The shock of seeing Iago stagger back broke a cold sweat on Scorpius’ back. He quickly turned to see who had spoken up, which of the children.
He shouldn’t have bothered. The largest bunch, with the young woman walking with wooden legs, face frozen between joy and disbelief, dashed towards Iago. First to reach him were the twins and the girl that had been holding onto the skirt, mostly hiding from everyone.
The boys wrapped themselves around Iago’s waist while the girl, small as she was attached herself to his leg. All of them looked up, worshipping eyes aimed at Iago. The kids laughed, and cried and talked over one another in high-pitched voices.
The young woman reached them then, her two little burdens escaping to reach for their long lost brother too. Only the woman stood still as silent tears ran down her face. “Iago…” she murmured in a whisper, eyes misted, unfocused. “We were told you died… We were told you bought our survival with your own… How can.. can this be?”
It was as if the words broke a spell. Iago quickly disentangled himself from the children against their disappointed cries, and took a large step back. His expression turned unsightly. “I’m not him,” he barked out in a harsh tone, and pivoted on his heel to leave. “Find them a place,” he added thickly with a backwards wave towards the Scavengers. “Scorpius, with me.”
Unhesitating, he rushed forward, past the stunned children and their oldest sister. The youngest started bawling, while the older ones fisted their small hands, brushing their eyes clean. Ready to run and confront the person quickly making his leave. But the young woman held them back, taking them in a hug and wrapping all of them in a large familial ball of comfort.
It was harder to catch up to Iago than expected, him being human and all but upon doing so Scorpius wasn’t certain it was the right decision. His friend strode with the speed of a man escaping his execution. His shoulders were pulled inwards as if trying to make himself smaller, less noticeable. Or was that a defensive curl?
When Iago glanced back, Scorpius faced an ocean of torment and agony in his eyes. He had to look away. He did not want to know the depth of that suffering. He was afraid that if he let himself in, there would be no way of rising back up.
It was moments before they reached the tower, and Iago made his slow, lumbering way upwards. It was as if after entering the building all energy left him. Moving no faster than a snail, it took him a generous amount of time to make it up to his room.
There he sat down on the bed, head bent down, almost reaching the knees. Hands encircled it, fingers like claws sunk into the hair.
Scorpius made his way towards the chair and sat down. He did not dare to speak up first. It was as if there existed a thin thread that held Iago together. It strained under an unknown pressure and a thoughtless word would snap it in two.
Sun settled. Darkness reached its tendrils into the room and Scorpius rose to light the hearth. Next to it a pile of broken furniture lay. He picked up a couple of thin sticks and placed them inside, then brought a couple empty sheets of paper from the table. Striking the flint, he soon had a lively fire going. More for warmth and something to do than any need for light.
As he was lounging by the fire, Iago spoke up.
“Were they fine when you found them?” His voice was dry, and slow. Reluctant as if its owner didn’t really want to hear the answer.
“Everyone or..?”
There was a bitter laugh. “You know who I’m speaking about.”
He did. Scorpius just didn’t want to bring up what he knew would wound his friend even more. Even if there was nothing sad about that knowledge. “They were all right.”
No sound came after. Fire crackled in the hearth creating shadows in the room. They danced over the bent figure, covering it in nightmarish forms or bringing an unnatural glow to his mop of crimson hair.
After another hour long pause Iago raised his anguished face. “What do I do now..?” he asked in a weak voice.
“They’re your family, aren’t they?”
A heavy nod. “One I forsook.”
Scorpius had nothing to say to that. He wasn’t sure whether to ask more, or leave it be. But then, it would remain unsolved. Iago needed a decision. He could not remain in hiding for the rest of his life. Which he clearly wanted to do from his expression.
It was strange, really. Weren’t humans all for family, kingdom, nation and any other community they could come up with? Scorpius had a hard time grasping the intricacies of familial relations with his own unfortunate act of being born a nosferatu in the years after his races decline. But what he’d learnt by studying people in villages as he passed by, they took their relations seriously. Family was what mattered more than anything else in the world, more than friendship, honour, righteousness.
The sight here then pushed him off his familiar zone. He could not understand the problem. Iago said they were his family, and even if he forsook them for some reason, they didn’t seem to hold any grudge. Why run then? It was clear he feared them, was afraid to face them. Yet they held nothing against him. It made no sense.
“What did you do?” he asked softly. Maybe that was the way. If he knew what happened, he could help think of a solution. Sitting in the dark and doing nothing wasn’t going to give them an epiphany. Not when he was clueless as to what was the cause behind Iago’s distraught expression.
It was sometime before Iago answered, his voice slow and heavy, reluctant once more. This time he clearly did not want to remember what had happened. “I was not trained in shaping. My talent was average and I did not notice it until late in my life. Too late to be trained, not that I had time for it. Always busy working to earn a living for my family. It was never enough, though. The young often went hungry and I did the same, knowing that I’ll have less strength tomorrow which meant even less pay.”
He clawed through his hair, eyes moving through the room. Scorpius doubted they saw anything. But he did not rush. For some reason he was certain there would be a continuation. In time.
“It was a couple weeks before the Scourge that I received an invite. Kallum, the master healer I sometimes helped gave me a choice. He did not make it pretty. I was to give up everything I held dear for the sake of having them live. He promised to take care of them, give them an education and make sure they lived well for as long as he was alive himself.
“A heartbreaking choice, or so he thought, but I was relieved. I could never bring them up myself. It was a constant torment in my heart. So when he came to me with something like that, and all he asked in return was my life, how could I refuse? I was the one profiting from the deal.”
This time there were no more words coming. “What happened then? You’re still alive,” Scorpius said in a neutral voice. He did his best to not let his thoughts influence it.
“Yes…” Iago answered in a way that did not sound convincing. “I lived and the Scourge happened. Probably I shouldn’t be surprised that they lived. Kallum had promised to take care of them. He’d vowed to it. And he always kept his word.”
“So why not go to them? Why not celebrate together that you’re all alive?”
Flame shadows danced on Iago’s face, accentuating the deep creases on his forehead, the sunken eyes. “I can’t,” he whispered in a raw voice. “I can’t! The path I’ve taken, the choices I’ve made… they cannot be part of it! It’s too dangerous. If anyone knew… If anyone guessed… No. It’s impossible… Besides,” he raised his eyes to stare directly at Scorpius, “I’m not the person they knew. What Kallum did… It might not have killed me but… I’m not that Iago, that doting overworked brother. That person is long dead. I have but a faint memory of the ignorant young man.”
This was the crux then. The Scourge changed him like everyone else. The exchange, the experiment, the Scourge and newly gained powers… It was enough to give any person a new outlook on life.
Mistress should probably be on that list too. He wondered if she had anything to do with that experiment. But then, there was no hatred in Iago’s voice when he mentioned Kallum’s name. Nothing clear in general, just tiredness. Exhaustion.
“Will you be able to tell that to their faces?”
Iago dragged a hand through his face, raking it with his fingers as if trying to gauge new crevasses until he could no longer be recognisable. Nodded. “I’ll have to. I have no choice.”
An unsteady admission. Distinct lack of confidence. Still, it was better than nothing. Scorpius did not challenge it. He waited for awhile, then stood up. “I’m going to check on the others, whether they followed your order. If anyone asks, I’ll say you had a lot to consider after meeting the Lady. You did talk to her, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll-”
“Later,” Scorpius cut him off. It did not feel right. He was the follower. Not the other way around. “Try to find some peace of mind. Maybe boil one of your restorative teas.”
No response. He did not hesitate and was about to jump out of the window when he remembered he could walk now. The camp knew of his existence. An exhilarating thought. Finally he’ll be able to face all those people he’d followed through the shadows.
When he was not far from where the voices where, old fears rose in his heart. It did not matter if he made a quick acquaintance but long term relationship? Cold sweat broke out on his back. It wasn’t hard to pretend for a short time. Simple, really.
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But a long term lie? He was not certain he could keep it up. And if anyone found out… Not only would his life be forfeit, but Iago’s too. Their lives were connected in secret before. Now everyone knew about it.
He did not like what Iago had done. It could simplify the matters, them being known as old friends, but the danger! If a single person figured out that he was more than a normal human…
Pushing down the rising fear, he reached for the canteen’s doors. Upon entering all eyes shifted towards him. Alec was sitting at the far back, quietly arguing with Mala. She did not like all these newcomers while he supported Iago’s position.
At first Scorpius was about to walk to them but then remembered they did not know him. As far as they were concerned, he was just another of the strangers - most likely remnants of Scavengers.
He changed his walking path towards the bearded man. Noticing him, the old scavenger shoved those around him on the bench to make space.
“Is your shaper okay?” the bearded man asked in a low voice, making sure no one overheard as Scorpius settled next to him.
“Yeah,” he answered just as quiet, grabbing a chicken’s leg from the man’s plate. The bearded man relaxed in obvious relief before glaring at Scorpius in outrage. The next five minutes he gobbled the food in front of him with restless vigour. Only when there was nothing left did he lick his fingers and sat back with a satisfied sigh.
Others around Scorpius were doing the same, and he was somewhat jealous about them having gotten a full meal. He had to contend with the single chicken’s leg he’d snatched off bearded man’s plate. Better than nothing, he supposed staring at the last remnants of food disappearing in the Scavengers’ plates. There was no more left.
While he was lamenting his fate, he heard Alec and Mala shuffling in their seats. It wasn’t long before they made their way towards him. Their conversation was not resolved but both had run out of arguments certain to convince the other.
“Come with us,” Mala stated in a haughty manner, eyeing him with distaste. It was so unlike her, Scorpius stared for a second uncomprehending. Her silence during the arrival of Scavengers was one thing but this kind of mien.
“Please, we just want to ask you a few questions,” Alec added glaring at Mala. She huffed in response.
Weird. “All right,” he answered, not really having a good reason to refuse.
Many heads followed them as they made their way through the canteen. Outside it was dark, no moon present in the sky. A couple stars were shining in exchange. Their faraway light a miserable attempt at illuminating the night.
“Who are you?” Mala asked with imperiousness. “What do you have on Iago?”
“Have on?” Scorpius turned to face her with surprise. She stood arms crossed, scowling at him. “I’m an old acquaintance.”
Her eyes narrowed at him. He ignored the obvious sign of her displeasure, considering his lies. A story was necessary. Through his life he’d learnt no trade so it would be tough to fake them. But then, most professions were void now. He could say he was an animal tender and there’d be no way to prove him wrong.
Alec put a hand on Mala’s shoulder to hold her back. “How is Iago? He did not look good when he left.”
“Stricken but he’ll recover,” Scorpius replied. “He had a family before the Scourge.”
“But not this family?”
“No. Not this one.”
Mala could not take it any more. She threw off Alec’s hand and pointed at Scorpius. “Don’t talk as if you know anything! You’re an interloper, pretending to know more than you do!”
“Am I?” he asked with disgust colouring his own voice. Her words reminded him of most other humans he’d met before. They just tended to make their points with swords, axes and bows.
Having been around Iago for so long, he’d forgotten how arrogant and scornful others were. Anything not from their community was a danger to be instantly eliminated. A trait shared by the nosferatu clans.
He turned away, dismissing her altogether. If she was going to act that way, there was no reason for him to tolerate it. She was a nobody. Insignificant. There was no point to suffer her pitiful insults.
“You’re just gonna leave like that? Without a word?” she shouted out at his back. He didn’t glance her way.
Alec harshly whispered for her to calm down. They argued for awhile before Alec gave up and jogged after Scorpius to Mala’s taunts.
“Hey, sorry about that. I don’t know what’s come into her,” he said with a wince, slowing down.
Scorpius nodded. Alec was usually more level headed than everyone else.
“You know Iago of old?”
“Not much. I trust him but I know little of his situation,” he answered with a shrug.
“Are those children really not his family? They were so certain, and the look on his face…”
There was no way to go about it. The panic on Iago’s face upon seeing the young family could not be mistaken. He shrugged again. “That’s what he said. Before this I knew him as a loner, moving through the capital as if it was his own backyard. Welcome everywhere, but liked nowhere.”
The words seemed to resonate within Alec. He bobbed his head as if noting something to himself, or agreeing to something. Scorpius was satisfied with himself. He must have said the right thing. Great!
After a couple more pleasantries exchanged, they went their separate ways. Scorpius passed the shadowed streets, breathing in the cold air. His skin prickled from the chill. It was much better than the constant heat during the day.
Soon he reached the tower and was about to walk up the stairs when a thought hit him. Wasn’t he now pretending to be a human? He had to sleep like that too if anyone came in. Annoyed at it, he looked around the training room. In one corner Grey’s old gear lay.
An old blanket lay on the ground and Scorpius bent to pick it up. After a quick once over, he decided it’ll serve. He laid it back down, sitting on the ground to take off his scarf, pull off the thick cloak and and boots. Moments later, he let himself down and closed his eyes.
Away from the tower, near the canteen, Alec was having a headache. He stared at the group of newcomers excitedly chattering among themselves. Many were rubbing their stomachs, talking in wonder filled voices while one woman was crying. She was squatting, hugging her child to her chest as tears of joy ran down her cheeks. From her mouth came a constant a string of prayers and praises to the Lady.
An older man with a thick beard and a huge axe on his back was watching the shadows with distrustful eyes. Alec included. The other fighting men from the group smiled in satisfaction but their hands did not stray far from their weapons.
Alec had no idea what to do with them. Iago said to find a place for them but he did not want them anywhere close to his people. These were strangers with unknown goals and plans. As much as he wanted to help them, he did not trust them. The newcomers could kill most of the survivors with ease. He had no illusions about his own troops strength after the last time they faced Scavengers.
Iago alone could defend them. If he was capable. That Scorpius said the shaper was fine but Alec had a hard time believing him. Upon meeting the newcomers, Iago did not look like himself. He could recall the exact moment the shaper noticed the children and staggered back. His breath hitched. When he turned, it was nothing more than running away.
For some reason, those people had scared Iago. It was hard to believe they just reminded him of his own family. Especially when the children called out to him “Brother”. But if it was his true family, there would be no reason to run. Not unless he did something unspeakable to them.
Yet, they did not seem to have any reservations regarding their so called brother. The youngest ones cried incessantly after Iago left, calling after him in heartbreaking voices. Their eldest sister tear-up in her own right, but she quickly brushed the offending liquid off and gathered the children, whispering assurances to them. They did not understand her explanations but since it was her talking in time they settled down.
“You’re the leader here?” the bearded man asked, approaching Alec.
He inclined his head. “Alec.”
“Mark.”
There were no more questions and Alec returned his gaze to the newcomers. The young woman with her children was standing by the edge of the group. The twins were chirping with lots of hand movements and even some running around. A fragment of the story reached his ears, something about a pig rummaging through their house.
Thin smile bloomed on the woman’s face. She held the smallest boy; he was sleeping. One of the other girls was laughing at the twins’ antics while her younger sister stood with a shy smile. She kept on glancing backwards to make sure the woman was still there.
Alec’s heart clenched at the vulnerability of this sight. He might not be much older than that woman but he did not have to take care of five siblings younger than him. How did they survive? How did she manage to keep them alive?
The bearded man, Mark he reminded himself, caught where his gaze was resting. “She’s a strong one, that girl. I did not see her cry or complain once before today.”
Alec grunted. He had nothing to say to that.
“What happened to your shaper there?” Mark asked with interest.
He did not dare to turn. The dread on his face might be too easy to read. “Nothing. He had a busy evening.”
“And it required the dress code?”
Alec glanced to see himself still in the outfit Iago had brought to him. He remembered the joy of seeing himself dressed like a real bodyguard for the first time. Fitting tunic and leather tabard with an unknown crest. His fingers gripped the unadorned hilt of his new sword. A strange feeling of calmness entered his mind.
As far away as it all felt, it was not a dream. The conversation with the Mistress, Iago’s promises were all real. He either had to believe them or do something crazy like running to confess to the Mistress. Even if he had no idea what. His word would never weight heavier than Iago’s in her eyes.
It was a revelation he came to during the meeting. Commander was ignored as if he was nothing. None of his words meant anything, and Iago insulted him as much as he wanted. Mistress only laughed along with him, her eyes shining with interest for the man before her. Others were nothing in comparison.
And how long was he going to doubt Iago, anyway? Wasn’t it about time he started to trust the only person that ever tried to help them? He shaped them food, helped to restore the temple, protected from Scavengers and more than that, he was ready to teach them to defend themselves. He shielded them from Commander, healed their wounds and diverted Mistress’ eyes.
Wasn’t that enough? What did he have to do for Alec to trust him?
A sense of shame rose in him. What did he do himself? He pretended to be the leader, the shield between everyone and the nobles, but there never was any real power in his hands. It was but a question of time when his authority would falter and Commander went ahead with his threats. Time that was already past.
More than ever before they needed Iago. It was better to trust him now and have a chance at survival than refuse and have him turn away, tired of their distrust and suspicions.
“Collect everyone and come,” he said. The leader of newcomers gave him a look but followed the command. He motioned to his men and they scattered to round up all the newcomers.
Ten heartbeats later, the newcomers stood in a circle with children and woman in the middle. It was obvious this wasn’t a newly formed grouped. They’ve stayed together for a time.
He turned towards where the remainder of the tower stood. “Follow me. I’ll bring you to your new accommodations.” Without waiting to see if they did as told, he started walking. A sharp word from Mark later and the crowd moved out. The leader strode to join him at the front.
“Be careful of the nobles,” Alec told him. “Don’t go far north, especially not close to the white mansion. Mistress, a shaper like no other, lives there, and she does not have a good opinion about commoners. If you value your life, don’t get in her way.”
“What about your shaper? Does he not..?”
“He shields us from her. Or that’s what he says,” he replied with his old distrust evident in his tone. “It’s better to believe him.”
The older man snorted. He did not express his opinion about that in words.
After a time they reached a semi-standing house. Four large rooms had roofs and all walls, a pretty good deal. It was also only a street away from the tower. He showed them where survivors lived and told that the tower was occupied by the shaper. He was explicit in his warning not to approach it carelessly.
The shaper was the camp’s only reason of success. Without him they would quickly die out and so everyone was ready to protect him with their lives. A far-fetched threat, but the newcomers seemed to believe it. Their eyes filled with trepidation as they gazed at the ruined tower, and all swore not to come closer to it than necessary.
“I’ll make sure they do so,” their leader promised in a grave voice. “We don’t want to step on your generosity.”
Alec nodded and thought to leave for the barracks but they were so far away. He changed his mind and found a corner where he would be protected from the winds. It was freezing but he did not feel it, his mind too busy weighting the events of today.
There was no chance he’d fall asleep. He pushed himself further into the corner, and watched both the tower and survivor house entrances.