Page 19 of Shadow Weaver
I couldn’t help but smile. “In that case, I’d like to help.”
She blinked in surprise at me. “You would?”
“Financially. Trust me, I have the money, and I can’t think of a better way to use it.”
She beamed at me. “You know, Justice. I think you and I are going to be good friends.”
The Minnie-shaped hole closed a little. “Yeah, I think we are.”
Six
The mist thinned the higher we climbed up the rise to the fortress that looked down onto the mist. It was a sprawling black and gray structure, proud and ominous, watching us approach with suspicion through its many lean gothic windows. Windows set in towers jutting up here and there.
Armor clanked, and boots thudded in time to my heartbeat.
We were here. Really here. Shit, my stomach was in knots of anticipation.
Harmon and Thomas walked ahead just behind Master Vince, and Mal and Gimble were several steps behind us. It had been a few weeks since I’d crossed paths with those two. They were under another troop’s mentorship, and from the looks of it, they were now friends. I guessed when someone fed you their blood to save your life, you’d have to be a total douche not to put aside your prejudices and offer a hand of friendship.
They chatted amiably as we made our way up the winding path toward the monolith that housed the shadow knights. The mist thinned more as we got higher, and then the night air was clean and crisp. My back felt light without my axes strapped to it, but Vince had insisted we leave the weapons behind.
Finally, we reached the entrance.
The double doors were several meters high, too heavy for one person to pull open. Maybe a winch system? Vince knocked on the wood, and a smaller door cut into the larger frame swung open to admit us.
He ushered us inside, and dry chill kissed my cheeks. The floor was flagstone, the walls were large brick, and the ceilings were high and beamed. Old-style lamps hung on metal hooks bolted to the walls, and thick candles burned in candelabras nestled in nooks in the wall. A stone staircase peeked from an aperture hewn into the wall to the left, and another staircase was visible to the right. A set of wooden steps faced us, leading up to a grand balcony lined with candles.
This was a proper old structure. A castle.
“Shit,” Thomas said. “I feel like I’ve stepped back in time.”
“No electricity up here,” Vince said. “Oil lamps and roaring fires. A hot stone ta warm ya beds and a stiff brandy ta warm ya belly.” He rubbed his hands together. “This, cadets, will be home.”
A shiver of pleasure hop-skipped up my spine and settled at the base of my neck. Boot falls echoed around us, and then a figure stepped out of the staircase to the left. Dark eyes, tight, dark curls, and a face I’d missed more than I’d realized.
Brady.
My heart lurched at the sight of him.
His gaze locked on mine and warmed. I wanted to say something, to go to him, but I checked myself. Whoa? Where had this urge come from?
And then he was addressing us as a group. “Master Venerick’s waiting in the courtyard. Follow me.”
“Off with ya then.” Vince shooed us toward Brady.
Brady strode off, his huge frame leading the way around the main staircase and down a dimly lit corridor. We passed under an arch and then clattered down a flight of steps and into a huge room filled with tables and the clatter of pots and pans.
“Kitchens,” Brady said, even though it was evident from the pots and pans.
Except there was no one manning them. The pots hovered above the huge trough of a sink while a scouring pad scrubbed at them. A cauldron bubbled above the flames of a large fireplace while the ladle propped inside turned itself.
“What the fuck?” Harmon spoke the words that were going through everyone’s minds.
Brady stopped and glanced at the scene and then pursed his lips. “Hobbloods,” he said. “They’re shy.”
A soft murmur raced across the room, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention.
“They won’t hurt you, but the kitchens are their domain, so take nothing without asking. Understand?” He didn’t wait for a response, but pushed open a thick wooden door and led us out into the starlit night.
