Rene patted Aurora’s shoulders and then left Carden’s office, deliberately closing the door behind him.
Ugh. I hate acting like that. But it should get everything I want done.
I think the kissing cheeks thing was overdone.
I disagree. It was a very nervous young man looking for a chance to kiss a lady.
Sticking his hands in his pockets, Rene moved off toward the exit.
Today was going quite well. Far better than he’d expected.
As he walked out of the building and back into the morning sun, Rene was confronted with a large plume of black smoke drifting into the air.
Another fire. Seems to happen with some regularity.
There was a weird tap at the back of his head. Like something waking up and demanding his attention.
Like a dog barking, the sort of feeling that made you want to know what was going on.
With a frown forming on his face, Rene picked up speed and started jogging toward his carriage.
“Is there an issue, young master?” asked one of the knights on his bodyguard detail. They were easily pacing him.
“No, but I’m not sure of that,” Rene said. “Let’s get over to that fire. I want to see what’s going on.”
“I’m sure it’s in hand, young master,” countered the second knight.
“I don’t doubt it, but I want to see it. So let’s go,” replied Rene.
“Of course, young master,” said the first knight.
They loaded up into the carriage and were off in a flash.
Except the closer and closer they got to the fire, the sicker Rene felt. He was almost positive now of where this fire was.
Positive of where it was, and likely who was behind it.
He should have listened to the darker side of his nature and ended things last night with Junk.
“We can’t go any further,” called the driver from atop the carriage.
Getting out of the vehicle, Rene wasn’t going to let anything stop him. He needed to see what was going on.
“Young master,” said the second knight.
Not even waiting to discuss it, Rene started forcing his way through the crowd of people. There were so many packed into the road, it prevented the carriage from moving forward.
Damnit, please don’t be the Moons. Please don’t be. Please.
Sliding out of the crowd, Rene found himself staring into the inferno that was a home.
And it was, of course, a home he knew.
It was the Moon residence.
No!
The heat coming off the burning building was immense. Rene swore his hair was going to start curling and burn it was so hot.
There was nothing that could be done for the Moon residence. The whole thing was an inferno. If anyone was inside, they had long since passed from the world.
A bucket brigade was throwing a never ending-supply of water into the flames and the buildings nearby, but it was clear there would be nothing to do for Bill and Lori’s house.
“Did anyone get out?!” Rene shouted at everyone around him. He was hopeful that none of the Moon family members had been inside.
“A little girl did,” one of the bystanders said, then pointed off to one side.
Laid out on the ground was Lori Moon. Around her were several adults.
Storming over in that direction, Rene didn’t care anymore about the heat that threatened to cook him.
When he reached the small girl, he could see her eyes were open. Her hair was singed and burnt, her skin had red and black splotches all over, and she was coughing.
The adults were pressing wet compresses to her exposed skin, trying to hydrate and cool her flesh.
“Rene?” Lori gurgled, as her eyes landed on him.
Getting down on a knee next to her, Rene gave her a sad smile.
“Yeah, hey Lori,” Rene said, his voice thick. “You’ll be fine. Okay?”
“Okay,” Lori croaked. “Bill, Mom, and Dad are still inside. Can you go get them?”
Rene winced at that, his heart lurching to one side.
Looking back to the flaming monstrosity that was the Moon residence, he slowly shook his head.
“I’m sorry, Lori,” Rene murmured looking back at her. “I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do.”
Lori whimpered at that, her lower lip slowly sticking out, and then she nodded her head.
“Okay,” she said, and then started to sob softly.
Seconds later, it became full-on bawling.
Not that he could blame her.
In any way, shape, or form, he wasn’t sure he’d handle it any better than she was.
“It’s okay, Lori,” Rene said, shifting closer and taking one of the compresses from a young woman. “We’ll figure it out and it’ll be okay. I’ll make sure it’s okay and works out.”
Lori didn’t respond.
Instead, she closed her eyes and tried to cover her face with one arm, wailing at the top of her lungs.
We need to find Junk.
Yes. Yes, we do.
I want to make him suffer.
I know. I do, too.
Good.
Rene and his Monster were in lock-step in this matter. Junk would need to be tracked down and murdered.
Because there was no one else who could be responsible for this.
A sharp and sudden crack preceded the entirety of the Moon household collapsing into itself. Turning into a massive pile of wood and coal.
Suffering atop suffering.
Atop agony and despair.
Never-ending suffering and agony for Junk. He will suffer my wrath and know my displeasure for what he’s done.
I’ll make his world one of absolute pain, where misery and torment shall be his domain.
I’m coming for you, Junk. I’m coming for you.
Chapter 28
Walking out of the room Lori was going to inhabit, Rene closed the door behind himself.
“Is she… alright?” Alana asked, standing not far away. “What’d the doctors say? I didn’t want to be underfoot.”
“I mean… as well as any kid could be who just lost their family,” Rene muttered. “The doctors crammed her full of tonics and what not, coated the burns in something that stinks, and said to let her sleep as much as we can.”
Rene felt a lot like a robot right now. Everything was cold and mechanical.
The only thought that burned him right now was Junk, the man Rene personally believed was responsible for Bill’s death.
When it was all said and done, after the fire had finally been put out, three corpses had been found in the Moon residence. Bill and his parents were the most likely victims, but there was no way to tell.
The bodies had been burned beyond recognition
“I’ll take care of her as long as she’s in our household,” Alana promised, nodding her head once.
Our household? That’s certainly a curious way to phrase it. I wonder what that means.
Does it matter?
We have a job to do.
“Thank you, Alana,” Rene murmured while nodding his head as well.
“You’re going to do something about this,” Alana stated. Her eyes peered into him, watching. She always seemed to bear witness to him in her conquest to figure him out.
“Yes,” Rene admitted. Then he reached into his inventory and pulled out the Mask. Fitting it to his face he turned to Alana. If she was going to be living in his home, it’d be considerably harder to hide it from her. “I believe this whole thing to be caused by Junk.”
Irini and Alana now know. Odelia and Aurora do not.
“Oh,” Alana said, blinking several times. “You being the Mask makes a lot of sense, actually. Almost too much sense. As much sense as believing Junk to be behind it.”
“Yes,” Rene murmured. Walking over to the door in the ceiling that led to the attic and hit it twice with his palm. “Come on down, Irini. We need to plan.”
Turning his face toward Alana
, Rene waited.
“Ah… that… would explain what I was starting to think was a ghost,” Alana said, shaking her head. “You are ever full of secrets. Though I suppose that means my own secret is also known, isn’t it?”
“Only to Irini, I imagine,” Rene confirmed. “I haven’t told anyone else. But Lori might figure it out.”
“Yes. She might at that. I’ll handle it when it comes. Until then, I’ll remain Alan in public,” Alana said.
“Not sure how much longer you can keep that up. Odelia is probably going to show up sometime today, you know. When she finds out what happened to the Moons, that is,” Rene said. Above him, there was a soft clatter and several thumps. It was very likely Irini was removing the barricade. “And then you’ll have to explain your dress, and why you’re here. I’m surprised she hasn’t figured it out already.”
Alana winced at that, slowly looking to the side.
“It seems my charade is rapidly coming to an end,” Alana muttered.
“Only to your friends. You can always face the public as you are,” Rene countered, as the door to the attic swung down. The wooden steps slid out and settled to the floor.
“Thank you, Irini,” Rene said, looking at the cat-girl as she walked down the steps. “Irini, Alana; Alana, Irini.”
“You act like an Elven housewife without that right or distinction,” Irini growled as she reached the bottom. The two notches in her ear were quite visible and appeared to be healing well. “Have you no shame?”
“And you’ve been clearly disciplined,” Alana replied after a casual inspection of the assassin. “Are you a feral that should be spayed? Since you’ll never find anyone to take you in, that is.”
Lifting her upper lip at that, Irini growled very much like a cat would.
“Irini, go watch over Odelia, Caleb, and Aurora. I can’t guarantee their safety until I solve Junk,” Rene commanded. “Alana, watch over Lori and the house. Act as a home base should anything happen or anyone shows up.
“If you decide to fight, make sure you can both do your jobs after. Because I’m leaving, and I don’t give a shit otherwise, beyond you accomplishing your tasks.”
Rene left the two women staring at each other. He really did have a job to do. Crouching down into a Sneak as soon as he left the room, Rene went over to his favorite exit window. He kept it open at all times to provide himself with a valid way of getting in and out.
Even with a knight stationed just outside of it.
Rene snuck out the window, and started off into the city itself.
When he reached the Junk mansion, though, he already got his answer as to who had been behind the Moon house arson.
The manor was clearly shuttered up and looked to be void of life. Junk had fled.
Looking to the ground outside the main gate, Rene activated his Tracking ability.
Master Junk was at the top of the list.
Selecting it, Rene watched as the trail went straight toward the east.
I’m coming for you Junk. And I’m going to kill you for what you did to the Moons.
He was no hunter. No monster that lurked in the dark to frighten people.
No children’s tale Boogieman that hid under beds and in closets.
Rene was a killer and little more.
If he had to murder his way to Junk, he’d do so.
Setting off as fast as he dared while keeping Sneak activated, Rene followed the trail.
***
The tracks of Master Junk led out of the city of Felicie itself. Outside of the city proper was a mishmash wild forest full of shacks, shanties, thrown-together huts, and people living in squalor. It was a sight to behold and reminded him of some time he’d spent down in South America on work.
Many of those thrown-together dwellings went right up to the base of the wall. He had a vague sense that this wasn’t a great idea, but he couldn’t pinpoint why.
An hour after the end of the shanty town, Junk had turned into a deeper wooded area. Which promptly became a rather large hunting lodge that looked as if it’d been standing there as long as the forest.
Rene certainly didn’t figure Junk for a hunter of anything, except perhaps snacks or women.
He stood up and moved forward toward the guard he’d been watching.
Drawing a blade, he contemplated the best way to do this. The throat wouldn’t be as quick as a few other ways, but it was likely the quietest.
When he reached the guard, Rene firmed up his choice.
Burying his sword to the hilt into the man’s gullet, Rene pressed his free hand over the man’s mouth. With a jerk toward the ground, the guard was face first in the dirt, struggling against Rene’s weight even as his blood warmed the ground.
Your skill in The Elemental Way has increased (67)
Your The Elemental Way skill has been upgraded to include Disorienting Blows.
Pretty sure that wasn’t The Elemental Way, but whatever.
Or maybe it’s all blending together at this point and I don’t even know it.
With a grunt, Rene tried to work the blade around to finish the man more cleanly. He didn’t need to suffer for his end.
Unfortunately, there was no way for Rene to enter the hunting lodge without at least killing a guard or two. The windows and doors weren’t just patrolled, they were all watched.
Finally, the deed was done and the man fell still.
Glancing at his alignment bar, Rene noted it had dropped slightly. There was a speck of red in it now.
Patting the dead man on the shoulder, Rene actually felt some regret.
Though it wasn’t for the loss of life.
Rene darted toward the window, then levered it open and slipped inside. He closed it behind him and dropped into his crouch once more.
Looking back to his trail for Junk, he couldn’t see the man having entered this room.
Rene crept through the house, putting one foot in front without any weight on it and then transferring his center of gravity forward.
His footsteps were soft.
Silent.
Padding through rooms, dodging guards, and servants, Rene narrowed his search down from the first floor to the second.
No sooner had he reached the top of the staircase than he knew where Junk was. It wasn’t the trail that led him there, either.
There were eight guards inside or outside of a single room and that made it rather obvious.
Peeking into that room, Rene found Junk there. He was once more sitting at a desk working furiously at his business.
A warmth rushed through him as soon as he saw the disgusting bulk sitting there.
I have you now, Junk. I have you all to myself.
Moving up to Junk’s side, Rene slid the bloody dagger up toward Junk’s neck.
Pressing the tip to his throat, Rene whispered into Junk’s ear.
“Send everyone away. Now,” Rene commanded. “If you say anything other than ‘leave me and shut the door’, you die. If you say nothing, you die.”
Junk froze in his chair, his quill no longer moving at all.
“Leave me and shut the door,” Junk ordered suddenly.
“Uh—” started one guard.
“Leave me and shut the door,” Junk repeated.
Immediately, everyone began trooping out of the room. Then the door shut.
“Now,” Rene murmured, standing up from his crouch. “Let’s talk about some things.”
“You? What do you want? I did as you wanted,” Junk complained, glaring up at Rene.
“Did you? Did you really? Or did you have a house burnt to the ground. A friend of Rene Anatolis,” Rene hissed.
Junk’s poker face was perfect. There was nothing for Rene to read there. It was devoid of anything at all.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, of course,” Junk said, leaning back in his chair. His eyes flicked to the bloody blade in Rene’s hand, than back up to his mask.
“I think you do. And I need to know. Rene
is about to drop a lot of money to find out who did this thing,” Rene said. He wanted to murder and gut Junk. But he did need to make sure he was the right target. “I need to know if I have to kill Rene after all. If he starts spreading around the kind of wealth he has, then it’ll be almost impossible to get anything done. Did you do it? Supposedly, they already caught the arsonist. Do I need to go kill them tonight?”
A lie was ideal right now. Should the lie hit just right, it’d most likely pop Junk into action.
The perfect blankness of Junk’s face was all he got as an answer.
At least, at first.
Then Junk sighed and put his hands in his lap.
“I knew I should have paid more for someone better,” Junk complained. “Yes. I hired the arsonist. They’re from the Snakes. They were looking for work since their guild is in limbo because of you.”
“Why? Why provoke Rene like that?” Rene asked. “We could have left them alone. We didn’t need to get into a war with someone as wealthy as that.”
“Because he insulted me. For that reason alone, he deserves to suffer,” Junk said with some venom, his face scrunching up in annoyance. “The little brat thinks to steal from me. Take from me. That he can just do as he wishes.
“Well, sounds like it doesn’t matter if you’re going to kill him.”
“True,” Rene said, letting his blade point toward the ground, relaxing. He was going to enjoy killing Junk, but there was no reason not to make it worthwhile at the same time. “I need to get paid for this. You made this mess and now I have to clean it up for both of us. I want money. A lot of it. Rene’s father is going to crush the city for a while when I’m done.”
“I don’t see why I should pay you. You’re—”
“Not going to stay in the city, if you don’t pay me,” Rene said with a shrug of his shoulders. “I’ll take my riches and leave. You can deal with Rene hunting the city for the person who hired the arsonist.”
Scoffing at that, Junk shook his head.
“Fine. Fine, whatever. Five thousand gold for Rene’s head then,” Junk said. Then he turned and pulled open a drawer. Grabbing what looked like a banker’s note, Junk rapidly filled it in and then held it over to Rene. “Take it to the temple of the Morningstar.”
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