“I believe I was gifted a short story by a patron.” I stuck my gloved hands farther into the corpse, organs squished as I went at least elbow deep.
“How are you doing with your exploration?”
“Just fine.”
Henry had called me in for another corrupted that was brought in.
It had black blood and was completely dead. It was like it had spoiled inside the body. Their insides were always in rough shape, like they had worked five times as hard to keep them running, most notably their livers being the worst out of all of them. While a healthy liver would have been vibrant in color, a deep red, the corrupted had such bad scarring that it had turned the color of charred beef. Lastly, their heart was enlarged, utterly overworked from the rapid pace just to keep them conscious.
Then there were the physical traits. They were skinny and lean enough to where I could see their veins clearly, their skin becoming transparent enough to reveal the blackened structure.
“I should have known you would be elbow-deep in a body by now,” Luka chimed from the doorway.
“Who is this?” Henry frowned.
“A friend.” I took a deep breath. “I told you to wait outside if you were going to insist on coming.”
“Ah yes, the best of friends, very close.” Luka sauntered in, poking some of the embalming instruments curiously.
“You should keep your dogs on shorter leashes.” Henry glared at Luka. “They should learn not to touch things.”
“Ya tebe pokazhu gde raki zimuyut.” Luka grinned over his shoulder at Henry.
“Luka!” I scolded, removing my hands from the corpse and heading toward the sink. “Apologies, Henry, I couldn’t shake his company.”
Luka stepped over to the sink and turned on the water for me. “I can’t eat that one?” he whispered.
“No,” I snapped, washing the fluids off and discarding the gloves.
“You must be popular, first the blond and now a brunette? Your taste is all over the place,” Henry joked, kicking his feet up on the table as he read his book.
Luka left my side and sat on the desk next to Henry’s ankles, shoving his shoes off the surface. “Unsterile,” Luka said with a smile. “What do you do anyway, errand boy?”
“I’m an undertaker.” He glared up at Luka, getting flustered now that Luka was so close. The sable-haired Russian made Henry look puny next to him.
“It looks like Alina is more of an undertaker than you right now.”
“Luka,” I warned from the other side of the room.
“Is he your chaperone or something?” Henry joked nervously, glancing from Luka to me.
“A friend,” I repeated.
Luka loomed over him where he sat, and Henry swallowed hard. “Let me help you.” Henry scurried from his seat.
“Just the brass tools need to be cleaned; I already did the glassware.” I collected my coat.
“Right,” he grumbled, eyeing Luka as he took his place beside me.
“Have a wonderful weekend, Henry!” I waved and flashed a sweet smile before leaving the building.
The sun was already setting, and the air was turning chill. The ground was hardening due to the changing temperature.
“Why do you tolerate a little mange like that?” Luka caught up beside me.
“I need his workspace, and he also helps me keep a pulse on this corrupted situation.” I looked up at him. “Speaking of—any luck?”
Luka shook his head. “I have a few places to visit tonight to see if I can pick up a word or two, so far not much chatter in the public. I checked the town bulletin in the square while you were occupied and asked around. They think it’s rabies.”
