Reader Beware

Chapter 16

            Rika carefully folded the last of her new outfits into her pack, leaving out only two for however long they were going to be at the tower for. A massive pile of rejects lay in one corner of the room. She planned to put them back upstairs later, hopefully when Ahisu wasn’t around, so she could use that as an excuse to hit the library.

            Looking down at the wide-legged pants she had on, similar to the ones Damek always seemed to wear, Rika made a mental note to thank Ahisu again. In all the excitement and emotional roller coaster she’d been on since she arrived here, thought of personal hygiene had gotten lost. Seeing how torn and dirty her uniform was, Rika was happier now than ever to have clean clothes. Now the only thing she had to figure out, was how she was going to take a bath. She had given up hope of a shower as soon as she remembered the pump in the kitchen.

             With those thoughts in mind, Rika made her way back to the kitchen, which she was beginning to think of as their official meeting place. When she got there, only Ahisu was there. Or rather, he was the only person she could see. She hadn’t forgotten about the invisible demon hanging around.

            She dropped down into the chair beside the mage and flashed him a grin. “Thanks again for the clothes! I hadn’t even noticed how filthy mine were until I put on something clean.”

            He nodded his acknowledgement of her thanks, but otherwise, didn’t move.

            “Umm…I was also going to ask you, you wouldn’t happen to have a shower or a bath or something around here? Heck, at this point, I’d take a pond. Just, having clean clothes made me realize that I haven’t cleaned myself either and…well pretty soon I’m going to start to smell.”

            Ahisu’s eyes were on her, his face as unreadable as always. Finally, he said “After supper.”

            Rika smiled. “Really? I can have a bath? Thanks! If you just show me where the tub is and tell me where to get the water for it I can handle the rest. I mean, I’m guessing you have to fill it by hand, right?”

            The faintest of frowns appeared on his face. “How else?”

            “How else would you do it? Oh, well where I’m from we have running water. Pipes and stuff so that you just turn a tap and boom, instant water. We also have water heaters and stuff so we have hot and cold water with the tap. It’s great. I never realized how great until I got here and started missing it.”

            “Your world…it’s strange.”

            Rika laughed. “From my point of view it’s you guys who have a strange world. I mean, towers, and castles, and demons, and magic, and who knows what else! It’s crazy and exciting and everything I’ve ever dreamed about. Except for the running water thing. That I miss.”

            “The water is not magic?”

            “No. It’s all engineering and electricity and pipes and stuff. Which could look like magic if you’re not used to it, but it’s all science really. It’s nowhere near as cool as real magic.”

            “You like magic?”

            She nodded enthusiastically. “I’ve always read about it but where I’m from, it’s not real. Or at least, it’s not supposed to be. So I’ve always been dreaming about it. I think it’s awesome! To be able to do things with magic…it’s incredible.”

            Ahisu met and held her gaze for several moments before inkling his head a tiny bit. “Do you want to learn?”

            Rika froze, her brain unable to comprehend what she was hearing. She stared at him. “Learn? Do I want to learn about magic?”

            He shook his head slightly. “To use it.”

            She blinked rapidly. “You…you’ll teach me how to do magic? Like, real magic? Like you do?”

            “Yes. And no. You are not a demon summoner.”

            “But…it’ll be real magic? And I’ll be able to do it?”

            When he nodded, Rika all but exploded out of her seat. She threw her arms around him and hugged him, letting out an ear piercing squeal as she did so. “Thank you thank you thank you thank you!” She shouted, voice set to full lightning speed, as excitement coursed through her. “Oh my god! Oh my god! I’ve always wanted to….Thank you!”

            Ahisu had gone stick still. He didn’t move and didn’t speak until Rika finally let him go, grin still plastered across her face. He smoothed his robes down. Only when she was properly back in her seat did he speak. “You have magic. What type, I don’t know. We will start with basics.”

            Rika’s nod looked like it should have sent her head flying off. “Absolutely. Anything you say,” she replied, the glee in her voice barely restrained.

            “I will test you.”

            “Yep!”

            The door opened and Damek walked in, dripping with sweat, eyes going to them. Rika was out of her seat in seconds, skipping over to him. “Guess what? Ahisu says he’s going to teach me magic!” she said, not giving him time to even realize she was in front of him. “Isn’t that great?”

            It took him a few moments to process what she’d said, given the speed she’d said it at. When he did, Damek looked to Ahisu then to Rika’s face, then back to the mage. “Not in the mornings. She has practice with me then.”

            Ahisu nodded while Rika beamed at both of them.