Playing with Shadows

  ****

  Corin groaned, but obediently pushed himself upright as light flooded through his tiny room. Alan was out the door before Corin could do more than blink and yawn, and Mavir followed slowly, not giving Corin a second glance. Corin ignored them in kind, dragging himself off the pallet and to his feet. It felt like he hadn't slept a wink, but Corin made himself move anyway. He'd feel more awake after breakfast. Hopefully.

  The dining hall was packed with servants. Breakfast was cold leftovers from the previous night since no one was allowed to be up before the sun. Thankfully, there was plenty of hot tea since that didn't take much to make. It was cheap tea, weak and watery, but better than nothing. Corin helped himself to a cup of tea and a hunk of stale bread, and then found himself a seat, waiting for the priest in charge of them to come with the day's assignments.

  Hopefully, it would be something easy, Corin thought, slumping in his chair tiredly. He doubted he'd be that lucky, however. He never was. Corin had finished his breakfast and was drinking his second cup of tea when two priests entered the room. The low chatter from the rest of the servants immediately died down, and Corin tried not to stare. Neither of the two priests were the man who usually directed them. Corin immediately recognized Rafferty, but he didn't know the name of the other priest, only that he was one of the higher-ranking priests who barely deigned to acknowledge Corin and his peers existed.

  "If I call your name, please come with us," Rafferty said, his voice carrying across the quiet room. He listed off five names, none of which Corin recognized. Corin watched, curious, as the five stood, setting aside cups and leaving the room behind Rafferty and the other priest. That was highly unusual, but Corin supposed they probably had some special project that those people were best to work on.

  The dining hall filled with chatter again, and Corin ignored it, partly because he was tired and not feeling particularly friendly and partly because the main topic of conversation was a discussion on whether so-and-so had actually seen the shadows move and whether the stories the priests told about the demon shadows were at all true.

  It was a load of crock in Corin's opinion. It wasn't a popular opinion, as he'd found out his second day there when he'd made the mistake of laughing at Karli, who was adamant she'd seen the shadows moving in odd ways one evening. A few others had come forward with stories about the shadows, but Corin hadn't believed them any more than he'd believed Karli. It was stupid, the idea of shadows coming to life.

  The priests hadn't helped. Their weekly sermons tended to focus on nebulous demons ready to snatch the souls of any servant who was tempted to disobey the priests. They harped on fate and doing one's duties and Corin was sick of it. Unfortunately, most of his peers were sucked in, and Corin's continued derision had alienated them thoroughly.

  It didn't make any sense. If it were true that demons lurked in the shadows, wouldn't everyone see them, not only Karli and a few others? Corin didn't trust a word the priests said, either. They were more interested in keeping themselves happy and well-pampered and were more than willing to use the idea of "demons in the shadows" to keep the servants doing what they were told.

  Corin finished his tea and resisted the urge to rest his head on the table in front of him. He might not be able to get up again if he did that. The priest who normally handed out duties arrived then, keeping Corin from giving in anyway.

  He ended up assigned to kitchen duties, which wasn't terrible. The cook kept a pot of tea on at all times for everyone simply because there was so much running around involved in kitchen work. Corin ended up on dish duty, which kept him in one place and didn't take half as much energy as fetching would have. Corin wasn't sure he could have spent the day running back and forth getting firewood and water.

  Corin was still exhausted by the time they broke for dinner. His hands were long wrinkled, numb from both the cold water and the constant use. The priests ate an hour before the servants, and the servants ate after, before being immediately ushered off to their rooms for the evening. Corin sat down heavily in the dining hall, ignoring the way he was ignored. He started eating slowly, noting that the five who'd been selected that morning were back.

  "No, nothing special," the young man closest to Corin was saying to Karli. "We had to clean a library with them breathing down our necks. I swear, they made each of us clean off the desk since none of us could do it right or something."

  Corin rolled his eyes, not surprised by that. He stopped paying attention then, more inclined to eat than to listen to the stupid conversations around him. After dinner, the priests escorted them back to their rooms, and Corin wasted no time in stretching out on his bedding, falling asleep quickly despite the cold discomfort of the thin pallet.

  He woke up thrashing at some point later, his heart racing and fear thrumming in his veins. A nightmare, Corin realized after a moment, his breathing loud and ragged in the quiet of the room. He hadn't woken Alan or Mavir, judging by their breathing. Corin took a few deep breaths, trying to remember the dream, but to no avail. The room was too warm again, and Corin stilled, feeling completely unsettled as he stared towards the ceiling.

  There was nothing in the room, Corin thought. It was a by-product of his nightmare. Alan and Mavir were the only company he had, sleeping quietly nearby. Forcing himself to move, Corin flipped, letting a gust of cool air under his blanket. Lying flat on his stomach, Corin buried his face in his stale-smelling pillow and tried to go back to sleep. The uneasiness slipped away after a few moments, and Corin fell back asleep, determinedly thinking about nothing at all.