth and she felt an urge to throw up.

Herderg came back, apparently having done all she could and about to open the door, and as she saw Serenica, her mouth fell open to reveal a row of perfectly crafted fake teeth. They were yellow from the consumption of coffee and tea that had to be on opulent levels judging by the deep color of the stains.

"Please tell me you didn't drink it, girl."

Serenica wiped her mouth. "I had to think fast. What do you think the city watch would say if they saw one drop of it? Hmm? They'd see it as a reason to draw their guns and – do I have to explain?"

"We'll talk about this later," the old lady said with a stern voice that made Serenica shudder.

The men of the city watch were in a hurry. It was both a good thing and a bad thing. They didn't seem to care much about what Herderg was up to, as long as she wasn't hiding anyone. It was common knowledge that one never messed with Herderg. It was also good that Serenica could be seen from the door straight away, as the watch often searched entire houses with guns out and they were certainly on the more trigger happy end of the firearm user spectrum.

What was bad was the suspicious looks the men threw at Serenica. What was bad was the way one of them got close enough to smell her. What was bad was that the tallest of them said slowly:"We've heard of common folk protecting a certain fugitive, who happened to also be Raelian."

"She is no fugitive," Herderg said with all the confidence in the known world. "She is my servant, and an honorable one."

"Said fugitive does tend to pose as a servant. Once the Raelian finds herself cornered, her masters and mistresses are found with their throats slit. The same happened to a certain Neulian woman of good social standing."

Serenica's mind immediately flew to Helen. She wondered if the city watch had done something to her. The only thing matching the cold, dark dread in her chest was the strength that made her push the dread away, somewhere deep where it could be assessed in a safe way, later, away from prying eyes. She could do no good for Helen by blowing her cover right now. Helen would have wanted her to stay strong and do her best to get rid of the pests tainting the face of the city. Serenica squeezed her muscles inside her stomach and cleared her throat, hopeful that no fear could be seen from her eyes.

"I am not Raelian. I'm a respectful Karshaan woman with little to my name, except –"

Herderg got the message and shut her up with a slap to her cheek that was almost too painful to be part of a play.

"Shut up, wench, did I ask you to tell your story? As my dim-witted servant girl just uttered, she is, in fact, Karshaan."

Serenica tried to hide her relief as well as the men started talking about her as if she was not there.

"She has an awfully long nose."

"Every Karshaan I have met has a similar nose."

"What about her eyes?"

"What about them?"

"Don't you think they're funny?"

"Your mother is funny, Kai. We can't just step on anyone's toes. Sure, young women can be swindled, but you oughta fear this old lady here. She's been around for a while and I'm betting she can raise the dead. If you were plannin' on resting in peace, we should just check the girl and go."

Serenica felt empowered by the respect these godless men were giving to Herderg. Sure, the old woman was no healer, but she was well versed in offensive magic. Her pretty teapots and floral curtains hid a den of decadence, violence and sin. She was the best of her kind, and now she was the one to teach Serenica the essence of blood magic.

"Karshaans can change the weather, you know," the one called Kai said. "Why don't you stop the rain so we won't get wet on the way out?"

"That's a good idea!" the leader said. "Everyone benefits from this."

Serenica wanted to hang those men so bad. Even she knew changing the weather was no small feat. People had all kinds of superstitious beliefs about Karshaan folk, the weather one being the most insane. Serenica knew the millions of ever-changing factors that went into producing a certain state of the skies, and that was just when everything was in a natural state. Artificial weather, well, that took so much patience, it was almost easier to become a deadrouser.

She also knew better than to question the men's knowledge on Karshaan culture and weather. One didn't get into the watch by using their critical thinking skills.

"I will change the weather for you," she said, letting her voice bellow from the deepest part of her belly, trying to emulate the charisma of someone who could, indeed, command the skies.

"Will you stop the rain?"

"I will give you the weather you fine gentlemen deserve."

At that very moment, by some heavenly good luck, a lightning came down near them, accompanied by a roar from the clouds that was loud enough to sound like some ancient, vengeful god angered.

Serenica hid her surprise and she hid her joy, but the men looked genuinely spooked.

Another lightning came, even closer than the one before, and the men began to make their exit.

Apparently the orders were to leave Karshaans alone, witches or not, if the changing of weather was even considered witchcraft. Raelians were more likely to be healers, and therefore more dangerous to Kinley's paranoid agenda.

"It's surely better to die in the storm than inside this house," Kai said and left.

The other two men followed.

"We had some luck there! Don't ever count on it happening again," Herderg said. "I am so sorry for slapping you. You've been born under some strange stars, young lady. I can't tell if it's a good thing or not."

The moral sermon about drinking blood never came. Perhaps Herderg was impressed by Serenica's ability to think on her feet.

In any case, the old lady let her sleep on her couch until noon. The night had been strange. Serenica only woke up to Herderg banging pots and kettles together.

"It's time for you to make your own way in the world, young lady. I can't hide you any longer. It'd be far too dangerous for the both of us."

Serenica grabbed her bag, but the old woman said:"Surely you have the time for coffee before you go, though?"