With a grunt, Drake pulled his bootstraps tight. Today, he handled the deliveries on his own so that Gigi could train. Although he found being with Gigi life-giving, it was nice to be alone. He pulled the cloak around his shoulders, keeping the hood up. It was refreshing to feel like any other man. To have someone to come home to. He doubted many other men had someone as special as Gigi to meet them at their hearth.

Freedom was both intoxicating and terrifying. The abundance of choices he currently possessed felt unnatural to him. Drake had been told what to do his entire life. Now that he was given a blank canvas to paint on, what did he want to fill it with?

The outside world was not without its perils. He found himself scanning the horizon every few moments, even when he was with the woman he felt safest with. He didn’t know what he expected to see, Sargasso perhaps, Gaius in his worst fears, but more likely one of their agents. A face he had not seen in Poppy before, one drawn with suspicion. He knew deep within that his past would eventually haunt the present. Accordingly, Drake kept a weary vigil for specters.

However, for the first time in his life, when he pictured having a family of his own, it didn’t feel like an impossibility. It had been upgraded to merely an implausibility. He had not dared to ask the Black Lord what remained of his shadow when they first spoke. A truth he would need to face if he ever hoped to grow a life for himself.

Not knowing how long he had left, he figured there was little harm in dreaming of what could be. He liked to fantasize about what their lives could look like. He wondered if their children would be green. He hoped they would be. He wanted them to bear the stain of his lineage as little as possible. Let there be as much of her in them as is possible. Most of all, though, he hoped they had her eyes.

Drake readied Glorp and loaded the deliveries. For the first time in his life, faces were becoming familiar, which was good. They were friendly, even happy to see him. Nobody was scared of him. They asked about the rest of the clan at the bakery, and he joyfully told them. He felt part of a community, as if he had found a home he had long forgotten.

That was until an angry fairy refused delivery of an entire load of raspberry tarts. He demanded a refund as he insisted he was deathly allergic to raspberry. He could die just from breathing in the fumes. Drake promised him whatever he wanted if he came by the bakery. This appeased the irate fae folk.

At the end of his route, he had a load of tarts with no owner. He noticed a building for the first time while riding through the graveyard back toward the bakery. It was a nondescript structure that just blended into the scenery. However, Drake thought he saw movement. His curiosity had been raised, and he decided to investigate.

Drake and Glorp made their way through the graves. Despite seeing so many fields full of the dead, it was rare for him to be in an actual graveyard. It was strangely peaceful. I wouldn’t mind being buried here. I wouldn’t mind dying here. Maybe Poppy was a place worth dying for if it came to that.

When he rode up, a mob of children gathered in the grass. Drake eyed them as he got closer. They looked to him to be different shapes and sizes and races. Some, the soldier recognized. There was a lamia, a pig-kin, a human, and a pair of what he thought were satyrs, but he had only heard stories of them and their goat feet and curly horns. All of them wore rags.

Drake looked around instinctively, making sure they were all safe. Satisfied, he jumped down from the cart.

“What are we looking at?” he asked.

The kids said nothing, staring at him with large, curious eyes. That was when Drake heard the cricket’s song.

“Ah, crickets! Are we catching them? I’m very good at this,” he beamed.

“Yeah, we are!” shouted the lamia boy. One of the Satyr twins hit him in the belly to keep quiet.

“Don’t trust me?” He said, folding his arms, “Smart kids.” Drake walked around to the back of the cart. “But I come bearing gifts.”

Drake opened the back and scooped up the giant box of delicious confectionaries. The kids looked at the box with hungry eyes and loud tummies. He presented the box and opened it for them. Nervous hands each took a tart, greedily shoving the treat into their waiting mouths, smearing red goo and crumbs everywhere.

“Can you kids take me to whoever’s in charge?” Drake asked.

“You mean Brother Vink and Sister Xonce?” the lamia boy answered.

“I guess so? Take me to them.”

“Okay, but don’t stare at Sister Xonce. She doesn’t like it,” chimed in the pig-kin.

“I would never,” Drake said, raising his hands in surrender.

Drake followed the children to what he now recognized as a dilapidated church. The huge wooden doors were badly peeling paint. The stones that had stood for centuries were cracked and sagging. The roof drooped in multiple places, barely being held up after years of neglect. Drake frowned. He knew this was the best the caretakers could do for the kids. Not a lot of money in orphans. Still, he wondered what he could do to help. He was not a carpenter or mason, but surely there was something he could do.

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They entered a massive chamber, pews replaced by rows of sorry-looking beds. Toys, clothes, and children littered the floor. Drake was overwhelmed by all of the fresh eyes now thrust upon him.

“Brother! Brother! A stranger came with fancy cookies!” the lamia boy called out.

“N-O-W, N-O-W,” boomed an immense voice from the back of the church.

An ogre wearing brown robes and a light pink apron lumbered in, lowering his giant head under the door frame as he did so. Drake wasn’t an expert on ogres, but this man looked ancient. His thick, mossy beard had grown nearly down to the ogre’s knees, with large pale green eyes reflecting a bright curiosity behind a pair of spectacles. A warm, toothy smile appeared, showing wrinkles that reminded Drake of worn leather.

“Who have we here?” the ogre said in a much smaller voice than before.

“This man brought us food!” the little human girl offered.

“He did now? Did he bring enough for us all?” the monk chuckled.

Drake held up the box, setting it down on the table. “Well, Brother, I don’t know, but what I have is all yours.” Suddenly, all the many-shaped eyes of the children were on him. He opened the box and took out one of the tarts, taking a bite to show it was safe, then offered the rest to an arachne. The humanoid spider gingerly took the treat before scurrying under a bed with it. Drake laughed.

“You are very kind, stranger. Perhaps too kind in a place like this?” the ogre said with just the faintest edge in the gravelly voice.

“I’m from a place like this,” Drake said, meeting the ogre’s gaze.

The ogre nodded, a slight smile on his face. “That’s a pity, but you seem to have become a good man.”

Drake shook his head. “At best, only a man. If I were any good, I would do what you’re doing.”

“Modest, too. What a curiosity,” chimed in a third voice, warm and sweet as honey.

“Ah, Sister, perfect timing. Supper is almost finished,” the ogre said, wiping his hands on his apron.

Sister Xonce nodded. Drake turned to look at the newcomer but was met only with a black veil covering a nun’s habit. She wore a modest black dress that went to the floor. Not a speck of color was to be seen anywhere on her. Then, Drake noticed it looked like something was moving underneath the veil. He focused his gaze, realizing that there were, in fact, many things slithering underneath that veil. Even over the din of the children, Drake thought he heard the sound of a soft hissing.

“Can I help you, sir?” came the icy question, the warm pretense fading.

Drake blushed and averted his gaze, remembering only too late the children’s warning. “May I ask a question?” asked Drake.

“Only if I may ask the same of you,” stated Sister Xonce.

“I’m an open book,” Drake smiled.

“Well, go on,” she said, crossing her arms.

“Are you a gorgon?” Sister Xonce said nothing. The gentle hiss of the snakes under the veil answered for her. Drake let out an impressed whistle. “I had no idea you were real.”

“And who are you exactly?” came the sharp reply from the nun.

“Just an old soldier trying to...” What was he trying to do? “Do right by those who deserve better.”

“Not many old soldiers around here, mostly just dead ones.” She stepped closer to him. “Does this soldier have a name?”

“Drake.”

“Hmm, now that isn’t a very common name around here at all. Tell me, Drake, where is it you’re from?”

He said nothing.

“Now, Sister, if you interrogate everyone who helps us, the roof will be down around our ears,” the ogre pleaded wheezingly. The old ogre looked to the heavens to ensure his words hadn’t further cursed the buckling roof.

“Perhaps I can help with some things?” Drake offered.

“Are you a carpenter too, soldier boy?” the nun asked skeptically.

Drake shrugged. “No, but I have...let’s say special gifts that I could probably help with a problem or two.”

“We don’t need-”

“Hush, Sister,” the ogre cut her off. You know, as I do, the southern wall is collapsing. If it does, the whole foundation could crack.”

“The southern wall?” Drake asked.

Brother Vink wiped giant fingers on his apron, smearing dinner on it. “Follow me. By the gods, I hope your gift is related to masonry.” Drake followed the ogre, the nun following Drake, and the children all circled in eagerness.

The pair traversed the halls of the orphanage. “To be honest, I’ve never tried masonry per se. But I think I might be able to help.” The ogre frowned, the deep creases in his face drooping. Drake gave him a small smile and a thumbs up. “Trust me, I’m more capable than I look,” he winked. They arrived in the kitchen.

“Then help,” Sister Xonce said dryly. “Here is the wall.” The nun pointed to the sagging wall with a scaly hand. Drake surveyed the damage. Time was not kind to the ailing stone. The center of the wall was leaning forward, bringing the top of the roof down. The rocks were still stuck together with mortar and gravity, but barely.

Drake shut his eyes and took a deep breath. He began searching in and around himself for the shadows, for the darkness to command. An average man doesn’t stop to think of all the places light never touches, all the nooks and crannies. Drake did. There was power in those places—strength in the unseen and unknown.

He reached out with his will to the shadows between the stones, each connecting to him like a giant web. With a grunt and great exertion, he pulled on the strings in countless directions, feeling each stone shift and tremble as he worked them back into place. The buckling of the wall slowly began to relent. The wall groaned as Drake pulled each brick back into its rightful place as best he could.

The children and their caretakers stared in awe at the display. Magic was rare and hoarded by the wealthy and powerful—those who stood on the backs of others to chase the sun. Drake knew that much in his bones. He wouldn’t have sent so many ordinary men to the grave if it weren't the case.

Drake didn’t want his gifts wasted on him as those above wasted theirs on themselves. The way Sargasso hoarded his power and made his men dance for scraps. Gaius aimed to build himself a throne from the dead to rule over a barren land. He was going to give back, starting with fixing this wall. With a long exhale, Drake opened his eyes to examine his handiwork. He was relieved to see it wasn’t half bad. The wall was still standing and far straighter than how he had found it.

“By the gods,” Brother Vink whispered.

The children cried out in excitement and joy. They had never seen anything like this before. “Shadow man! Shadow man!” the children began to chant.

“Who are you...” Sister Xonce asked under her breath.

“I’ll make sure the bakery packs extra for you guys next time, alright?” Drake asked the children.

“CHOCOLATE!”

“STRAWBERRY!”

They all began to shout flavors, forgetting the miracle they had witnessed as quickly as it had come. Drake laughed, telling the children he would do his best before heading toward the exit. The children protested as he tried to leave, the satyr twins blocking him with their nubby horns.

“Don’t worry, I’m here to stay.” Drake smiled, happy to finally have a purpose.