Page 9 of Shadows and Flames
When we were safe to question the idiot, I shoved them against the brick wall and crossed my arms. A glance to my left, and I saw Elián doing the same thing, miserable longing gone from his gaze. The shifting colors now revealed something… amused? And annoyed.
“Why have you been following us, boyo?”
Chapter Five
Tomás
What the fuck?
“What the fuck?” I hissed at Elián who was crouching to look the little sneak in the eyes. Some gangly kid who had been following us and finally got close enough to snatch.
He tilted his head and looked the kid up and down. “Out with it.” Though his words were short, I caught the tinge of gentleness in them.
The kid didn’t, though. His skin was a few shades lighter than Elián’s, but it paled a couple shades more now being confronted by the both of us. His dark green eyes were wide, and his mouth was parted to reveal a few missing teeth. Why the hell was this child following us, and why was Elián acting like he knew him? Though I was aware he enjoyed teaching the acolytes, for reasons I’d never understand, it wasn’t like he made a habit of interacting with them oranychildren outside of that. Right?
“I—I saw you earlier today. And I w-wanted t-to…”
I rolled my eyes and sunk down to crouch beside Elián. The lad did look like he was going to piss his too-short trousers. With both of us at eye level, he relaxed a fraction, but my hand fisting the front of his tunic didn’t loosen.
“To what?” Elián pressed.
The boy took a breath and opened his mouth to respond, but at the last moment, he swept a questioning glance over the both of us and blurted, “Where are your swords?”
My eyes narrowed at the boy. He’d met Elián when he was working, then. “Gone. Now explain yourself, Marco.” He knew the boy byname?
His little hands tried to pry mine away from him, but I wasn’t going to budge. If this was some sort of trap, the boy some sort of lure, I was going to hold onto him for collateral. Though, he was looking at the both of us with a sort of awe that made me embarrassed for him. His little heart was beating fast, but not as quickly as I’d expect if he was truly terrified. I loosened my grip. Just a little.
“O-okay. Um, um, I j-just, saw you walking down the st-street,” he took a breath, and the air whistled in the gaps of his lost teeth, “and I thought… you know…”
I shook his chest, just a bit, and he clamped his mouth shut, looking at me. “You thought what? I’m growing impatient, boy.”
Now he was afraid. At least of me. Which was laughable because Elián was definitively the more dangerous of the two of us.
He sucked in a quick breath. “I was going to ask to be a Sh-Shadow.”
My stomach dipped.
Elián’s brows rose quickly, and the boy looked frantically back at him. He stammered, “Master Elián, I-I’ve been keeping up on my training like you told me, and I w-want to be a fighter like you.”
I was stunned, but my friend tsked at the boy. “You don’t want to be a Shadow, boyo.”
The lad puffed his chest and looked at him defiantly. So, he did have a bit of fire in him. “Why? Because y-you kill people?”
Nowmybrows flew to my hairline. Yeah, he definitely had fight in him. His heart had calmed considerably, and faced with this denial, it looked like he was prepared to prove himself. I dangled my hand over my crouched leg. “That’s right. Kill and steal and protect. We’re not soldiers, boy. You want to learn to fight and save damsels? Go talk to a city guard or something.” Not that they were useful at all. But no one would ever call a Shadow ‘noble.’
“I don’t want to be a city guard. They’re useless.” The boy all but spat on the ground, and I felt myself softening even more toward him.
“But you know nothing about being a Shadow,” Elián cut in.
He righted his clothing and lifted his chin. “Then tell me. I’ve already heard a lot, and it hasn’t changed my mind.” How old was this kid? Five years or something? He looked gangly, his clothes too small for his body. Did the lad not have enough money for clothes? I glanced at him again, and he seemed clean. A bit more color had returned to his face, and he looked healthy. But there was a wariness under his large eyes. One that sent a curious pang through my chest.
“No,” Elián said, and the boy’s face fell. I clenched my jaw as I saw the sadness on his face while Elián and I stood.
“Perhaps the boy can have supper with us.” What the fuck—what was I even saying. “We were heading that way anyway.”
He looked at me with a bit of hope, and my chest tightened again. Elián shot a questioning glance at me before he reluctantly gave a nod.
“Yeah, yeah, tha-that would be great! Thank you!” The kid gave a full, gap-toothed grin, and I rolled my eyes to keep from returning the favor. I didn’t know what came over me when I’d blurted the invitation, but there was no taking it back now.
