Empire of Shadows

The light was fuzzy. It wasn't harsh, it wasn't bright, it was just...fuzzy.

Jameson blinked once, his skin warm from a fire and the blankets that covered his chest. He shut them again, relaxing under the unfamiliar weight of a quilt.

When was the last time he'd actually slept under a blanket or on a mattress? Maybe back on the day before his delivery to the Greenwater when the guards had some mercy on his soul. Of course that was the day they had branded his back and his leg was chained to the bedpost. But now, he was warm and covered in blankets and out of the snow and unshackled.

He froze as his hand reached up to touch the blankets, stopping when the back of his palms brushed against his bare skin. His eyes snapped open, blinking furiously as the room came into sharp focus.

"Whoa, calm down." There was a girl's voice now, soft and soothing. When was the last time he'd heard a woman speak—a woman who wasn't a lady of the night or a Sister? There was a hand against his shoulder, another one gently gripped his own.

"Ketil, get Anubis. He's awake" She released his shoulder, the back of her hand brushing his cheek, voice softened.

A man walked by him, hurrying as he looked back to Jameson. He was tall and fair in the truest aspect of the word, but his eyes showed no hospitality.

"Calm down," the woman said, her hands against his own. "You're safe now."

He sat up, wincing at a pain in his head. He clutched the blanket to his chest, staring into her eyes. "Where am I?" His voice was rough, the pitch shaking as he coughed.

She straightened up slowly, her hands still holding tight to his. "You're safe and that's all that matters. We're not going to harm you."

His back moved quickly with large gasps, one hand reaching to touch his back. Did they know what he was? They had to have seen it. Did they understand what it meant?

The door of the small room opened to reveal a woman in plain black. She wore thin gloves over her fingers and an even thinner smirk across her face. "Mr. Prieto, back from the land of the dead?"

His hands turned into fists. He coughed. How did they know? How did she know his name?

The woman stepped forward, the blond man on her heels. He shut the door as she took a seat at the foot of Jameson's bed. "It is Prieto, isn't it? I want to make sure I'm pronouncing your name correctly. I wouldn't want to make any presumptions about this kind of thing. I'm sure Greenwater never called you by that name and instead used a number, but we don't use numbers here. Oh, it was Greenwater prison wasn't it?"

Jameson lowered the blankets, shifting his shoulders. "What do you want? Who are you people?"

"Mr. Prieto, if you would remain silent, I am asking the questions at the moment. How did you get there?"

He was silent.

She grabbed his arm, teeth gritted together. "I am a reasonable woman, Mr. Prieto, but I have killed men for less."

He looked to the girl who sighed and shook her head. She looked to the woman standing above him with a frown. "Anubis, stop, you're scaring him."

Scaring me? He thought.

The kind girl turned back to him, brows creased. "You're safe here, we're not turning you into the Inspector."

"Not yet anyways," the blond man said, his words flowing together with a smooth accent. The accent turned the words into ice, gliding over them in a slippery manner. "Dante, you don't even know this man."