Chapter 19
Chapter nineteen
A Slice of Normal
If I was going to sneak into the Citadel Library, I’d need some help. Since Darion could no longer get involved, I turned to the only other person I knew who might have some ideas.
I knew of no fewer than three ways to get into the Charred Snake without being seen.
Today I sneaked in through the back window of the kitchen.
Hiding in the shadows, I threw a snap-flare across the room into the smoldering hearth.
As everyone in the main hall turned to watch the fire erupt in an explosion of sparks, I slipped into Garrick’s office quietly.
Garrick looked up from his desk, his face tinged with annoyance. “Cas, I told you to wait before coming back.”
“I was discreet.”
“And yet I still don’t have a job for you, so you wasted a trip.”
“I’m not here for a job,” I said.
Garrick lifted his eyebrows. “Why do I get the sense that I’m not going to like this?”
“Did you know?” I asked.
Garrick gave me a look that said, I’m not falling for that one. You’ll have to tell me what you’re talking about.
The din of the room outside hid our voices from prying ears, but I still approached him and spoke in a hushed tone. “Did you know that I’m Emberborn?”
Garrick’s eyes opened slightly, but any trace of surprise was gone in a heartbeat. “I didn’t know. I suspected.”
“You suspected?”
“Your uncanny memory, your speed and stealth, and your ability to climb up a damn wall without so much as a crack…when I was a much younger man, I knew Emberborn who could do similar things, but never all of them. And then there was your parents’ death. It all added up.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because that’s not the kind of thing you speculate about openly. It often has the nasty side effect of getting you killed,” Garrick said dryly. “How did you find out?”
“It’s complicated.”
“I have time,” Garrick said. “And as long as we’re telling truths, maybe you can tell me what really happened the night you broke into Orlik’s house. I’m guessing it’s related?”
As usual, Garrick was sharp as a whip. I suspected that this conversation might lead to that question.
After opening up to Elena, I was learning to appreciate the benefits of not keeping secrets from people I trusted.
And yet I still hesitated. I closed my eyes, let out a long breath, then let the words flow.
“I ran into another thief when I was stealing the gold. I could sense that he was Emberborn,” I said. “Which I recently found out is an Emberborn ability.”
“Dust, Cas, you have Veilsense?”
“Yes. Same as the Sentinels, as much as that sickens me.”
Garrick’s face looked as sour as I’d ever seen it. “What happened to the thief?”
“He was after a book in the safe. We did the thief’s parlay. He took the book, and I took the gold.”
Garrick nodded. “That explains why the Sentinels showed up here. What was in the book?”
“It was about Emberborn and how the Crown corrupts them.”
“And why did you choose not to tell me about all this?” Garrick asked, and his tone didn’t sound too accusatory. He seemed genuinely curious. We’d been partners for years and rarely kept secrets without good reason.
I considered for a moment how much to tell him, but I owed him an explanation, especially since this involved him now. The only thing I wasn’t ready to reveal was any personal details about Darion and me.
“The thief is a member of the Order of Emberlight. He invited me to the Emberlight Trials. I was worried that telling you would disqualify me.”
“Ah,” Garrick said, nodding. “This is starting to make sense. That explains why you needed the catacombs map.”
I nodded.
Garrick sat back and let out a long sigh. “You really are in deep, aren’t you, Cas?”
“So it would seem.”
“I know you’re an adult, and I’m not here to lecture you, but the Emberlight Trials? Isn’t that dangerous? Those are designed to weed people out, not let them in. What about your sister?”
“Elena’s showing signs of being Emberborn,” I said. “I could sense her Ember, and that means the Sentinels will be able to sense her too if her Ember ever manifests.”
“Oh.” Garrick frowned. “Well, that does complicate things.”
“Just the other day, we saw the Sentinels murder a man simply because his Emberborn daughter was taken away and he spoke up about it.” Saying that out loud made me unexpectedly emotional, and my throat constricted. I had to choke back tears. “I can’t lie low anymore.”
“I understand,” Garrick said. “So what do you need from me?”
“A way to get into the Citadel Clock Tower.”
Garrick laughed, then stopped when I stayed silent. “Oh, you’re not joking.”
“I’m afraid not.”
Garrick stroked his beard. “Cas, you’re my best man, but this is putting me at tremendous risk.”
He paused, and for a moment, I imagined he was figuring out how to let me down gently.
But then he said, “I have a friend who owes me a favor. He works at the Citadel Library. I’ll need to contact him. For now, go home. I’ll let you know when he responds.” Garrick paused again and looked me right in the eye. “Don’t come back here.”
The first night came and went with no word from Garrick.
I was anxious and jumpy cooped up in our barn. We couldn’t sell herbs during the day, and I didn’t have my usual jobs at night to keep my mind from wandering to dark places.
Thinking of my night with Darion helped.
He had such a calming effect on me, and I longed to see him again.
But when we’d parted, we hadn’t made arrangements to meet again.
We at least knew where each other lived now, since Darion had walked me home after our night together.
But I had no idea when he’d be home, and I couldn’t exactly loiter outside his house and wait for him to return.
So to keep my mind occupied, I spent time with Elena, which was something I meant to do more of anyway, but I had always been so busy.
Since I had revealed my secret life as a thief to her, I was finally able to teach her the fine art of clandestine potioncraft.
Now that everything was becoming more complicated, I owed it to her to give her every advantage.
She took to the craft immediately and found it endlessly fascinating, asking questions and trying experiments with different ingredients.
Later in the evening, we practiced sparring with our dull-bladed rapiers in the spot next to the chicken coop outside our barn.
We continued until dusk, when visibility began to fade.
We finished with a particularly nasty exchange that ended when Elena, through brute force, knocked the sword out of my hand with a loud grunt.
“Ouch,” I cried, shaking my hand, my fingers aching from the brutal impact. “I’ve taught you too well. You’re getting too strong.”
Light clapping came from behind us. In a flash, I spun around, hand on my dagger. “Who’s there?”
Darion sat on a bale of hay with an infuriatingly amused look on his face. “It is I, your adoring fan. That was quite a show, Elena.”
Elena smiled widely. “Not bad, huh?”
“It was masterful,” he said.
It took me a moment for my heart rate to drop. I’d been on edge ever since we’d bumped into The Butcher in the marketplace, and I wasn’t crazy about surprises, but I was happy about this one. Seeing Darion instantly made me feel safer.
I walked over to him, unable to hold back my smile. He stood up as I approached, and our eyes locked. The slightest rosy hue bloomed in his cheeks, which I found adorable. How I could make this grown man blush with a simple look was beyond me. But I enjoyed it.
“Don’t let me stop you,” he said, looking at my sword, which still lay on the ground.
“Oh no,” I said, gesturing him over to the sword. “Be my guest. Show us how a master does it.”
Darion shot me a coy smile and a shrug. He walked over, picked up the sword, and assumed a guard position, pointing it toward Elena.
“Elena, do you accept this challenge?” Darion asked with gravitas and just a hint of playfulness.
“Dust yes!” Elena said, launching immediately into an attack that Darion skillfully parried.
It soon became obvious that Darion was exceptionally skilled with a sword, so much so that he must have had some professional training.
But it was also clear that he had infinite patience and restraint, as he never pressed his advantage, letting Elena set the pace.
He was also a joy to watch, displaying a subtle grace I hadn’t noticed in him before.
Each motion was considered, and each step was well planned.
A tide of emotion swept over me as I watched this beautiful man treating my sister with such respect.
A few times, Elena got an advantage, but Darion always fought back until they were even again.
After the third time this happened, I realized he was intentionally making mistakes to give Elena openings, but he was subtle enough that Elena didn’t pick up on it.
This was his way of keeping her engaged.
I imagined he could win the fight at any moment if he chose.
Only after Elena successfully got her first hit on Darion’s left side did he start a more offensive attack. They continued back and forth, each getting the occasional hit. When dusk turned into night and I could barely see them anymore, they finally called a draw.
“That was excellent, Elena,” Darion said, still panting from the exertion. “Your brother has taught you well.”
“You’re amazing!” Elena beamed. “Will you stay for dinner? We’re making a stew!”
Darion looked my way, and my smile told him everything he needed to know.
“I’d love to,” he said.
During dinner, Elena asked Darion a barrage of sword-fighting questions, which he gracefully answered. He had done an apprenticeship under a sword-master and had won a few tournaments when he was younger.
“Why did you stop?” Elena asked when Darion mentioned that he no longer competed.