We talked for a time around the manhole, unsettled and, fortunately, unobserved. I reached up and put my left hand on Silah's pommel. As the blade sunk into him, she was able catch his memories as they unfolded. She proceeded to explain what she had seen from the man's own thoughts as he perished.
His name was Warmand Vandermont. He was an inspector who investigated goings-on in these alleyways, being a hunter of dark things. Apparently, the roles had been reversed and the hunter became the hunted. Silah had revealed another of her talents. I could see portions of the man's memory that she had taken as her own. A white gloved hand to Warmand's throat, a highly polished shoe with a silver buckle down between his feet. He had been taken by a hunter of men from high society. I shuddered at the visual. I may have misunderstood how powerful this Warmand character was, I now knew there was real danger lurking from above—and below. It cast a shadow over my heart. There were enemies everywhere and it was impossible to tell friend from foe.
I found a quiet and private corner in the warehouse and brought Silah back to her human form. Her face was concerned as she looked at me, but then she smiled, seeming to push those thoughts quickly aside.
"Come. Your friend still needs an escort." She held her hand out toward me and I took it with a smile. We moved out of the warehouse.
"So, Siggy, are you off to your date?" I winced at her announcement. I wasn't sure if she was doing it intentionally or if she had now settled on a nickname. Sig wasn't one for joking, especially at his expense. But the reaction was different. He seemed suddenly concerned.
"I need to get cleaned up!" He said with—from the range of buttoned down emotions I've seen come from Sig—something close to panic.
"Do you need us? I want to get out of here as soon as possible." I said, rubbing my forehead.
"I'll be fine, you can go on with them," he nodded toward Bromm and Floki who were still tasked with heading into the forest to find a boar for the hunt.
I was a mess, myself. But I was content, Silah didn't seem to be adverse to leaning up against someone who was covered in blood. I figured I should take a little time to clean up.
"What about you, Danin?" I saw that he was looking back to the shops, remembering that the confectioner was where his own interests lie.
"I'll stick around and keep an eye on Sig." He stated with a sly grin.
"Sure you will." Bromm ribbed.
Danin looked me over.
"How much of that is yours?" Nodding to the still oozing wounds.
"All of it." I winced with the words, even thinking about it brought the pain to the forefront.
He reached out a hand and I felt a pulse of invigoration. The pain subsided almost immediately. Even the swelling in my twisted ankle subsided where it usually took a week for it to die down. He truly was a miracle worker. He grinned at me.
"Enjoy yourself. Don't get in too much trouble." I awkwardly attempted to pull off a reflection of his cool nature.
He nearly scoffed, but then nodded neatly and moved off toward the confectioner's shop.
I leaned down to Silah.
"I've got to clean up. I look like death itself."
I tugged at the shirt covered with blood stains and noted the standing patches of fresh blood from my recently healed wounds.
"Don't be such a tease." She purred.
She ran a finger down the recently healed wound, collecting some of the blood on her finger and put it into her mouth. It reminded of her bloodied smile bonding to me. For others, it may have set them on edge, but I understood her nature; to be bathed in blood.
"Hey! None of that. Don't make me question whose side you're on. After all, we already put one blood sucker down today." I said over my shoulder as I moved to one of the closeby water barrels.
I took a bucket and drenched myself repeatedly, pouring the water over my head enough times and watched the pink water seep into the cobbles of the streets. It was an odd thought, I was a part of this city now, in its very cracks and foundations. Permanence in an impermanent world. We were just borrowing time here, anyway. I looked at the pink stains left on my undershirt. At least, there would always be something left over from our mortality.
I couldn't shake the feeling that I was still in danger. Everyone seemed to be more aware of the peril than I. Silah's own ambition wasn't bent on my destruction, I knew, but there was a fine line. She hadn't warned me of the danger, so I continued in blindly. What I didn't know could very well have killed me.
I tried to shake it off as I walked back to the others. We saw from a distance as Sig met up with Anida, with Danin and his girl off in the distance, taking a post so they could watch unobtrusively. Good friends, these. Protecting each other in their own ways. I smiled at the thought.
"You've got that look again," Silah said flatly.
"What look?" I reflected.
"You know, that look. The one you get when you think too much," she sighed, "You should stop that."
"Hey, I've got a lot to think about." I waved her off, avoiding the slight.
She looked askance at me then moved in close, but didn't touch, as we fell in behind Bromm and Floki.
We moved to the edge of town. This was the working section of town on the edge of Widdowborn. Laborers and conveyed goods were the general traffic in the area, moving to and fro. The noon meal-time had other traffic coming to bear, between food wagons and clusters of rowdy workers making their way through the street, it was a tumult that made me want to get out of town quickly. I quickened my pace through Hammer Gate.
Bromm and Floki moved ahead as we passed the gate, knowing the path. Silah and I were likely too noisy to be of any help with the tracking, so I intentionally lagged behind. It felt good to walk in the woods away from the city walls where everything and everyone was encroaching on your space.
We were well into the woods, a long walk out of town, before I spoke up.
"You could have warned me about that man. You can sense evil like that, can't you?" I spoke evenly, without anger, while turning my head to look down toward her.
"Would you have believed me?"
She looked up at me with a pensive expression. Her perfect face was pristine, bright in the sunlight.
Enchanting. As always.
"I would like to think I would?"
"Keep in mind, this isn't only about trust. It would be me questioning your capabilities and not trusting that you know your limits." She paused for a moment, "What would you have done if I had told you?"
It was an honest question and I didn't know the answer.
"We won," she touched my hand, "We won and no one died. Well, he did, which was the point. Can you put your trust in that?"
I gently put my large hand over hers, accepting her words.
"Since we are being frank with each other," she licked her lips, "I will never fight."
A small fire lit in her eyes as she began to unroll her thoughts.
"'Slow him down'?" Silah said it with whole-hearted distaste, they were same words I had said to her as Warmand ran down the hall.
"I will never fight. I am only to be wielded." She grimaced.
She broke contact, taking her hand away from me while filling with a strangely civil sort of anger. I was taken back by the statement. I didn't understand.
"Slow him down isn't exactly 'hit him really hard so he doesn't get up'. I thought you were there to help?" I shrugged dismissively. I hadn't seen her this angry before. I wasn't going to push it, I'd seen enough of my own blood today.
"I was there to help!" She was exasperated with me, unable to convey her point.
I suddenly felt like I stepped into yet another mess and ran my hand over my face, bracing for the oncoming storm.
"Why wouldn't you think I wanted to help?" She had stopped and turned toward me, "And get your hand off of your face. It infuriates me when you do that while we're talking."
I stopped and turned toward her, letting my hand drop. I made sure to keep track of where Bromm and Floki were on the road ahead of us.
"I don't know what 'help' means to you." I realized I was waving my hands around emphatically.
"I will not fight for you!"
"I understand! Believe me. I know. We've talked about this before." I attempted to calm the storm raging in her eyes, "It's just that ... I have never seen you help anyone. I didn't know if that was beneath you."
She looked at me with a quizzical expression.
"You've never seen me help anyone?" She pressed.
It was my turn to wet my lips, pausing to think. I had to speak carefully, I knew this was dangerous ground.
"Not like you did today?" I said apologetically.
I continued, "I didn't know if you are willing to physically help people? I didn't know if you'd help that man in the hallway or even help run the buckets."
She looked shocked, but her face softened.
"I don't know, well enough, what you will and will not do," I said, frankly, "I wasn't even sure if you helped of your own free will or if it was some 'bonded master' thing."
She abruptly turned to continue down the road, her face unreadable. I turned and began walking as well, keeping pace with her, trying to read her mood. Bromm and Floki had stopped and looked back at us. Both seemed to shrug and continue down the path. After a few steps, Silah moved up to my side and cradled my arm again.
We continued down the path like that for a long while that. She looked up at me, her face concerned.
"I want to help." She stated flatly. She seemed to be looking for a reaction.
"Think of me as a lady. I am a lady who believes in right and good. I cherish the light in good people. I will do all I can to protect that." She looked up at me, "Do you understand? I am here to help—within reason."
"I understand." It was a simple understanding, but I thought I caught the idea of it.
"Do you?" She gave a smirk, "How about this. Next time you have a question, don't assume one thing or another. Just ask."
"Events haven't been easy to just ask." I grimaced.
"You can always make a mistake. Once." She raised an eyebrow, "Everyone who expects to survive on the battlefield must learn to be a quick learner."
I was feeling a bit wary. In the heat of the moment, I hadn't been practiced or sensible lately.
"So, then, what should I think of you as a weapon?"
"There are rules. Don't worry, I'll let you know as they came up." She gave a wide mischievous smile.
We caught up with Floki and Bromm. Floki had found signs of the boar that brought him to this area in the first place. They moved into the woods and told us to stay put. With them gone, the sounds of the forest closed in. It wasn't the kind of nature that I was used to, since the plains were where I grew up, but it was rich and fulfilling to stand there, especially with Silah by my side.
"There's more to me than just a weapon. These are things which you are—or should be—well aware of at this point," she seemed to be swimming through memories too distant to recall, "I came here through a hard path, but I've since found it useless to dwell on things that are outside of my control. I chose to forget. But, if I ever remember, I'll tell you about it someday."
Floki emerged from the wood followed closely by Bromm.
"We found them," he announced, "And right where they said they would be. Sig's father will have a grand hunt ahead of him!"
(Get to know Akeron.)
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