“I don’t know how you can stand this,” Tharryn sighed after they’d retreated inside.
On the other side of the door, they could still hear the noise of the gathered crowd, although muted now. The cacophony of the day’s events had exhausted him, and he’d been forcing a smile for so long that his face hurt.
“Part of the job,” Dai shrugged. “We want the people to feel like they know us; like they can relate to us.”
“You don’t have to tell me,” Tharryn pointed out. He was well aware of how it worked.
For a leader, personality was just as important as making laws or offering protection. Unfortunately, in modern times this basically came down to becoming a celebrity.
“It’s just – how are you not exhausted?”
“Who says I’m not?”
Tharryn observed his face. Yes, he could see it now. In front of the crowd, Dai had been all smiles and witty remarks, his body language attentive and open, seemingly drawing from an endless supply of energy. Now that they were alone, his shoulders had slumped a little. He was still smiling, but no longer the broad grin Tharryn knew was fake; this smile was just for him.
“You’re hiding it really well.”
“Says the person whose face never betrays anything,” Dai smirked.
Tharryn shook his head.
“That’s different. All I do is standing still and remaining silent – and perhaps glare at someone if I feel like it. You’re out there making small talk.”
The disgust must have been clear to read on his face, as Dai chuckled.
“Ooh, truly the worst.”
“I prefer torture,” Tharryn shrugged.
“Well, the night is young,” Dai grinned.
He took hold of Tharryn’s hand and pulled him closer.
“But seriously, you did great today.”
Tharryn averted his eyes, not knowing what to do with himself. If he could blush, he would have.
“Are we done for the day?” He looked up at Dai pleadingly. “I really just want to lie on the couch and do nothing – if that’s alright with you.”
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Dai walked around the circle, making sure not to step in it, as Tharryn observed it from the other side. It was carved into the rock, its intricate designs perfectly symmetrical. If he didn’t know better, he’d assume it was merely decorative – the dried blood that remained in its grooves said otherwise.
“What do you think it’s for?” he asked.
“Give me a moment,” Tharryn replied, studying it intently.
He’d been knelt in front of it, tracing one of the lines with his finger, and now got back up again to look at the circle in its entirety.
Dai had already lost interest and decided to explore the rest of the old courtyard. Whatever language this spell was drawn in, it didn’t seem familiar to him – which didn’t mean much, since spell drawing had never been his strong suit. Best to leave that to Tharryn.
The courtyard was surrounded by high walls, overgrown with vines. Dai was sure that there was something off about them, so he kept a wide berth. The gate - behind him now - was still closed, as they had dropped in from above. It had been magically locked, and while Tharryn was always up for a challenge, Dai simply didn’t have the patience today.
It was strange, now that he thought about it: why would a place such as this, with all its magical protections, be so easily accessible from the air? He surely wasn’t the only one who could fly; the majority of demons could. So why go through the trouble of protecting only the gate?
Dai approached the house – or rather, it had looked like a house from outside of the gate. Now that they were inside, it appeared as solid rock, vaguely rectangular. He knew it must be an illusion – both the house and the rock – to protect what was really hiding inside. But without a door, how were they going to get in?
He was about to ask Tharryn, when he noticed he wasn’t near the circle anymore. Or elsewhere in the courtyard. Now, this wasn’t necessarily cause for alarm, since randomly disappearing was just something Tharryn did every now and then – but he normally never left Dai stranded in a strange place. Perhaps his excitement got the better of him, and he went to grab a book or something.
Dai waited for a moment, wandering back and forth and eventually getting back to the circle again. Then he noticed it: a small drop of blood on the spell’s outer circle – fresh, unlike the rest of it. He leaned in to look at it.
You did not…?
A familiar displacement of energy behind him.
“Sorry about that,” Tharryn said matter-of-factly, having appeared at his side again.
“Did you figure out what it is?” Dai asked.
“Well… yes and no. I haven’t figured out exactly what all of the symbols are for,” Tharryn shrugged. “But I have found a way inside.”
“…Does it involve blood?”
“Why, yes, obviously.”
Dai sighed. “Of course it does.”
“You want to see what’s in there or not?”
“Fine, fine,” he smiled reluctantly, offering Tharryn his hand.
To his surprise, Tharryn just held it, instead of pricking his finger or slicing his palm. Instead, he procured a little dropper from his pocket, filled with a red liquid.
“You didn’t think I was using mine, did you?” he asked, one eyebrow raised, when he saw Dai looking at it.
“…Maybe,” Dai shrugged.
“Don’t be silly.”
Tharryn shook his head, with just the hint of a smile.
Tharryn didn’t reply immediately, still studying the book in front of him, a concentrated look on his face. Dai took the moment to take in every detail of him: his pursed lips, the little frown as he was focusing, a lock of hair that kept falling in front of his eyes no matter how many times he brushed it aside…
When Tharryn looked up eventually, it took Dai a moment to remember what they were doing again. Right. Fancy spell for recruiting humans. Big, very complicated book.
“…Have you read this all the way through?” Tharryn asked, the look on his face telling Dai he already knew the answer.
“I skimmed through the important bits,” he shrugged. “I probably wouldn’t understand the rest anyway. But that’s where you come in,” he grinned.
Tharryn didn’t seem to share his enthusiasm.
“You don’t need me to tell you how dangerous this is.”
“Oh, I’m well aware.”
“And you’re absolutely sure the emperor doesn’t know you have this?”
“Doesn’t even know it’s missing. He knows its contents; it’s not like he consults it daily. Or ever. Getting the vault open is just such a hassle…”
“I get it,” Tharryn interrupted him.
His hand brushed against one of the diagrams drawn out on the pages, almost as if he was caressing it. Dai had never wanted to be a book this badly.
“This is very complicated material; with a level of detail and accuracy I haven’t seen before in non-reaper sources. It displays a deeper understanding of the soul, which is hard to achieve without access to cerradi.”
“It doesn’t require cerradi, right?” Dai asked. “I know Alderyn is crafty, but he’s not that crafty.”
“I would need to spend some more time with it, but so far reapers have only been mentioned in passing.”
“You need to finish the ritual before a reaper shows up to take the soul away,” Dai nodded. “I understood that part.”
“Rather inconvenient. You need to take your time for such a delicate job, not rush it.”
“Maybe they’ll let me finish if you ask them nicely,” Dai grinned.
“Let’s focus on understanding the basics first and we’ll worry about the logistics later, alright?”
“And here I thought you were going to lecture me on the dangers and tell me not to do it.”
Tharryn raised an eyebrow.
“You’re counting on me to be the voice of reason?”
Dai shrugged half-heartedly. “You love reason.”
Tharryn thought for a moment. “Reasoning, maybe. Finding the reason behind things. But when have I ever been reasonable when there’s something new to learn?”
Images flashed through Dai’s mind, of Tharryn drawing spell circles of a magnitude that made him dizzy; Tharryn standing inches from the source of a power so strong it might tear him apart; Tharryn so lost in his research he’d forgotten to eat and sleep for a month – and realised that perhaps he had a point. But wasn’t that exactly why he’d brought the book to him? Because he knew that Tharryn wouldn’t be able to resist figuring out exactly how this ritual worked, no matter the cost.
He smiled. “Perhaps you’re right. So, where do we start?”
Tharryn leafed back to the beginning of the book.
“To alter the soul, you first need to understand the soul. Your own as well as the person to recruit. These diagrams are pretty thorough; if you give me some time to study the entire book, I’m sure I can explain.”
Dai nodded. “I thought you were going to say that.” He gestured around the room. “The book is safe in this place. You can come and go as you please – for others, it won’t be so easy.”
“I was wondering what was up with the warding…” Tharryn mumbled, not taking his eyes off the pages. “Oh, this is very interesting…”
Realising that this was going to take up all of Tharryn’s attention for the time to come, Dai made himself comfortable at the table. Even though they weren’t talking, he knew his company was appreciated. At some point, Tharryn would snap out of it.
Outside, the sky had turned dark hours ago, but Tharryn didn’t need any light for what he was doing. Cerradi was an energy that was felt more than seen. Nydra too, but there were those that could see it anyway. Reapers like himself, and the young shadow demon he’d recently met.
She still hadn’t contacted him, and he had to admit it stung slightly. It was her choice, or course, but he wished he’d have asked her more questions and gotten a better understanding of how her abilities worked.
He focused his attention on the task at hand, which required more concentration than he was currently giving it. Cerradi wasn’t meant for spell drawing, it was meant to deal with souls, travelling directly from body to body by touch. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t try.
He’d spent years trying to shape it into threads, then some more to be able to weave them through the air and draw shapes with them. So far, he hadn’t been able to create anything of note. In theory every energy had its own underlying structure, he just had to figure out how it would behave when not inside of a body.
There wasn’t really any use for what he was doing, to be honest. It was just for science, and to know that it was possible. By touch, he’d already mastered his control over the energy further than most. He could do things other reapers couldn’t even imagine. He’d done things most of them wouldn’t approve of. He supposed he took after his father, in that way.
The difference was Tharryn had people to tell him when he was taking it too far – and who wouldn’t be too scared to say it. Aleisset (referring to him as “father” still felt wrong) had ruled by fear and had accepted absolutely no opposition. Tharryn liked to think he was a little more… approachable as a leader. He’d tried to get the reapers to make their own decisions a bit more, to have them choose the things they liked. To get them to–
“What the fuck are you doing in here?” a voice sounded from the doorway.
“Just messing around,” Tharryn shrugged.
“In the dark?”
Tharryn squinted as the light was switched on.
“I don’t need to see,” he mumbled.
Cyril raised an eyebrow. “Sure you don’t.” He held up a bag. “Bet you don’t need dinner, either.”
“…What did you get?”
“Thai.”
Tharryn released his grip on the threads, which dissolved into nothing.
“I guess I could eat.”
He shut off the light again as he followed his assistant outside.
Dai looked up from his phone. Tharryn usually wasn’t one for swearing – not that he objected to profanity, he simply wasn’t prone to emotional outbursts like that.
“You okay, babe?”
Tharryn looked up; caught off guard, perhaps a little flustered.
“I– I’m fine. Just messed up a spell.”
He focused on the paper again, studying the complicated sigils with a pained look on his face, seeing if anything could be salvaged.
While it felt a tad mean, Dai chose to see his little outburst as a good thing. For a large part of Tharryn’s life, showing any emotion at all had meant repercussions. This was ingrained so deeply into him that he still had difficulty expressing himself properly. Nowadays, he was working on unlearning some things, but it was a slow process.
Over the years, Dai had learned to read him through trial and error, and he knew that whenever Tharryn retreated into his stoic, emotionless persona, it was usually not a good sign. Seeing emotion so clearly on his face was a nice change of pace, indeed.
Tharryn sighed and put his pen down.
“My damn hands won’t stop shaking.”
“Perhaps it’s time for a break?” Dai suggested.
Tharryn sighed. “Don’t think it will solve anything, but it can’t hurt, either.”
He got up, carefully closing the book he’d been using. It looked ancient and fragile.
“Coffee? My treat.”
“Won’t say no to that,” Dai grinned.
“Come on, then. I know this great place.”
“Is it the place we always go to?”
Tharryn thought for a moment. “…No?” he said, not very convincingly.
“Hmm," Dai considered. "I don’t think I know what place you’re talking about.”
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A follow-up to an older story you can read here: part 1 | part 2
- Now -
Zian had walked this particular street probably hundreds of times and so was paying more attention to his coffee than to his surroundings. Because of this, he couldn’t say for certain where the person now standing in front of him had come from – and perhaps wouldn’t even have noticed them at all, had they not audibly gasped at the sight of him.
A reaction he wasn’t unfamiliar with, per se – he supposed he did have a very recognisable face, and something that could be seen as fame, or perhaps notoriety, in the right circles. Circles that had gotten considerably smaller now that he was no longer in the public eye. Circles whose members would usually have the common decency to not gawk at people in the street. Who would definitely not address him with “Oh shit, it’s you.”
Glancing up, attempting to give them the most annoyed look he could muster, he observed the person bothering him: human – presumably –; tan skin; dark, half-long hair that was kind of greasy; wearing faded jeans and a hoodie; his dark eyes wide as he looked at Zian with a look of absolute terror.
“Do I know you?” Zian asked, raising an eyebrow.
The guy seemed taken aback for a moment, his mind going over possible answers.
“Uhh… nope,” he decided on, after too long of a pause.
“Must have gotten you confused with someone else…” he muttered, turning on his heels and briskly starting to walk away.
“So sorry to bother you…”
Zian stared at his back for a moment, wondering why this squirrely guy with the slight Italian accent seemed so familiar…
“Viv?” he tried, and the guy froze.
“Is that you?” Zian called after him, not yet fully convinced of what he was seeing – and what that would mean.
The guy started running.
- Then -
Zian looked up at the mountain in front of them, where but a day ago he’d been a prisoner. Now he’d returned – along with the person who’d gotten him captured.
“Back again,” he grinned, enjoying the irony of the situation.
“Back again…” Viviano concurred with a sigh.
Zian shot him a quick glance before they’d head up the path. The median was keeping his head down, his attention focused on the frayed hem of his shirt, using his fingers to pull it apart even further.
“Nervous?”
“Nervous? Magician, who do you take me for?”
Viv grinned broadly, then his expression darkened.
“Yes. Yes, I’m nervous.”
Zian suspected as much. The median didn’t strike him as the courageous type, knowing what he knew about him.
“Hey, it’ll be fine. No one’s up there anymore, remember? And I’ll be with you. We’ll figure this out together.”
“What about that friend of yours? The one you asked for help?”
“He’ll arrive somewhere in the next day or so. Probably with company.”
Viviano tried his best to keep up with him on the narrow path.
“What kind of company?” he asked, while pulling free his sleeve that had caught up in a branch.
“The helpful kind, I guess. Why?”
Viv sighed and gestured at nothing in particular.
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I don’t like people – probably because they don’t like me either. And we’ll already have to deal with all of the medians… Don’t get me wrong, I like you plenty, it’s just- three’s a crowd, you know?”
“Four.”
“What?”
“There’ll be four of us. Not counting the dragons, of course.”
“I’m sorry, did you say dragons, plural?”
To be honest, Zian had no idea if Sion was even going to show, and even Rena was currently out hunting, but Viviano didn’t need to know that.
“Magician?” his worried voice sounded behind him. “What does that mean? Zian!”
Zian smiled, keeping his mouth shut as he quickened his pace.
- Now -
“You know that doesn’t work on me, pal,” Zian remarked as Viviano skidded to a halt on the pavement in front of him, right after Zian had released his grip on time.
His old “pal” looked up bewildered, wondering how the hell he’d gotten there. The answer, of course, was that he’d walked. Sauntered, even. He wasn’t in a hurry.
Zian took a sip of his coffee while studying him more closely. Viv looked about the same as when Zian had last seen him - approximately 200 years ago now, he estimated. And since medians usually lived normal human lifetimes, clearly something must have happened.
“We can play this game for a while, but you’re gonna get tired of running eventually. So why don’t I get you a coffee, hm?”
Viv bent down, resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath, as people pushed past them on the sidewalk. If any of them had noticed Zian appear from thin air, they didn’t react to it. Then again, they were Downtown; people did shit like that all the time.
“Please leave me alone,” Viv gasped.
“Don’t want to catch up with an old friend?”
Viv looked up. “I’m not supposed to.”
“Says who?”
“The emperor.”
Zian caught the little eyeroll accompanying the word.
“Did he now?”
So, Dai knew. To be fair, Zian couldn’t think of any scenario in which Viv would still be around that did not involve Dai in some way – but still, he’d assumed he would tell him these things. Perhaps naively so.
“Hey, I won’t tell him if you won’t. Besides, when was the last time he contacted you anyway?”
“…It’s been a while,” Viv admitted.
“Not that I ever talk to the man himself, anyway. He’s very busy, I suppose.”
“That he is. So, coffee?”
- Then -
“I don’t like him,” Dai remarked, not looking up from the pile of papers he was sifting through.
“Who, Viv?” Zian asked, even though clarification wasn’t needed, the only other person here being Tharryn, and he liked him plenty.
He glanced over at the other end of the cave, where Viv was poking around in a pile of stuff, appearing bored out of his mind. Occasionally he shot a furtive glance at Tharryn, who he clearly tried to stay away from as far as physically possible. Zian couldn’t blame him: he suspected reaper magic wouldn’t exactly have a pleasant feel about it.
It had been entertaining to see Viviano’s reaction to the two of them while they’d been introduced. As a median, Viv could detect a person’s unique energy signature. Which meant he must have a pretty good idea what they were capable of – no demonstration needed. Because of this, Viv also tried to avoid Dai, which did not leave him with much space to move about the cave.
“I think the feeling is mutual,” Zian grinned. “But I wouldn’t take it too personal; he’s not a people person. I don’t think he likes anyone.”
“Exactly.” Dai gestured with a handful of papers. “So why does he keep following you around like a lost puppy?”
If Zian didn’t know any better, he’d think Dai were jealous.
“He’s stuck here,” he shrugged. “He needs help. All the medians do.”
“That may be part of it, but it’s not the whole story. There is something else, but I can’t put my finger on it. I know a lot of guys like him, and none of them can be trusted.”
“Well, good thing we don’t need to trust him. If he wants to be free, he’ll need to trust us.”
“Should we tell him?” Dai grinned. “That we have no idea what we’re doing?”
Zian looked up. “You don’t?”
He’d had his suspicions that Dai was just along for the ride, and the real solution to the problem would have to come from Tharryn, but if both of them were clueless…
“Oh, I’m sure he’ll have it figured out in no time,” Dai reassured him, staring at Tharryn fondly. “But right now? Just guesswork. He won’t admit it if you ask him, though. Give you some story about his hypothesis or whatever.”
“So, what exactly are we looking for in these papers?”
“Anything, really. Personally, I’m sorting them into things I understand and things I don’t.”
Zian glanced at the piles, one substantially larger than the other.
“Wanna take a guess?” Dai teased, following his eye.
He was saved from having to give an answer – and inadvertently calling his boss an idiot – by Tharryn getting up from where he’d been working.
“Median,” he said, looking around the cave, having lost track of him.
“I have a name, you know,” Viv snapped, trying to mask his unease with impertinence.
Tharryn cocked his head as if trying to remember.
“Vincent?”
Silence.
“…Would you please just come over here?”
Viv, who noticed both Zian and Dai looking at him when casting a glance their way, grumpily complied.
Tharryn placed a hand on his chest, causing him to freeze up at the sudden touch. He didn’t even dare to breathe, gasping for air when Tharryn eventually removed his hand.
“Exactly as I thought,” Tharryn mumbled absentmindedly, and continued what he was doing, not sparing Viv another thought.
Viviano just stood there for a moment, perplexed.
“…What?”
“If you were hoping for an explanation, it probably won’t come,” Zian pointed out. “Or maybe it will, a couple of hours from now, when you won’t expect it anymore – you never know with him.”
From the corner of his eye, Zian noticed that Dai was no longer next to him.
“What’s this, Vincent?” it sounded from a corner of the room.
“It’s Viviano!” the median snapped.
Dai – who knew perfectly well what his name was – just gestured towards the bag he was holding up, a curious eyebrow raised.
“Don’t touch my stuff!”
“Your stuff?” Dai procured a glowing capsule from the satchel, turning it over in his hand.
“You’re saying you’ve had this on you the entire time? If that’s true, we would need to have a serious conversation. I believe you’re familiar with Zian’s methods; mine are worse.”
Viv looked at him aghast, having turned so pale Zian thought he might faint.
“…Or perhaps it is, on second thought, not your stuff after all, and you’re out here pocketing things I specifically told you not to touch?”
Viv looked at the ground. “Finders keepers,” he mumbled.
“Well, I seem to have found this bag here, so I guess I’ll keep it, then.”
“But there’s stuff in there that’s actually mine!”
“You’re not needed here,” Dai said, ignoring his complaints. “Go back to town and start gathering all of the medians.”
His back was turned to him, so Zian couldn’t see the look that accompanied his request, but he had a pretty good idea of what it must be like.
For once, Viv was smart enough to not talk back, and he scurried towards the cave entrance.
- Now -
Viv was very jumpy, Zian noticed. Sounds made him flinch, and he cast suspicious looks over his shoulder any time the door opened.
“I hate this place,” he mumbled, both hands wrapped around his coffee to stop them from shaking.
“Sal’s?” Zian asked, wondering what could possibly be wrong about a small coffee franchise.
“Or Kalerran?”
“This entire fucking dimension.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Work.”
“What kind of work? Assuming it’s not for Dai.”
Viv scoffed.
“Like I said, I’m pretty sure he forgot I exist. No, it’s a private job. Finding some guy. The usual.”
He winced as someone walked past their table.
“Which is absolutely impossible down here.”
Suddenly, his behaviour made sense to Zian. This would be a horrible place for a median. Their senses reacted to magic, and there was plenty of that to go around.
“Too many magical signatures?” he suggested.
“So fucking many. Like standing in a perfume store and they have like, five different songs playing at the same time. Also, there’s a guy with bagpipes in the corner for some reason, and you can’t figure out why.”
“Oh, he’s just there to buy Acqua di Giò, actually.”
“While playing bagpipes?”
“I feel like we’re getting off-topic here.”
“There was a topic?”
“Yes; you. I didn’t think I’d see you here – or anywhere, really. I didn’t know you were still around. He didn’t even tell me he recruited you…” Zian averted his eyes to hide the fact that this upset him.
“I mean, I think that was kind of the point.”
Viv nervously played with the lid of his cup, popping if off and putting it back on again, keeping his eyes on the task at hand so he didn’t have to look at Zian.
“What do you mean?”
“I was going to come with you, you know? After the whole median-rescue mission. Had my bags packed and everything. But he got to me first.”
Zian thought back to that day, when he’d last seen Viviano. Zian had invited Viv to travel with him – to Rena’s displeasure – but when the time had come to leave, he hadn’t shown. Zian had always assumed he’d chickened out, but it seemed he’d been wrong.
“Got to you how?”
“He came to my place. I thought it was weird since he didn’t exactly seem to like me – but he made it very clear very fast that he wasn’t there because he liked me.”
“He needed something,” Zian nodded.
“He offered me a job. All the benefits that came with it, too. You know,” – he gestured to nothing in particular – “recruitment.”
His eyes flitted back to his cup.
“On one condition.”
“…Which is?” Zian asked, getting impatient.
“I had to stay away from you. Really put a lot of emphasis on that part. Said I was a dead man if I ever were to go near you again.”
“That’s why you ran away just now? The wrath of a guy who seems to have forgotten you exist?”
Viv shrugged.
“What can I say, I like staying out of trouble. Never seems to work out for me, though.”
“You’re not in trouble for seeing me,” Zian reassured him. “I’ll tell Dai to ignore that part of the deal, if you want.”
“You wanna remind him of my existence? Not sure I’m into that. I like having a sense of freedom, you know? The guy already owns my soul – wasn’t planning to give him much more than that. Give me a fucking break.”
Zian smiled, then leaned in.
“Is that what your deal says? That he owns your soul? Like, specifically those words?”
“Fuck if I know. Was more of a verbal agreement, anyway.”
He glanced up.
“Why, do you know some kinda loophole?”
Zian studied his face for a moment. There was a glint of something there. Hope, maybe.
“Are you saying you want out?”
The hope turned into reservation.
“I thought the only way out was death?”
“That’d be it, yeah,” Zian shrugged.
“Then no, thank you. I like my head where it is right now.”
Viviano showed him a grin, but Zian could tell something was bothering him. If there was something he wanted, staying under Dai’s radar wasn’t going to help him get it.
“I can’t help you get out, but he can be open to negotiation, in some cases. He listens to me; I might be able to get something done, if you want?”
Viv seemed to be unsure. “Like I said: I like the way he’s ignoring me right now.”
Then what do you want?
“…And I highly doubt whether he’d appreciate you arguing my case.”
Zian didn’t think he’d appreciate it much himself, either.
“Why did he want you to stay away from me, anyway? Did he say?”
Viviano shrugged.
“I think he was just pissed that I’d gotten you captured. Put you in danger or something. Which is absurd, really. I mean – I saw what you did to those guys. There’s no way you were ever really in danger.”
Zian shrugged, not feeling the need to debate whatever counted as dangerous, nor the part Viviano had played in it.
“I think the important part was the betrayal, not the danger.”
“Aw, shit, you’re still mad about that?”
“If I were mad – believe me, you’d know,” Zian grinned. “No, I meant important to Dai. He’s not too keen on people who can’t be trusted.”
“Then why recruit me at all? He could’ve just ignored me and taken his pick from amongst the other medians that were still around.”
He had a point there. But Zian was familiar with Dai’s tactics by now.
“Recruitment isn’t about trust; it’s about power. About using that power to bring unpredictable elements under your control. “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer” – and keep your enemies away from your friends, it seems.”
Only Dai would never think of the likes of Viviano as an enemy, Zian thought, but decided not to add that fact. An annoyance, perhaps. He’d recruited many “annoyances” over the years. Usually, they served a purpose and were discarded when they’d outlived their use – or when Dai simply grew tired of them. In Viv’s case, he seemed to have forgotten about him completely. An indication of just how much of a threat he’d really considered him to be.
“Right…” Viviano mused.
Clearly, he didn’t think of it the same way. From the look on his face, Zian could tell that he currently imagined himself as some sort of rogue agent, the main character from a movie. Again, he chose not to comment on it; if by now this was still how Viv thought it worked, who was he to tell him otherwise? Perhaps ignorance was bliss, in his case.
“So, do you really think it’s…” Viv froze mid-sentence, pulling a face as if he’d tasted something gross. He sniffed the air, then glanced around, eyeing the other patrons until his attention was pulled to somewhere across the room.
“Son of a bitch,” he whispered.
- Then –
One by one, the medians entered the cave, led by Viviano. They kept to one corner, avoiding the space Dai and Tharryn had cleared for the ritual. A few of them had clearly been in here before, but most of them were nervously glancing around, taking in their surroundings.
As Zian understood it from his earlier encounter, the medians who had successfully brought in a victim were relocated elsewhere. They hadn’t been able to find any information regarding this secondary location yet, but there was still a lot to go through. They’d continue the search once the medians had moved on. He could imagine they’d be antsy to leave.
Now that all of them had gathered in the space, Zian noticed hushed whispers and pointed fingers in his direction. They were talking about him. Since Tharryn didn’t need him at the moment, he decided to take a closer look and see what the fuss was all about.
As he expected, the whispers died out as soon as he approached. Since he didn’t think he would get any kind of explanation out of them, he turned to Viv, who was standing by himself a little off to the side, looking miserable.
“That’s all of them?”
Viv nodded. “According to them, it is.”
Zian raised an eyebrow. “And according to you?”
“You think I know every single one of them? I’m not a people-person, remember?”
“So you keep reminding me,” Zian nodded. “Hey, why are they all staring at me?”
Viv looked at the group over his shoulder.
“Huh. I don’t know. Perhaps they’re starstruck?”
“…Starstruck? Viv, what did you tell them?”
“Oh, you know, just how you singlehandedly shut down their entire operation. That you apparently stopped time – which none of them knew was even possible, by the way. That you’re extremely powerful and tore all the bad guys to pieces. Of course, I also added how I bravely freed you so you could do all that. You know, just a little summary of what went down here.”
“You told them all that?” No wonder they were staring.
“You’re welcome.”
“And it’s just the medians you told this to, right? No one overheard?”
“Don’t think so. I know how to keep a low profile, magician.”
Zian raised an eyebrow. “Clearly.”
“I left out the dragon,” Viv confessed. “Figured we actually need them to want to go up here.”
His eyes flitted towards the mouth of the cave, scanning for movement.
“Where’d she go, anyway?”
“She’s out. We both thought it’d be better if she weren’t here for the ritual.”
“Good, good,” Viviano nodded. “Wouldn’t want the other medians to get scared.”
“Just them?” Zian grinned.
“I’m not scared,” Viv shrugged, but immediately tried to hide behind Zian when he noticed Dai walking up to them.
Dai pretended not to notice – or genuinely didn’t care.
“It’s time.”
- Now -
Zian knew better than to turn around and check what Viviano had seen.
“What is it?” he asked, leaning in.
“This guy, he’s one of them.”
“Them?” Zian prompted, when an explanation stayed out.
“The guys I’m tracking down. The guy I’m looking for, he’s been seen with this group. They’re the only lead I have right now, and they’ve been fucking hard to find.”
“Almost like they don’t want to be found?”
“Exactly.”
“But you reacted to his magic,” Zian observed, feeling like something was off. “You recognised his signature, which means you’ve seen this guy before.”
“I said they were hard to find, not that I hadn’t found them yet,” Viv clarified. He cast his eyes down at the table. “We, uh, had a run-in a couple of days ago.”
“I take it that didn’t go well,” Zian concluded from his reaction.
“It could have gone better,” Viv confirmed. He pulled up his sleeve to reveal some nasty-looking bruises.
“If that’s all you got to show for it, you were very lucky,” Zian remarked.
“It was a warning,” Viv replied, following the guy across the room with his eyes. “They said if I don’t leave them alone, they’d do worse next time.”
He downed the last of his coffee, then got up.
“Come on, he’s getting away.”
Zian, not feeling much for a foolish chase around town for business that ultimately didn’t concern him, remained in his seat.
“Really, magician?” Viv sighed over his shoulder. Then he shrugged. “Fine. I suppose you can catch up at your own pace anyway.”
Then he was out the door, pulling his hood over his head. He also pulled out a pair of sunglasses. To appear inconspicuous, Zian presumed. Like that ever worked.
Not to mention the fact that Kellan didn’t have a sun.
With a sigh, he got up from his chair and followed.
- Then -
“How are you feeling?”
Viv thought for a moment, staring at his hands.
“Not that much different, to be honest. I don’t feel the spell anymore, that’s true, but I’d expected to feel… lighter, somehow.”
“I’m sure you’ll feel better once we’re out of this cave.”
“You’re not wrong there, magician. The energies in this place make me nauseous.”
Viviano looked up at Zian, studying his face.
“Not a fan of caves yourself, are you?”
“I was a prisoner here,” Zian reminded him.
“But that’s not all, is it?” Viv observed. “You look like you really, really don’t want to be here.”
“Is it that obvious?” Zian sighed.
“Your hands are shaking.”
Zian held them up, then balled them into fists.
“Fine. You got me. I don’t like tight spaces.”
“This cave is huge, though,” Viv pointed out, gesturing at the open space around him.
“Shut up.”
Not wanting to be here any longer than necessary, Zian stepped out onto the plateau into the light of the late afternoon sun, which had almost disappeared behind the rocks. The ritual had taken a little longer than Zian had thought, which meant it was probably best to stay here for the night and head out tomorrow.
A gust of wind hit them as Rena landed on the plateau, back from a hunt. Zian had of course known she was coming, but Viv jumped. He glanced at her nervously.
“Hey magician, is she always with you? When you travel, I mean.”
“Not all the time. More often than not, she’s off by herself while I deal with people.”
“Oh, good,” he sighed.
“What?”
“Never mind.”
Before Zian could ask more, Viviano ran off towards the other medians, who had been slowly filtering out now that they were free again, heading down the mountain in small groups. The ones that remained on the plateau had frozen in place at the sight of Rena, considering whether to make a dash back for the caves.
“It’s okay, it’s okay! The dragon is with us!”
While Zian watched Viv try to convince them it was safe – while trying to dodge being pulled into conversation with them – Tharryn appeared from the cave, walking up to him.
“I didn’t think you’d still be here,” Zian remarked.
“Why would I not be here?” Tharryn asked, his voice flat. “Other places aren’t as interesting.”
“Won’t your boss get mad if you stay for too long?”
“Probably.”
Tharryn gave an uncaring shrug while holding up a capsule, letting the light play across its greenish, strangely glowing contents.
“Does this look contaminated to you?”
“…I don’t know how to answer that,” Zian confessed.
He noticed Tharryn was holding a box filled with similar capsules, which neatly slotted into grooves carved into the wood. The eerie glow made Zian a little uncomfortable. One of these things had broken the collar around his neck, but also given him some pretty nasty burns, so he preferred not to touch them again.
“What do you think they are?”
“Concentrated enveryn,” Tharryn replied. “Something similar is used Downtown, but the extraction methods are… different. These seem a lot more volatile. Usually, capsules of this size should hold a charge of about nine to ten taim. For these, the readings are all over the place. Some of these are overcharged, and dangerously so. It’s a miracle nothing has exploded yet.”
“And what’s up with that one?” a voice interjected.
Zian hadn’t noticed Viv joining them – also, he hadn’t expected him to dare coming this close to Tharryn again. But here he was, and pointing at the capsule Tharryn had just been studying.
“What do you think is “up” with that one?” Tharryn asked, an eyebrow raised.
“I don’t know,” Viv shrugged. “It’s just different. Smells fae.”
“Hmm.” Tharryn held the capsule against the light again. “Contaminated, then.”
He held it out to Zian.
“Here. You enjoy breaking things.”
“…What?” Zian hesitated to take it from him – in case it would explode, or something. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s contaminated, which makes it unusable – assuming these unstable things had any use to begin with. Go smash it against a rock or something. I know you derive pleasure from such activities.”
Zian, who had to begrudgingly admit that he was right, took the capsule and threw it as hard as he could towards the opposite wall, where it erupted in green flames.
“Nice.”
“You know,” Viv pondered, looking at the scorch mark with unease, “I’ve changed my mind: you guys can keep the ones I found, no big deal.”
“I’m sure we can find you some non-volatile things to keep,” Zian grinned.
“How about one of those collars?” Viv tried.
“Absolutely not. I don’t want those things anywhere near me.”
“Near you? I don’t see how that’s relevant.”
“Well, I was thinking, why don’t you tag along with me for a while? You’ve got a good eye for magic; I’m sure you’ll be able to help me out.”
“And you’ll help me out? With your magic?”
“If there’s anything you need help with, sure.”
He gestured towards Rena, who was patiently waiting for him.
“Of course, we’ll be traveling by dragon – so if you’re fine with that, meet me here in the morning.”
Viv looked hesitant, but grinned.
“See you in the morning, magician.”
- Now -
“Do you even have a plan?” Zian asked, unfreezing time after having caught up with him.
Viviano, clearly startled by his sudden appearance, took a deep breath to calm down.
“I hate it when you do that, magician.”
“Shouldn’t have left me behind, then.”
“Touché.”
Viv peered around the corner to check on his target’s progress.
“You think you could make us invisible?”
“What’s the plan, Viv?” Zian asked again.
“The plan is to follow him, of course.”
“And then?”
“Then he will lead me to the guy I’m looking for. Or to his headquarters, or something.”
Zian suddenly wondered how the hell this guy had managed to survive this long.
“And what if your guy isn’t there?”
Viv darted across the street when the coast was clear.
“Then we make them talk, I suppose,” he shrugged when Zian had joined him.
“…We?”
Viv laughed sheepishly.
“Well, I suppose you will, magician,” he confessed.
“I most definitely will not.”
A panicked look.
“You won’t?”
“This isn’t my mess, Viv.”
“It’s not a mess! It’s a job,” the median protested.
“…Are you sure? I think you’re a little in over your head with this one. People who don’t want to be found down here don’t get found. Especially not by just a median.”
“Just a median, huh? Do you have any idea what I’ve pulled off over the years? The things I’ve done to keep my head above the water?”
“I don’t,” Zian admitted. “But I’m telling you: if that guy is who I think he is, you’ll want to stay out of this.”
“You’d better listen to him,” a voice sounded behind them.
Viv let out a small yelp, and even Zian had to admit he had not noticed anyone approach them.
Behind them stood a demon with greyish-blue skin and a smirk on his face. A golden charm dangled from one of his polished horns. He was dressed inconspicuously in jeans and a t-shirt, but Zian knew he must be part of the same group as the one they’d been following.
From a quick glance around, Zian learned that their target had clearly been aware he’d been followed and had now turned around to head back their way. One of his friends was just across the street, a challenging grin on her face.
“I hadn’t expected to see you here, general Reményi,” the first guy nodded.
“I hadn’t expected to be here,” Zian shrugged.
The two of them shared a look, both aware of the unspoken agreement they were a part of. An agreement that ensured the peace on the streets of Kalerran. An agreement Viv remained blissfully unaware of, as he crossed his arms and stared at the gang defiantly.
“This weasel a friend of yours?” the demon asked, nodding in Viv’s direction.
“Yes,” Viv answered before Zian could even open his mouth. “So you’d better think twice before calling me any names!”
Zian, who was starting to see why Dai had put so much effort into keeping Viv away from him, sent a glare in his direction.
“Keep your mouth shut or I’ll leave you here with them,” he hissed.
He turned his attention back to the one he assumed to be their leader.
“My-” – he hesitated on the word – “…friend here is looking for someone. But he made a mistake, he’s got your guy mixed up with someone else. Don’t you, Viv?”
If Viv even had any idea of what he was trying to accomplish, he didn’t show it. Instead, he doubled down.
“Where’s Magar? I know you have him.”
Zian sighed. The gang closed in.
“You think we’re just going to tell you where he is?” the leader grinned. “Invite you over for tea?”
“We told you to stay the fuck away from us,” another joined in. “You think we’re the types to issue empty threats, hm?”
“That would be why I brought back-up,” Viv said confidently.
The gang glanced at Zian, a mix of unease and confusion on their faces.
“Whoah, hold on,” Zian replied, holding up his hands in a calming gesture. “Let’s not jump to conclusions here.” He turned to the leader. “Could you give us a minute?”
“Don’t you have all the time in the world? You hardly need to ask for permission.”
“It’s polite to ask,” Zian shrugged. And with a side-eye to Viv: “Some of us still have manners.”
“By all means, general,” the demon gestured.
Zian grabbed Viv by the arm, not even bothering to drag him out of earshot of the group. They could listen in for all he cared.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
“My job? I told you-”
“Do you have any idea just how stupid a move this is? What’s at stake here?”
Viv shrugged. “It’s just one guy, but a lot of money. We could split it? If you could just do that thing you do-”
Zian grabbed him by the shirt, resisting the urge to choke the life out of him. Instead, he pulled him in close.
“You only went after him because I’m here, didn’t you? You want me to do your dirty work for you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, magician…”
“Stop calling me that!”
This seemed to shut him up for a moment.
Zian sighed.
“I can’t get involved in this,” he explained. “There are powers at play here that you don’t understand. Things you don’t need to concern yourself with. But I do. I can’t just do whatever I want, because actions have consequences, and if by now you still don’t understand that, then perhaps it’s time you learned.”
“You’re going to leave me here? With them?”
“I’m going to leave, and you can either do the same or take your chances with these fine people, but either way I’m going to tell Dai about what you’ve been doing behind his back.”
“Is it really behind his back if he doesn’t give a fuck about what I’m doing?” Viv pointed out.
“If you really think he doesn’t give a fuck, why do you care so much about whether I tell him or not?”
Viv was quiet for a moment.
“You’re not going to help me, then?”
“…No, Viv. I thought I’d made that clear by now. You got yourself into this mess – find your own way out of it. I’m done.”
He turned towards the gang, who were still patiently waiting – while clearly eavesdropping.
“Thank you for your patience. He’s all yours,” Zian gestured towards them. “I want nothing to do with this.”
He took a step back, to see if they would allow him to leave.
He hoped that by now he’d made it clear enough that he wasn’t working with Viviano, and that Viv wasn’t acting in Dai’s interests in the slightest. As long as Zian didn’t get involved, this wouldn’t hurt the agreement – and whatever they would do to Viv wouldn’t either. Zian could only hope that they would see it that way too.
He took another step.
“General.”
Here we go.
Zian gathered some energy at his fingertips, ready for whatever came next. Interestingly, the gang’s demeanour didn’t appear threatening – or at least not any more so than it had a minute ago. The leader even appeared slightly nervous, as if he were uncertain about his next move.
“There’s another matter we’d like to discuss with you.”
Zian detected a glance; a brief moment where the two other members made eye contact. The hesitation in those looks told him that this was not part of the original plan.
Zian eyed the leader suspiciously. The gangs and Dai’s people never talked. Staying out of each other’s way was the entire point of the agreement. Live and let live.
“Is that so? And what makes you think I want to talk?”
“Believe me, you’ll want to hear what we have to say. It’s important for either side.”
Zian glanced at the faces around him. Earlier, the other members had thrown menacing looks in their direction; they were just playing around, but ready to throw down if needed. Right now, their faces were stoic and serious. They also seemed to have completely forgotten about Viv for the moment, collectively holding their breath while waiting for his answer.
“…Alright, I’ll bite. What’s so important?”
“There’s a new player in town,” the leader explained, seeming relieved at his cooperation. “Encroaching on our business. We want to make sure he isn’t one of yours.”
“Well, I don’t know every single person in the emperor’s employ,” Zian considered. “I’d have to ask around.”
“Fair point,” the demon nodded.
“What can you tell me about this guy? What does he look like? What has he done to you that’s got you so worried?”
“I’ll get to that in a moment,” the leader promised. “First, we might want to get off the street. We wouldn’t want people of either side to know we’ve talked. Not yet.”
Zian wasn’t particularly eager to go anywhere with them.
“You think someone’s watching?” he asked, acting casual while looking out for any signs that this might be a trap – wouldn’t be the first time Viv had led him into one.
The leader shrugged. “There’s always someone watching. Who it is – that’s the real question. In our line of work, we’ve gotten pretty good at avoiding the eyes, though."
He made an inviting gesture.
“Let me show you. No tricks, I swear. Why would I be here if I didn’t honour the agreement?”
Zian just stared at him for a moment. Truth be told, the whole thing intrigued him, and he was curious to see where it would lead – but you shouldn’t appear too eager to these types.
The leader crossed his arms. “You know what, I’d be willing to let the weasel go. Call it a show of good faith.”
“I basically just left the weasel for dead,” Zian retorted. “Why do you think I care?”
“Magician?” Viv asked nervously – after having been surprisingly quiet up to now.
“…I mean- Zian.”
“Shut up, Viv.”
Zian looked from the squirming median to the gang leader and back, then sighed.
“If they really mean it, I’d start walking if I were you.”
“What if they don’t mean it, though…” Viv mumbled.
“We’ll find out, won’t we?”
“I…”
“Get out of here before I kill you myself!”
Scared by his sudden outburst, Viv started running, almost tripping over his own feet. The four of them watched as he disappeared around the corner, after a quick glance over his shoulder.
The gang leader turned to Zian. “You think I should’ve told him not to come around here again, or do you think he got the message this time?”
“Hard to tell with that guy,” Zian shrugged. “If he does come back, feel free to do with him as you please. We won’t care.”
The demon nodded.
“So, let me show you a place where we can talk.”
- Later -
Viviano waited at the entrance to the station, hoping to slip inside along with someone else. He had a card, but knew it could be used to track him – which wasn’t ideal for someone wanting to skip town.
He hadn’t been able to complete his job, and figured staying here might not be the best of options, with the gang and Zian – and possibly Dai? – knowing his whereabouts. Moreover, his employer might come looking for him, demanding back the advance he’d been paid. Well, shouldn’t have given me any money before getting results then. He’d spent it a long time ago.
He was conflicted about seeing Zian again. Even though Dai had forbidden Viv to see him, he’d always considered him a friend, someone who would be on his side when it mattered.
What a friend he’d turned out to be.
Perhaps Dai had been right to keep the two of them apart. Working alone had kept him sharp, required him to think of creative solutions. And the moment he’d asked for help, everything had started to go downhill.
Perhaps this was a sign. Perhaps he needed to get the hell out of here and focus all of his activities Topside from now. Screw this place.
A woman entered the station, holding a child by the hand. Her attention was fully focused on the young boy, who wasn’t particularly well-behaved.
Perfect. She’d be too distracted to notice she was being followed.
He rounded the corner and almost collided with someone in his path.
“Excuse me,” he mumbled, slipping past them to not let the woman out of his sight.
He didn’t get far, as a hand closed around his arm, holding him in an iron grip.
“Ow, what the-”
Viviano froze.
It had been a while since he had seen this face in person, and yet it was everywhere: in papers, magazines, on tv – and even if it hadn’t been, Viv didn’t think he’d ever be able to forget it.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Dai asked.
“Away,” Viv squeaked, trying to squirm out of his grip while knowing it was pointless.
“Please, I- I’ll stay away from Zian, I won’t come back here ever again!”
“I don’t think so.” Dai tightened his grip. “For some reason, Zian still has a soft spot for you. No matter what you do, he won’t see you for the snake that you are – won’t do what needs to be done. I guess I’ll just have to do it for him.”
“Wait- no!”
The emperor ignored the median as he dragged him away.
As Dai looked down at the city stretching out beneath him, he could feel eyes watching him. He wasn’t alone anymore; someone had found him up here. Dai didn’t need to look up to know it was Tharryn, but he did so anyway.
Tharryn’s hood was down, allowing Dai to detect the slightest hint of a smile on his face.
“I thought I’d find you here.”
Dai raised an eyebrow.
“…You did?”
Not even he thought this was a logical place for him to be. Did his partner know something he didn’t?
“To be fair, it wasn’t the first place I thought to look. …Or the tenth.”
He crossed his arms.
“Okay, fine, I gave up and used a tracking spell. Happy now?”
Dai grinned.
“Very. I was worried I was getting predictable. Can’t have that now. Got a reputation to uphold.”
Tharryn sent him an enigmatic look. While Dai could read him better than anyone, he still hadn’t mastered interpreting all of his expressions. On his end, Tharryn struggled to interpret just about any social cues. But Dai was sure he’d picked up on the sarcasm this time around. Right?
“Your reputation remains undamaged. But unfortunately for you, I know exactly why you’re up here.”
“…You do?”
Tharryn came to sit next to him, his feet dangling over the edge of the building. Together, they looked at Kalerran stretching out around them, an endless tangle of streets interspersed with plazas and parks and people. Everyone looked so small from up here, like ants scurrying around their colony, unaware of what was happening in the world at large. And like ants, they were easy to squash. He wouldn’t, though: these were his ants. But someone else might.
“Do you think you’d survive falling down from here?” Tharryn asked, leaning dangerously far over the edge.
Dai had gotten used to the random topic changes. He’d come around to it eventually, he knew from experience. So, he leaned forward to look down as well.
“Me? Probably. Some random demon? Unlikely.”
He cast a look to the side.
“Don’t tell me you want to try it.”
Tharryn shook his head.
“Not today. Besides, we know how that ends already,” he shrugged.
“Good. I am not scraping you off the sidewalk.”
The comment even earned him a smile. A rare treat – although he got to see them more often these days.
“Better get away from that edge, then. This is giving me vertigo.”
Tharryn pulled up his legs and hopped off of the low wall surrounding the edge of the roof, moving back towards the centre a little.
“It’s a nice view, though. You can see all the way to Nyos from here,” Dai pointed out.
“Sure, but you didn’t come here for the view.”
Dai leaned back to look at him.
“Then what do you think I’m doing here?”
“You’re hiding.”
“Hiding?”
Tharryn nodded.
“Hiding, self-isolating, needing some space to think – however you wanna call it.”
“Well, I suppose I did pick this place because no one would find me here – you not included, clearly.”
Tharryn looked at the ground, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.
“Do you want me to leave?” he asked.
“Why would I want that?”
“You want to be alone. When I’m here, you’re not alone,” Tharryn explained, a small hint of confusion showing on his face about having to explain something so obvious.
“I wanted to get away from people. You’re not people.”
Tharryn considered this for a moment, then sighed.
“You lost me. You want me to stay …because I’m not a person? That’s not true and you know it. So, what am I missing?”
Dai couldn’t help but laugh. For someone so smart he could be pretty clueless at times.
“You know when you spend time with people, and at some point you grow tired of them, or annoyed by them, or just want them to leave for any other reason?”
Tharryn nodded. He knew it all too well, often reaching that point long before others would.
“You’re the exception to that. I’d never grow tired of you.”
Another pause as Tharryn considered this. When he looked up, there was a twinkle in his eye.
“Are you sure about that?”
“Absolutely.”
“You’ll regret saying that the next time I’ll talk your ear off about some spell, or whatever.”
“Hmm, nope! I love seeing you being passionate about things.”
Tharryn approached the edge of the building again, but didn’t join him on the wall. Instead, he leaned on it with his elbows, looking out over the city.
“You know that works two ways, right? I’d never get tired of you either. No matter how many stories you tell about the council’s terrible plans, or their infuriating incompetence…”
Ah. So he did know why he was up here.
“Would throwing them down the roof make you feel better?” Tharryn suggested, only half-joking.
Dai smiled.
“However tempting: you being here is enough.”
He leaned in, as if anyone would be able to overhear them up here.
“…Also, I may have thrown some rocks at people earlier.”
Tharryn smiled and shook his head, then rested it against Dai’s shoulder.
Some were simply from having been alive this long; his head could only hold so many things, so stuff he deemed less important had gotten blurry over time, details forgotten. There were certain things he’d wanted to remember, so he’d used journals to write them down. The ones he still had, Tharryn didn’t read very often, since he didn’t like the person who’d written them. Still, there were memories attached to them.
There were also parts of his mind where whole stretches of time had simply been erased, leaving only a black void, a gaping hole where they had once been. Trying to investigate felt like standing at the edge of an abyss; jumping in had only ever caused him pain, never results.
Dai had been able to fill in some of the gaps for him, for things that he’d been present for, adventures they’d had together back in the day. Other things Tharryn had only told him about, and he had tried to recount them as accurately as possible. During the later years he hadn’t had any more memory lapses, so the gaps had become more of a background noise in his mind. But occasionally, they’d still run into situations where Dai would refer to something from the past and the both of them would realise Tharryn had no memory of it.
It gave him a certain comfort to know that something like that would never happen again, the person who’d caused him to forget having been removed from his life – and this world, more accurately.
His former boss had wanted to keep Tharryn on task, and his frequent trips to all kinds of interesting places, plus his friendship with a demon didn’t exactly help to achieve that. At some point, though, he must have realised that his efforts were in vain, since even without his memories, Tharryn would never become the obedient reaper he’d envisioned him to be. And that pesky demon would always find his way back to him somehow.
And now he would never be able to hurt them again.
