Or would everything change, assuming we succeeded? Would the Empty recede, and new lands arise? Or would it simply halt, and life would continue on as I’d always known it?
Shouldering my bag, I walked back inside. A quiet hum hung over the inn’s common room; Percy leaned on the counter, chatting with a middle-aged barmaid.
A married barmaid, judging by the tattoo burned into her finger, but neither seemed to mind. I briefly wondered if he preferred older women, but he stood straight as a much younger barmaid walked by with a tray of drinks and winked.
Percy preferred women with a pulse, then. He noticed me and waved with enthusiasm. Raising my hand in response, I wondered if his affable nature was an act.
Nearly everyone I’d known concealed their true nature behind more palatable masks.
Trotting up the stairs, I hesitated by Eleos’ cracked door. He sat inside, scrawling away at a journal stuffed head to toe with orderly notes. I raised my hand to knock, hesitated, and turned away.
“Come in,” Eleos said softly.
Standing in the door frame, I cleared my throat. “Last chance to stock up before we hit the road. Need me to get anything for you?”
“I don’t think so.” He looked up from his notes. “Surprising, isn’t it? I once gave Percy a simple math equation to solve, and it took him two weeks to come up with the wrong answer. Yet, the ladies seem to like him.”
“Most ladies don’t require maths from their suitors.”
“Where I come from, they do.” He brushed his light brown hair behind his ears. “I’ve never seen a forger at work. Care to show me how it’s done?”
“It’s boring work, really.” I pulled out my journal and flipped it open, laying it on his desk. “I kept loads of reference documents on me. Eventually, you start to memorize how they’re written.” I shooed him. “Move for a second.”
Eleos half-complied, shifting to take up only half the seat when I’d meant for him to vacate it. Shrugging, I sat on my half and dipped my quill into his pot of ink.
“Transfer orders are usually brief,” I said. “I just need our prisoner’s name.”
“Burgundy Rose.”
I snorted. “That’s his name?”
“No. Nobody knows his identity.” Eleos ran a hand over his eyes. “Always wears a mask, sneaks to his target’s location without being seen, then disappears into the shadows. As for the name, I think it came from a famous play.”
Plays were luxuries I’d never been able to afford. Wrinkling my nose, I leaned my elbow on the desk. “Who’s the character? A thief?”
“Thief. Assassin. Charming rogue,” Eleos said.
“Is he a murderer?” I asked, biting my lip as I concentrated.
“Depends on who you ask. Some call him that. Others, an assassin. And fewer, a hero.” He watched me with interest. “Have you done this before?”
“Actually, I have. It was a much smaller prison, though, so security was somewhat lax.” I chuckled, quickly scrawling a mock order. “Percy will have to show me how his father signs his name, but that’s pretty much it. Seal it with wax, and most won’t know the difference.”
“Look like you belong, and nobody asks questions.”
“You’d be surprised how well it works.” Wiping off the quill, I smiled at him.
I hadn’t spoken to many priests. When envisioning them, I pictured old men. Bald. Probably a little pudgy. Or, young and scrawny.
But a man with brilliant eyes, handsome features, and beautifully soft hair that fell in gentle waves around his face? Tracing my eyes over his locks, I resisted the urge to touch them.
Eleos blinked. “It occurs to me we don’t know anything about each other.”
“Whose fault is that?” I snapped out of my trance. “You dodge all my questions and read my mind.”
“Thoughts,” He corrected me. “I read thoughts. They’re often emotions, scattered and erratic. Even if I could peer into someone’s heart, I wouldn’t.”
“I see.” Glancing away, I studied the curtains swaying in the breeze. Did I really think about Ainwir so often? I needed a new hobby.
