“He doesn’t even offer Absolution, does he?”
I pull my head back at that.
Her eyes brighten as if I’ve given her the answer she was looking for. She climbs another step. “He didn’t even tell you that’s an option? A Shadowbane who has been chosen for Absolution can request that his entire crew be made Sinless with him.”
My stomach tangles itself in knots. Dominic could…request we be made Sinless too? None of us would want that, but shouldn’t hehave at least offered? Isn’t that what his kind want—a world of Sinless? Instead, he offered us an escape from the continent.
Her lips pull into a pout that isn’t even remotely convincing. “Why is he so cold to his Summoners? Why is he so cruel?”
I shake my head and proceed a few steps higher. “We’re done here.”
“Perhaps he wants to ensure none of you live long enough to tell his secrets,” she says, stalling me yet again. “Is it true he captures Shades, keeps them in vials?”
I press my lips tight. I may not trust Dominic, but I trust this Summoner even less. And while I assumed capturing Shades was common practice for Shadowbanes—just not public knowledge—the way she says it makes me think her master does not do the same. But why?
As far as I’ve gleaned, Dominic only captures Shades that have imitated his appearance. Everyone knows that once a Shade wears your face, it will relentlessly hunt you until it consumes your body. What else could he do to prevent it from seeking to Incarnate?
Then I remember what Henderson said about the dragon. How he thought the mayor should have sacrificed villagers to tempt the Shade to Incarnate, after which the monster could be killed. Is that how most Shadowbanes handle Shade threats? Is that how they rid themselves of ones who’ve made them targets, by giving them someone else to copy instead? If Shades can only be calmed or temporarily dispersed, but Incarnates can be permanently killed…
Yes, of course that’s what other Shadowbanes would do.
Does that mean Dominic captures Shades out of compassion?
If so, is that a good or bad thing?
A strange feeling writhes in my gut. I know I should hate the Shades. They kill people. They hunger for our flesh. Yet I’ve never been able to hate them the way I hate the Sinless. And the thought of Dominic treating both Shades and humans with care, valuing innocent lives rather than making a sacrifice for a faster kill…it makes me uneasy. And I don’t know in what way.
“I’m not interested in whatever you’re trying to stir up here,” I say over my shoulder.
“Rykar Bodin,” she says, an eager look on her face. “Is the older male in your party named Rykar Bodin?”
My pulse quickens. Though he only told us his name once, Bard did say it was Rykar. After which he begged us not to call him that. I deliver my lie with ease. “I haven’t a clue who you’re talking about.”
Her expression darkens. “Lying is a sin.”
“I’m an artist. I’m already a sinner.”
“Summoner work is a holy path.” Her voice trembles with fervor. “A path of atonement. If you seek Absolution, that is. What do Dominic Graves’s Summoners seek?”
Survival,I want to say, but she doesn’t deserve my honest answer. So I lift a roll from the basket, tear into it, and mutter a muffled “bread” before proceeding up the stairs. Thank the fucking gods she doesn’t follow me again.
My anger grows in the wake of our conversation, and I chew my bite with a vengeance. As I reach the top of the stairs, I nearly leap out of my skin.
Dominic leans against the wall outside the stairwell, arms crossed, posture relaxed.
I toss the other half of my roll back in the basket. “What? Wanted to make sure I didn’t sell you out?”
He pushes off the wall and heads for the stairs that lead to the loft. “I’m not the only person I was worried about.”
I follow him. “You thought I would betray the others?”
“I worried her interest was inyou,Inana.” My stomach flips at the sound of my name on his lips. Even more so when he meets my eyes over his shoulder. “You’d do well to avoid her, Henderson, and any of his other Summoners.”
I cut him a glare. “I wasn’t trying to make friends. Do you think they did it? Did his crew create the dragon?”
“I’d be more surprised if it wasn’t him,” he says. We slowly climb the stairs, a step at a time. “Henderson and I…we have a tense history. This isn’t the first time he’s tried to sabotage me, but it’s the first time he’s put so many innocents at risk to do so.”
“You can’t report him to the church?”
