Chapter 46: Right? (1)

Chapter 46: Right? (1)

The day was here. The day that the cult infiltration mission would start.

I thought you were all about meditation nowadays, Enusat said.

Yeah, but. Xerxes hesitated dramatically as he pulled on his clothes. Well theres something else I need to do.

Oh really, Kashtiliash said. Spill.

Its personal.

Knowing that refusing to give information would make them pry for more details, he had put a lot of thought into a story that he hoped would sate their curiosity, although it was only moments ago that he had finalized all the details in his mind.

Its a girl, isnt it? Jad said.

Must be, Enusat added. But not the redhead, otherwise ed be floating on tippy toes.

Xerxes threw one of his old traveling cloaks over his shoulders and shoved his wide-brimmed hat down over his head. Its not a girl. If it was, you think Id be wearing this junk?

Good point, Kashtiliash said.

Okay, if its not a girl, then what is it? Jad said. What could possibly warrant you ditching your best buds on our only full day of rest?

Slumping his shoulders, Xerxes said, Its an anniversary. A death anniversary.

His friends went still.

Back home, Id go with my family to the graveyard to clean the tomb and whatnot. Since I cant do that, I want to at least pay my respects and offer some prayers at the temple.

Temple? Kashtiliash said.

Theres a temple on campus, Jad said carefully.

Not the kind of temple I need to go to. His friends sat there as he stepped over and put his hand on the door. The one I want to visit is to the south of campus.

Instead of going south, as he had told his friends hed do, he took a circuitous route toward the bazaar, doing his best to make sure he wasnt being followed. He was fairly certain his friends had bought his story, but he wouldnt put it past them to follow him.

Once he was certain he was alone, he headed to the bazaar and pulled out the map from the messenger tube. As he used it to navigate the maze of aisles and vendor stalls, he wondered for the thousandth time who his partner was going to be. He knew it was useless to think about it. But he couldnt stop.

Eventually, he found the meeting location, a place on the very north end of the bazaar, where the marketplace ran right up against a lengthy wall that separated it from the further sections of the city. There were physical shops built into the wall, with some of them being restaurants.

And one of those restaurants had a sign out front that marked it as a place for coffee and tea.

Having no timepiece, Xerxes wasnt sure if he was early or late, so he went in and looked around. The place was so shadowy it was impossible to tell if it was clean or not. There were no tables, only booths lining the walls, lit by flickering lamps. In terms of the smell, it was unlike anything hed encountered before. Smokey, nutty, bitter, and sweet, all at the same time.

Smells pretty good, he thought. Now he was a bit excited to try this coffee that hed heard about.

There were a few customers present, but he didnt recognize any familiar faces.

Guess Im early, he thought.

Since no one greeted him, he approached the counter at the far wall.

Ill take one, he said to the girl behind the counter.

She looked at him. One what?

A coffee.

She nodded in the direction of a sign on the wall. He looked at it and saw a huge list of names with prices attached.

Oh. The list was overwhelming. Just a normal one, I guess. Whatevers the most common. And inexpensive.

Okay. You want it black, or what?

He didnt know what that meant, but he liked the color black in general, so he said, Sure, black.

A minute later, she gave him a small ceramic cup with some dark liquid in it. He found a booth and sat. When he took a sip of the coffee, he nearly spit it out. Why would anyone drink this? Ugh.

After that, he waited.