Those Who Would Not Be Gods

15. Ships in the Night

Edith found them at last. It had taken her all day to find them, searching in the alleys, the bars, anywhere she could stick her nose. They weren't at the place she'd met them last time, a room on the second story of a seedy tavern on the edge of town, but she hadn't exactly expected to meet them there. They were hard people to find. Had been since the first time she'd sought them out. But she'd found them then, and she was determined to find them again.

She was a bit surprised to find them loitering in an alley around the corner from a similar tavern. Despite evidence to the contrary, they hadn't struck her as the kind to hang around taverns, much less ones as noisy as this one. It sounded like a riot was going on in there. But a success was a success. Edith started for them. "About my magic—"

"So you have everything?" the man in the green cloak asked quietly, turning something over in his hand. Edith caught the glitter of metal before Cajetan took it back. She paused at the edge of the corner, just out of sight. Was she intruding?

"Short of the stone itself," Cajetan replied.

A deep green hood bobbed as the man nodded. "Then tonight," he declared.

Tonight? Edith's heart hammered in her chest. But wait, they hadn't given her back her magic yet! They couldn't do it afterwards, right? The whole Shrine would be after them!

She stepped out around the corner. Cajetan jumped, and something flickered in his hand, a knife there for just a moment before it was gone again. "My magic," she started. "When are you going to give it to me?"

The green cloak turned towards her. For a second, the light of the soulstream caught the face behind the silver mask. Edith got a glimpse of pale skin and an eye so clouded by cataracts that it was almost pure white. Fear crept up her spine, tingling in her stomach. Fear, and...disgust? She didn't know, except that something was wrong. This was something she couldn't, shouldn't be seeing. Then green velvet fell into place again. The man's face was once more obscured by shadow. As if released from a spell, the sensation vanished. Edith breathed out, relief flooding through her that she didn't understand any more than she understood why she'd been afraid in the first place.

"Once everything is settled," he said. His voice sounded faded, rougher than the last time she'd heard it. Like it was wearing out. "We haven't confirmed anything. You will be rewarded... but only once we succeed."

Edith looked at him, then at Cajetan, who was giving her a look of disgust, as ever. Once they succeeded. "But what about—"

A dry hand settled on top of her head, heavy green velvet draping across her face. "Have faith."

The man walked away. Cajetan, his shadow, stood there for a second, then gave Edith a smirk and followed after him. She stared after the both of them, stricken into silence, then broke it with a grimace. "—the Shrine, and the guards, and you won't be able to stay in town, so how will I find you?" she muttered at their backs. They had magic, so of course they didn't care about her and hers. As soon as they had that dumb stone, they'd forget all about her. It wasn't fair, it wasn't—but that didn't matter. It was reality.

There was only one way to ensure she got her magic back: get to the stone first. If she had that stone they cared about so much, she'd be able to trade it in for her magic. There'd be no forgetting about her then. Edith stomped towards the gate of the Schola. She'd find Raff, or Sab, get into that stupid music room, and get there first!

--

Exhaustion set the tone as Raff trod towards the Schola gates. Sleep was right there, waiting for him on the other side of those doors. Going out had been a mistake. He sighed out and stopped at the gates, reaching for his key. He should've listened to Sab's advice. This was definitely 'something stupid.'