Shadows Fade frowned; that was a blatant and poor quality lie. Why though? Maybe all highborn white folk were like this, capricious and odd, claiming sovereignty over facts and people as well as land. Shadows Fade had certainly not encountered someone like her before and she was glad of that.
Godly Claw growled, mimicking her annoyance once more. Though her eyes remained closed, Shadows Fade reached out with perfect awareness of where the wolf was and stroked her.
Then she concentrated on her new knowledge; she knew a lot more about the area now, enough that she and Godly Claw could operate alone as part of any plan the Wanting Man wanted to form. Useful as this information would be, it wasn’t enough to warrant Godly Claw calling her out here.
Shadows Fade shifted through the wolf’s memories like a hunter moving through tall grass until she found the reason why; Godly Claw had detected something strange and powerful stored in the chapel. Panic and animal fear tinted the memory, which helped it stand out but also obscured its meaning. It didn’t help that Spirit Animals were unable to process things the same way a human would and so the smell and taste this object left in the air had been unintelligible to Godly Claw.
After some close scrutiny, Shadows Fade realised the wolf had sensed Soul Waters, a great power taken directly from the core of a person’s being. Somehow the Soul Waters had a hint of That Which Sins in their aura, which was ludicrous enough that she double-checked this with Godly Claw. But the wolf confirmed that was true.
That explained why these Soul Waters held more power than any Shadows Fade had ever known… which in turn explained why dark spirits were closing in; they would be drawn to such power like flies to a corpse, unable to resist that much strength. The mystery lay in why the corrupted Soul Waters were in the hands of a holy man like the Father…
If she were with any other person, Shadows Fade would now be planning on seizing the Soul Waters. But the Wanting Man would be able to detect them as well as Godly Claw and so would act accordingly.
If not, Resistance would guide him.
“Anything else?” Eleanor Naismith asked. She idly smacked her lips again. Such an impatient girl.
Shadows Fade opened her eyes and stood. “Only the lay of the land,” she said. If Eleanor could hoard the truth then so could she. “But that is a lot and useful.”
If Eleanor Naismith noticed the deception, she didn’t show it. Instead, she looked around them, taking in the horizon. “Just think, they’re out there; the fiends of the Badlands. Waiting for us. Ready for us.”
Was that another white folk thing, stating the obvious? Or was Eleanor Naismith wanting to get something from Shadows Fade? She couldn’t tell. So she simply ignored the girl and looked down at Godly Claw.
“We must separate again, though not for long,” she thought to the wolf. “I believe that I shall come for you tonight and we will hunt.”
Godly Claw stood, loosened their bond like it were a shawl, then ran into the desert. Shadows Fade watched her go. It hurt to do so, a dull ache in her heart.
“Do you think you’ll fight alongside her tonight?” Eleanor Naismith asked. She stepped into Shadows Fade’s line of sight to steal her attention but she would get no such thing. Godly Claw had the warrior’s full concentration until she had disappeared behind an outcrop of rock and was definitely gone.
“Shadows Fade?” the girl prompted.
“I think so,” she said. Her eyes remained fixed on the outcrop. “You white folk tend to be uncomfortable in the presence of my people’s powers so this band probably won’t want me or Godly Claw near their chapel.”
Eleanor Naismith put a hand on her shoulder. Every instinct in Shadows Fade told her to stab at it. “It’s a real shame, the way those kinds of people treat you. There should be more tolerance in the world.”
“There should be more of many things,” Shadows Fade replied, astonished at the girl’s lack of self-awareness.
“True,” Eleanor Naismith said, nodding as though she’d heard ancient wisdom from a chieftain. “That is very true.” Then her tone and stance changed and she seemed bored. “Come on, let’s get back.”
Shadows Fade followed her. Tonight would be interesting, if only because she might learn more about Eleanor Naismith. Though she were looking forward to to roaming her lands once more, it might almost be a shame to miss seeing how the girl fought, how she reacted when faced with the dark spirits of the Three.
Almost a shame but not really. Helping this band was important but the warrior would rather do so whilst maintaining her own work. And launching surprise attacks on those helping the dark spirits or picking the creatures off before they got into town would achieve just that.
Shadows Fade and Eleanor Naismith walked back to the chapel. In the distance, Godly Claw howled her readiness.
