Free The Office of Shadow by Matthew Sturges

He
handed one of the brandies to Silverdun.
    "Calm down, lad. There's someone I'd like you to meet before we begin
the sales pitch."
    Everess looked up over Silverdun's shoulder. "Ah. Here he comes now."
    Silverdun turned and looked. At first he saw no one. No one that Everess
might be referring to, anyway. A jongleur, a skald, a mestine conjuring
dancing bears. "Who might that be?"
    As he said it, he noticed someone approaching, someone vaguely
familiar. The recognition of his presence was like that of an optical illusion
in which the eye is required to swap the foreground of an image for the background. Two faces or a vase. No one there or someone.
    This no one was nearly upon them before Silverdun recognized him.
Odd. Not only did his dress and manner cause him to stand out boldly in the
mostly upper-class Promenade, but he also walked with a heavily pronounced limp, dragging his left leg behind him, using a thick wooden cane in its
place.

    "Lord Silverdun, I'd like you to meet Chief Pact. Pact, Lord Silverdun."
    "Hello," said Paet simply. His expression was affectless, his eyes slightly
squinted though it was night. The winged waitress was passing back by, and
Paet took a drink from her tray without her noticing. He sat.
    "I'm no expert on manners," said Silverdun drily, "but I believe you're
supposed to bow and tug a forelock when you meet a lord of the realm, Paet."
    Paet looked Silverdun in the eye and shrugged. "Drag me before the
Sumptuary Court then."
    Silverdun looked to Everess, who was saying nothing. "Well, this is a
kick in the teeth, isn't it? Insolent one, this Paet."
    "That's `Chief' to you, milord," said Paet. His expression hadn't changed
at all during this exchange.
    Silverdun frowned. "I believe I'm supposed to kill you for talking to me
like that. I'm an iconoclast, however, so I'll wait to hear why Everess here has
inflicted you on me before I do."
    Everess laughed out loud. "Ignore him, Paet. He won't really kill you."
    Paet shrugged. "He's welcome to try."
    Everess sighed. "Now, now. This isn't how I wanted this meeting to go
at all. Paet, calm yourself. Silverdun, shut your mouth for a moment and
listen."
    Paet and Silverdun eyed each other carefully. Silverdun wasn't as disapproving of Paet as he'd let on. The impropriety was nothing; he'd been
treated far worse at Crete Sulace, by prison guards who, due to their low
birth, could have been hanged for looking him in the eye. It was important
to keep up appearances, however, lest someone mistake him for a tiresome
social reformer. Still, there was something disquieting about Paet.
    "Earlier this evening," said Everess, "we discussed the Shadows. The
mythical spies,' as you put it."
    Silverdun pointed at Paet. "Are you telling me that this fellow here is a
Shadow?"
    "Not a Shadow," said Paet. "The Shadow. There's only one. Now,
anyway."

    "This is true?" asked Silverdun.
    "He's quite serious," said Everess, nodding. "When the group was disbanded after the Treaty of Avenus, it was decided to keep one Shadow in
service into perpetuity. In case they were needed again."
    "And you believe they are needed."
    "It requires a certain type of person to do the work that must now be
done. And I know that you are exactly that sort of person."
    "I?" said Silverdun. "The `rude villein' whose most recent distinction was
being the first monk in history ever to be given the sack?"
    Paet smiled at Everess. Under the squint, which appeared to be a permanent feature, the smile looked rueful, whether it was or not. "He makes a fair
case against himself, Everess. Perhaps he's not the man you thought."
    "Yes he is," said Everess, who had developed his own squint now. Silverdun had a feeling this wasn't a good thing. "And despite his endless
protestations, he knows it. He only needs to realize it."
    "So, what? You want me to become the new Shadow? Take over from
Paet here?"
    "No," said Everess. "You're going to lead a small team of Shadows. The