This is why we fight, a voice echoed in Kari’s thoughts, and Sakkrass’ soft caress blew through her mind like a zephyr. There was a tingle and a brief flash of memory, and Kari understood in that moment that sharing a meal with his friends was one of Sakkrass’ favorite things.
Kari held her hand out and Alyssa took it in hers, and the women shared a smile. “I’d like that as well,” she said. She gestured toward Eli and added, “This is my companion, Eli. He’ll be working with me to try to catch this killer you’ve no doubt heard all about.”
Alyssa’s expression changed but she made an effort not to let the subject dampen her mood. “Yes; it’s been all I can do to keep it from falling on Chelsea’s ears,” she said. “I’m happy to have you stay here, but will there be any danger to the inn while you’re on your hunt?”
Kari waved a hand dismissively. “I’ll be taking steps to make sure the killer stays far from here. I give you my word on that.”
Satisfied, Alyssa excused herself to go prepare their meals. Kari enjoyed the taste and tang of her potent beverage. She’d always liked the taste of a double-godhammer as much as the numbing effect it had on her nerves after a stressful hunt, but even with its warmth spreading through her core, Kari found it was a poor substitute for the other fires that burned in her heart. Her inner fire was fueled by her family and once again by her work, and she found a solace in both that made the drink’s other effects unnecessary. She nursed the drink slowly; it’d been some time since she had eaten breakfast, and she didn’t want to become intoxicated.
Eli spent the quiet time studying Kari. She understood she must be as puzzling to him as he was to her. He was clearly as interested in her past as she was in his, and he seemed to be attracted to her to some degree. Eli wasn’t a bad looking man; he was scarred and somewhat short for a serilian-rir, and he lacked the manners of Grakin or Kris Jir’tana, but there was something about him Kari was attracted to. She figured it was the mystery combined with his compassion, and that the latter was what made the former so interesting.
Kari normally wasn’t the type of woman to fall for the brooding, mysterious type of man—she could hardly stand men like Kaelin Black—but something in Eli’s words and the way he held himself appealed to her. She got the impression he’d gone through a hell somewhat like her own growing up, but somehow, he’d turned out a decent, caring person. It made her love him, in a sense, simply for being a kindred soul who had overcome.
Did he have the same sense about her past that she did about his? Kari had worked hard over both lifetimes to push down the hurt and the hatred her abusive childhood had scarred her with, to make certain people only saw the strong woman she was now. She considered how she had opened up to her family after giving birth to Little Gray when the memories and the scarred girl in her soul resurfaced. Her mother-in-law had shown deep concern, especially once she learned of the episode Kari had suffered in Flora. It was the love and support of her family that kept Kari grounded, and allowed the strong woman to curl up around that scarred little girl and drive her fears away. Though the memories were still painful, Kari felt she was a better woman for having told her family the truth, and she continued to learn to draw strength from tragedy.
How would he react to my story? Kari wondered. Will he ever open up about his past?
His past obviously filled him with shame, but Kari wasn’t sure if it was his ties to the Five Clans or something from before then. The grizzled warrior drew strength from that past, and somehow it made him a more compassionate man. While Kari’s past derived from a spiteful and abusive father, she got the sense that Eli’s came more from his surroundings and having grown up in the city of Oge as a half-corlyps. A part of her wanted to lend him the same comfort and support that Triela had shown Kari on Kirelia. But at the same time, she was hesitant to dredge up her own past or risk putting Eli through any sort of pain.
The silence was broken by Alyssa returning with plates of food stacked along her arm. The innkeeper called for Chelsea to stop dawdling and come join them straight away. Kari and Eli moved to one of the tables for four, and soon they were all seated, a good helping of food and drinks before them. Kari waited expectantly before beginning to eat, and when Eli saw her hesitate, he waited as well.
Alyssa gestured for them to all join hands, just as Kari was accustomed to doing at her mother-in-law’s table, and the innkeeper gave a prayer of thanks to the pantheon.
“I haven’t heard someone do that in some time,” Eli commented.
“I must confess I only started doing it myself a few years ago,” Alyssa said before she turned her gaze toward Kari.
“You’re not going to tell me you bought all this with the money I gave you, are you?” Kari asked, gesturing around.
“Oh, no, not like that,” Alyssa returned. “No, at first I was tempted to take Chelsea and head to DarkWind, to either see if my husband was there, or at least get confirmation that he was lost in the battle.” She lightly gripped Chelsea’s wrist, and her daughter looked up and managed a smile. “The more I thought about it, though, I realized it might be better for both of us if I just accepted what you told me and moved on. Right, Chelsea?”
“Daddy went to be with Sechre Tori and the angels,” the girl said, and there was only a slight tinge of longing in her voice.
Alyssa patted Chelsea’s hand. “That’s right, sweetie,” she said. She turned back to Kari and continued, “I took the money, sold our old things, and bought a little home here in the temple district, away from the darker parts of the city. I got us cleaned up and found work here, serving tables and tending bar for the old owners, Dave and Millie Marrack. I was also able to get Chelsea into one of the temple schools, to make sure she gets a better education than I did. Those schools can be expensive, but with the money you gave me, I was able to at least get her in and then make payments as I earned money here at the inn. After a little over a year, Dave and Millie decided to retire, and they sold me the inn for a share of its earnings for the next five years. All I asked was that they let me change the name of the inn, and they agreed.”
“And you named it for that small favor I did for you three years ago,” Kari reasoned.
“Yes. The named is to commemorate what one small favor from a stranger can do.”
“Hmph, and here I thought you just killed demon princes for a living,” Eli muttered.
A wave of emotions washed through Kari, and she felt all at once uplifted and adrift as her happiness collided with the shadows and fears of her childhood. She recalled the way she’d felt when she shared her dark secret with Grakin in Flora, and then with her whole family after Little Gray’s birth. She realized true freedom lay in not letting her scars control her feelings or her fate. Kari decided to strip the power from her hurtful memories. “I grew up on the streets of Solaris,” she said, which drew looks of surprise from both Eli and Alyssa. “I know what it means to be ragged and hungry, and not a day goes by that I don’t remember what that felt like.”
Eli tapped his right shoulder, though Alyssa couldn’t see the tattoo under his armor, and didn’t register the significance when he said, “You never forgot where you came from.”