Page 71 of Leviathan's Song
I narrowed my eyes at Sidney and frowned, then at Grim and Levi, who didn’t notice anyway because Grim was watching Sidney and Levi was watching his food. It was clear all three of them knew something about the men from the Phantom Order, but how would Sidney have known anything, and why didn’t I need to worry? And why couldn’t I ask? There wasn’t even anyone here within hearing range.
“Whatexactlydo you mean?” I hissed at her under my breath.
“Just… they’re gone, okay? All of them. Poof. Gone.”
I glanced over to find both Grim and Levi watching her with curious eyes as she picked at her food.
“Gone, how?” I whispered.
“Judgment,” Grim answered blandly.
Cold ice shot down my spine, and I shivered involuntarily. “What?” Levi tightened his arm around me.
Grim picked up his beer and took a long pull. “You should continue to guard your safety carefully,” he said evenly, “but these men have been removed.” His words, spoken entirely without emotion, were probably meant to reassure me, but they felt as comforting as a cold gravestone. The skin on the back of my neck prickled, and I was reminded of the fear I felt the first time I met Grim. Perhaps it would have been wise to hold on to that.
“What did you… do?” I asked when I found my voice, unable to tear my eyes away from him. I’d been lulled into complacency by his calm nature and his friendship with Levi, but as I remembered his mad dash upon the back of a wraith, I was reminded that this man... this being… was no tamed thing.
By contrast, he seemed completely at ease. “I submitted a witness statement and official paperwork all the way up the chain. You have nothing to fear for defending yourself.”
“But did they… die? I didn’t want them to die.” I’d purposely armed myself with non-lethal weapons because I didn’t want to kill people. What didremovedmean in this context?
The smallest flicker of disdain was his only reaction before he answered. “All mortals die, Elara.” He paused, watching me, as Levi’s arm tightened around my shoulders, and then sighed, his countenance softening the smallest amount. “They were weighed and found wanting. Know that you’re not the only person they intended to harm.”
He met my eyes evenly, his face a mask of indifference. My shoulders dropped. Of course this was a bigger issue than just me.
“Thanks, Grim,” Levi muttered and tapped Grim’s beer glass with his own. Grim gave us both a small nod before excusing himself to return to the Void, looking bored as ever as he walked away.
Sidney’s voice was low, unaffected, entirely matter-of-fact. “They’resuperdead.”
I turned to stare at her, feeling like everyone around me was unhinged. She paid my crazy-eyed expression no mind, as usual, and continued with a shrug. “I did try to warn you to stop asking. The whole warehouse district in Dry Gulch got razed by rioting sparks, and that particular building is nothing but a pit now.”
* * *
“I havea hard time feeling pity for people who wanted to kidnap you or harm you and force you to make a golem for them,” Levi responded flippantly when I asked him about the missing Phantoms later that night. He toyed with the ends of my hair as we lay tangled up in one another’s limbs at the Bed and Breakfast he’d reserved for us in Whitewave. It was nice to have one last night to ourselves before the golems arrived and I started my new project. We’d spent the evening discussing our plans for the immediate future in between bouts of exploring each other in ways that made my face hot to think about.
“I don’t feel pity for them,” I grumbled. “But what do you think it means?” I asked, feeling unsettled by the whole situation and wanting to know if I’d been responsible for someone being killed. It wasn’t about pity; it was about due process and the sanctity of life. I should have just called the police, illicit tranquilizer or no. I didn’t want to seem ungrateful for Grim’s—and Jordan and Levi’s—desire to protect me. I truly was. I was just struggling with all that had happened.
Levi chuckled, though it sounded a little brittle as he tucked my head under his chin. “I think it means Grim helped them along,” he said, his tone very mild. “I don’t know!” he exclaimed when I tried to pull back to see his face. “He doesn’t usually discuss this stuff with me. I was thoroughly shocked at how chatty he was with you today. Honestly, I don’t really care as long as they’re gone.”
Levi held me tighter to keep me against him, not allowing any space between us. I couldn’t help but feel a little betrayed by his friend.
“I think he didn’t tell the whole story,” he continued. “He’s very good at that, and knowing what he does about so many things and people makes it kind of necessary sometimes. I think he knows exactly what happened to them, because that’s not the kind of loose end he’d leave hanging. I suspect you’re very safe from those specific men.” He tightened his grip on me even more.
I tried to think back to our conversation about them the day after they’d shown up at my shop. “He said he knew them.”
“He said he’d seen them,” Levi corrected, “not that he knew them personally. Grim... sees things. Knows things. Not just about the afterlife and death, but things about the past and sometimes even about the future.” I frowned into his neck, wondering what Grim knew about my past or future. “He isn’t omniscient or anything,” he continued, “but sometimes little glimpses just come to him. He doesn’t always feel like other people need to be privy to that information, even if it directly involves them.”
He was quiet for a long moment before he finally continued. “He wouldn’t personally kill those guys, Elara. He’s a reaper, not a murderer. But I’d say it’s safe to assume he knows more than he lets on.”
I considered that for a moment. “Do you?”
“Do I what?”
“Know more than you let on?”
I felt him smile against the top of my head. “Usually.”
Chapter 27
