Who says I want to leave?"
The two of us wet into stunned silence, before I felt like slapping myself in the face. Right, Effie basically hated the Waking World because her real body was crippled there. She had a nihilistic view of Earth, believing that the planet was doomed anyways and the Dream Realm was some sort of paradise. How could I have forgotten that?
Quickly trying to salvage the situation, I stepped forward. "Alright, my bad, maybe I was too presumptuous. But, Miss Athena, surely you aren't satisfied with the way things are? You might not mind, but how many dozens of people live in fear and squalor outside the Castle gates? And let's be real, the inside isn't much better off. By helping us clear out those monsters, you're helping the other survivors improve their lives and making the Dark City a safer place."
That seemed to finally strike a chord with her, though she still seemed unwilling to trust us. "Saying that's all well and good, but what have you ever done for those people? I recognise him-" she gestured towards Sasrir -"as the newest star of the Hunters. But what about you? Why should I believe anything you say, and not that you're simply using me to steal the Bright Throne for yourself?"
Now, this really left me stumped. Was Athena so oppositional when Nephis tried to recruit her? She definitely refused at first, but then Nephis brought her around somehow. Think, Adam, think...
"You want proof?"
Saved by the bell-or, by the shadow.
She looked back to Sasrir, who had leaned off the wall and was standing near us. "Just go to the outside settlement, ask around. It may take a bit, but there are plenty who've received his help and grace over the last few weeks. See before you judge, Lady Athena, and then come back to us with your answer. We've already paid your toll for the day, you might as well make the most of it."
Effie considered the proposal in silence, glancing between me and Sasrir repeatedly. After a while of contemplation, her eyes became determined. "Fine, I'll go and have a look. But first, I require personal proof of character."
"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow at that, half-amused. "What do you require, Miss? We don't have many Soul Shards on hand I'm afraid, or really any material goods at all."
"That's fine, what I want from you is much simpler."
"And what is that?"
"Food."
*******************************************
I stared blankly, chin in palm, as the woman in front of me ate enough meat to satisfy a pride of lions. Around me, the crowd was split in two-one half watched with the same doubt and disbelief as me, while the other half simply carried on as normal. Clearly, they had gotten use to the inhuman appetite of Huntress Athena.
Sasrir was amongst them, calming cutting up his steak and methodically eating it. Even as Effie ate her fifth leg of monster meat in ten minutes, he didn't so much as wobble a shadow. At this point, I was wondering if he was truly indifferent or just trying to play it cool.
After a loud burp, Athena wore a satisfied expression and relaxed against the chair, one arm swung around the back. Seeing her like this made my mouth twitch, since the majority of food on the table was bought by me and Sasrir. Thankfully we got a discount as Hunters, and the server was a closer acquaintance of mine, so he slipped a slightly bigger portion my way.
I was honestly grateful for the results of my acting, because otherwise, I would have had to take one of Aiko's atrocious loans to pay for this. If it meant getting Raised by Wolves on my team though, it might not turn out to be a loss...
Seeing she was done, I hurriedly raised the point before she asked for more. "Miss Athena, are you satisfied with our sincerity? We will gladly accompany you to the Settlement to shake any lingering doubts about our character."
She gave me the side-eye and an amused snort, but her tone was considerably friendlier than before. "Alright pretty-boy, I'll admit you've settled me a bit. I'll still ask a couple of my friends if what you say is true, but if it is, I suppose I wouldn't be entirely opposed to a partnership. But it would be just that-I'm not your subordinate or slave."
"Of course not, Miss Athena" I managed to keep the obvious relief from my voice and face. "Rest assured, you would be paid handsomely for you work in Soul Shards or...er, food."
That got a chuckle from Sasrir, but he didn't look up from his plate even as I glared at him. Observing our antics, which the rest of the Hunters merely looked at fondly, Athena narrowed her eyes and re-assessed the two men in front of her. To be honest, she had actually already heard a little about the two.
Sasrir was easy: Shadow Aspects are quite rare, especially one with such lethality and utility. Having joined the Hunters only recently, replacing Roric-a guy she knew for a while-and swiftly becoming known as the Reaper of the Dark City. While she hadn't heard anything about it, she knew Gunlaug would definitely be keeping an eye on him. That was why she was so surprised he and Adam were blatantly trying to curry favour with her, and even showing off to every other Hunter in the hall. Did they not know the report would be in front of Gunlaug before the hour ended?
Speaking of Adam, the rumours were far less about him than his companion. His Aspect had something to do about reading emotions and desires, which put her on guard from the very start. Mental Aspects were also rare, not as much as Shadow or Healing, but still uncommon enough that defences against them are few and far between.
From what she had gathered, the man was deeply religious and strictly moral. His skills with a sword weren't anything to look twice at, and though he was fairly handsome, nothing about him stood out. However, he had Sasrir wrapped around his finger, and the Reaper followed every order unquestionably. Already, a few voices were whispering parallels between him and Harus, the mad hunchback that served as the Bright Lord's right hand and assassin.
Not a very flattering comparison, but not without basis either.
"But even if I agree, it won't be easy. The Cathedral is located near the zone where that monster horde wrecked havoc recently. Turf has changed hands, and even I'm slightly concerned about heading there blind."
"No need to fret. Sasrir and I will scout the path before we begin, obviously. In fact, Gemma has ordered a general mobilisation of Hunters and Pathfinders to make up for lost time and regain our understanding of the streets. By the time we've prepared to face the Black Knight, all that will be left to do is actually kill the damn thing."
"Alright. In that case, I guess I might as well head out now and start investigating your dirty secrets and evil deeds" Athena flashed me a smile as she stood up, and I relaxed at her teasing tone. It seemed the food had put her back in her usual mood, which I was grateful for. Dealing with a tense Effie was like being stuck in a room with a tiger strapped in dynamite.
Giving her a small wave off, I watched as she walked out of the hall and vanished from sight. Once she was gone, Sasrir leaned closer to me and whispered in my ear. "And now what?"
"Now," I began, pushing his face away from me, "We wait for Gunlaug to call upon us. Well, it will probably be Gemma or maybe Tessai. You are famously lethal after all, and I'm sure the average Guard would piss himself if told to arrest you."
"Will we be arrested?"
"Questioned, at the very least. But just plead ignorance, and let me do the talking. Besides, we've been here just under thirty days, but we haven't even seen the Bright Lord yet, have we? Or even the other Lieutenants."
Before Sasrir could respond, the sound of scraping chairs and shuffling of bodies echoed in the hall. Looking around, I saw that a gap had appeared in the crowd of Hunters, and Gemma was walking towards us with a complicated expression. Standing beside him was a woman with a taller than average build and a professional smile on her lips. As she walked though, anyone she may have touched made sure to move out of the way. And when she got closer, I realised her skin was an off-colour, like silt grey.
Stopping before us, Gemma looked like he didn't want to be here, while Seishan scanned us from top to bottom-the top for Sasrir, the bottom for me. I raised an eyebrow at her, but she just kept smiling, and then turned to Gemma, indicating for him to speak first.
"Sorry about this guys, it isn't personal, but.." Gemma took a deep breath. "Under the orders of the Bright Lord, the two of you are to report in the throne room. Now."
We stood up silently, expressions calm and unruffled. As Gemma led us out of the hall, I gave an extra glance to Sasrir, reading the question in his shadowed expression.
'Are you sure about this?'
To which I replied with a wink.