Chapter 18: ACT I, SCENE 8.5

ACT I, SCENE 8.5Day 29 Hours 10 Minutes Since the Ash FellCathedral — Command PostVespar steps past Captain Lang and into the command post, sheathing the sword he had been carrying as they navigated the storm inside the Cathedral. Vespar can’t help observing the Captain—his posture, his authority, his confidence. The Captain wears the drawn-out expression of exhaustion, yet his eyes still carry the same attentive, observant scan Harold always had on their hunts. The same technique Vespar now wields. Turning to glance back at Kendra, Vespar wonders if she can see the worth he is trying to show her.Then there is Leo. The city. How can he be of use to them?So Vespar starts speaking, outlining the perch he used to watch the bakery and the square, the tunnels he used to find pests, and the different hideouts he and his father used for their games. Paths used only by those who knew how to walk them. He ends up divulging the truth about Ansel: what he witnessed when the arrow struck, the sounds Ansel made, and the path Vespar and Kendra took to reach the Cathedral.As he talks, he remembers the vantage points he used to sneak peeks at Kendra. The rooftops where he watched her greet strangers with a simple smile; the hidden perch from which he saw her get down to a child’s level, meet them eye to eye, and ask about school or their day. He watched his city from these forgotten passages, and giving those places away feels intimate; Vespar can’t help feeling as though he is sharing something that should remain secret. But if tomorrow depends on surrendering yesterday’s secrets, then they are no longer his to keep.Finally—Out of breath, heat burning his lungs, Vespar falls silent. Every charcoal mark is another secret that no longer belongs to him.