by Luke Romyn
A delighted Tobias opened the door to Chapel and ushered them quickly inside. He called for one of the helpers to fetch some hot drinks and food for the boy.
“Oh wonder of wonders, I did not think you would do it, Dark Man!” exclaimed Tobias to Vain. “You have saved the Avun-Riah, and quite possibly the entire world!” While he spoke, his eyes never moved from Sebastian, who shifted uncomfortably in his chair under the scrutiny.
“Where is Priest?” asked Vain.
The giant looked away uneasily and remained silent.
“Where is Priest, Tobias?” repeated Vain, a note of irritation creeping into his voice.
“We do not know,” whispered Tobias. “He disappeared yesterday, and nobody has seen him since.”
“Well, my job is done,” Vain stated casually. “The boy is here, and now I’m going.” He rose and moved to leave.
“No, you can’t leave!” Tobias stood suddenly, failing to restrain his panic.
“And why not?” queried Vain softly. Sebastian felt the threat conveyed in his casual aloofness.
“B-because you are the boy’s guardian. Didn’t Priest tell you?”
“No. He asked me to save the boy, and I have.” Again he moved to leave.
Tobias moved to stand before the Dark Man and bar his exit, but the assassin proved too quick for him. Vain’s hand shot out and whipped against Tobias’s throat. The giant staggered and collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. Sliding behind him, Vain smoothly drew a black-bladed knife, and wrenching back the man’s head, prepared to deliver the killing blow.
“NO! Stop!” screamed Sebastian, and for the first time in his life Vain paused. His knife suspended against Tobias’s flesh, and he lifted his gaze towards the boy.
“Why?”
Sebastian fell momentarily silent. The question delivered so innocently that his mind went blank.
“Because he’ll die,” he finally said.
“So?” The assassin was visibly perplexed.
“So that’s wrong,” the boy appealed lamely. “You can’t just go around killing people.”
“Why not?”
Sebastian wondered fleetingly if the Dark Man meant to tease him, but looking into his eyes realized the assassin was serious. He had no concept of right and wrong. But Sebastian knew he had to save the giant man, even if he died doing it. So he did what very few people before him had ever done and none had ever lived to tell. He sucked in his courage and stood up to confront the Dark Man.
“This man is a living, breathing creature,” began Sebastian. “If he dies, part of the world dies along with him. The entire universe is made up of energy, Dark Man, and it is all intertwined. Violent death causes ripples throughout this energy, like a pebble in a pond. If pebbles are continually thrown into the pond it will eventually overflow. Do you understand?”
The Dark Man stared blankly. “What do I care, boy, if the entire universe dies? I was born for death, it is my curse.”
“Violence is exponential, Dark Man. You came to be when the wife and daughter of Martin Roberts were killed by evil. Every evil act you’ve committed since that day has affected the families of the people who died. Their anger and pain has washed out into the world, creating more ripples. Some of the people affected by your actions have also done evil things owing to their anger with you, creating ripples of their own. Don’t you understand? The cycle is endless unless somebody stops it. You have to stop it. Your pain will never end until you do.” Sebastian acquired a tone of command in his voice and seemed to grow beyond the frail stature of a mere thirteen year-old boy.
Vain stood motionless, finally releasing Tobias. The giant ignored the assassin and looked in wonder at the boy standing before him.
“You are the Avun-Riah,” he whispered in awe before his eyes rolled back in his head and he fainted onto the carpet.
* * * *
Vain left the room and walked outside to gather his thoughts. The power the boy had exuded during his speech had overwhelmed him even if his words had not. He cared nothing for life and death, even his own, but the conviction and power with which the young boy had spoken had shaken the assassin to his very core. He felt an overwhelming desire to leave this place, returning to the life he had once known: a life without conscience or regret. At the same time, he also knew he could not leave Sebastian in the care of these people.
Disabling Tobias had been as simple as crippling a puppy. Even if Priest were to return, when the fanatical Souls of Sordarrah found this place–and he knew they would–they would tear the walls down. The boy would be in their possession once more.
Returning inside, Vain regained his composure. Tobias had awakened and conversed respectfully with Sebastian at the table where they had been sitting originally.
“What are you boy?” queried Vain. “What is the Avun-Riah?”
“I don’t really know Dark Man,” Sebastian answered slowly, the tone of command now gone from his voice. “I hadn’t even heard the name before the man Empeth voiced it.”
“Empeth!” hissed Vain. “You met him? Is he still at the house?”
“Yes and no. I spoke to him and he told me his name, but he left right before you arrived.”
Cursing, Vain paced across the room. When he looked up at the boy his face had regained its impassiveness.
“Try to remember everything you can about him, it’s very important,” Vain encouraged.
Sebastian paused before beginning, gathering his thoughts. He relayed how he had been kidnapped, the few details he had gleaned from Empeth’s conversation, finishing with the Dark Man’s rescue.
Vain tried to disguise his disappointment. “There is nothing else you might have forgotten?”
Sebastian shook his head.
“That must have been him driving out of the garage when I slipped in,” muttered Vain, half to himself. He had only glimpsed the man driving the car, but supposed he might recognize him if he saw him again. This could all be finished if he could just kill the man now.
Turning to Tobias, Vain said, “I’m taking him away from here, to somewhere safe.”
“But a moment ago–”
“A moment ago is not now,” growled Vain. “Priest is not here, and you couldn’t protect him from a flock of ducklings.”
Tobias tried to argue the point further, but Vain shot him an icy look that silenced him instantly. He self-consciously moved his hand to shield his throat.
Taking the boy’s hand, Vain moved towards the rear of the building.
“If Priest returns,” he called over his shoulder, “tell him I’ll be in touch.”
“B-but...,” began Tobias. He blinked his eyes. The Dark Man and Sebastian were already gone.
* * * *
“How did you do that?” asked Sebastian as they moved swiftly through the darkened streets.
“Do what?” replied Vain, glancing around warily at the empty road behind them.
“That man, Tobias. He is the biggest man I’ve ever seen, and yet, you overcame him like it was nothing. I’ve never seen anybody move that fast before.”
“Like I said boy,” Vain admonished, “it is my curse. There is nothing I can’t kill.”
Sebastian pondered this silently. “Have you ever tried?” he finally asked.
“Tried what?”
“Tried not to kill,” said Sebastian simply.
Vain stopped walking and looked down at the child. “Don’t try to judge me boy. I am a killer and that is all. If I wasn’t, you’d still be back at Empeth’s funhouse waiting to die. Maybe you’d like me to drop you off there before I set off for the nearest monastery to repent my sins.”
Sebastian shook his head rapidly and remained silent.
“Fine, it’s decided.” Vain resumed his stride. “I’ll do all the killing, and you do all the stuff that an Avun-Riah does. Whatever the hell that is.”
The pair walked together in silence until they reached the subway station. They boarded a train that took them to Tremon
t, after which they made their way on foot to the Dark Man’s home. Sebastian noticed that Vain never looked at ease. At the same time, he never seemed tense. Almost as though he maintained a constant vigil, watching for an enemy he couldn’t yet see, but knew lurked out there, somewhere.
Sebastian stifled a sneeze when they entered the apartment. Dust plumed up from the worn carpet, and the Dark Man chuckled coldly.
“I’m sorry, your majesty,” said the assassin sarcastically, “the maid has taken the year off. I hope my meager accommodation is acceptable.”
Sebastian ignored the comment, gazing around the room. The Dark Man released the hidden panel, proceeding to return his weapons methodically to their allocated positions. The young boy observed him in amazement. In stark contrast to the room, the weapons cabinet appeared immaculate. Not a touch of dust or grime marred its surfaces, and the weapons themselves gleamed, freshly oiled and polished. The boy required no great knowledge of the man to see where his priorities lay in life–or death as it were.
“Why do you live here Dark Man?” Sebastian asked innocently.
“I have to live somewhere,” answered Vain simply, sliding the panel back into place.
“That’s not what I meant. I get the feeling you are very good at... the things that you do. Surely you must get paid well. Why do you choose to live in such squalor when you could live somewhere... nicer?”
Vain stood silently with his back to Sebastian. “This place is where I live. That is all.” He spoke quietly, facing the wall. “Other places aren’t designed for people like me.”
“What do you mean, ‘people like you’?”
“I’m an assassin!” snapped Vain, spinning around to face the shocked boy. “Don’t think for a second that I’m some storybook hero you can rely on to save you from these people every time. I don’t ride a white horse and I don’t wear silver armor. I hunt people down, torture and slaughter them, for money I’ll never use.”
Sebastian grew silent, knowing he should say no more, yet the weight of his thoughts became too much and he finally gave in to the temptation. “But you saved me. That ought to mean something.”
“Bah! I saved you on a whim!” spat Vain, waving his hand dismissively. “Tomorrow I might kill you on a whim!”
“I don’t think you will.” Sebastian’s voice seemed small, but confident.
Vain looked around the room for something to absorb his rage. His first instinct was to kill the object of his frustration, but every time he gazed at the boy he remembered Angelique. Calming himself, he turned back to where Sebastian sat on the corner of his mattress.
“Don’t try to save me boy,” he said sadly. “It’s too late for that.”
“Maybe,” Sebastian mused oddly. Without explanation he rolled over on the mattress and went to sleep.
Vain gazed intently at the boy and shook his head slowly before lying down on the ground. He removed his pistols and placed them on the floor beside him. He hoped the dreams might stay away for just one night, but knew they would be waiting.
* * * *
Vain sat bolt upright, the twin silenced Glocks seemingly sliding into his hands of their own volition. A noise he’d never heard before had awoken him: the sound of knocking on his front door.
Silent as a spirit, Vain moved to the door and waited. The knocking came again and he peered through the peephole to see who stood on the other side.
An extremely ragged Priest leaned against the opposite wall. His face was cut, and his clothing torn and soiled. Vain backed away from the door and into the bathroom, praying the knocking wouldn’t awaken the still-sleeping boy.
Climbing through the tiny bathroom window he edged his way along a thin ridge of brickwork that led around to an external stairwell. Leaping silently onto the stairs, he moved along to the corner and quickly glanced to where his front door lay.
Priest stood alone and exhausted outside the apartment. After a quick check to make sure nobody else hid nearby, Vain approached the black man with his pistols drawn.
“What are you doing here?” asked the Dark Man, making Priest jump in surprise before wincing in pain.
“Dark... Man!” he gasped. “We must... talk, inside... quickly.”
“I don’t think you’ll be doing anything quickly for a while Priest,” said Vain, unlocking the door and half-carrying the other man inside.
Sebastian awoke with the noise of the door and looked alarmed at the sight of Priest. Quickly recovering, he helped Vain carry him to the mattress.
“Who did this to you Priest?” demanded Vain once they had lain him down. Sebastian moved away and watched Priest with an odd look upon his face, saying nothing.
“Em... peth,” he gasped. “He tricked me. Made me think the Avun-Riah was in danger….”
Vain’s senses began to prickle. “How did you get free?” he asked urgently.
“Don’t... know. Too... much pain.”
Vain’s instincts suddenly screamed at him to flee. “Priest, how did you find me?”
“Read... it. When I... first... met you.” Priest’s voice cracked as he tried to force out the words.
A trap!
“We have to go.” Vain hustled Sebastian, moving to the hidden panel, rapidly loading weapons into a large black bag. The boy nodded and moved to help Priest.
“Leave him!” snapped Vain. “We can’t get away if we have to carry dead meat as well!”
Sebastian moved to argue, but Priest stopped him. “Must go... Avun-Riah. Must... survive. Your task…is more important…than me.”
“I won’t let you die! We can all go together!” cried Sebastian.
“No, the Dark Man is... right,” panted Priest. “I can... delay them... here.”
Sebastian moved to argue further, but Vain grabbed him roughly by the arm and lifted him to his feet. “You heard him, let’s go!”
“Vain...,” breathed Priest. The Dark Man glanced down at the dying man. “Take Avun-Riah to... Rome. Saint Peter’s... basilica. Father... Armadeuso will help you.”
“Rome eh?” Vain contemplated the dying man before removing a sawn-off, double-barreled shotgun from the bag and passing it to Priest. “Good luck black man.”
Vain half-dragged the crying boy away from the door, escaping down the staircase just as the ancient elevator doors opened in the hall. A tall man dressed completely in white slid from the elevator and made his way to the Dark Man’s apartment.
Walking through the open doorway, the tall man smiled menacingly at the dying man.
“Well Priest, it seems you were no use to me after all. I’m afraid I won’t be able to let you die now.”
Priest peered up from the mattress and managed a thin smile of his own, “I wish I could say the same for you, Empeth.”
He fired two blasts from the shotgun hidden beneath the blanket. The first hurtled by Empeth’s face and into the ceiling of the apartment, but the second ripped straight into his stomach, knocking him back against the wall.
Priest’s smile grew a little wider, but dropped altogether when he heard Empeth’s laughter. The man drew himself back up to his full height and laughed even louder, so much so that tears began to roll down his angular face.
“My goodness, Priest,” said Empeth with sickly sweetness, brushing the smoldering threads around the small holes in his white shirt. “I really thought you knew better than that by now.”
Empeth pounced with the speed of a jaguar onto the helpless Priest, and the black man’s screams echoed through the walls of the apartment and out into the night sky.
* * * *
Vain and Sebastian encountered two men moving up the stairs towards them. Without hesitation Vain drew one of his pistols and dispatched them both, not even breaking stride. He bypassed the street level exit, continuing to the complex’s basement garage. Throwing aside a large tarpaulin, he revealed a jet-black Ferrari; its gleaming paintwork and low, aerodynamic features throwing a stark contrast against the musty garage.
�
�Get in,” he commanded Sebastian and the boy obliged without comment, too stunned by the car’s appearance to speak.
Vain noticed the expression on the boy’s face. “It belonged to a drug dealer I met once and I took it when I left. He didn’t need it anymore.” A malevolent smirk crossed his lips.
Sebastian couldn’t believe the Dark Man’s calm as they sped down the street. Even fleeing the apartment in fear for their lives, the assassin had barely broken a sweat. He held not the slightest bit of tension in his being. Apart from the fact they were driving nearly ninety miles per hour, they could simply have been cruising for the sheer enjoyment of it.
Suddenly sirens blared behind them. Vain cursed, glancing into the rear-view mirror and seeing the flashing blue and red lights following them at speed.
“You’d better put on your seatbelt boy.” Vain grinned. “I’d hate to have gone through all of this to have you die in a car crash–airbags or not.”
Glancing ahead, there were now two more police cars pulling into the lanes on either side of them, trying to box them in.
“Pick up the black bag from the floor,” said Vain. Sebastian tried, but found it too heavy. “Open it instead, and pass me the large gun near the top.”
Sebastian unzipped the bag and gasped in shock. The arsenal of weapons would make Dirty Harry drool. Putting aside his surprise, he quickly searched through the cache and soon found the gun Vain had requested. He recognized it easily. How could he not? Clearly the largest weapon in the bag–apart from the rifles—he wondered absently why its barrel yawned so wide. He hoisted the gun with both hands and heaved it into the Dark Man’s lap.
Vain managed the grenade-launcher comfortably with his right hand, waiting for the right moment. One of his Glocks would probably have sufficed, but he wanted to put a scare into the police in the hope they would back off altogether. He’d never had to use the launcher before, preferring the silent approach, but he’d heard what they could do and hoped it would be enough.
