We failed miserably at avoiding Hagan's penetrating gaze as we hurried out into the night. His jaw flexed as he squinted at each of us. I didn't envy Bromm; not in the least. He'd be the one to catch words for all this. Hagan was a man who could make me feel a little queasy at a glance and that worried me.
The temperature dropped sharply as we emerged into the night. Hlofreden was quieter than expected even with the weekend bustle spilling out into the street. I could only guess that Magra, the Nightwatch Captain, cowed the onlookers or, perhaps, it was the angry but sullen Salamanders creating a wake of wary citizens. Whatever it was, it fit the mood of the night, suddenly tamped down to an uneasy atmosphere that eddied through the city streets.
Igul, the Salamander Captain, had said they would leave without question, but Bromm wanted to make sure they held to that promise—and to leave Robyn be. We spotted the Bluecoat escort in the distance and followed, watching closely. The Salamanders surely knew that we were lingering behind as well. They were veterans after all. Veterans for a Queen, even. I was curious what it took to get to a status like that. In Igul's case, he seemed to resent it at that moment; being more an unwilling tool than a soldier. Ultimately, he risked his own neck and stood against his Queen's order.
I don't believe that Bromm would see it that way. I doubted he would ever let it go. He had been lied to. And while, we hadn't quite told the truth ourselves, our cause for concern had been justified.
The Salamanders turned off the street, stepping into a stack of buildings that had seen some recent polish. I nudged Silah and nodded that direction.
"I've been looking for something a bit more permanent here." I spoke low to her, my voice still carrying in the evening air.
She looked up at me and smiled, pulling on my arm with the gesture, but didn't say anything. She had been remarkably calm in all of this. I started to realize that since she had let go of the anxiety from our encounter at the Priory of Kols, she seemed to be at peace?
Bromm was leading us past the docks. I didn't see Beidrick's boat docked. He had been busy shuttling workers to the different work sites, keeping Richter Holding's assets in motion.
The Bluecoats walking with Robyn gave no indication of being aware of our presence. They turned into the the barracks passing the Daywatch Captain on the way out. The difference between Magra Olfsen and Murdoch Keyes, the Daywatch Captain, were immediately apparent. Magra was a hard, strict fellow; a man who'd seen action. Magra, seeing us all out here bristling with weapons, would have been more than a little wary. Murdoch Keyes gave us an easy, unperturbed smile and a nod as he pushed out into the night.
Through the door, Robyn stood, straight backed and in shackles. She stood in front of a small, barred window talking to someone on the inside. You could hear her answering questions through the door as it slowly shut. I could imagine the bleary eyed clerk that Magra had with him trying desperately to write the information as Robyn's perfectly even voice rattled on.
"What do you want to do?" Sig asked Bromm.
"We'll come back after they get done with her." Bromm said, meeting Sig's gaze.
There was a pause and Bromm, suddenly intense, looked to each one of us.
"I've got something to do at the temple. Join me if you'd like." With that, he purposefully turned and strode down the street.
There were bewildered glances around. Floki shrugged and turned to follow him. Danin and Rana were still a pair. Sig, Silah, and I were the last to follow, falling in behind.
"Do you think this is part of a plan to get Robyn out?" I said aloud, looking to both Sig and Silah.
Sig shrugged, but Silah looked up with a half smile.
"I don't think this is about Robyn. I've seen that look before…" she whispered in my head, but let her voice faded before she completed the thought.
We moved through the outer door of the priory overhearing voices in the courtyard beyond.
"You were the ones who cleaned out that mess, right? You fit the description." A Bluecoat spoke from the shadows but I could see his young face clearly, showing the beginnings of a patchy beard. "You can go in. You'd have taken anything already if you wanted to."
The Bluecoat dismissed us by turning his attention from us and pulling out a worn pipe and starting to pack it.
Bromm pushed through the door into the dimly lit interior. I could see easily into the darkness, knowing I had an advantage over most of my cohorts in this situation. I scanned the corners for any lurking remnants, very clearly recalling the events of the morning before. Bromm moved toward the statue and altar in front of the stained glass. He pulled his pistol and knelt in front of the altar and looked up at the likeness of Kols and the giant boar, Mughurah. The group was fanned out around him, looking on with curiosity.
"Kols. I pledge my weapon to your cause." He licked his lips, searching for the words. "My ways differ from your ways but I believe in the power of an oath. I pledge to be an Oathkeeper and will make sure that others do the same."
He waited a moment, taking up his weapon and putting it into his coat. He then pulled out a striking hammer from a pistol and placed it on the altar. There was a string attached to it giving an indication to his forethought.
"And this is my holy symbol," He waited a moment, looking up at the statue, "This is my hammer."
He then swept the symbol off of the altar and slung it around his neck and stood, dusting off his knees. And as he turned to the rest of the group, there was patter of rain against the stained glass. I saw Silah nodding proudly.
"I can't let Kols fade into obscurity." He said, as the faint pattering turned into a rush. "It's about time I stood for a purpose that I can believe in."
Floki moved toward the door, looking out into the courtyard in disbelief. He shook his head but said nothing. I moved to the rain slicked windows, the downpour was unlike anything I had ever seen. It coated the walls with a thick layer of running water within moments.
"What did you do in there?" The young Bluecoat called out looking disgruntled and wet, huddling under the narrow eaves of the courtyard entrance.
It was still raining when we arrived at the Bluecoat hall. It was likely getting well into the night, but it was impossible to tell with the rain bearing down on us. We gathered, dripping wet, into the receiving room of the public side of the jail. Bromm introduced himself to the same clerk we had seen just earlier. His eyes were a bit red and watery. He would often put the palm of his hand to his head every so often, fending off a headache.
"What can I help you with?" He said, his eyes getting wider with each of us that stepped through the door. Even with his paranoia he didn't seem to recognize who we were.
Bromm stepped up.
"I'm here to see Robyn Beckett." There was an earnest calm in his approach.
"Are you family?" He said, not looking up from his scrawling on a parchment.
"Yes."
The clerk looked beyond Bromm at the rest of us and nodded.
"They all staying here?" He said, showing a little worry.
"Will that be a problem?" Bromm asked.
"Naw, just… have them take a seat if you could?" He scooted back the chain with a scrape and grabbed some keys, "I'll be right out. Meet me by that door there."
The man shuttered the receiving window. We attempted to take seats, but we quickly found that not everyone would fit on the bench. I leaned against the wall with Silah and tried to look indifferent as the guard let Bromm through. I still wasn't sure what Bromm's plan was for Robyn. I expected some fury out of all of this, but he'd been downright mild. The door opened and he moved through.
It was some time before Bromm joined us again. There was a slight flush to his face as he moved through the door. He wore a satisfied smile. I could hear the door behind him lock from the other side and footsteps moved into the back room, but the shutter stayed in place.
"I'm impressed. I didn't hear a gunshot or anything." I joked, but Bromm didn't react, "So, no jailbreak, then?"
"Nope. Although, if we wanted to, all you have to do is ask to see a prisoner." He showed his belt with the pistols slung, "They didn't even bother to disarm me."
Eyes went around.
"But you didn't… do anything, did you?" I asked, suddenly concerned.
"What kind of man do you think I am?" He looked at me with incredulity, "I'm an Oathkeeper!"
I chuckled.
The door creaked open and Captain Magra walked in. His head was low against the rain at first, but then he looked up with a moment of surprise in his eyes. He quickly masked it and moved in stripped away his wet cloak.
"Gentleman." He looked around at the lot of us, "You here to see the prisoner?"
"Ah, we've already seen her. We're on our way out." Bromm said smoothly.
That seemed to make him a little anxious. He walked to the shuttered window and gave it a rap.
"Yeah? How is she settling in?" He asked Bromm, with some degree of annoyance. "Some nasty business back there."
The shutter opened to the bleary eyed clerk who snapped to attention when he saw who it was.
"I'm sorry that you got caught up in all that." Bromm said, nodding. "But she knew that she could trust you to enforce the law."
"Heh, yeah. We hadn't said much more than a few words." He grimaced, "And most of those words weren't exactly pleasant."
"Will she be safe, then?" Bromm pressed, "We will be close at hand if there's any trouble."
Magra seemed to appreciate the gesture, but he waved it off.
"We'll be fine."
"Oh, she wanted me to tend to her cottage. She said you had the key?"
"Yes. I'll get to it." He moved back to the window and spoke to the clerk, "Her key is in that cabinet."
The clerk pushed the key through the window to Magra who handed it to Bromm.
"Everything else in order?" The Nightwatch Captain asked.
"Yes. We'll be on our way." He smiled a genuine smile at Magra and moved toward the door looking back to the rest of us.
Floki announced that he was heading to his shack on the edge of town as he prepared to step outside. Others chimed in, everyone heading to their respective beds.
"I'm going to do some house sitting for Robyn." Bromm held up the key.
"Say, since you're not taking your room in The Sea Witch, mind if Silah and I take it?"
"Feel free. It doesn't feel like my bed anymore anyway." He gave me a wry look, "Between Robyn bleeding all over it and, well, whatever you've done in there…"
There were some awkward chuckles around. I grimaced at first, but then gave a toothy grin. My eyes slid to meet Silah's who suddenly looked demure. I wasn't sure if she could blush, but this was likely the closest I'd seen from her.
"As always, you're too good to me, Bromm." I said with a smile.
We pushed out in the downpour. It had lessened only slightly since the initial rush. Floki seemed both dismayed and annoyed by it's onslaught.
"I didn't even see this coming." He mused loudly, seeming a touch annoyed with himself, as moved out into the night.
I had produced my duster and put it over Silah and myself as we moved our way to The Sea Witch. Silah pulled in close under the protective draping, I felt her warm arm around my back just below my rucksack. Her other hand traced absently over my ribs. The rain was aggressive, trying—in vain—to penetrate the oil soaked black canvas of the duster.
I paused under the shallow eaves of The Sea Witch, she moved through the door and I shook off the water from the relatively dry doorway. It was late, but the bouncer, Dean, who watched the common room at night nodded at me as we walked through.
Silah moved quietly into the room, standing in front of the full length mirror looking at herself. I couldn't remember the last time that Bromm had even been in here? It was left almost as we had left it nearly a week ago. I unslung the rucksack from my back and place it near the small desk with a thud and moved over to the mirror behind Silah. She looked at me and smiled through the mirror. I reached over and tilted it back slightly so I could see my own face.
"You've been quiet." I said, watching her eyes trace along the lines of her dress.
"Yes." She said quietly, a blissful smile on her face.
I put my hands on her shoulders and she looked me in the eyes. I felt my breath catch in my throat with her glittering gaze.
"Denton did you proud, my beast." She said thoughtfully, "That ensemble fits you perfectly."
I bent down and kissed her on the neck. I felt her rise with the touch and felt both my own desire mix with hers and reflect back to me. This was very different from the need that I had felt from her when I used her power to heal myself. Her response wasn't driven by need, but honest desire. She turned toward me and I cradled her face in my large hands.
"Thank you, love." I whispered, then pulled her close bringing my lips to hers.
(Get to know Akeron.)
(Read Robyn's Account of Events.)
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