Chapter 9 - Salamandrite Blood

"Well, we can't do anything with this one anymore," her mother said, kicking the broken lamp lying on the floor.

The family heaved a collective sigh of relief as the last embers were extinguished. Silence followed, save for the faint crackle of cooling Salamandrite shards on the floor. For a moment, they all stood still, as if waiting for the heat and tension in the room to dissipate.

"Honestly… The parts they give us are always like this!" the father muttered, breaking the quiet.

His frustration hung in the air as he crouched down to examine the glowing fragments. Kate shifted uncomfortably, her gaze moving from her father to her younger brother, Zack, who was clearly trying to blend into the shadows. She bent down, scooping up the still-warm pieces of Salamandrite and tossing them into the stove.

"They'll last a few hours at most," she said, almost to herself, watching the faint orange light flicker and fade in the stove's depths.

Her father stood, brushing dust off his hands. "Kate, go get your lamp; we'll work with that for now."

The girl smiled amused by the request. "The lamp whose stone your son sold?" she thought, shooting a sidelong glance at Zack.

"Two…" she said, out the blue.

"Two? Two what?" asked the father.

Zack understood. A gift to seal her lips, a second to push her to lie. The choice was his.

"Two…" she repeated, pressuring her brother as their father watched her with a worried expression.

Discreetly, he nodded. There went the majority of his salary before it even arrived. What devil had given him such a sister? He would have loved to meet him and make him understand that the earth is dirty.

In the meantime, the devil must surely have been satisfied, just like his emissary, who used her best acting skills once her request was approved.

"To think something like this could happen! In just one day! Ah!" she exclaimed, pressing the back of her hand to her forehead melodramatically. "Dad, as you can see, our stone broke too."

"What, that one too?" he said, surprised.

"And you didn't tell us quickly how?" the mother interjected. "You're just using the fancy expressions of the rich. For a moment, I thought you were already raving like your grandfather."

"Don't bring misfortune onto her name," the man said to his wife.

He had already turned away, as if the story of the stone didn't interest him much. He must have been used to days without even a stone to light their way—one more wouldn't make him any dumber.

The matter was set aside, and the rest of the preparations were carried out with calm and military order. A few minutes later, Kate was out on the street, ready to join the long black procession of miners who lived there.

It was not a silent march. Miners from different posts called out to each other cheerfully in the frosty morning air.

"Zack," the mother called, holding back her eldest son one last time. "Here's the fortnightly pay. I don't want to hear that—"

"Yeah, I get it," the young man cut her off, annoyed.

"Good. You should be like your father. I don't want a single coin missing!"

"I get it. I get it."

The father exchanged a few words with his wife, and soon, the family set off. They had to traverse the long distance to the gate leading to the mine in the west of the city. A journey they were so accustomed to that many were surprised to learn it was 8 km long.

Perhaps it was because the path was just a long series of almost identical streets for them, with the same lamps and identical buildings. Sometimes Kate even misjudged the remaining distance.

"Hey, Kate! Kate!"

However, there was one event that served as a reliable marker during this daily walk. A person, the same one, always called out to her, signaling her arrival at the neighborhood known as Milestone 12.

How did this person recognize her among the flow of hooded silhouettes? Well, they didn't—they just called out Kate's name at regular intervals, hoping she would show herself. The situation was somewhat awkward, but there were times when Kate "didn't hear" the call.

"Here I am," she said, raising her hand.

Fortunately, Kate was in the mood that day, and her ears were too. Good, because that was going to come in handy.

"Ah, Kate! Do you know how long I've been calling?"

Kate had always heard that there's a limit after which good things turn bad. As for this girl's looks, they were just on the limit.

Where Kate was indistinguishable from a boy with her hood up, the other was undeniably the embodiment of male fantasies—curly blonde hair, a slim waist, a chest, and hips threatening to burst from her black dress. And as fate would have it, such a body came with a rather carefree attitude. That's why she was called Doll—a name she wore so proudly that no one knew her real one.

"What is it now, Doll? Are you looking for me like I'm lost?"

"Can't I just want to walk with my friend?"

"Hm, did the Big Guy leave you?"

She was talking about another miner, the Big Chaval as he was nicknamed. He was one of her "friend's" many conquests, unless it was the other way around. Either way, she was always deeply involved in each of her relationships, including this one, if the tears his name brought to her eyes were any indication.

"A true romantic, huh?" Kate thought.

It was somewhat admirable that a girl politely described as "sociable" cared so much for her lovers. She must have been in love with love itself, Kate concluded.

"—keeps barking."

"Hm?" said Kate.

"What, hm? You're not listening?" Doll pouted.

"I'm listening, I'm listening!"

"What was I saying then?"

"Uh… I didn't catch it," she replied with an embarrassed smile.

Doll let out a deep sigh before continuing.

"I was saying that speaking of Chaval, yesterday, when we met… you know. He complained about the dog barking behind my house."

"Are you sure he wasn't talking about another dog? You know, one without a tail and… female," she replied with a smirk.

Besides, why mention a dog? Sometimes, Kate just didn't understand this girl.

"Ah, insults so early in the morning! Friends like you, really…" Doll responded, smiling. But she pulled herself together, determined to get her point across despite her friend's behavior. "No, I'm talking about a real dog. The one you often take care of when you come to my place."

"Oh, him? Did he bother you?"

"That's not the point. I just wanted to warn you that my father recently set traps around the house. Your dog might have fallen into one."

"What?"

Her blood ran cold. Without warning, she turned and sprinted in the opposite direction of the other miners.

"Tell my dad I'll be back!" she shouted.

"Wait! Wah, wait, no?!"

It was too late. Kate had already disappeared into the crowd. Doll was never much of a runner and she hated that her friend's method of locomotion often involved running as fast and suddenly as possible. Couldn't she at least warn her beforehand or something?

"Yeah, yeah, that's Kate alright…" she mumbled.

Doll let out another sigh.

"I swear that's not blood but liquid Salamandrite those people have in their veins… What am I going to tell her dad now?"

A third and final sigh escaped Doll's lips as she resolved to continue her march with the rest of the group.