Page 19 of A Sword of Shadow and Deceit

“What about your own work?” I ask. “Or your personal matters? I thought you were still looking for Grell?”

Regis stiffens at the mention of his brother. “I’ll do what I can from here,” he says gruffly, looking away. It’s a clear signal to drop the topic and I respect it. Instead of pressing, I allow silence to fill the space between us and become our third, invisible companion as we wait for the return of Madam Brione.

Minutes pass and the clock on the wall ticks past an hour since her disappearance. It’s not like we have anything else to accomplish today and we can’t move forward with our plan until she delivers my papers. So, we wait.

The rain outside comes down harder on the roof. Dripping down the fireplace until the once roaring flames dull into embers. The warmth begins to dissipate and Regis takes it upon himself to move to the hearth to restock it. He finds long matches and lights the new blocks of wood he replaced in the interior and I watch as fresh flames erupt from his ministrations.

My thoughts are consumed by his words and the possibilities of the future. I’ve been to plenty of God Cities before for different jobs, but this will be the first time I’ll stay in one place for so long. I haven’t stayed in one location since I finished my training some eight years ago. I’ll have to acclimate to the stationary life, but eventually, I know my mission will be done and I’ll disappear as I have hundreds of times before back into the lifestyle I’ve grown accustomed to. Inns and taverns. Different cities and villages. Different faces and all of my possessions easily packed into a large bag that can be swung over the backside of a horse.

Some few hours later, the sound of footsteps alerts Regis and me that the madam has returned. As if she hadn’t left the two of us in her shop without warning for how long she’d been gone, the woman appears in the mouth of the doorway with papers in hand.

“Alrighty then, kiddos,” she announces. “All is completed.” She wobbles towards me, leaning heavily on her bad leg until she comes to a standstill before me and hands me the papers. “A copy of your new identity and the letter of recommendation.”

“Thank you,” I say, nodding to her as I take the offered pages.

“Your application of servitude has been sent in as well. If you’re selected, they’ll send a notification to your address—which I’ve marked as the rooms above this shop.”

“We’re staying here?”

Madam Brione pushes past me back behind the counter and rummages around underneath it. “Well, of course, child,” she huffs out as she continues to dig. “Did you think they’d accept someone staying at an inn or without an address at all? That reeks of desperation.” She shakes her head. “No, we keep empty rooms above the shop for situations such as this. I’ve got keys here, just give me a—aha!” Her cry of triumph is followed by the appearance of what looks like a ring of keys, each one more rusted than the last. Red flakes drift down on top of the books still sitting before her. Not that she seems to notice. “Now then, which one…” She flips through the keys as her face pinches in thought. “I think I cleaned out a few just a month or so ago.”

I glance around. Judging by the cleaning she’s done in her shop, I can only imagine what the rooms will look like, but if it’s a free room and I can save my earnings, then I suppose it’s worth taking—dirt and all. I glance back to Regis whose face is wrinkled as he watches Madam Brione. I bite down on my lower lip as he seems focused on the dirt and flakes of rust coming away on her fingers. It took years for him to overcome his aversion to grime, but still, it’s so amusing to see his past distaste reemerge.

“These should be the right ones,” Madam Brione finally says as she slips off a key from the ring, and it takes me a moment to realize that it’s actually two keys—fused together. She grips the bottom ends of them and grunts as they come apart, some sort of sticky residue breaking as she does so. Regis’ face turns pale and I choke, turning away to stop from laughing out loud. “Here ya are!” Proud, Madam Brione offers up the keys.

“Thank you,” I say with a smile as I reach out and take mine. Regis stares at the second key as if it’s one of my spiders before gingerly reaching out and pinching it between two of his fingers in an effort to touch it as little as possible. For someone who’s dealt in the blood and cum of others, he’s just as squeamish as he was ten years ago.

“Just head through that doorway,” she points to the same door she’d come from. “Up the stairs to the left. Yours will be the first room on the right.” She turns to Regis. “Yours will be across from hers. Might as well head up now and settle in for the night. If you’re hungry, you’ll have to fend for yourselves, though. I’m not much for cooking.”

“Is there a kitchen?” I ask. “We can cook for ourselves while we’re here. That won’t be an issue.”

Madam Brione bobs her head. “Same doorway,” she says. “’Cept instead of taking the stairs, you’ll go straight back down the hallway. Now, head off, both of ya. I got some cleaning to do in here. I’ll let you know if we get notice of your rejection or acceptance.”

“Alright, thank you again, Madam,” I say as I snag Regis’ arm and pull him along behind me.

His sour face follows me through the doorway and up the staircase, but he waits until we’re clear enough away from Madam Brione before speaking. “You’re checking my room for any of your disgusting friends,” he snaps. “I can handle a lot of things, but if I have to stay in filth then at the very least, I am not sleeping with your spiders.”

I smother another laugh. “Didn’t you hear her?” I ask. “She said she had to clean. Perhaps we simply caught her on a bad day.”

“She said she last cleaned these rooms a month ago, Keira,” he whispers heatedly. “A month! Do you know how much dust accumulates in a month? Do you know how many vermin can sneak in during that same amount of time?”

I snort and use my key to unlock my room first before I hold my hand out for his. He hands it over without complaint, and I stride across the hall to his door and open it for him before stepping inside. I push a quick burst of power out, seeking out any untoward little creatures. Several small minds respond to my call and I silently urge them to disappear into the walls and floors so that Regis won’t notice them.

“Well?” he asks as he steps up behind me and peeks into the room.

“You’re good to go,” I say. “No spiders.”

“Great.” His eyes scan over the interior of the room. It has a single slit for a window and what looks like a sagging bed pushed into the corner next to a desk and wardrobe. “Now all that’s left is to clean out the mounds of dirt.”

I finally let loose a chuckle and move back into the hall, leaving him behind as I go to my own room—a practical replica of his, dirt and all. “Whatever helps you sleep better at night, Regis,” I call back before repeating it with another quiet laugh. “Whatever helps.”

Chapter 8

Ruen

“Caedmon!”

Ahead of me, several paces down the long-walled corridor full of windows, the tall dark man dressed in a royal suit embroidered with gold filigree pauses at the call of his name and turns slightly back. The sun pouring in through the open glass panes glitters on the accents of gold that surround the man. Unlike most of the instructors in the Academy, Caedmon actually waits for me to catch up to him. The gold hoops pierced through both of his ears glimmer as the sun sets beyond the windows at my back, a stark contrast to his dark skin.

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