I started to fiddle with the rings that rested around my neck while chewing on my lower lip. I wanted my questions answered but I know he was probably just as confused as I was as to why I was in the middle of it.
"Shelta gave them to me," I whispered. "She owns a little shop in town and to-told me to keep them on me and no-not to allow anyone else to see th-them."
He slowly nodded his head while keeping his eyes locked on the objects, taking a couple deep breaths before closing his eyes and turning his head away from me.
"Do you know the story behind those?"
The hoarseness in his voice made me realize how painful this was for him. He probably felt like he was reliving the past all over again. That thought caused a waive of guilt to wash over me causing my head to hang.
"She told me a little bit about it, but I don't really know much more than that."
He reached out and slowly touched them before speaking.
"I made specifically for the two of us," he began. "They were made with....well magic I guess is what you would call it. I made them, I inscribed them, and they became the very thing that eventually ruined me. You see sweetheart, those rings....cannot fall into the wrong hands. They are powerful and damaging to me, I need you to keep them safe please. They are tethered to me...my soul. I thought they were lost with the book and yet here you are...full of surprises and holding every piece to the puzzle."
I gulped and asked, "Grimald? Is this the object that your soul is tied to?"
I already knew the answer by the way he was talking, I could see his fear in his eyes when he looked at the rings. He was terrified of being used again, terrified of suffering more than he already was and these rings were just one small piece in his long suffering.
"Yes, and since Sybil trusts you so much I am asking you to please keep them on you at all times. These are the only things that can allow me out in the daylight, when I am being used by a master, I am no longer tied to that stone slab. I only want you to use them if you are in immediate danger do you understand? I am in hiding from someone and being used or called on in broad daylight will only confirm what they already know, that I am still alive. Do you remember those men in black that were chasing you the night you saw me for the first time?"
I nodded my head while swallowing around the lump in my throat, fear creeping up my spine at the panicked look in his eyes.
"Those were priests, well not like the priests that you know. They have been trained in magic, torture, the old church ways so to speak. They were sent to take you thinking that you know something, trying to find a new way to control me or possibly even kill me. The reason I am allowing you to keep these rings, is so you always have my protection anytime you need it. Just simply call my name, as long as these are in your possession any time day or night, I will be there. Do you understand?"