Chapter Twenty-Eight #2
“Could have. Didn’t,” Shadach said. Unconcerned. The tone in Lord Patin’s voice had told him his accountant was not a strong man. At the slightest threat of violence, he had no doubt caved and confessed.
“What will it be then?” Shadach said. “Hand over your jewels to me or your empire to Grennen?”
Lord Patin stared at Shadach as if weighing up the worth of his soul and finding him wanting.
The last things Lord Patin wanted were help from a Halcin and to lose the prized collection of jewels his family had spent lifetimes curating.
Was his pride and joy really worth sacrificing in order to destroy Grennen and save his empire?
Shadach kept half his attention on Lord Patin and half his attention on the guards as the debate raged in Lord Patin’s eyes.
If Lord Patin didn’t make the choice Shadach hoped then things were going to get very dangerous, very quickly.
Suddenly, as if a fire had been doused, the rage in Lord Patin’s eyes quieted and was replaced by a coolness that felt far more threatening.
“Fine,” Lord Patin said, gracefully sitting in one of his gaudy, uncomfortable chairs. “They’re only jewels, what good are they to me if I lose my title and power?” Lord Patin nodded to one of his guards. “Fetch the jewels and a paper and quill so this man can tell me everything I need to know.”
Shadach waited in silence as the guard left.
Lord Patin sat in the chair, his foot tapping absently to an invisible rhythm, an almost smile on his sharp face as he gazed out the window.
The man was far too peaceful considering what he was about to sacrifice.
Every instinct in Shadach screamed “danger.”
The guard returned with a hefty brown sack over his shoulder, its contents clinking and chiming to the tune of over a million coin. Lord Patin swept to his feet and took the parchment, quill, and ink from the guard before handing them to Shadach.
“Write,” Lord Patin said.
Shadach placed the parchment on his lap.
He glanced at Lord Patin sitting in his chair, pretending to look at his fingernails rather than Shadach.
Picking up the quill, Shadach said, “I will, of course, be leaving one final piece of information out of the letter. I will send it to you in one month’s time. ”
Lord Patin’s gaze snapped to Shadach faster than the daggers he’d been throwing earlier. “Excuse me?”
“If I give you every piece of information now,” Shadach began writing, “what’s to stop you from killing me before I leave your home?”
Shadach paused to glance at Lord Patin. Judging from the tight set of his lips, that was precisely what Lord Patin had been planning to do.
“And what’s to stop you from never sending me the last of the information?” Lord Patin spat.
“We already established that.” Shadach returned to his writing. “The fact that you might kill every Halcin in this city.”
“I’ll do it.” Lord Patin fumed through gritted teeth. “If in exactly one month that information isn’t here, I’ll kill them all, political and legal repercussions be damned.”
“And after you get the information, you’ll find me, kill me, and take back the jewels.” Shadach didn’t look up from his writing.
“It’s a distinct possibility.” There was a smile in Lord Patin’s voice.
If Lord Patin wanted to come after Shadach in a month’s time, so be it.
The God willing, Shadach would be Emperor by then and Lord Patin wouldn’t be able to get close to him.
Although, Lord Patin would no doubt be the first to raise an army against Shadach in protest of a Halcin Emperor.
Shadach sighed to himself. He wasn’t even Emperor yet and he already had political enemies.
True to his word, Shadach filled the pieces of parchment with, almost, every detail Lord Patin needed to know.
The banks and private residences where Grennen was storing Lord Patin’s stolen money.
The businesses and tradesmen that were helping Grennen siphon that money.
The lords and ladies that had decided Grennen’s soft way with words was easier to swallow than Lord Patin’s harsh demeanour and wanted him to be the Lord of the city instead.
The letter and jewels were exchanged as if they were the kidnapped and the ransom.
The trio of bloody stars was nearly in the centre of the sky as Shadach left Lord Patin’s estate. The jewels hung heavy on his shoulder, but Shadach had never been more grateful for such a burden. He’d done it. He’d really done it. Without sacrificing his morals. Without turning into a monster.
But if not that, then how? Shadach could hear the tavern of Halcin ask. The lightness in Shadach’s heart faltered. They would assume he had swindled Lord Patin’s collection from him. How else could it have been done?
Shadach didn’t want them to think that. He wanted them to know the truth and to have an example of a Halcin finding other ways to win.
To succeed. Then, they could know choosing another path in life was possible.
But in order to do that, Shadach would have to tell them how he had truly negotiated Lord Patin’s jewels.
He would have to tell them he could read Shadows.
What would they do with that knowledge? What if word got out beyond the Halcin? What if people realised someone out there was capable of revealing their darkest secrets? The repercussions of such knowledge being out in the open could be fatal.
Shadach passed an old soup shop that he and his father used to frequent.
It still had the same crooked sign it’d had over twenty years ago.
As Shadach walked by, echoes of a thousand memories of his father danced at the edge of his thoughts.
Then, the words how did you do it? thundered inside his head.
This time, the words came in Aoife’s voice.
Even if Shadach refused to tell the other Halcin, even if he played it off as him simply wanting to drive them mad with curiosity …
he could not do the same to Aoife. She would expect an answer.
Expect the truth. Shadach took a deep breath to calm his nerves.
He would tell her then. Of course, he would tell her.
They’d come this far, didn’t she deserve to know of his greatest power?
A heaviness like boulders in his stomach weighted Shadach as his feet slowed to a stop.
To his right was an alleyway. The alleyway.
It shone red beneath the night’s stars, rubbish and broken glass strewn across the rough ground.
This was where Shadach had run after he’d been told of his father’s death.
This was where he’d fallen to his knees and then fallen apart, far from the judging eyes of those who’d said he’d needed to be strong.
This was where, now, Shadach wondered: what if Aoife tells someone?
What if he told her he could read Shadows, but she didn’t keep his secret?
No, Shadach told himself. Aoife wouldn’t do that.
She’d done nothing but prove herself. I certainly hope you’re right, Mother laughed in his head.
Shadach shook his head to get her out of it, but even as he fought the words, he couldn’t help but wonder: what if Aoife told someone, even if by accident?
His family, his people, everything was riding on him succeeding and becoming Emperor.
If somebody found out what he could do, it could be the end.
The Kingdom could openly revolt against their land being ruled by a man who could unlock their secrets.
Then what would become of the Halcin? Was telling Aoife and proving Mother wrong really worth the potential consequences?
Shadach pulled his gaze from the crimson-tinted alley, the shards of broken glass winking at him beneath the faded light.
He could not tell Aoife. Not right now. No matter how much he cared for her.
No matter if she was the woman that would rule by his side.
Shadach could not endure more death, more lives lost.
The risk was too great.