Girl Who Killed a God Remake - Chapter Six

Most mornings left Grace stiff and sore from working the night previously, but as she slowly rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she realized she felt fine. More than that, her body was alight with electricity like she’d managed to capture a fragment of a storm and store it within her chest.

She grinned, finally waking up with the belief that perhaps her and Levi could actually escape the hand Fate so cruelly dealt them. It was a damned good feeling, and Grace wanted to bask in the moment of not-quite peace, but possibility. That she could do anything she wanted in this life with the power Azaroth bestowed upon her.

But for now, the pesky annoyances continued to plague her.

A twinge in her gut told her what needed to happen, and Grace got up quietly, leaving her brother snoring beside her. She used some fresh water from the nearby well, and the last of the Nawarian coffee she’d stolen a fortnight ago and to get a pot going. Soon after, the drink worked its magic, and the silver lyrani she’d swallowed the night before were back in her possession.

Grace then scrubbed her hands and the coins thoroughly, no longer bothered by such a dirty chore. This sudden life of hers had forced her to hide money in many creative—if unorthodox ways—and now, there wasn’t a drop of shame in her at doing what she had to, to survive.

With them clean, she stored them in her coin purse and got dressed. Grace left her darkened clothes and leathers where she’d taken them off last night and chose to dress in much more suitable attire for daytime shopping.

She picked out a hip length linen tunic, the sandstone-colored fabric complimented her Malkin skin nicely—not that anyone would notice in this forsaken city—but she liked the way she looked in it at least.

It also went with the cotton breeches she picked out.

With her outfit for the day chosen, Grace grabbed the long coil of fabric in her wardrobe and wound it tight around her chest. While not blessed with the most feminine of figures, Grace still had been accosted more than once by men looking for something she wasn’t selling, and the less attention she drew, the better.

After getting dressed, Grace ran a brush through her nest of hair, doing her best to tame the strands into some semblance of order. Without some hair softener, it was only a so-so success, but she looked presentable at least.

Though Grace wanted to tie her hair up, she’d worn her ribbon last night when she’d killed the guards, and she didn’t want to even hint at chancing a risk of someone recognizing her. So, she left her hair down—something she almost never did.

Grace poured herself another cup of coffee and went to wake up her brother. The sun had just come up, and if she was hoping to get into town and buy everything before the guard patrols picked up, she needed to get going.

“Levi… Levi…” She nudged him multiple times with her foot, rolling her eyes as he snorted and started snoring again. Groaning, she bent down and began tickling him, smiling around the lip of her mug as he fought against her for a moment in his sleep.

At least he can sleep like this… he still feels safe…

“What… Grace…” Levi groaned, barely opening an eye. He then frowned. “Where are you? It’s so dark.”

“No, it’s not. There is plenty of light,” Grace replied.

He squinted, rubbed his eyes, and sat up, shaking his head. “I can’t even see you… the sun isn’t even up yet, and there isn’t a candle burning or a fire in the stove.”

Her skin broke out in goosebumps as Grace glanced around the room. Everywhere she looked, it seemed like the early morning sun was lending its light through their curtained window.

Then, the realization hit her.

I can see in the dark like it's day!

“Let me light a candle, and you can lock the door behind me and go back to bed. I need to go see Lily and then do some shopping. Okay?”

Her voice trembled for just a moment as she realized how much had changed since yesterday. At first, Grace wasn’t sure if she had dreamed it all, but once she had woken up and felt amazing, she knew it was real.

“Fine.” He grumbled and slowly shook himself free from the covers. “But can you pick up something for breakfast? Maybe some sausages?” he asked hopefully.

Grace nodded with a grin, gently rubbing his head. “Your favorite. I should’ve known. I’ll see what I can do.”

She finished her coffee and moved to the nub of candle in their wrought iron candlestick holder. Grace took her knife and flint and started a fire on some tinder she had ready, igniting a small fire briefly and lighting the candle.

Once it was lit, she realized how much she could see as the candlelight illuminated the room. In this light, it was as if it was daytime outside.

Snuffing out the tinder, Grace put the candle back in its holder and went to the door. Next to it were a small pile of books. She tucked them into her satchel and shouldered it with ease.

“Lock up after I leave. I should be back in a few hours.” She smiled at him. “With breakfast.”

Levi shambled toward the door, yawning, and nodded. “Thanks, sis.”

Grace left, and only paused long enough to confirm the subtle click of the latch locking. After Levi had secured the door, she took off down the hallway, careful of her steps as the last thing she wanted was to wake up her neighbors.

Outside the boarding house were two of Max’s thugs, wrapped tight in blankets and sitting in the shadows, keeping an eye on things. She knew in an instant there were crossbows hidden beneath the covers. The faint creak of wood and sharp scent of rusted iron brushed past her nose along with the stench of unwashed flesh.

Grace moved past them quietly, and only the sound of the door creaking as she closed it let them know she was there. She nodded at them and received a single grunt in reply. They followed her with their eyes, the faintest rustle of cloth told her they had their crossbows trained on her as she left.

Despite being the dregs of society, Max had a good eye for recruiting talent. They might’ve all been scum, but they were skilled scum. And willing to kill for Max in return for the slightest bit of security in life.

It’s amazing what you can get a man to do in exchange for a warm bed and a hot meal…

Darting down the street, Grace didn’t let her thoughts linger as she headed towards the entrance to Lowtown.

The world felt alive in ways she had never imagined and she wasn’t going to let reality take this feeling from her if she could help it.

Lily, her every faithful companion, was waiting for her as she turned the corner. The Terrasian hound sat patiently on the corner as if she knew Grace was coming. Lily was a very special breed of dog, a war hound for the militant theocracy of Terr, but they had only the strictest requirements for their war hounds, and Grace supposed Lily hadn’t made the cut.

Though she couldn’t possibly see why.

Lily was the smartest dog she’d ever seen before, and her golden fur was as soft as the finest down comforter—despite the dog having been living on the streets for as long as Grace had known her.

Grace had stumbled across her one night when she first came to Toran and had fed the dog a few scraps of food. Ever since then, Lily had stuck by her—though their tiny apartment couldn’t handle a dog Lily’s size, Grace did what she could for the dog when she could.

As she bent down to give Lily her hourly allotment of scratches, her tail thumped heavily against the rough cobbles.

When she was done, Grace planted a kiss on the dog’s head and scratched behind her ears. “You want to follow me today? There might be a few strips of meat in it for you.”

Lily let out a happy bark and rushed to stand by her side.

“Of course, I should’ve known.” She laughed. “Between you and Levi, the way to your hearts is definitely through your stomach.”

With that, the two of them set off, and jogged towards the markets. Though Grace was moving a lot faster and easier than usual, Lily kept pace with her well. Vendors were already set up, and most of their wares were displayed by the time they arrived.

Grace got a few wary looks from many of the merchants or their minders as she moved by, the rough-looking personal guards stepping to the front, moving their coats to the side to show a sword or knife hidden away.

Ignoring them, Grace found the stall she was looking for, stopping a few yards away from a weatherworn old tailor’s colorful stall. As she approached, the aged woman who sold clothes and bolts of cloth eyed Grace up and down with as much steel in her eyes as was in her hair.

“What do you want girl?” she growled before sneering.
“I ain’t got no time for charity today.”

“Wasn’t asking for it.” Grace sneered as she held up her coin purse and jostled it. “Was looking to buy, but now, I think I’ll shop elsewhere.”

Grace turned to leave, fighting a grin all the while. She didn’t get a single step before the tailor was ushering her back with a hurried wave.

“Alright, alright,” she hissed, her voice a low whisper in the morning air. “Apologies for the insult, but we don’t exactly get a lot of Malkins with coin ‘round here.”

Grace kept her face neutral as she turned back. “There are plenty of other stalls that sell clothes.” She leaned in close to the woman. “Give me a reason to shop here, instead of elsewhere.”

She’d picked this market for a reason.

It didn’t get a lot of Malkins, and that meant it was a lot easier to wrangle a deal after they insulted her. She couldn’t help the city’s prejudices, but at the very least, she could profit from it when she could.

Picking her teeth with her tongue, the woman gave a quick whistle and then grunted at Grace. “Fine. I’ll give you a small discount.”

“Off prices already marked up for Malkins? I don’t think so.”

The tailor huffed. “Gods, okay. You’ll get a fair rate.” She motioned to the table as a young man emerged from behind a cart. “But show me your coin first or get lost.”

Unconcerned about the woman’s guard, Grace flashed a silver coin, and the woman’s eyebrow rose. She glanced at the other stalls, then gave a quick nod and motioned Grace to come closer with her hand.

“I won’t ask, but you best hurry and spend that before someone tries to take it by force.”

With her coin in hand, she picked out two brand new outfits for both her and Levi. It had been months since either of them had worn new clothes, and with her newfound wealth, Grace was going to make sure they lived a better life starting today. She made her selections, and the tailor wrapped them up into small bundles for her.

Best of all was the seven copper she’d been given as change.

Grace stored her purchases in her satchel and then left. Lily had sat outside the stall the whole time, watching anyone who came by, not barking or growling once. After having actually bought something, vendors no longer threatened her as she came close. Some even called out, motioning to the goods on their table, asking if her parents needed them.

Each time, it hurt when they asked that. A pit in her stomach. None of them knew how much those questions really hurt.

Grace walked over to a butcher’s stand selling a variety of fresh and dried meats.

The merchant—a boisterous man with a cherubic face wearing dark clothes and a stained leather apron—grinned down at her with a wide smile.

“Well, mornin’ there, lil’ lady! What can I do ya for?”

Grace smiled, looking at the massive man who had exactly what she was looking for. “I need to buy a decent amount of meat for my parents. Both dried and fresh if possible. My dad is considering traveling, and mom said we may go with him since things are…” Grace trailed off and made a face as she scanned the rest of the market square. “Things are not as well as they used to be.”

The vendor chortled and nodded, crossing his arms as he motioned to the table with packs of dried meat wrapped in butcher paper.

“Well, it’s twenty-five copper for ten pounds of dried meat. It’s a mixture of deer and boar meat. Fresh meat is only sold by the pound—and the price depends on what you buy. Chicken, fish and pork are cheaper. Beef is a lot pricier.”

Grace nodded and glanced at the packs. Two would easily last over a month for her and Levi. “Two packs of dried meat, as well as a few pounds of fresh pork. And a pound of sausages too, please.”

Pork was a lot fattier than either chicken or fish, and would keep them full for a lot longer. It was a silver for the lot, but she had a week’s worth of fresh meat and a month of jerky. With some rice or bread, they’d have plenty to keep them fed. And that was only if Grace didn’t earn a single coin more this month.

If she had another day like last night, they’d be dining on steaks and roasted potatoes by the end of the week.

The butcher held two wrapped paper packs in his one massive hand as she extended hers. Grace dropped the silver coin in his outstretched palm. He then gave her both packs, smiling as he pocketed the silver underneath the apron he wore.

“Let me get your pork cut and wrapped.”

The man worked in a flurry of precision, cutting, packaging and wrapping in under a minute. By the time Grace got the dried meat situated in her pack next to the books, the man was already done and handing her the fresh meat.

The man smiled and stared at the dog for a moment. “That is a well-trained guard dog. No doubt your parents were smart to send her with you. You can see how she acts that she is prepared for anything.”

Grace nodded, pretending the man was right, and bent down, giving Lily a scratch behind her ears. She had noticed the difference.

“Here,” he said, tossing a small piece of jerky to Lily, who again caught it mid-air and quickly devoured it. “Keep her safe, pup. It seems the world is only growing darker these days.”

“Thank you.” Grace beamed, waving as she left the stall.

A few shouts from further down the market caught her attention, and as a pack of Toran guards marched through the stalls. They moved with purpose, the tension on their faces stretched as tight as piano wire. People scampering to keep out of their way as they carved through the market stalls.

“Skive me,” Grace muttered at the show of force the guards were putting on. “I sure kicked the hornet’s nest, didn’t I?”

You could cut the tension with a knife, but if anyone actually pulled one, the whole market would turn into a slaughter.

“It looks like we’re taking the long way home,” Grace told Lily as they set off.

Getting back to Lowtown would be a little harder, and it would take her through the true slums of the city, but the guards never went that deep into Lowtown, and she was more worried about them than anything else at the moment.

Cursing to herself, she tsked at Lily and started moving between people, dodging them as she held her pack of supplies and reached one of the main streets.

She was several streets over before she picked up the tail. That it took her that long to notice meant they were skilled. Dressed as she was, and carrying a satchel loaded with supplies made her stand out in a completely different way.

 I look like a skivving mark… shite, this isn’t going to end well.

For them.

Knowing things were about to take a turn for the violent, Grace wanted to get off the main streets. She cut through the side alley and picked up her pace. The two following her were only a block behind, and she wanted to get to a spot that would give her room to maneuver.

Once she reached the alley, Grace ignored the looks of people she passed and raced down the alley to the south. Halfway down, she spotted the broken door of one of the many partially collapsed buildings that dotted the outskirts of Lowtown.

It was so rundown not even myrk fiends would shelter inside.

Which gave her the one thing she needed most right now.

Privacy.

Reaching the sagging doorframe, Grace kicked at the door and was surprised when it shattered off its rusted hinges and the prices scattered through the rotting house.

“Guess I’m still not used to my new strength,” she said and darted inside.

The creak of bowed floorboards and overpowering stench of rot told her she needed to be careful with her foot placement. She followed the wall, moving to a spot where a barrel was, and glanced inside, seeing it was empty, and tossed the packages in it.

Moving back toward the door, raised voices came down the alley along with the pounding of hurried movement of feet.

Sliding the dagger out from behind her shirt, she crept into the shadows and waited.

Almost as soon as she moved, a red box appeared in her vision.

[Divine Revelation Received!]

One quest pending

Keep What is Yours: Kill those who desire to take what isn’t theirs.

Reward: 200 Essence

Failure: Temporary Stat Penalty

She steeled her heart at the notification.

Grace already had blood on her hands, a few more drops wouldn’t change that now.