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“Guys. Run.”
Gideon slumped on the ground, bleeding profusely from the wounds on his chest, fading in and out of consciousness. After all this time of trying to protect his friends, to protect Kremy, he was not good enough. The giant beast with blank eyes stepped on him, making him grunt out in pain as he could feel his ribs breaking under its weight. Frantically, he tried searching for the familiar flash of green and purple, to see Kremy one last time, but his eyes could no longer focus, dark spots swimming in his vision. Then something heavy crashed down into his chest and everything went black, just like a candle getting snuffed out.
Gideon woke up with a start, his head swimming as he tried to focus on his surroundings through his hazy eyes.
“Ah, so we finally meet Gideon Nathaniel Coal.”
His head whipped into the direction of the strange voice, his body struggling to listen to him as he clumsily got to his feet, holding onto the rock statue he managed to knock his hand against.
“Who - who the fuck are you? Where am I?”
His vision finally stabilised, allowing him to see who was the owner of the voice. A man in a three piece pinstripe suit, not unlike Kremy’s, except there were feathers adorning the lapels, a bird skull sitting on the brim of the top hat, its sightless sockets staring back at Gideon mockingly. The man had a wide grin as he regarded the genasi through his round glasses, one of the lenses broken leaving behind just a few shards of glass in the rim.
“I think you know who I am, Mr Coal. After all, you’re travelling with one of my most devout followers.”
Gideon finally managed to right himself, feeling steadier with each passing moment, and with a start let go of what he had thought was a simple statue once he realised it was actually a grave stone. The pair stood in the middle of a graveyard, leaving the list of potential candidates pitifully short.
“Yer the good Baron. Kremy's patron.”
The man’s smile grew even wider as he bowed with a flourish.
“Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
Gideon looked around himself once more. If he was seeing the baron then that meant…
“So, what? I’m dead now, is that it?”
The Baron’s smile hadn’t wavered a single bit as he snapped his fingers, a bottle of amber liquid and two glasses materialising midair in a flash of neon purple.
“No, no, gods forbid, no. You’re not dead. Yet . You were close though. And I figured now would be as good a time as any to meet the fabled partner of one of my favourites.”
As he spoke the bottle uncorked itself by magic, pouring generous amounts into the two glasses before the containers drifted over to the Baron’s hands. He caught them with ease, offering one to Gideon. The genasi frowned.
“Are the others alright? What the fuck happened back there?”
“I assure you your friends are in no real mortal danger.”
Gideon frowned even more. Over the years spent by Kremy’s side he knew when someone was skirting just around the edge of truth. At the same time, he learned to recognise when it was best to just keep his mouth shut and don’t ask too many questions. He took the offered glass and the Baron smiled, clinking them together jovially.
As Gideon brought the alcohol closer to his lips, his eyebrows raised as he was hit by a very distant memory. He sniffed at the glass’ contents hesitantly, before taking a cautious sip. He’d know this taste anywhere, despite not having tasted it in about ten years.
“This is Sinner’s Drought,” he muttered, his eyes meeting with the Baron’s through the broken spectacles. The loa was looking at him with a satisfied air around him, leaning against a nearby tombstone nonchalantly. It made Gideon uneasy.
“With all due respect, sir. I need t’ get back, my friends need me.”
The Baron let out a melodic laugh that made chills run down Gideon’s spine and the shadows around them creep closer.
“I can see why Kremy likes you, Mr Coal. I will allow you to get back to your friends shortly, you have a loa’s word. First, I’d like you to answer a few of my questions, if you’d be so kind.”
A few of the nearby shadows creeped closer to Gideon, swirling around him but keeping their distance. He paid them no mind, he figured that if the Baron wanted him dead, they wouldn’t be talking here right now.
“‘S not like I have a choice. Go for it, I guess,” he said, taking another sip of the spicy rum.
“My little shadows informed me you two are married, is that true?”
Gideon choked on the rum, coughing violently as he attempted to get the liquid out of his windpipe, knocking his chest with a fist to dislodge the liquid.
“That was - just ironic. We aren’t really married, it was a mistake.”
The Baron cocked his head to the side, his piercing eyes studying the spluttering genasi intently.
“Hm. How odd. Didn’t look like a mistake from where I was standing.”
Before Gideon could ask what in the nine hells was that supposed to mean, one of the shadows brushed against his hand gently. He watched as the tuft of smoke ran through his fingers, rubbing against him just like a cat begging for pets - missing the fond smile that crossed the Baron’s lips. The inky shadow ran over his hand and up his forearm, coiling around his skin in a soft caress. Somehow it felt… familiar.
“You seem to care for Kremy a lot though, don’t you?”
Gideon’s brow furrowed.
“Well yeah. I owe him my life. Don’t think I could’ve made it long if he hadn’t took me in after the train.”
“So is that why you’ve kept by his side for so long? Are you repaying a debt?”
“Well… no. We’re best friends.”
“Curious. You seem to care for him a great deal for being just friends.”
“I- what does that have to do with-”
“Tell me, Mr Coal,” the Baron interrupted him, moving forwards with surprising speed, until he was close enough that Gideon could see the multitude of colours of his uncovered iris, “would you die for him?”
“Yes.”
There was no hesitation in Gideon’s answer as he stared defiantly back at the loa of death. The shadow that had slithered its way up his arm, squeezed his bicep and he resisted the urge to give it a reassuring caress. The Baron’s uncovered eye studied his face intently, looking, searching for something before another smile spread over the loa’s face. Gideon’s had enough.
“What is with the questions, huh? What does how I feel about Kremy got anything to do with you?”
The Baron raised his hands in a placating gesture, heavy golden rings glinting in the foggy morning sun.
“As I said. Mr Lecroux is one of my most faithful. As such I like to pay very close attention to his well being.”
The Baron reached out with his hand and the shadow that wrapped itself around Gideon had jumped to its master, ascending upon his shoulder where it grew bigger, taking on the form of a small alligator, staring at Gideon with its black beady eyes.
Somewhere in the distance a rooster crowed its morning song and the Baron looked off to the side as if listening to something. Then he turned back to Gideon.
“Well, I am afraid that is all the time we had. Time for you to return to your family, Mr Coal. Be well. Oh, and,” the Baron smiled, a big bright smile, his visible eye swirling with green and purple magic as he tapped Gideon’s chest lightly, “Take care of Kremy for me, would you?”
Gideon’s vision dimmed again as a soft jazzy tune filled his ears. And then he was falling, falling, falling …
The first thing Gideon noticed was his own heart - beating so strong he could practically hear it, his mind deafened with the sound for just a moment. Then came the pain, a deep ache in his whole body, the same kind of pain he had been used to on the train.
With a soft sound he opened his eyes, finding himself on top of thorny roses in a dark forest.
“Fellas? Gid?” the frantic sound of Kremy’s voice filled his ears and he sat up with a pained ground, looking around in search of the lizardfolk. Was Kremy alright? The last thing Gideon remembered was the green beast and its sharp claws tearing into his flesh, how in the nine hells did he get here?
He saw a blur of green and purple and suddenly there was Kremy, grey eyes filled with panic as the warlock patted Gideon’s torso with shaky hands, looking for the injuries - only to find none. Gently, the genasi caught one scaly hand in his own, pressing the lizardfolk’s palm against his chest, just where his heart beat the loudest.
He watched as the fear in Kremy’s face melted away, eyes turning glossy with relief. Kremy gave him an unsteady smile before turning towards the others.
“Sound off. Everybody ok?”
As the whole group made sure everybody was here and accounted for and safe and alive, Gideon’s eyes hadn't left Kremy once, their hands still firmly pressed against his chest, the scales warming quickly with his body heat. The contact put Gideon’s mind at ease slightly - they were both alive, no matter what came next, they would be ready to take it on. Together.
A pair of hidden eyes had been watching the whole scene play out, watching as Gideon and Kremy stayed close to one another, exchanging reassuring touches and glances full of longing when the other was looking the other way. As soon as it was sure it wouldn’t get spotted, the little alligator shaped shadow scurried off into the underbrush of the forest, eager to report to its master.