Night's Cold Embrace

Part III: The Arisen - Chapter 20

Part III: The Arisen

Chunks of rubble and gritty dust crunched underneath each of the pair of footfalls, the sound grating against the surrounding silence. The havoc of the night seemed almost dreamlike from a distance, the noise muted and faraway and impossibly faded in the background. Screams of terror, anguish, joy, and freedom came from every district of the City, yet despite everything the old docks remained as unsuspecting and discreet as usual.

Neither Garrett nor Isabella had spoken since they'd left Stonemarket. He'd kept his eye on her, making sure she couldn't slip away. Oddly enough, he got the sense she was doing the same to him. Why she'd think he would leave when he obviously had questions that needed answering, he didn't know.

As soon as they'd cleared the main street, Garett shot his hand out to grab her wrist and drag her down a darkened alley. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough to send the message that she didn't have a say in the matter. He released her when they turned the corner, and motioned to a rope hanging from above. Isabella gave an indignant huff, but roughly grabbed ahold of it and started to ascend. Garrett followed closely behind.

He swung off into the cold, dank room above. He had found the apartment long ago while clearing a job for Basso, and discovered its last owner had perished from the Gloom. No one had set foot in it since. It was the perfect hideout.

Isabella crinkled her nose at the thick layer of dust and soot that lined the crates and mattress within, but took a seat on the bed nonetheless. Garrett leaned against the deadlocked door opposite her, taking a moment to gather his thoughts and decide where to start. He decided to go for the obvious.

"Who are you really?" He asked.

She took a deep breath before answering. "I am who I've always been. Just Isabella."

Garrett crossed his arms. "Why did the Baron send his army of the dead and the Thief-Taker General for 'just Isabella'? Why does he want to kill you?"

"I- I don't know... really," she added when he scoffed. "I don't. All I know is he is very intent on seeing me dead."

He studied her closely as she answered. The exasperation and dejectedness pouring out of her suggested to him that she was telling the truth. But then again, someone that had misled him for so long would be a good liar. He pressed on.

"Your parents seem the type to have reliable private guard on hand. Why didn't they protect you?"

At the mention of her family, Isabella lowered her eyes. If it weren't for her deception, Garrett would've felt a pang of guilt for bringing up the people who were very likely crushed under a pile of rubble if not charred to a crisp in the still blazing fires. For now, any sympathy he may've had for the girl was gone.

"There was no protection to be had there. The night you broke into our home, after you'd fled, I overheard them talking. Whatever you stole was of great importance to them, and to the Baron. So much so that they were considering sacrificing me to save themselves."

"I take it you're not exactly the picture of a perfect family then."

Isabella sighed. "We have a complicated history. For the most part they've done alright by me - perhaps more than they needed to. But they were who they were in the City because they were ruthless. I only thought I was immune to it... clearly that was foolish of me."

"Why would your life buy them theirs?" He asked, refusing to fall for her pity ploy however genuine it might've been.

"I don't know," she repeated. She quickly continued when she saw the look on his face. "They mentioned some kind of deal with the Baron, something about keeping the tome safe in exchange for our lives, that they had to accept what losing the tome would mean for me."

When she saw that she had his attention again, she continued. "I wouldn't let myself become a pawn in their game for power. So I ran. I don't know what I really mean - meant - to them anymore."

There was a mistiness to her eyes, and her cheeks had grown wet with the few silent tears that had escaped her. Garrett chose to ignore it.

"I lived at St. Mary's for a time. My parents smuggled me out there when the Gloom first broke out. There was a sister there, Sister Agatha. She taught me everything I know about medicine."

Garrett racked his brain. The church sounded familiar. It was a day's journey outside the town, and down a path seldom travelled by the locals. Not the smartest choice in his view, but not the most foolish either.

"What were you gonna do, join the convent and live out your days as a nun?"

"I'll admit it wasn't my finest plan, but who else was I to turn to? The Baron has eyes and ears everywhere here." As if fearing something might burst into the room at that very moment, Isabella cautiously eyed the door. "It was a stroke of luck we crossed paths when we did. Between the Baron's men and our new revolutionists, I wouldn't have made it a step outside the borders."

"Clearly not," he retorted. "If it weren't for me, you'd be lying dead in the Baron's courtyard."

Satisfied that the woman herself was harmless, Garrett took a seat on the wooden crate beside the bed with a groan. With all of the excitement the night had brought, he'd failed to recognize how battered his body still was.

"So why keep all this from me?" He asked after a moment's pause.

Isabella stopped mid-breath, then turned her head to look at him. Her eyes held a weariness ill-suited to someone as young as her. "I just wanted to leave it behind. All of it. What better way to hide than to live in the shadows with the most wanted yet elusive man in the City?"

Garrett let out a deep breath and hung his head. He still didn't have the answers he'd hoped would explain what exactly the Baron wanted with him, or how they'd found him in what was once his sanctuary. That was just another thing to add to the list. Find a new safe spot. One that wasn't the size of a shoebox and didn't reek of death. That and decide what he would do with the woman who was proving to be a lot more trouble than she was worth, if she did have any at all.

He wondered if dumping her here and now would still mar his conscience. She had enough skills under her belt to survive if she was careful enough. Maybe. Clearly she had the smarts to stick with him and evade capture thus far.

To his dismay, a nagging feeling of something close to fondness struck him. He wasn't one to need or even feel the urge to seek company, but there was a part of him that looked forward to passing on the teachings of his trade. To do it right. In some ways, to do right by her. If not for her sake then for his own. Still, it was a dangerous game he was playing. If he were to keep her with him, he'd have to tread very carefully.

"My turn now," Isabella broke the silence. The assuredness she once more possessed caught him off guard. "What business did you have with that tome you stole?"

She looked to him expectantly, eyes searching for something that wasn't there. When he only stared at her she inched forward, sending a plume of dust into the stale air. He stifled a cough but refused to move.

"You did almost bring about my death by taking it. Surely you can indulge me this one request." Even now, there was almost that faint hint of humour that lightened her tone.

While he didn't particularly enjoy being put in the hot seat, he figured there would be no harm in divulging the answer. "It was just a job. A client wanted the scripture; I got it for them."

Her eyes lit up at his response. "Who was it? We must go to them. Maybe they have the answers we need."

"I never met him. It was my fence who gave me the job." He nodded his head vaguely to the left. "We can ask him now — he's waiting at the tavern here."

"You don't think it's actually safe for us? To be out in public?"

Against the wishes of his aching body, Garrett pushed himself upright and made for the exit. A quick examination of the alley below revealed that they were still alone, as was to be expected in the long abandoned shipping ports of the City.

"Believe me, no one we have to worry about will be there."

He had already rappelled to the ground before she could respond. After only a moment of hesitation, Isabella followed suit.