Rogue Legacy by Jeffrey L. Kohanek (snow like ashes .txt) 📕
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- Author: Jeffrey L. Kohanek
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“You might want to chip a bit off first. One chunk is enough to buy this entire village, and then some.”
Realizing that he made a good point, Lyra pulled the smallest chunk of gold out and pounded it against a small boulder, taking three strikes before the chunk broke into five pieces. She slid them back in her pack, save the smallest piece.
Holding the gold in her palm, she glanced toward Cal. “We’ve been traveling for almost three days. Have you decided where we are going?”
Cal shrugged, “I’m not sure yet. I still believe in what I’m doing, but I would like to reinvent the Ministry. To do that, I want to find a place of peace, someplace that corruption hasn’t touched…someplace where we can create a better tomorrow.”
She stared at him with a sense of pride. This was the Cal she had grown fond of…the man who believed in something larger than himself.
“Very well. Come along, then.”
Lyra led him into the inn and found it dark and empty. Unsure of what else to do, they entered the kitchen and found the back door open. Beyond the doorway, a woman stood in the back yard, hanging clothes on a line. Hearing them emerge from the building, the woman turned toward them.
“We’re looking for a room and a bite to eat,” Lyra said.
The woman smiled. “It’s about time.”
“You were expecting us?” Lyra thought of Duratti and his prophecy.
The woman lifted an empty wicker basket and turned toward Lyra. “Not expecting. Just hoping. Not for you, for anyone.” She stepped closer. “You see, Sar built this inn two years ago, right after he finished the mill. Other than the two men who work with him, nobody ever comes here.”
“Sar?”
“My husband.” The woman held out her hand and Lyra grasped it, finding it firm and calloused. “I’m Ruth. Sar and I run this place.”
Ruth led them inside and Lyra gave her the small chunk of gold in return for a room, dinner, breakfast, and food for the road. Explaining that the inn was empty, Ruth told them to make their way upstairs and choose any room.
Lyra climbed the stairs with Cal a step behind. Turning down the hallway, she opened the first door and found that it contained a bed large enough for two. Her mouth grew dry as she stared at the bed, her stomach twisting as she considered what to say, what to do.
“I’ll take one of the other rooms,” Cal said.
She grabbed his arm, swallowing hard as she fought her nerves. “You don’t have to do that…unless you want to.”
“Are you sure?”
Lyra shrugged. “We’ve slept together in the forest for the past two nights. I dare say that this is a sizeable improvement.”
“True.”
“Besides…I enjoy having you beside me.”
He smiled and slid close to her, his hand sweeping stray black strands of hair aside as he caressed her cheek.
“I like being with you, too.”
Lyra knew that the kiss was coming. Her pounding heart warned her of it and demanded that she respond. He leaned close, his breath tickling her neck and causing her pulse to quicken. The tension increased as his lips brushed across her cheek, holding a hair’s width from her lips for a moment. Unable to resist any longer, she pressed her lips into his and was overcome by a warm rush, beginning at her head and rapidly expanding until even her toes tingled. His hands gently gripped her hips and eased toward the small of her back, pulling her body against his. Lyra lost herself in the moment, deciding that she’d happily have it last forever.
Lyra moved past the tree line and stopped to stare at the scene before her. The glass-like surface of the lake reflected the snow-capped mountains and clouds above – a mirror of beauty reflecting beauty. She kicked a small stone into the water, sending a series of ripples across the surface, moving outward in a circle until they collided with land or faded into the distance.
“This is perfect.” Cal announced. “This is where we need to be. I know it.”
“This place is certainly pristine. We haven’t even seen a trail for two days. Not much corruption happening here.”
“Exactly.”
He took her hand, and they walked along the western shoreline that was covered in long grass and forest undergrowth. Lyra’s boots were wet, as they had been for days. Dew on the shrubs, grass, and ferns that covered the forest floor remained for most of the day, unable to dry with the canopy above blocking the sun. Lyra’s attempts to avoid it ceased days ago.
She spotted something dark in the woods to the north, her eyes narrowing as she tried to discern its nature.
“There’s something ahead.”
Cal turned from the lake, facing toward where she pointed. “Let’s check it out.”
As they drew closer, she realized that it was a building, set in a small clearing just west of the lake. Built from logs, aged and gray, the cabin appeared long-abandoned by the way the forest undergrowth surrounded it. A windowless door faced the lake, the wood weathered to match the logs. The window beside the door was intact, but caked in splotches of dirt and forest debris. Heavy green moss covered the north side of the roof and clung to the wall on that side.
Cal pushed his way through the undergrowth and approached the door, his knock echoing in the glade.
“Why did you knock?”
“It never hurts to be polite.”
“I’m not so sure. I’ve always considered politeness overrated.”
“Really? I’ve never noticed.” Cal grinned at his own sarcasm.
Lyra hit him in the shoulder.
“Ouch.”
“Stop your bellyaching and open the door.”
As instructed, Cal turned the knob and opened the door. A drawn-out creak from the hinges reverberated in the peaceful setting, protesting the interruption of a dormant existence. Morning sunlight streamed into the cabin, a beam of light that revealed a sitting room with a sofa, a table, and a rocking chair. A thick layer of dust covered everything, marked by tracks from rodents that had recently occupied the space. However, what drew Lyra’s attention was the rocker, or more specifically, the cobweb-covered skeleton that rested in it.
Old and tattered clothing clung to the dead man, his tunic gray and colorless; his trousers might be black beneath the dust. The man’s crusty skull was tilted to the side.
Cal set his pack down beside the door, along with the axe he had purchased from Sar. He approached the skeleton and gently took the man’s bony hand in his.
“I don’t see any weapons or wounds. It looks like he just fell asleep in the chair and never woke.”
A nod was Lyra’s only response. She turned from the dead man and surveyed the rest of the building.
Perhaps six strides across and twice the length, the cabin consisted of a single room, its only walls those that separated the interior from the exterior. The ceiling was open, vaulted at the apex with rounded beams running the width of the cabin to support it. A fireplace stood at one end of the room, built of rounded stones mortared together, its arched opening black with soot. An iron poker leaned against the fireplace. On the hearth beside the poker, stood a black kettle, empty save for a layer of dust. Tall shelving ran along the wall to one side of the fireplace, filled with plates, bowls, towels, and various tools. A table with two chairs occupied the space before the shelves. Pots and pans dangled above the table, hanging from hooks secured to the beam that ran overhead.
A bed and a nightstand stood to the other side of the fireplace. Despite the dust coating the, it was pulled tight and clear of wrinkles, as if the owner had expected company. A chest stood at the foot of the bed. Built from dark red wood panels held together with copper brackets, now tarnished to a milky green.
“I think this man has been dead for a long time,” Lyra noted.
“Yes, but the place appears to be in good shape. I think we can make it work.”
She turned toward him. “You want to live here?”
He smiled. “Its good place for a new start.”
Exhausted, Lyra sat on the front step and dried her brow with the back of her arm. She felt thankful for the clothing Ruth had allowed her to purchase. Despite the loose fit, it enabled her to work without dirtying her Tantarri outfit, which sorely needed washing anyway.
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