Read Online Marysvale by Jared Southwick - Free Book Online Page A

open again.”
    “ Thank you. I’ll keep that
in mind.”
    “ No need to thank me every
time I do something for you; I have a feeling that you’ll owe me a
lot of thanks by the time we’re through. Just save it all until
you’re ready to travel again and you can give me a big one
then.”
    I nodded. “All right, I’ll try.” Then,
hesitatingly, I asked, “About the monsters…do you know what they
are? Will they come back?”
    She smiled reassuringly.
    “ Yes, well, I believe you’re
safe, for the time being. And as for what they are, there’ll be
plenty of time to discuss all of that later. For now, I expect
you’re hungry?”
    I thought she’d never ask.
    “ Yes, I am.”
    “ Well then, we’d better get
you cleaned up first; you look like you could use it. Besides, the
smell of sweat and roast chicken don’t go together very well.
Wouldn’t you agree?”
    “ I suppose so.”
    Being so hungry, I’m not sure I really
cared; but I wasn’t going to be ungracious, and it would be nice to
be clean.
    She plucked a pot of hot water from the
stove and said, “Follow me.”
    We went out onto the back porch and
into a little room attached to the cabin. Inside the wooden room
was a shelf that held some folded clothes, a bar of soap, and a
pail of water. Suspended from the ceiling was a large, wooden
bucket, with a lever attached to it.
    I looked at it doubtfully. “What is
it?”
    She laughed. “It’s not going to hurt
you.”
    I wasn’t so sure.
    “ It’s what’s going to clean
you up.”
    Suspiciously, I asked, “How does it
work?”
    “ When you’re ready for
water, just pour the buckets of cold and hot water into the top and
pull the handle; water will come out the bottom. When you push the
lever up, the water will stop…well, at least most of it will.
You’ll have to be quick, though; it doesn’t last very long. When
you’re done, just come back to the kitchen. I’ll be getting supper
ready.” She turned to leave. “Oh, I almost forgot…you can dress in
the clothes on the shelf there; they look like they should be about
the right size. And don’t get your bandages wet.”
    With that, she left me to contemplate
the contraption. I undressed, poured in the water, and hoped the
bucket wouldn’t fall on my head. Actually, it worked quite well.
The warm water felt good. I cleaned up and got dressed. The clothes
weren’t a perfect fit, but were soft and comfortable.
    When I returned, the table had been
decorated with bread, chicken, and potatoes—all of which made my
mouth water. We said grace and, with great control, I managed to be
somewhat respectable and not eat all my supper in one bite (though
they were fairly large bites).
    Once I had a little food in me, Sarah
inquired, “Tell me, John, where are you from?”
    I finished swallowing, and then
answered, “Syre.”
    “ Mmm, been a long time since
I’ve been there….Then again, it’s been a long time since I’ve been
anywhere,” she added regretfully. “Do you have any
family?”
    “ No, it’s just me and Smoke.
He’s about as close to family as I’ve got.”
    “ And what brings you so far
from Syre?”
    I knew the question would be
inevitable; but saying,
Well, I was about to be tried as a
warlock, so I killed the local magistrate and was chased out of
town,
didn’t seem very wise. So, I settled on a partial
explanation of the truth.
    “ I was on my way to join a
hunting party, and I got lost.”
    She seemed to be considering this.
Taking advantage of her hesitation, I stuffed another potato into
my mouth.
    “ I see,” she said
thoughtfully.
    Trying to change the subject, I asked,
“Where am I?”
    She smiled. “You’re lost.” Then added,
“Well, almost. You’re about a four-day ride northwest of Syre—maybe
three if you push it, like it appears you have; and a little over
two day’s ride south of Marysvale.”
    “ Marysvale,” I said
reflectively. “I’ve heard about a lot of places, but I’ve never
heard