‘He saved me, he did. I’d be dead without him,’ the man that Jerri was still holding up said.
Ras ran forward with a whoop. ‘Holy fuck, dude, you messed it up. Wow,’ he said. ‘You never told me you were a daemon killer?’
‘Well… Wasn’t much to tell, really,’ he said.
‘Jeez, can you believe this guy? You killed a daemon,’ he stressed, before turning to the crowd. ‘Nero, Nero, Nero,’ he started to chant. Others joined in, and the room was filled with the noise of people shouting his name. He wasn’t sure what to do with that. He most certainly wasn't a daemon killer, but he’d vowed to Nyx that he would keep her secret, and he wasn’t about to break that promise. He felt sure he was looking very uncomfortable with the adoration the crowd was giving him, and after a short while, Rex raised his hand. Nero had noticed that Rex and Cryptus, as well as a few others, had not been chanting, but they had let those who wanted to, to do it.
At the raise of his hand, the chanting died away. Rex looked over to Nero and walked around the fallen daemon to him.
‘Thank you, it seems we owe you a debt of gratitude,’ Rex said, his eyes looking over the skull covered mask that he always wore.
‘If you say so,’ Nero answered.
‘Oh, I do. Name your price. Anything, and it’s yours,’ Rex said.
Nero cocked his head sideways. On the one side, Rex seemed grateful, and was offering him anything he wanted, but his manner was subdued, suspicious even. Did Rex suspect something? He’d been living with Nyx for a long time, by all accounts. Did he suspect that this victory was not what it seemed?
‘Well?’ Rex asked. ‘What is it to be?’
‘Let me think on it. I’ll let you know in the morning,’ Nero said, not really knowing what he wanted. His mind was a mess from the fight and the revelation of what Nyx could do. He was having difficulty thinking what to do next, let alone what he would like as a reward for supposedly killing this daemon. A reward that he knew he didn’t deserve, but never let it be said he was one to look a gift horse in the mouth. He’d think of something. Why not take the reward that was being offered to him?
‘Tomorrow, then. I will see you tomorrow,’ Rex said and walked over to his Dogs. He said something to these men, pointed at the daemon corpse, and then went on his way.
‘How did you do it?’ Ras asked him as he stepped up to Nero.
‘I just shot it, that’s all, really,’ Nero said.
‘Wow, you must be awesome with that gun,’ Ras answered him.
‘Awesome, indeed,’ Cryptus said from close by. Nero looked over to him, picking up disbelief in the man’s voice. Cryptus was not even looking at Nero. Instead, he was looking all around the room, staring deep into the shadows as if looking for something… Or someone.
Did he suspect the truth as well?
‘Congratulations, you seem to have accomplished the impossible. You must feel good,’ Cryptus said.
‘I feel tired, I know that. Killing daemons really takes it out of you,’ Nero added, choosing to double down on this and accept that they thought he had killed the thing.
They were all slowly moving out of the garage into the courtyard, but Nero couldn’t resist a glance back at the corpse, only to see the Whisperer standing beside the fallen daemon, one of his kind, and then look up at Nero with a grave expression on his face.
Chapter 9
Nero
Nero walked up to the water tank in the balcony area and ran some of the life-giving liquid into the bowl that sat there before plunging his hands into it and splashing the water on his face.
The cool liquid felt refreshing against his warm skin and washed away some of the sweat and grime that had built up on his face. He wiped some of the water away with his hand and stood up straight.
‘So, how’d it go down. The fight, I mean,’ Cruptus said from where he stood close by.
Nero looked over at him, catching a suspicious look in his eyes. He was fishing for details. Did he suspect that Nero didn’t kill the daemon? Maybe. Nero looked behind him, they were alone for now, no one would hear them talking. Putting his hands on his hips, Nero looked down into the shallow water in the bowl before him.
‘You’re not from around here, are you? You’re not affiliated with Rex, right?’
‘You know I’m not. I’m just passing through, like you,’ he said.
Nero raised his eyebrows a touch. He wasn’t sure he knew that for certain, but everything he’d seen with this Cryptus backed up what he said. He, like Nero, was treated as an outsider as far as Nero could tell.
‘What do you know about the daemons?’
‘Not much. They’re not of this world, and they appeared following the Cataclysm. That’s about it. Oh, and they’re nearly impossible to kill. I’ve seen it done before, but there’s not much left of them,’ he said.
‘Exactly,’ he said, and looked up at Cryptus. ‘I didn’t kill that thing.’
He said it on impulse, not really thinking it through and just going with his gut. He felt sure that confiding in Cryptus would be okay and that he wouldn’t share this detail with Rex.
‘Of course you didn’t,’ Cryptus said.
‘You knew?’
‘I was about as close to certain as I could get, without actually knowing for sure. I could see it in how you were acting and just from what I knew of you already. Yes, I was fairly sure you hadn’t killed it.’
‘Good to know I’m so transparent,’ Nero said.
‘So, the only question remains is, who did kill it?’
‘Heh… well…’ Nero said, unsure if he should give him that final detail.
‘It was Nyx, wasn’t it?’
‘What? How the hell?’
‘Stab wounds on the daemon’s body match her sword. Also, it just fits. She killed it, didn’t she? And saved your ass, right?’
‘I can neither confirm, nor deny such a statement,’ Nero muttered, checking behind them again to make sure no one was in earshot. No one was.
‘I thought as much. What are you going to do?’
‘I don’t know. I think I need to talk to her,’ he said. He’d seen her wandering around the place a few times, so, she seemed to have a certain amount of freedom. He figured if he stayed around the areas where he’d seen her most often, he’d find a way to have a quick word with her.
‘I think you do,’ Cryptus said. ‘Let me know how it goes.’ The man walked off, leaving Nero to his thoughts.
Looking around, he knew he’d seen her inside the complex more than outside, so he headed that way, avoiding talking to anyone as much as he could and moved inside. He soon found a place, not too far from the main access into the tower itself that gave him a good chance of her walking past, and it was close to a small alcove that would give him an element of privacy.
Nero hung around the area for a while, keeping out of sight as much as he could and listening for the sound of someone coming down the tower rather than standing out in the open where he would be seen and eventually questioned.
He saw numerous guards walk past, going about their business, as well as various other residents here, such as some of the brothel’s girls and even Rex himself.
A couple of hours later, he heard more movement outside and glanced around the corner of the alcove to take a look. Spotting the mane of blonde hair right away, he smiled, got to his feet and hoped she’d come his way.
As it happened, he was in luck, and Nyx sauntered over towards him, unaware he was there as far as he could tell. Nero backed around the corner and waited. Seconds passed, but she hadn’t appeared, so he moved up to the corridor once again.
‘What do you want?’ Nyx asked as she stepped around the corner into the alcove, checking along the corridor as she moved to make sure no one was watching.
She guided him inside with her hand, into the tight confines of the alcove, and looked at him with her bright blue eyes, waiting for his answer.
‘To talk,’ he said, getting his best up-clo
se look at her so far. She was a beautiful girl with lovely, soft looking skin. Her hair was pulled back from her face and sported a few braids here and there. She also wore some war paint or grease on her face around her eyes, giving her a fierce look.
‘Says mister two-words,’ she muttered, glancing furtively at the exit to this little alcove.
Nero smiled. She’d noticed that he didn’t talk much. He wasn’t purposefully laconic, he just didn’t see the need to speak all the time, and, when he did speak, he preferred to get to the point quickly and just say what needed to be said rather than prattle on about unrelated or unimportant crap.
‘Nyx, you killed that daemon,’ he said. She looked back at him, her arresting eyes nearly making him catch his breath with their intensity.
‘Yeah, so?’
‘I’ve never seen that. How did you do it?’
Nyx shrugged. ‘Don’t know. I just can; I have no idea how,’ she said.
Nero suddenly noticed a bruise on the side of her face as she looked around her. ‘You weren’t hit during the fight were you?’ he asked.
Nyx brought her hand up to her bruise and shook her head, lowering her eyes. She looked ashamed, suddenly.
Nero frowned. The change in her demeanour was sudden and started him thinking about how she’d got such a bruise. ‘Didn’t think so…’ he said. ‘You’re Rex’s wife, right?’
Nyx frowned now and wrinkled her nose in disgust. ‘Don’t call me that, I’m not his wife,’ she spat.
‘You’re not married?’
‘No! I know what marriage is, and we haven’t done that. He can call me whatever he likes, but I’m not his wife.’
‘He hit you, didn’t he,’ Nero said, feeling sure that was where she got the bruise.
Nyx looked away, but said nothing.
‘He did,’ Nero stated.
‘Why are you here?’ she said.
‘At the Watchtower? You know why. I’m just passing through. I won’t be staying. I just want some supplies, really,’ he said.
‘Is that it? Nothing else? No other reason for you to stay?’
‘That’s why I came here,’ he said.
Nyx rolled her eyes and moved away from him towards the corridor. ‘See ya around then,’ she said and disappeared around the corner.
Nero leant back against the wall, looking out into the corridor where Nyx had just disappeared from view. He narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips together in consternation. He wasn’t an idiot. He knew what she was getting at. But he had to be careful. Saving her from Rex would not be easy, not to mention the ramifications of such an action on his lifestyle.
Shit. She clearly wasn’t happy here. Rex was abusing her, he felt sure of that. At the very least, he was hitting her, but he suspected that Rex was doing much worse than that. He could see it in her eyes, the scars of what she’d been through living here. She was damaged goods, and yet, there was a strength there. She was tough and was not about to give in to him just yet.
But then, you didn’t survive in this world if you weren’t tough. The weak were ground up by this world and spat out. They never lasted long. Nyx was strong, and he liked that. She reminded him of his mother. She kind of looked like her, too, with her strawberry blonde hair.
Nero sighed. He wanted to help her. He wanted to free her. But if he did, that would likely change his life for a long while to come, and maybe for good. He’d been alone for so long now, wandering these wastes, that he wondered if he’d even be able to travel with someone without them driving him to distraction.
There was something about her, though. Something which just really captivated him and made him think that maybe, just maybe, it might work out for the best. But he needed to get her out of here first, and that would not be easy.
Nero banged his head back against the wall he leant up against.
‘Oh, hey, it’s you,’ said a voice at the end of the alcove. It was Ras, standing there looking in. ‘What you doing in here?’
‘Just getting away from everyone,’ he said, standing up.
‘Oh, okay, sure. Don’t let me get in your way, then,’ Ras said.
‘Hey, don’t worry about it, you’re fine,’ he said and stepped up to Ras.
‘Cool.’ Ras said. ‘So, have you decided yet?’
‘Decided what?’ Nero asked.
‘What you want. Rex said you could have anything for killing that monster, didn’t he. What do you want?’
‘He did, didn’t he,’ Nero mused.
‘Sure did,’ Ras agreed.
It was a long shot, and Rex would likely not agree to it, but it was worth a shot. As far as Rex knew, she was just a slave, anyway. A pretty one, but that’s was all. Maybe he would let him have her.
‘I have an idea,’ Nero said.
‘So, go on then, spill it,’ Ras said.
‘Nah, not right now. I’ll speak with Rex first, I think. Do you know where he is?’
‘He’s got a room, like, an office or something, a meeting place. It’s this way, follow me. I’ll bet he’s in there.’
‘He’s not in his tower?’
‘That’s just his bedroom, his private quarters,’ Ras explained.
Nero nodded and followed Ras through the corridors to a large metal door.
‘In there,’ he said.
Nero nodded once. ‘Thanks,’ he said and banged on the door.
‘Come in,’ called a voice from inside.
Nero looked at Ras and raised his eyebrows.
‘Good luck,’ Ras said as Nero stepped into the room, easing the door open and looking inside. The largish room had a rotten desk at one end that Rex was sitting behind, while General Pitbull, a short man, and an older woman stood beside it. Three other people were in here, sitting in the dirty seats close by.
Nero nodded towards Rex. Rex sat back in his seat and put the knife he was holding to his mouth.
‘Come in, daemon slayer’ Rex said.
Everyone was looking at him as Nero closed the door and then walked over to the desk. He stopped a few foot short of it and waited to be spoken to, glancing at the others in here. He felt sure that the three people, one woman and two men, sat more or less behind him, were Rex’s Dogs. His guards. Maybe they were a higher rank than the others? Captains maybe? General Pitbull he knew by name, but the other two he didn’t, although he had seen the short man before. He looked like someone who didn’t get a lot of exercise, and he stood there holding a black slate and a chunk of chalk, looking at Nero. The older woman was a new one, though. He hadn’t seen her before. She wore feathers in her hair and a long raggedy dress or cloak. It was hard to tell what it was, really.
‘What can I do for you today?’ Rex asked.
‘Earlier, you said I could have anything I wanted for killing the daemon,’ Nero stated.
‘I did,’ Rex answered.
‘And you meant it?’
‘As long as it’s within my power to give you, of course,’ he said, laughing. Pitbull laughed, too, a deep throaty chuckle that Nero found no amusement in hearing.
‘Then I know what I want,’ Nero said.
‘Great. Name it, and it’s yours,’ Rex said.
‘Nyx. I want Nyx.’
Rex's eyes narrowed and his previous jovial demeanour vanished. Pitbull looked shocked, looking back and forth between Rex and Nero, while the older woman gave a half smile. The short man's eyes just went wide as she stared at Nero in shock.
‘No deal,’ Rex said.
‘You said anything,’ Nero challenged him.
‘No deal! Nyx is not included in this, she’s off limits. Take one of Madam Privay’s girls, they can suck your cock just as well as Nyx can,’ he ranted.
‘I don’t want them. I want Nyx. You said I could have anything as long as it was in your power. This is in your power. You can free a slave anytime you like.’
‘She’s not a slave! She’s my wife, and she’s not a bargaining chip. You can’t have her.’
‘I’m not leav
ing here without her,’ Nero barked.
‘Fine. Kill him,’ Rex ordered.
Pitbull raised his gun, and Nero heard several other weapons being drawn behind him as well. This didn’t look good.
Chapter 10
Nero
‘Wait,’ the old woman said, raising her hands to try and stop everyone. ‘Don’t kill him, not like this,’ she said.
Nero looked up at her as everyone froze. She glanced at him as she looked around the room, and then turned to Rex.
‘Why not?’ Rex asked.
‘The people of the Watchtower see him as their saviour. They know what he did. If you kill him, you risk an uprising. Send him on his way, give him some extra supplies for his trouble, but don’t kill him. It weakens your position,’ the woman said.
Rex looked at the woman, then down at his desk, thinking it over. Nero watched him, wondering what his choice would be. Was he going to die today?
Finally, Rex looked up. ‘Pheen, what would I do without you. Your insight is always appreciated and usually right, and, on this matter, I am inclined to agree with you. Killing him would not work to my benefit. So be it. Docker?’
‘Yes, sir?’ the short man said.
‘See to it that his car is loaded with supplies and send Nero on his way. I expect him to be gone within the hour. Got it?’
‘Of course, sir,’ Docker said, scratching something into his slate tablet.
‘You go with him,’ Rex then said to Pitbull. ‘Make sure he doesn’t cause any more trouble. Pheen, bring Nyx to me, take one of my captains with you,’ he said.
‘Move it, scum,’ Pitbull said as Rex smiled at Nero from behind his desk. Nero sighed. He’d tried. It was always going to be a long shot, but he’d tried. Resisting now would likely be a death sentence, so he didn’t, and walked out of Rex’s office and down towards his car willingly. Pitbull stood close by and watched him as Nero got into his charger and started it up, checking things over to make sure it was running smoothly. Meanwhile, several guards, directed by Docker, Rex’s administrator, brought boxes of food and supplies and put them into the car.
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