Rod of the Heart
Page 32
Given this entire block had been burned to the ground, it had taken him a bit to figure out for certain that he had the right building, but now he was confident and crouched just outside what used to be the front door of a shoemaker's shop. He had asked around, but no one recalled seeing either Shu or her father since the fire. They were presumed dead.
He laid the flowers down on the cobbles, glanced around, then bowed his head.
Lord,
I don't know why I'm here, not really. I haven't got a clue what you want, or if I'm going in the right direction. I admit that I've never really given much of a shit what you think ... maybe that's why I'm here now. I don't even know if you can hear me, or if you care if you can. Still, there's no one else I can ask for this so here goes:
Please give Shu a place in Heaven.
Please give all those who died because of me a place ... and help me to never let anything like this happen again. People who never even saw me lost their lives because I walked through their city gates. It isn't my place to judge them, and I don't want to be the one that doomed them, so please, give them a pass for me. It's the only thing I can think to ask for.
Well, that, and maybe one other thing. Look after my family. They're mostly shit people, especially my dad, but as long as there's life, there's hope, right? I'd take it as a personal favor if you could help turn them around for me, since I couldn't do it myself. One way or another though, they're in your hands now. I accept that no matter what happens from here on out, there's no turning back for me.
But, at the very least, give Shu a place ... even if you have to give her mine.
Amen.
He looked up at the ashes in front of him, and stared at them unseeing for what felt like a long time. There were some thick, fluffy clouds high up, and as one of them moved, shadows slid aside and bright sunlight shown down on the ruin. His eyes focused on something that glimmered at him from a pile of soot a few feet past where the door once stood.
He stared, eyes narrowing, but the glimmer didn't fade.
Terry got up and carefully stepped into the wreckage. He tilted his head, then crouched again and brushed away the ashes until he found a pair of half-burned boots. They weren't made for feet like his, but that wasn't what had caught his eye.
He smiled despite the tears welling in his eyes. Working carefully, he was able to separate the metal-capped laces from the tired, burned leather. He held each woven string up and ran his fingers along their lengths. They were long enough, and though there were a few spots of char that came away as he brushed at them, they seemed strong.
Thanks.
He stepped out of the burned remains and at Euryale's curious look showed her the laces and said, "I needed a new set."
"You should have said something, Master," Euryale said, pouting. "I could have picked them up along with the flowers."
Shaking his head, he knelt and set to pulling out the twine laces he'd been making do with. Euryale waited patiently until he'd re-laced his boots and stood, testing each by tapping the heel and toe on the cobbles.
"Are you sure you want to trust those?" Euryale asked. "They might be weak from the fire."
"I trust them," he said absently, wrapping a hand around her shoulder as they set off down the street.
"They're just what I needed.
"Come on. Let's go see to it that Yuri becomes Chief Running-Mouth in more than name."
Euryale giggled, and pressed in close under his arm.
"Sounds fun!"
Afterword
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