Atsuki Nightwhisper's Arc

Chapter 12 of 17

The torn pages sat heavy in Atsuki's pack as he searched the town for a weakness in Matthias. The priest never removed his belt in public. He wore his sword and the halves like armor. Atsuki needed a moment when Matthias set them down. He asked a river merchant where the man slept. The merchant pointed toward a curved stone bathhouse by the water, its doors carved like waves. "He bathes there before every enforcement," the merchant said. "Alone. He trusts no one near his belt." Atsuki waited in the reeds until dusk. The bathhouse windows glowed. He needed help he could not give himself. He needed someone the priest would not suspect. A young man in half-fitted armor sat on the steps, cleaning a practice sword. His jaw was set hard, the same square line Atsuki had seen on the man he hunted. "You have his face," Atsuki said. The young man looked up. "Gabriel. His brother. Though he'd sooner name a stranger." He spat on the stone. "I came to Eldergrove to train under him. He called me soft. Sent me to guard his bath like a servant." Atsuki crouched close. "He carries torn death records on his belt. They prove a debt is already paid. My family's debt. He keeps my people marked so he can kill them." Gabriel's eyes narrowed. "You're the one he hunts." "I am. And you owe him nothing but this belt he trusts you to guard." Gabriel stared at the water for a long moment. Then he stood. "He beat an old woman last month for owing him coin. I said nothing." He wiped his blade. "Wait here." Gabriel went inside. Atsuki heard splashing, then quiet talk. Steam drifted from the door in thin curls that twisted like a snake in the cooling air. Atsuki's heart pounded. If Matthias saw the belt move, Gabriel would die for it. Minutes passed. Then Gabriel slipped out, belt bundled under his arm. He pressed two torn paper halves into Atsuki's hands. The seals matched the tears Morwen had shown him. Atsuki's parents' names ran across both pieces now, whole. "I loosened his belt while he soaked," Gabriel whispered. "I'll set it back before he rises. He'll think the papers slipped free in the steam." Atsuki gripped the halves. The lower portions named the deaths as payment. Debt closed. His family was no longer marked. "Go," Gabriel said. "Before he stands." Atsuki ran into the dark. He had the proof at last. But he knew Matthias. When the priest reached for his belt and found the halves gone, he would not think of steam. He would know someone took them. And the only man who guarded that door was his own brother.