Page 65 of Deathless
“Since she’s currently incapacitated and I’m one of the two most experienced riders here, I’m overriding that decision.”
I stared at him. “What?”
“You’re no longer in charge in her stead. Grudge and I are.” He cocked his head, regarding me like I was mud scraped off his boot. “If you don’t like it, you’re welcome to challenge me.”
Yeah, right. Shadow being thirty years older than me didn’t change the fact that he was one of the deadliest assassins that had ever lived. He’d wipe the floor with me.
“You can’t just override the positionsheput me in,” I argued. “Rori trusted me, and you’re going against her wishes.”
“You are not worthy of the position she put you in,” he answered coldly, then pointed to the bed where she lay motionless. “Andthatis precisely the reason why.”
21
HUDSON
The whole atmosphere changed when Rori’s dad and uncle showed up and decided they were in charge. Now, instead of just waiting anxiously for her to wake up, we were taking orders from a couple of strangers.
Torr made introductions, explaining who they were and that we could trust them. But the guy looked like the ghost of a dog who had been beaten all his life. With Rori still unresponsive and now being stripped of his VP title, he was a shell of his former self.
The day-to-day of being under Shadow and Grudge wasn’t all that different from before, just more regimented. We worked out, practiced shooting and hand-to-hand combat, and learned more about motorcycle mechanics. The days were busy, but we still had free time to chill, talk to Malik if we needed to, or my preference, practice shooting some more.
When we faced off with the cult again, my shots needed to be guaranteed kills. I would not fuck up again.
I spent every available moment of daylight target practicing. Even when the sun went down, I’d go by the house’s exteriorlights until someone yelled that my shots were too loud and they were trying to sleep.
I’d gotten up before sunrise one morning and decided to try arranging the targets so the rising sun would be in my eyes. I had to prepare for everything.
I’d gone a few rounds with two different handguns when the low voice came from behind me. “You’re a good shot.”
Out of habit, I set the gun down and removed the magazine before looking over my shoulder. “Thanks.”
Shadow stood watching with his arms crossed, the bright sun lighting up the hundreds of tiny scars criss crossing over his forearms and biceps. The biggest scar, which cut through his face, made him look especially menacing.
“Why are you shooting into the sun?” He didn’t sound anything but curious as he came forward, squinting and shielding his eyes with one hand.
“Just trying to prepare for anything.”
He made a small grunt of acknowledgment as he scanned the selection of weapons I had laid out to practice with. “It’s good to challenge yourself, but staring into the sun will cause permanent damage. Let’s clean these while we wait for sunset, alright?”
He had already opened a cleaning kit, sat on a tree stump, and taken one of the rifles across his lap. I had little choice but to follow suit.
Shadow waited until I was settled in on the stump next to him, cleaning a .40 caliber handgun, before speaking again. “Ask me what’s been on your mind.”
I froze, my hands holding two pieces of my weapon.
“Go on,” he urged with a gentleness I didn’t expect from such an intimidating man. “It’s alright. I can talk about it.”
I braced myself with a deep breath, praying to Tezca and Astarte that I wasn’t misreading him. “You were a blood bag, weren’t you? For the cult.”
“Yes, I was.” He smoothed an oiled cloth down the rifle barrel with care.
“For how long?” Going off of how extensively scarred he was, I’d have to guess years.
“First twenty years of my life, give or take a few.”
I dropped the pieces I was holding, feeling a strange mix of awed and horrified. “Twenty years? From childhood to...”
Shadow nodded, continuing with his calm, almost meditative cleaning of the weapon. “I was born into the cult and had just reached adulthood when I got out. At least, I think so. I never did find out exactly how old I am. They don’t keep birth certificates for us, you know?”
