Shadows of a Broken Past: A Shard of Faith (Book one)

Chapter 22:

Jimmy stalked into Mythland, seething in rage as he stomped through the streets. Rain was pouring down around him, making his footsteps create small splashes as he stormed through the capital city. It was nighttime now, and the Codfather was really regretting his decision to leave the Grimlands so abruptly, as he had accidentally forgotten his elytra there. 

As he went, Jimmy thought he spotted a shadow in an alleyway up ahead. The shadow had frozen for a few moments before vanishing. 

He narrowed his eyes and hurried over to the alley, spinning into it and seeing the shadowy figure -who he could now identify as someone wearing a long, dark cloak and dark clothes- slip into a door and close it. Jimmy ran after them, ducking inside the doorway and coming face-to-face with a long stairwell. That was the only thing in the little pod. 

The door clicked shut with a thunk, latching behind him. 

Jimmy frowned, but slowly started walking down the stairs. The walls were slightly damp, and the steps made of stone beneath his feet were just a bit slippery. As he went down, he passed a lantern above a sign that read: 'Watch your step'. Jimmy rolled his eyes as he kept going, then almost instantly tripped over his own tail. He stumbled down a few steps before grabbing the wall for stability. 

As Jimmy slowly made it down, he finally came upon another door. Frowning, he twisted the knob. "Where...?" He murmured as he opened it and was almost immediately stabbed by a dagger. "AH!"

"Who are you, and why did you follow me here?" The woman before him, who Jimmy quickly recognized as the cloaked person he was following before. "Do you work for the king?" 

Jimmy glared at her, his fins flattening to his head as he scanned her up and down. Her long black hair was tied up in a ponytail, and her skin was paper-white, but her dark eyes made for quite the ghostly, vampiric look. "I don't." He said. "I'm from the Cod Empire. Obviously." He gestured to his tail.

The woman glared at him, but lowered her arm and put away her dagger in a pouch under her cloak. "Not really. We've got Oceanfolk who live here too, not just humans." She turned away. "Don't speak of the ruler of Mythland down here, just as a warning." She pulled her hood down and walked down the tunnel and into the crowd. 

Jimmy blinked and started walking down the tunnel after her, glancing up at the sign just over the entrance. "'Nightdale'." He tilted his head. "Odd. I don't remember this being a city in Mythland."

He walked in, and immediately a small boy ran over to him. "Hey mister!" He called, waving up at him. He was wearing a white tunic with a hood that was lying around his shoulders and dark gray pants with knee-high brown boots. His short brown hair was a mess, but his face was cheerful. "Are you new? You don't have the same clothes as everyone here." 

Jimmy glanced down at him. "You could say that." He said evenly. 

The boy grinned. "Who are you?" He asked, grabbing Jimmy's hand and dragging him to a nearby stall. "Here, I'll get you a cloak so that you don't stand out."

Jimmy yelped as the boy dragged him through the crowd. "I'm Jimmy. Who're you?" He asked as he stumbled forward. 

The boy stopped in front of the stall and waved at the owner. "Hey, miss! My friend needs a cloak, do you have one for this amount?" He asked, setting several coins on the counter. 

The shopkeeper looked down at him and smiled. "Of course, dear." She said, taking them and dropping them in the pouch of her coat before pulling a bundle up from under the counter. "Don't lose it!" 

"Thank you, miss Rei!" The boy turned and handed Jimmy the bundle. "Put this on, Jimmy." 

Jimmy nodded and slipped it on, seeing how this one had holes so he could put his arms through. It was more of a sleeveless coat than a cloak. "What's your name?" He repeated.