The Crow King's Wife (The Elder Blood Chronicles #5)(121)
“I guessed you would choose to be Jala for this. You must have been paying closer attention to me than I thought.” Shade drawled as he smiled widely up at the priest. He still didn’t bother with standing. There was no point to it as far as he could see.
The priest silently pushed back his coat with a gloved hand to display the hilt of a Shadowsteel sword at his belt, then shifted slightly so the the coat fell back into place as he pushed back his cowl to reveal his face. His expression was carefully neutral, but Shade could see emotion boiling in the pale grey depths of Grim’s eyes.
“So it really is you. I doubt even Myth could mimic Shadowsteel for a disguise. I’d love to know how you found me. I’d hate to think condemned buildings are considered my typical haunts.” Shade said casually before lifting his bottle for another swig of the dreadful wine. He let out a sigh as he dropped the nearly empty bottle to the floor once more and smiled bitterly at Grim in what he hoped was a perfect example of callousness. “So did they send you to kill me or drag me back to Delvay?” he asked coldly.
“Everyone that I have ever answered to in the past is dead. I take orders from no man.” Grim returned softly. He eyed Shade for a long moment before lifting his hand and tracing a quick pattern with one finger. Shadow trailed behind his hand and for a breath a perfectly formed rune hung in the air before the city itself grew pitch black around them.
Shade shot to his feet as the air temperature plummeted and all noise from the city below faded away. Wide eyed he stared around at Sanctuary in bewilderment before glancing back at Grim who stood perfectly still and silent with a look of patience covering his face. Apparently he was content to allow Shade time to adjust before he bothered with explaining what was going on.
As far as Shade could tell they were still in Sanctuary. Even the balcony he stood on seemed the same aside from the shadows that seemed to cling to everything around him, but the people he could see on the street below were blurred pale outlines rather than the brightly clad figures they had been moments before. He was in Sanctuary, and yet he was not, it was a very unsettling realization.
“You can drop the pretense now. I’m not sure who you were acting for, but I know it wasn’t me, and it is a waste of your breath to continue it. I don’t believe what they say of you in Delvay anymore than I believe the contempt you were showing me a moment ago. No one can hear or see us here. This is the realm of Shadows and what passes between us here stays just between us.” Grim explained calmly. With a weary sigh he shrugged out of his coat and tossed it carelessly over the balcony rail before turning back to Shade. He pointedly lifted one arm making sure he had Shade’s attention as he did so and gestured to a leather band strapped tightly around his wrist. “That is how I found you. There is a blood stone secured inside the band. I crafted it the night after we repaired your eye in Merro. It led me straight to you.” He explained as he settled back against the wall.
“Regardless of how you found me, you shouldn’t have come. Zoey was supposed to stop you if you tried.” Shade informed him gently as he resumed his seat by the balcony rail and tried to fight back his unease at the change in the city. He flicked the ash from his cigarette absently and stared through the rails at the shadow wrapped images of Sanctuary. It was strange to see the life flowing through the streets but to hear nothing but silence around them. Sanctuary was never silent, even in the dead of night.
“The Divine of Fear himself couldn’t have stopped me from following you so Zoelyn was woefully inadequate for the job.” Grim returned with a faint smile. He shifted to a more comfortable position and gazed at Shade with a considering look before speaking again. “You remind me of Micah in so many ways, but in others you are more than he ever was. Others may not realize what you sacrificed for my life, but I do, and I will not ignore the debt. You chose to push everyone away so that you could spare them from sharing your fate. I refuse to be pushed aside, Shade.”
“I don’t see a debt between us, Grim. If anything I made us even with what I did in Rivana.” Shade admitted somberly. He wasn’t sure what to make of Grim’s words. On one hand he was grateful that there was at least one person that refused to lose faith in him, yet on the other side of that was the fact that Grim’s faith would most likely mean his death if Myth found them.
“Not something I care to argue over. There are other more pressing things I’d like to discuss, but before we get to that I have a question for you. After everything you have faced, why are you giving up now? What changed to make you believe you cannot survive this?” Grim watched him closely and Shade had the distinct impression that if he tried to lie now Grim would see it as clearly as a smile on his face.
“I can’t win against Myth. I can’t even hide from Myth. I have too many habits and not enough skills with changing myself to win this particular fight.” Shade answered bluntly.
Grim nodded slowly in agreement then shook his head as if he had just decided he didn’t actually agree at all. “You can’t win alone. With help you have better odds. With my help you can most likely survive, but therein lays the problem. You trust me, but I think you trust what you think I am, rather than who I truly am. So before we progress I feel inclined to shred your misconceptions and see if you still trust me when I’m finished.”
“Grim I don’t want you to suffer because of me.” Shade said flatly and let out a harsh breath. “I don’t want anyone to suffer because of me and I really don’t think you realize exactly how deep in the shit I am right now. I am not safe to be around. Please, just go back to Syrah.”