Page 25 of Soulbound Shadows: Part 1

“Of course,” I muttered. “Where shadows dwell.”

I went back upstairs with Pothos in tow, then grabbed my phone and typed in the number Gabriel had left in his note. As I changed into a more flattering pair of pants, I texted him.

got a clue, might know where the first piece of what we’re looking for is. meet me at big sal’s asap. we need to figure out a plan for this one

this is Evangeline btw

By the time I got to Big Sal’s, Gabriel was already there, sitting in the booth farthest from the door. He had his hands wrapped around a mug, and he’d been staring out the window, but he looked up when I came in.

I raised a hand in an awkward wave.

The worn vinyl of the booth squeaked as I slid into the seat opposite Gabriel.

“Thanks for dealing with the walnuts,” I blurted out.

Gabriel blinked. “It seemed a shame to waste them. And I can’t exactly enjoy them myself.”

“Makes sense,” I said, trying not to fidget. “Hey, uh, I’m sorry about last night. I was out of line. And thanks for the water and blankets and stuff.”

Gabriel didn’t meet my eyes. Instead, he began to reorganize the little plastic single-serving tubs of jam in the condiment holder on our table by flavor. “It’s no trouble,” he said. “And the building set out the painkillers for me. I didn’t go rummaging through your medicine cabinet.”

Just then, Sal came over with a mug and a pot of coffee. “Lookin’ rough, Angie,” she said, filling my mug. I accepted it gratefully. “Were you out getting into trouble again?”

“Not this time,” I said. “I was staying in and getting into trouble.”

Sal grinned widely, wagging her eyebrows. “Good for you, kid. Can I get you a refill on that, pup? We’ve got some more synthetic O-negative in the back. I can warm it up for you,” she said to Gabriel.

“I’m fine, thank you,” he said.

She nodded and bustled off.

“Pup?”

He sighed quietly. “Baby bats are called pups.”

“Aww,” I said. “Sal gave you a nickname on your first visit. She must like you.”

“Do you come here often?” Gabriel asked, then apparently realized what he’d just said and backpedaled. “To eat. Not—not like that. I. Ah.” He took a long sip of the synth-blood in his mug. “You said you found a lead?”

I grabbed onto the topic change gratefully. “I did. The first line that describes where one of the pieces is located… I think I figured it out. There’s a place near here called the Umbral Village. It’s kind of a local legend.”

Gabriel nodded. “I’ve heard of it. The abandoned village.”

“The village filled with weird shadows,” I said. “The prophecy said ‘where shadows dwell.’”

“A promising start.” Gabriel leaned slightly forward in his seat, and the bench squeaked under him.

“It gets better,” I said. “There are these plants that grow all around that area. Bushes with little yellow flowers.”

“And those are… relevant somehow?”

“They’re rue plants,” I said, tapping the table for emphasis. “And one of the other names for rue is herb-of-grace. It completely covers the ground around there, which means…”

“It would be easy for something to be covered up by it. Concealed by grace,” Gabriel breathed. “Brilliant.”

“Exactly,” I said. “It would take me a while to get there, but I can head out tomorrow and have a look around—see if I can find anything.”

“Wonderful. Where should we meet?” Gabriel asked.

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