Chapter 6

I found the hotel. It was run-down but no more so than the last time I’d seen it. This was where I’d gone after my father died.

I opened the thick wooden door and entered. It was cooler inside with the Spanish tiled floor exactly as I remembered. A familiar woman stood behind the counter. She hadn’t aged.

“We’re booked,” she said without looking up. “Try the rooms down the street.”

She told everyone this.

“Mira?” I asked.

She looked up and examined me.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Tara.”

It took her a moment to accept that I was who I said I was. She walked from behind the counter and drew closer. The biggest smile broke across her face and I was wrapped in her ample arms and pulled against her wide body and bulging breasts. I couldn’t breathe for a moment; her hug was so tight.

She released me and held me at arm’s length.

“We thought you were dead.”

“Why would you think that?” I asked quizzically.

“It’s been six years,” she replied sternly.

Mira and her husband Kenner—I didn’t know his first name and had only ever heard him called Kenner—were the only two people my father trusted. He’d said they would be in danger if I stayed with them longer than a night. When I came here after his death, Mira insisted I stay for the foreseeable future. I slipped out before daybreak the following morning. My father never said things he didn’t mean.

“I’ve been busy but you’re the first place I came.”

She released me and wiped tears from her eyes, increasing my guilt.

“You’re no longer a little girl,” she said.

“I wasn’t a little girl when I left,” I told her with a smile.

“Your eyes are wise now,” she said softly.

A small laugh slipped out. All I’d learned in six years was how to serve food and clean dishes. I was far from wise.

“I have money for a room. How much are they going for now?”

My father always paid. Even when I came here after he died, I paid for the room.

“Five silver pieces,” she replied. “First night is free, though. It occurred to us after you left that you may not have had money to stay longer.”

“It wasn’t the money,” I assured her. “I’m unable to speak about it.” My father told me Mira and Kenner respected the truth so that’s what I’d given her. “I have something to sweeten the pot for the free night.” I slipped the backpack off and walked to the counter and opened it. I reached inside and pulled out one of the smaller bags. “Here,” I said and handed it to her.

She opened it and sniffed carefully just how I had done. Her smile lit up the room.

“Better than silver,” she told me. “It gets you a week.”

I wanted her and Kenner to have some gunpowder, but I doubted they would take it as a gift so this worked great.

“Does food still come with the room?” I asked.

“Best food in the city.”

“A week then. If I need more time, I’ll let you know. Where’s Kenner?”

“He’ll be home in time for dinner. Go upstairs and put the bag in your room. We don’t usually have guests until the weekend. Take a shower and bring down your dirty clothes. It’s part of the service.” She smiled and hugged me again. “Kenner will be so happy.”

He was and I was subjected to the same hug, though where Mira was large, he was thin and wiry. He had aged. It showed in the graying of his hair and added wrinkles. His eyes remained sharp. He was still a dangerous man.

“Mira said you can’t talk about the past six years. Is there anything you can tell us?”

I’d showered and changed into my other set of clothes. The water was only lukewarm but better than the cold military showers. Mira’s soap was better too. She made it along with lotions and other personal hygiene items. There was a building behind the main house that had her workshop. Kenner sold her goods and offered his sword to anyone who could afford it. He and my father had sometimes worked as a team.

“I ran into three men on motorbikes,” I told him. “I’m a bit rusty and haven’t had a sparring partner since I left. I’d love to work my sword if you can find the time.”

His smile was his answer.

“As soon as our food settles, we’ll go into the back courtyard and give your arm practice. It may take a few months to get you back up to snuff but you’re a quick learner.” He turned to Mira. “What’s for supper, woman?” he growled.

She swatted him with a dish towel.

“I had just enough time to make Tara’s favorite.”

My mouth watered.

“I’ve set up the dining room this night, but don’t get comfortable. You’ll be at the kitchen table with us when we have guests.”

“I’d be honored,” I told her, and her eyes filled with tears. When my father and I stayed in this part of the city, we always ate at their kitchen table, never the dining room where the guests ate.

“Escort Tara to the table,” she told her husband.

The room was large and the table sat twelve. There were plants in the corners and on a shelf above the window so their leaves fell in cascades and blocked much of the sun. The window faced the inner courtyard as did all the windows in the home. It was a safety issue and another reason my father stayed at their establishment.

There were chickens running around the courtyard and I could see the open barn doors. They kept several horses and a cow for milking.

“I need to move my motorbike off the street when we finish eating,” I told Kenner.

“It’s in the barn. I hope you don’t mind. Things don’t last long on the street. As soon as Mira told me who our special guest was, I moved it.”

“Thank you.”

“Since we can’t talk about your life, what if I tell you stories about your father?”

This time, it was my eyes that filled with tears.

“The guy was eight feet tall, weighed over four hundred pounds, and had only three toes on his right foot, but your father was determined to fight him.”

This was the fourth story Kenner told about my father and I only believed half of what he said. My father was never one to brag and neither was Kenner, at least about himself. I hadn’t laughed this hard in years and my laughter was done in between bites of the most delicious vegetarian tacos I’d ever eaten. I ate meat sparingly, really not caring for the taste, and Mira remembered.

Dessert followed dinner. It was a chocolate torte to die for.

“I don’t know if the food will settle tonight. It was so good and I ate entirely too much.”

“For shame,” said Mira. “You are too skinny just like my Kenner. I think you both have a wooden leg you store the food in.”

I rubbed my stomach.

“Please finish your outlandish story about my father’s escapades while I silently suffer from a bulging stomach.”

“Every word is truth,” Kenner assured me. “Your father was the greatest swordsman who ever lived. He taught me everything he knew so that title now stays on my shoulders, but I wear it with humility.” He winked and finished the great adventure with the giant.

An hour passed and I didn’t feel quite so stuffed.

“Are you ready to learn a thing or two?” Kenner asked.

“I think I am but please go gently on me. As you said, I’ll improve quickly, but right now I’m out of practice.”

“We’ll use the wooden swords and then switch when you improve. Let’s go.”

“I’ll help Mira with the dishes first,” I told him.

“No, tonight you are our guest,” she said. “You did not pay for the room and you will work the extra energy off my husband so I can get some sleep tonight.” Her eyes softened when she looked at him and he turned to me and winked again.

“I have more than enough energy for a sword lesson and a tumble when I’m done.”

I blushed and they both laughed.

Kenner took me to the library which held books and swords. He grabbed two wooden ones from a tall round container sitting in the corner. Half the walls held bookcases and half held mounted swords. I’d loved this room as a child and had sat reading in the corner chair for hours. Mira lent me books and we would discuss them the next time I visited. I hadn’t read a book since I left and a familiar ache hit my chest. I missed my father but I’d also missed these two amazing people.

“Here,” Kenner said and tossed me one of the wooden swords. His eyebrows lifted when I deftly caught it and swiped the air to get the feel.