Wow, I'm on a roll. o__o

Chapter Thirteen

James was woken the next morning by the intrusive golden-red rays of the sun, all the more offensive to his senses without the shield of a curtain or a roof. Wincing against the too bright light, James rolled onto his back and rubbed his hand across his face, trying to wake himself up and to block out the sun in varying degrees. To his surprise, the action was far more difficult than it had any right to be and after a little confused squirming he realised why. He was wrapped up, almost swaddled, in a thread bare blanket that he didn't recognise.

He glared at it for a long moment, trying to figure out what he was doing with it. When nothing came to mind he pushed it off him a little and sat up, looking around for clues.

Sparrow was nowhere in sight. He'd probably gone home to sleep. James it seemed, had slept on the cliff top, though sometime during the night someone had moved him away from the edge and left him on a soft patch of new green grass near the wall. Most likely the same person who owned the blanket that was stilled pooled in his lap.

Scowling at it, James decided not to think too hard about Sparrow's – because of course it was Sparrow's - motives for the surprisingly thoughtful gestures. He hadn't had the other boy pegged for the considerate type but then, he'd never seen Sparrow as anything more than a dirty gypsy with a one track mind. Last night, however, had shown him another side of Sparrow he hadn't expected to see. A softer, rawer side.

With a little sigh, James clambered to his feet, swaying slightly from leftover drowsiness. After rubbing his eyes and stretching he folded the blanket over his arm and set off towards Sparrow's house, wincing at the stiffness in his limbs from sleeping on the hard ground.

He wasn't entirely sure what time it was or whether Sparrow would still be sleeping, but he honestly couldn't bring himself to care. He padded up to the front door, casting a sideways glance at Pumpkin who was sprawled dramatically on the grass beside the steps up to the door. Rolling his eyes at the dog fondly, James turned back to the door to wait for Sparrow to answer.

It only took a few seconds for sounds of life to start filtering through the wooden walls and a short moment later Sparrow opened the upper half of the barn door, blinking sleepily. He stared at James for a long while, his long hair falling across his face messily now that it wasn't tied back, before snorting and unlocking the lower half to let James in. "Yer earlier than I was expectin'," he said, turning away from the door and wandering over to the kitchen table to sit down. He yawned loudly as he settled into one of the seats.

"It's difficult to sleep with the sun in your eyes," James replied coolly, following him inside. He placed the folded blanket down on the table in front of Sparrow. "Yours, I presume. You could have just woken me."

"Well, I did try." Sparrow grinned, flicking the corner of the blanket. "But yeh were out for the count. Right heavy sleeper, yeh are."

James rolled his eyes but didn't say anything more on the matter, knowing full well that he could be difficult to wake. Instead he plopped down in the seat opposite Sparrow and folded his arms on the table in front of him. "So what time were you thinking of leaving?"

Sparrow nipped thoughtfully at his thumbnail before leaning back in his seat to look at the grandfather clock by the door. "Well, its seven now, so I reckon if we leave at eight... rest at the inn in Rookridge for a couple of hours... we could be in Bowerstone by noon tomorrow." He shot James an amused glance. "If yeh don't lag behind, that is."

Bristling, James puffed out his chest. "I won't lag behind. I was tired and upset the last time. I'll have you know I can be quite a fast wal-"

Sparrow laughed and held up his hands defensively. "A'right, a'right, I believe yeh." He fell silent again and his fingers twitched slightly like he was counting in his head. This continued for a few minutes as James looked on bewilderedly, before Sparrow finally seemed to return to the real world. He shot James a casual little smile before jerking his head in the direction of the inn. "Yeh'll wanna pick up any stuff yer takin' home with yeh while I'm gettin' ready. Here." He stood up and walked over to a dresser that stood against a wall adjacent to the fireplace. After raking around in the drawers for a moment he returned with a small bag. It made the distinctive chinking sound of coins when he placed it down on the table. "And if it ain't too much trouble, could yeh get some food from the stall on yer way back? Cheese and fruit mostly. Spend whatever's in there."

James didn't realise he was beaming at the gold until Sparrow started laughing at him. He scowled at the gypsy until he finally settled down and wandered off to pack up his things and then plucked up the bag. It was a satisfying weight. Heavy enough to please James but not so heavy that he was worried he'd be tackled into a bush and murdered if someone so much as caught sight of the bag.

After clipping it onto his belt, he rose from his seat and left the house. Halfway down the path back to the inn Pumpkin joined him, shaking off his sleepiness and prancing along at his side happily.

There wasn't much to get from the inn as James hadn't brought much with him. Other than his coat and his savings there was nothing for him to collect. After shucking his coat on and hiding his savings bag in the pocket he set off to the fruit and veg stall. He spent a good long while examining the wares on offer while the stall owner looked on hopefully. Eventually he settled on a couple of lumps of Fairfax Delight, two shiny apples and a pair of hydroponic carrots and, after checking there was enough gold left, he purchased a couple of pieces of tofu for himself. He hated the stuff but he'd heard it was good for the skin. Feeling pleased with himself and perhaps slightly too happy to be spending someone else's money again, he headed back to Sparrow's house with Pumpkin right at his heels.

When he arrived Sparrow was sitting, well, sprawling, on the bench outside of his house, kitted out in his usual brown and back clothing and his weapons. He had his eyes closed and his head tilted back, enjoying the sun and the sea breeze. At the sound of James' footsteps and Pumpkin's excited panting, however, he opened his eyes and lifted his head to smirk at them both lazily. "Did yeh get everything?"

James nodded and held open the little canvas sack so that Sparrow could inspect what he'd bought. After a moment Sparrow nodded in approval and stood up, stretching luxuriously. "Are we ready to go?" James asked, watching the display with a little more interest than was strictly necessary. Sparrow nodded.

"Aye, we might as well. There's no point hangin' around now." He turned on his heel and headed up past his house and through the gate to the area containing a couple of chicken coops. "It's gonna be a long walk so I hope yer feelin' up to it."

James sniffed irritably. "You know, I don't appreciate this lack of faith you have in me. I might not be as- as much of an outdoorsman as you are, but I think I can manage a long walk."

Sparrow glanced over his shoulder at him, one eyebrow raised skeptically. "If yeh say so. Ain't yer leg still hurtin', though?"

It took James a moment to realise what Sparrow was talking about and he glanced down at his leg. "Oh," he said, when he remembered the hobbe bite. "No, actually it's cleared up nicely. The potion was more effective than I thought it would be." He cast a furtive, guilty look in Sparrow's general direction. "Um... thanks."

"No problem," Sparrow replied cheerful. "Just don't get bitten again."

James considered pointing out that if Sparrow had been paying closer attention to him, he wouldn't have been bitten in the first place, but decided that doing so was just liable to start an argument, so he kept it to himself. It didn't seem terribly clever to upset the man who would be protecting him for the next day and night.

- - -

By the time they reached Rookridge it was late evening, raining heavily and was much too dark for James to feel comfortable travelling. Even so, his pride didn't allow him to complain to Sparrow about it, much like it hadn't allowed him to complain about the fact that his feet felt like they were burning to cinders or the fact that the little bit of cheese Sparrow had allowed him to eat so far really wasn't enough to fill him.

As he trailed along behind Sparrow and Pumpkin, silently cursing them both for still seeming so bright and energetic despite the long walk, a bright light caught his attention. As he moved further down the path it soon became obvious what the light was. At the end of long dangerous looking bridge stood the ruin of an old Cathedral. The Temple of Shadows.

James froze mid step, staring at the building with wide, nervous eyes. Oh, how he loathed that place. He'd noticed it on the way to Oakfield as well, but had been too rattled and frightened to think much of it. Now though...

Ahead of him, Sparrow stopped and turned back, frowning in confusion. "Why've yeh stopped?" he asked, before following James' gaze towards the Temple. James didn't see it, but Sparrow's expression darkened with something like possessiveness. "Leave it alone, pretty boy. Not worth the trouble."

James knew that he was right, but as much as he wanted to turn on his heel and run as far away from the horrible place, his determination to try and do something to help his father was making it more difficult than it had to be.

And, of course, his ego recoiled at the very thought of returning from his mission a failure.

"I want to go and talk to them," he said after a long moment, turning to Sparrow. The gypsy raised an eyebrow in disbelief and shook his head, but other than that said nothing. "Please," James pressed, putting on his best desperate expression, "I have to at least try and talk to them."

"They won't listen to yeh, James," Sparrow said, spreading his hands. "Yeh'd be wasting yer time."

James' shoulders slumped momentarily, before he brightened up a little again. "Well, yes, perhaps, but at least I'd be able to find out what my father's gotten himself into exactly." He waited, watching Sparrow hopefully. When the other boy still didn't seem convinced, he added a distressed, "Please."

Sighing, Sparrow looked at the Temple, at the steadily rising moon and then shot a wistful look at the inn at the bottom of the hill before finally caving to James' kicked puppy expression. "A'right, but I'm warnin' yeh, James. Yeh'll not come outta there feelin' any better."

Nodding and not really paying any attention to the warning, James smiled timidly as he followed Sparrow across the bridge, sticking closer than he ever had before. Beside him, Pumpkin began to whimper, his ears and tail drooping fearfully. That didn't bolster James' spirit any, but he put a comforting hand on the dog's head. Pumpkin's tail gave a half-hearted wag in response, but he didn't perk up.

As they approached James noticed a man standing outside of the closed gates. At first his bad eyesight made it difficult to pick out any details, but as they got closer, he realised that he was a Shadow Monk. It wasn't all that surprising. What did unsettle James was the red mask he wore. James had seen a handful of Shadow Worshippers in his time, but none of them had worn masks quite like that one. As they came to a stop in front of the stranger, James belatedly realised he was staring and ducked his head, moving to cower behind Sparrow.

The Shadow Monk didn't seem to care. Instead he fixed his gaze on Sparrow. He gave the gypsy a once over before smiling, obviously seeing something there that he liked. James bristled, displeased by that, but tried not to let it show.

"Good evening, sir," the monk suddenly said, in a voice not at all like what James had been expecting. He sounded ever so very posh, like someone James himself would mix with at fancy parties, or the type of person who would attend his mother's fetes. James had been expecting some kind of demonic sounding voice, that would have been far more befitting of someone who tortured and murdered for a hobby. "Could I perhaps interest you in joining the Temple of Shadows?"

Sparrow balked at that and glanced back at James. "Can't we just go in? We just want to talk to someone."

The monk smiled and shook his head. "I'm afraid not, good sir. Only members and their guests are allowed into the Temple proper." When Sparrow still didn't look convinced, the man added, "The admission task is not that difficult. It's just a bit..." The man hesitated, for the first time losing his composure, "...disgusting."

Sparrow frowned and folded his arms. "Oh yeah? Well, what is it?"

Brightening slightly at the prospect of a possible new member, the monk reached into a bag hanging on his belt, which James noted seemed to be moving and... tweeting. That proved to be an entirely accurate observation when the man produced a small, fluffy yellow bird. A baby chick. "You have to... eat... five of these."

"What, alive?" Sparrow snapped, looking revolted. The shadow monk nodded. Well, at the least he wasn't a liar. It was disgusting. Sparrow turned his back on the monk to face James. "Do I really have to do this?"

"I'll pay you," James replied weakly. "I'm sorry, Sparrow, but please..."

The huge wobbly eyes seemed to work on Sparrow a second time, and James decided to note that for later use if necessary. After much muttering and scowling and cursing of everything under the sun, Sparrow turned back to the shadow monk and held out his hand. "Give 'em here then."

James couldn't watch. He walked down the bank a little way and covered his ears so he wouldn't have to listen to the poor little birds' distressed tweeting, or Sparrow's retching. He wasn't at all surprised when Pumpkin joined him, looking just as disturbed as James felt.

It took well over half an hour for Sparrow to manage to force the chicks down and by the time he was done he looked about ready to pass out or vomit or both. The shadow monk, however, was applauding like it was the single most amazing thing he'd ever seen, even though he too looked rather sick. "Bravo!" he cried, grinning like an idiot. "That was truly spectacular. I've never seen anything like it." He turned and made a gesture at the Temple, no doubt to someone James couldn't see as the gates began to rise as soon as he did so. "You've earned the right to enter the Temple of Shadows. Well done!"

Sparrow only made an odd, squeaky choked noise in reply.

James crept up to Sparrow's side and waited for him to recover. Once a little colour had returned to his cheeks he took the other man's arm and pulled him along slowly. "I really am sorry that you had to do that, but this is very important. I will pay you." He patted Sparrow's arm lightly.

"Yeh better," Sparrow croaked, pulling a disgusted face and shuddering. "I think one is still twitching..."

They crossed the ruined Cathedral in relative silence after that, the quiet only being broken by the occasional maniacal cackle from behind them. The stairs that led down into the Temple proper seemed to radiate pure malevolence, even more so than the rest of the Cathedral and as they came to a stop at the top of them James had to fight down the urge to turn and run.

"I hope this isn't a mistake..." he said quietly, his grip on Sparrow's arm tightening slightly. He seemed not to have realised that there was no real reason to be holding on to him anymore.

"Only one way to find out, pretty boy," Sparrow replied, just as softly, before he started down the stairs, pulling James after him.

I love Tarquin the Shadow Worshipper. :D He always makes me giggle.