The Wrath Of the Forgotten by Michael Ignacio Read Free Book Online

dispensary with two large buckets filled with water. He took careful steps as to not spill any of the precious water. Flara would still be in class for the next hour, so he had plenty of time to prepare for his day. The last few days had been the same routine over and over. Flara and her friends would go to class, and then they would go into Jadai and eat somewhere. After they ate, the girls would wander around to various places. Sometime before sunset, they would return to their dorms.
    Yesterday, Apisa had finally greeted him somewhat warmly again. After he had beaten her in the arm wrestle, she took a neglectful stance toward him. Rayko glared at him every one and a while. Flara pretended that he wasn’t even there. Of all three interactions, Nori preferred Flara’s. Nori had become accustomed to getting outright hatred directed at him, but Apisa treated him like a sick homeless dog that needed sympathy or kindness.
    Nori entered his room and reached for the small sack of coins that rested on the top of his dresser. Pretending to be a minstrel had paid off. People graced him with their fortunes. He didn’t need it, but it felt nice for people to at least honor him for something other than his muscle. He got dressed in comfortable clothing, grabbed his lute case, and then clutched his tetsubo. As he had the days prior, Nori positioned himself at the front of the university entrance. More than once, Madame Hao came down to listen to his music. When Flara and his friends left the university, Nori followed them, but at a distance.
    Today had been exceptionally warm, a little too warm for his tastes. His homeland called out to him through his memory. Cool winds would caress his skin from every direction. Sweet mountain air would fill his lungs. Gigantic peaks would stretch into the sky. Nothing in the lowlands created the same sense of peace that his home did.
    Nori had just started playing his third song outside the tea house when a woman ran down the street. Tears streaked down her cheeks. Her body heaved frantically. She ran to the tea shop door, and opened it.
    Immediately, Nori placed his lute into the case and closed it. Within less than a minute, he moved across the street. Up until that point, he had never set foot inside the tea shop. The sweet smell of incense wrapped around him as soon as the door closed behind him. Curtains had been lowered in front of the windows. Darkness filled the interior of the tea house, but numerous lanterns forced the shadows away. A dozen patrons sat at various tables, but they watched one table in particular.
    The woman who had entered the tea shop sat beside Rayko and across from Flara and Apisa. Rayko had her arm wrapped around the woman’s shoulders. Slowly, Rayko rocked the woman back and forth. Her usual scorn-fueled sneer had been transformed into a mask of compassion. As Nori got closer, he noticed Rayko’s tattoo. An elaborate chromatic tattoo of a diamond with little gems around it stretched down her left arm. Flara and Apisa spoke in hushed tones to the woman while Rayko simply rubbed her back in smaller circles. The woman wore a light green long-sleeved jacket and some slacks. Her brown hair had streaks of grey in it.
    Nori stepped up to the table, and Rayko glared at him.
    She said, “Oh what in heaven’s name do you want? Can’t you see we’re dealing with something here? Away with you before you infect us with stupid.”
    The woman stared up at Nori. “W-who’s he?”
    Rayko gently took hold of the woman’s face and turned her head away from Nori. “He’s no one, darling. Just a poor beggar minstrel who needs to leave us alone, right now.”
    Flara and Apisa glanced back at one another, but neither one said anything.
    Nori knelt down beside the woman. “Enough of your pretentious crap. If there’s something going on, then perhaps I can help.”
    Rayko said, “Watch your filthy mouth, you disgusting brute. Can’t you see she’s terribly