Chapter 248: Chapter 248
Rodrick wove through the darkening alleyways of Milten until he was absolutely certain nobody unwanted was tailing him. He came to a stop in the shadow of a roof protruding above several old barrels and rested the huge blade he’d stolen against the wall before starting to strip out of the armor.
He set the metal down in a large pile. The Ardent guild probably wasn’t going to be getting this particular armor back. Then again, if they’d wanted it back, they shouldn’t have left it on someone who was easily lured from their post and into a dark, sketchy alley.
Gentle footfalls echoed through the street behind Rodrick. He glanced over his shoulder as a woman clothed in black garb slipped around the corner. She reached up and worked the cloth covering her face free, pulling the hood back.
“Have I ever mentioned that you look great in black?” Rodrick asked.
“Just about every time I wear it,” Anna replied as she pulled her hair out of a bun and let it fall across her shoulders. She peeled the cloth off herself, revealing her normal clothes beneath it, and kicked the bundle to the side of the street. “The sentiment is just as appreciated as it was the first time.”
“You do realize that could be either a good or a bad thing, right?” Rodrick stepped out of the sabatons and slid them over to the rest of his armor.
“Oh, I’m more than aware. I like to keep you on your toes.”
“I’m on my toes more than enough already,” Rodrick grumbled. He gave Anna a small nod and they started down the street, distancing themselves from the gear they’d stolen. Rodrick kept his enhanced hearing peeled for anyone in the area, but it seemed like they’d made it out without any undue attention.
Suppose I’ve got the Falling Blades to thank for that. They did such a great job of clearing out the area and making sure nobody would witness anything they shouldn’t have that they saved me from having to deal with it. Heck, I don’t think I could have done all that on my own if I’d wanted to.
“Crazy, right? But not just Milten. Closer than that.”
“The white-bearded bloke with the spooky blue eyes,” Rodrick said. “Ran into him at the edge of the street when I was heading out to dig for information about the Falling Blades a few days ago. He knew fucking everything. If he’d told me he knew how many times they breathed during the day, I wouldn’t have been surprised.”
“Him? Seriously?” Anna blinked in surprise. “How? And how did you know the information was good?”
“Spent some time verifying it, of course. I never base plans entirely on untested information. Everything he told me was true.”
“That’s… unsettling. Do you think he’s a retired member?”
“He said the Falling Blades don’t let you retire. Not when you’re alive. I asked the same thing,” Rodrick said with a shake of his head. “I don’t know what he was. That was part of the deal we had. He gave me info, but I couldn’t probe too deep on where it came from. I think that’s a fair request, given our own histories. We’ve hardly been fully outright with everything.”
Anna winced and averted her gaze. “You have. I’m the one who’s hiding the truth.”
“You aren’t. You’re a healer. That’s who you are.”
“Healer is only my class. Nothing more,” Anna muttered.
“I disagree. You’re a healer in more than just class,” Rodrick insisted. “You care about people. Always trying to fix them. It isn’t just the magic you’ve got. It’s who you are.”
Anna gave him a sidelong glance and they turned another street. It wouldn’t be too long until they arrived back at the Devil’s Den.
“You know as well as I do that I’ve probably hurt just as many people as I’ve helped. I was never meant to be a healer,” Anna said softly.
“And yet a healer you became. You just took a slightly roundabout way of getting around to it.”
“Rodrick, I did the exact opposite of healing people.”
“Hey, have to know how to break them to fix them,” Rodrick said slyly. Anna let out a mixture between a choke, a snort, and a laugh. She elbowed Rodrick lightly in the arm and he stumbled to the side with an expression twisted with exaggerated pain before dropping it to give her a pointed look. “See? Proof. Now you need to help me recover.”
Anna rolled her eyes. “If I knew what I was getting into when I married you… well, I wouldn’t have changed anything, but maybe I’d have been more prepared for it.”
“You really think you could have prepared for all this?”
There was a second of hesitation. Then Anna snorted. “No. Not a chance.”
“Good. I strive to be unpredictable.” Rodrick gave her a satisfied nod and they resumed their walk in silence for the next several minutes. Then Rodrick cleared his throat. “You never said if you were going to help me feel better after that brutal assault. I might need a kiss to help me recover my will to keep going.”
“Rodrick, we just killed several people.”
“People that were trying to kill someone else. Purging those that prey on the weak is just doing the world a favor, love. But I swear I’ll regain more of my strength so you don’t have to dirty your hands again. I know how you feel about killing.”
“You’re letting your former profession shine through again, Rodrick.” Anna sent him a small smile. “And you don’t have to apologize. I don’t enjoy killing other humans, but I already said I don’t regret what we did. And it’s not like you aren’t doing everything you can. After what you’ve sacrificed—”