The Stableboy's shadow (BL)

Chapter 10

When Riley opened his eyes, he could hardly see. The world was dark and fresh and damp; nighttime. The only thing he could hear was the deafening ringing in his ears that didn't seem to calm down and the chirp of crickets nearby. How long had he been out? He tried to sit up but was stopped by a shattering pain in his back and ribs. He moaned through his teeth.

Almost immediately, or so it seemed, a wet rag was pressed to the side of his head, and he hissed. He couldn't jerk away, so he balled his fists instead, digging his fingernails into his palms to displace the pain. The rag moved slowly, gently, up and down a few times before stopping. Riley blinked and tried to open his eyes wider.

It was Percevin, sure enough, pouring water from his waterskin onto the rag. Why was he doing that? He wrung the fabric out and moved to press it back to Riley's wound. the shadowmaster reacted and grabbed his wrist, squeezing a bit. The boy jumped, startled, then leaned in closer to where Riley's head laid.

"What in the hells were you thinking", the Knigth-to-be hissed through clenched teeth.

Yeah. What in the hells had I been thinking, Riley thought. He had drop-kicked one of his assailants in the head, and what for? So the man wouldn't touch the boy? He'd seen red. No one was allowed to hurt that boy. But why?

"I... they..." Riley groaned, wincing as he noticed his jaw throbbed too. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

"They, uh... they're trying to get rid of you."

"What do you mean?"

Riley scoffed and tried to push himself up on his elbows to see the boy properly through his swollen eyes. His whole body protested the movement. He clearly had some broken ribs. When he finally managed to prop himself up, he saw the shock on the Percevin's face.

"If you bring me with them, you're entitled to part of the reward. They're already a dozen. You're extra. I've seen it before."

"These guys have been nothing but kind to me since I met them, which is more than I can say about you", he immediately refuted.

"Yeah sure -because you're still useful to them", Riley snapped. "That guy sure didn't have a knife ready to plant in your back. But hey, I'm just a liar, right? Just wanted one last beating before they chop my head off."

Riley let go of the boy's arm. What had he been thinking. I'm so, so stupid. He shouldn't have cared that the boy was marked for elimination. Percevin didn't respond. They were silent for a moment. Riley's dizziness began to fade, the ringing in his ears growing more bearable. The boy poured some more water on the rag and began cleaning the cuts on Riley's hands.

"Why are you doing this?" Riley growled. "I'm gonna be dead in two days. Go back to your asshole Alessio before it's too late for you too."

"Why aren't you leaving?"

Riley turned toward him. The boy stood there, rag in hand, staring again like he was seeing the thief for the first time. That bloody spark in his eyes was back. Riley frowned, then winced at the tug of pain it caused, urging Percevin to explain himself.

"You said that if you wanted out, you'd already be gone. So why aren't you leaving?"

Riley shrugged and grabbed the bars between them. He tried to pull himself into a sitting position, doing his best to minimize the pain.

"Funny you should ask." he breathlessly scoffed, leaning his shoulder on the bars. "It appears I've misplaced my will to live. It usually comes back."

He gave the best approximation of his signature smirk that his battered face could manage. The boy only frowned and fell silent again. Riley could almost see the gears turning—calculating, connecting dots, weighing new information. Very carefully. Very thoroughly. And then Riley realized: the boy had learned not to ask questions. He'd known people like that, once. People who learned asking things annoyed others and, in order to avoid being a pain in the ass, they would learn to observe. Think. Make connections and explanations in their head. Take time to build their questions like arrows—precise, sparing, necessary.