Chapter 28
Kit
Afew days after the second resistance meeting, I climbed the steps in the Ossuary to Levitt’s office. He hadn’t called for me, and there were no accusations hanging over my head, but there were things we needed to discuss.
The fur trader’s comments were fresh in my mind as I came to a stop in front of Levitt’s door.
I’d long since decided that, if my old friend couldn’t be brought around to our vision for what Ashpoint could be without the Bone Men, someone else would need to step in.
If that meant usurping him, someone else would have to take his place.
I was willing to suffer through being Shroud Warden, but I would never become the Right Hand.
And I didn’t think I had it in me to kill anyone, anyway.
When I finally raised my fist to knock, I didn't have to wait long before the door swung open. Levitt’s smile was more timid than I was used to seeing, but given that our last few interactions had been combative at best, I wasn’t surprised.
“Kit. It’s good to see you. Please, come in.” He stepped back and motioned toward the pair of armchairs beneath the wall of windows.
The sun was setting behind the mountain peaks, casting Ashpoint’s cozy settlement in orange-gold.
I’d never thought this town beautiful, or even bearable, but something was changing in me.
Blame Penny’s unfailing optimism or the group of people who had gathered in our home wishing for change, but I was beginning to see these streets a bit differently.
I settled into one of the leather padded chairs, and Levitt sank down across from me in the other. He took enough time smoothing his hair back from his face that I got the impression he was stalling, or at least trying to determine my mood.
“Thank you,” I said to break the silence.
Levitt sat back and tilted his head toward me. “I’m not sure what I’ve done to deserve thanks.”
“For seeing through your sister’s ruse,” I replied, “and for realizing how ludicrous her accusations were.”
He chuckled and shrugged. “I know you well enough to realize you’ve only ever tolerated her for my sake. Would that I could have less offensive relations.” A wan smile tipped his lips. “But you know what that’s like.”
He waved his hand dismissively as he drew a chest-swelling breath then expelled it in a rush.
“That’s all beside the point. You’re not the kind of man to stray, and I’m acutely aware that you’ve found bliss elsewhere.
” His smile grew, but it was as much bittersweet as it was pleased.
“It’s nice to see you so taken with someone.
So happy. I can’t say I can recall a time when you ever looked as content as you do these days.
” He had the good sense to cringe as he added, “When Merrick isn’t making your life a torment, anyway. ”
I scoffed. “At least we’re free from him for a few weeks. Let him and Vi make each other miserable in their forced proximity. I’m sure she’ll be missing Klaus here soon.”
That earned me a genuine laugh from the Right Hand, and all traces of his earlier discomfort evaporated.
I hadn’t realized how much I missed the ease of our conversations.
The recent tension between us wore on me more than I cared to admit, and if I was honest, I worried about Levitt.
His position was a lonely one—too much power in a place historically rife with treachery to allow for close relationships without fear of ulterior motives.
I wasn’t sure he had anyone but me he could be himself with.
Guilt gnawed at my guts knowing I wasn’t without my own reasons for fostering our friendship.
I found solace in the fact that it wasn’t my aim to betray him.
If I played my hand well, I could protect him the way he’d tried to protect me.
Maybe I couldn’t absolve him of his sins, but I could hopefully weight the scales to garner enough good favor with the people of Ashpoint, and eventually the militia, to keep his neck from the noose.
Assuming I could keep mine clear, too, which wasn’t a guarantee. But I’d known what I was risking coming back, and I would pay whatever price needed paying. Though, those convictions were prone to waver now that I had more to lose than my life.
“You’re not wrong,” Levitt said, redirecting my attention to him.
“I’m still not sure how Merrick hasn’t caught the two of them together.
They aren’t exactly discreet.” He leaned in conspiratorially and propped his left elbow on the arm of the chair.
“But enough about them. How did you and Penny enjoy Stagcross?”
Penny might have gone around advertising our trip to Rosie and Thoma, but I knew he hadn’t told anyone else the details. I wasn’t sure how Levitt found out about it, but his smug expression was enough for me to connect the dots.
“It’s beautiful this time of year,” I responded slowly. “Did you plan it that way on purpose?”
He lifted his chin with a haughty smirk. “I made a suggestion, and Merrick and the Sentinels didn’t see any ulterior motives for it, so they agreed. I remember how you went on about that place after your first visit there. I thought you might like to see it again.”
It was a strange feeling, knowing Levitt facilitated exactly the sort of break Penny and I had needed from this place, even though it was clear there was still a part of him that wished he’d been the one who’d gone there with me.
I hesitated to thank him, to tell him everything, because it felt like rubbing salt in an open wound.
But I needed him to trust me. I needed him to be the friend he’d been when were teenagers, because that friend wouldn’t hesitate to join our paltry rebellion. And if I wasn’t ready to be honest about the resistance growing in Ashpoint, I at least had to be honest about this.
“We took full advantage,” I said. “Visited the shop that bound Penny’s sketchbook, fed the reindeer, spent hours looking at the stained glass…” I couldn’t bite back a smile as nerves twisted my stomach into knots. “I proposed, and he accepted.”
Levitt’s expression went slack for a moment before a grin lit his face.
“Well. That was certainly quick. But you always did hold tight to the things that you made you happy.” It was a relief to find no hint of pain or jealousy in his tone.
“Congratulations, Kit. No one deserves this more than you do.”
“I’m not sure about that, but thank you.”
With that out of the way, I wasn’t looking forward to broaching the topic I’d come to discuss.
Levitt may have been in a good mood now, but he would sober quickly when I brought up leaving again.
But Penny and I had put plans in place for our resistance while we were gone, and it was time to put plans in place here, too.
I picked at a loose thread on the hem of my cloak and forced myself to move on.
“Speaking of Penny, that’s part of why I’m here.
” I gestured to the world beyond the wall of windows.
“Weather’s changing, days are getting longer, and it’ll be spring next thing we know.
Pen will need to go back to Eastcliff to handle planting in a few weeks, and I need to go with him. ”
Levitt opened his mouth, but I continued before he could protest.
“It’s only his mother and sister there. He can’t do it alone.”
“I assumed Merrick would help,” Levitt countered.
Indignation prickled up my spine. “After what just happened?” I asked. “After everything he’s done? He tried to kill us, Lev.”
Levitt made a small noise of concession.
I let my eyes wander over the market square below, fading quickly into the deep purple of dusk. “No. I think we’ve all had quite enough of each other. Merrick has no claim on the farm, and I imagine no loyalty to it, either. It’s Penny’s responsibility, and a heavy burden for one man. He needs me.”
The statement struck a chord in me, a soft feeling that chased away my anger.
My presence in Eastcliff was about more than being useful with plowing and planting.
It was a sort of homecoming for me, as well.
Penny and I were to wed, so the Oliver farm would in part become mine.
The Oliver family would become mine. A place I was needed. Wanted.
The Right Hand sat in silence for so long that I chanced a glance over to gauge his reaction. His brows were pinched, and he slumped forward in his seat to press his fingertips into his temple.
“The timing on this couldn’t be worse, Kit.”
“I don’t have the power to control the seasons,” I said, more sharply than I intended.
He shot me a glare, equally scathing. “I’m aware. But I also have to acknowledge how delicately we need to handle things here. Things are falling into place, and we’re so close to ousting Merrick. After this stunt with Vi, the Sentinels are almost ready to call a vote.”
His frustration was justified, but that didn’t quell my irritation that he was putting matters of the Bone Men before my family’s wellbeing.
Penny and his mother and sister were mine to protect and provide for, and I wouldn’t sit by and watch them lose the farm because they lacked the help to keep it up.
“There will be no crops if I don’t go. They have no hands, and Penny’s not well…” I stopped myself, unwilling to broach my concerns about Penny’s health and further muddy murky waters. “It’s too much land even if he was,” I added in a mutter.
Levitt’s scowl deepened, but I pressed on, regaining my resolve as I spoke.
“When this all started, you promised you would never make me choose between my partner and the position. That’s the only reason I agreed to it.”
The silence that stretched between us for several long moments was brittle and tense until Levitt sighed and rubbed his hand over his face.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I did promise, and I’ll do my best to keep that promise.” He hunched farther forward so he could rest his elbows on his knees. “And I’m sorry for how things have been between us lately. I know you’re not happy with how I’ve been handling things.”
Unhappy was an understatement. Our last few interactions had left me furious that Penny’s and my safety seemed unimportant to the man who’d vowed to protect me.
Levitt had come through on the last two slights, but not before damage was done.
The charges levied against me may have been disproven, but each time the people of Ashpoint saw me marched through the streets like a common criminal, it made them less and less likely to trust me. And trust was the thing I needed most.
“It may not look like it from where you sit, but I’m doing all I can,” Levitt continued. “I wish things could be different.”
“They could be,” I said coolly.
He sighed again and shook his head. “I am in a precarious position, Kit. I have to consider the bigger picture if we want to save this place from people like Merrick. Even now, it’s not beyond him to tip the scales back into his favor.”
When his eyes met mine, they were underscored by dark rings I hadn’t noticed until the firelight caught them just right.
The shadow of stubble along his jaw only added to his haggard appearance as the last of his pretenses fell away.
The mask he always wore was as flawless as my own and it was strange to see him let it drop.
He looked like a man who was drowning and had no one to throw him a rope.
My experience with the Tribunal had left me confident that the Sentinels were turning on Merrick, but I didn’t see what went on behind closed doors.
I didn’t see the careful maneuvering that went into testing the loyalties of the people who could turn on him in a moment, too.
I had Penny to lean on when things got hard, but Levitt didn’t have anyone.
“I haven’t made any of these decisions lightly,” he said, “and I hope you know how much it pains me to have to overlook the things Merrick has done. He will be punished when the time is right. I promise you that.”
I leaned in and rested my hands on his knees. “In the meantime, Pen and I will tend his farm to make sure Ashpoint has supplies for the coming year.”
Levitt’s gaze settled on that small point of contact, and he nodded. “That is important.”
“And when I get back,” I dipped my head to meet his eyes again, “perhaps you can tell me everything that’s happening on your side of this. Share the weight before it crushes you.”
Levitt chuckled and straightened. It was like I could see the mask slide back into place, closing the exhaustion off behind a smile I didn’t believe for a moment.
I wanted to shake him, to bring back that brief glimpse of vulnerability that reassured me that he would be on our side when the time came, but it was over.
“You don’t need to worry about me, Kit,” he said.
Like I’d told Penny, I did more than enough worrying for all my friends, and Levitt was not exempt from that. Because if I didn’t worry about him, who would?