The Dragon Chase: A Tale of the Everburning City

Chapter 4: Gerald

Much like the Apprentice hall, the streets on the path to the docks were mostly deserted. There is a nightlife in the clubs, for both the exuberant and the refined, but that life did not spill over into their path. The stone walkways were empty, and the fire-lamps that lined every street in the City burned without witnesses.

It reminded Gerald, in a way, of what the City might look like should the Gloam conquer it.

His master lead the small troupe, her hurried pace the only overt sign of her excitement. Her march gave no regard to the distance her companions kept, which gave Gerald a much-needed opportunity to talk to his master's shadow.

"Does that happen often?" Gerald asked. He didn't bother to elaborate, confident his master's shadow wouldn't need it.

"It does," Mathias admitted, without preamble. Gerald knew Mathias to be blunt and direct, unless necessary. It was an odd accompaniment to the secretive nature of his work.

"Worse, lately?" Gerald asked.

"It will always be worse. Scourged is a condition no one recovers from," Mathias said. The shadow glanced at him and added, "But she retains her control and her sense of self. Her temper is worse if something threatens her work, or you."

"You're not-" Gerald asked, but swallowed his words when Mathias shot him a hard look.

"I will do what I must when I must. Do not question my work, or the need for it," the shadow said, his voice a hard, harsh whisper that shook Gerald as he listened.

Gerald nodded, but Mathias wasn't finished with his rebuke. He didn't see the shadow move until a hand grabbed Gerald by the collar and pulled him off balance.

This close, Gerald could see the rage in Mathias' eyes, even beneath the shadows of his hat. "Very few people have earned the right to question my judgement. You, boy, are not among them."

Mathias released his coat and pushed him away. "Especially when you're too enamoured with your own brains to notice the dangerous position you've been put in," he added.

Gerald's curiosity twitched in the back of his mind, despite the harshness of the angry shadow's words. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Mathias stepped away and turned to follow Tabitha. Gerald did the same, waiting silently for an answer.

"You've been assigned a shadow."

The words struck him like a blow. "A shadow! No apprentice has ever been assigned one! Even full Crafters go up to a decade without having to put up with a weekly tag-along," Gerald exclaimed.

"And the failures are assigned one immediately. This doesn't bode well for your future," Mathias said.

"What prompted this?" Gerald asked.

"Think, boy. You're good at it. Yours is the third longest apprenticeship in the history of the Guild. Your grades are a matter of public record, you have been an active part of a secret project for over three years, and you've proven a theory about the Gloam itself. Why aren't you a Crafter?" Mathias asked, fierce and direct.

Gerald hesitated before answering. "It's the Airships. The secrecy is easier to maintain if I'm an apprentice. My studies and research are kept in-house, as long as I have a Master looking over my shoulder. She's obliged to share her research, not mine," he noted, thinking aloud.

Mathias turned away from him and nodded. "So you have a handle on the reasoning. Not that she's ever told you. She's worse at sharing than my three-year-old niece. Now, without knowing that you're a lead researcher on a top-secret project, what conclusion would my Bureau come to if they saw your records?"