Chapter 84: Murderer


    Ravinspound wasnt hard to find. And apound it was, with multiple wood buildings surrounded by a palisade wood fence. Guards manned watchtowers at the corners, and a pair of menacing gate guards prevented anyone from getting in.


    Vir jumped up onto a nearby rooftop with Neel to peek into thepound. What he saw impressed him. Unlike the run-down shacks that surrounded it, the handful of three-story buildings inside the fence were well built, and even sported carvings on its wooden architecture. A small garden upied one corner, and a stone walkway extended from the entrance to homes and other structures.


    Ravin had built himself a small oasis in the cesspool that was the Warrens. Vir might have thought it beautiful, if he was unaware of how Ravin had obtained such wealth.


    Lahar hadnt been the only one exploited by the crime lord. Everyone Vir approached had simr stories. Either they knew of friends or family whod met misfortune by Ravins hand, or they themselves had been subjected to his cruelty. Vir couldnt find a single positive ount of the man.


    Whatever hesitation lingered in Virs heart evaporated after hearing their stories. Removing Ravin from power would be a boon to the Warrens.


    A part of him wanted to believe that the Brotherhood was on the side of good, but another voice in his head said this was merely a coincidence. Vir didnt know how far the Brotherhood would go, but he sensed that theyd go to great lengths assuming the money was good.


    It didnt matter. He didnt support the Brotherhood. This was merely a mutually beneficial business rtionship, nothing more.


    Neel wandered around the nearby rooftops while Vir spent a good hour monitoring the guards. The more he watched, the less impressed with their setup he grew. The guards in the towers cked off most of the time, staring off at the horizon or taking quick naps when they thought they could get away with it.


    The gate guards looked equally bored, but had fewer opportunities to ck than their tower friends. Still, apart from giving mean looks to passersby, Vir didnt get the feeling that they took their jobs seriously.


    Finally, thepleteck of patrolsboth inside and outside thepoundshocked Vir. This was a far cry from the castle. Vir had not only infiltrated the castle grounds, but hed even gotten inside the princesss room. With the number of holes in their security perimeter, he wouldnt even need <em>Dance of the Shadow Demon </em>to break in.


    Getting to Ravin wouldnt be the issue; there were only three buildings in thepound, and Vir figured Ravin would call thergest one home. It was what came after that frightened Vir.


    <em>Can I really kill him?</em> Vir thought. Sure, he had the Brotherhoods mandate to kill this person. No one would fault him for doing so, and hed be improving the lives of many people.


    But despite understanding this, Virs hands trembled, and nothing he did stopped it.


    <em>I need to calm my nerves</em>.


    Hed enact the n tonight, in the dead of night. Not only would <em>Dance of the Shadow Demon</em> function better at night, but Ravin would be fast asleep. Hed sneak in, kill the man while he slept, and slip out. All without anyone knowing he was there. If he was lucky, his men would only find out the next morning, and by that time, Vir would be long gone.


    For this mission, hed chosen a new disguise hed never used before. A dirty-looking Warren-dweller. With his ragged clothes, and with his chakris and chakrams gone for servicing, he fit right in.


    Vir descended from the rooftop with Neel back to the alley and searched for the nearest food vendor. Unlike inside the city, there were no taverns here. Rather, vendors cooked and sold food from stalls right on the street. The wealthier ones had mobile stalls, while the cheaper options spread banana leaves on the filthy road and set their food right on top.


    Not desiring to contract any fatal diseases, Vir selected one of the cleaner, fancier looking stalls. He bought a few vegetable kabobs, eating them as he walked. With his mind preupied with the uing assassination, he scarcely noticed their taste.


    <em>This is bad. I need to calm down,</em> Vir thought. But that was easier said than done. The only one who remained oblivious was Neel, who kept stealing nces up at him, expecting food.


    Vir found an empty alley spot and retrieved some dried food from his pack, cing them in a small bowl for Neel. He didnt dare let the bandy lick food up off the ground here.


    He petted his faithfulpanion as he ate. Neels mere presence helped keep Vir grounded. The bandy had been at his side through thick and thin.


    Youre such a good boy, Neel, Vir said, ruffling his fur. The bandy cooed appreciatively, but it was Vir who gained the most from the exchange. His worries just seemed to melt away.


    Vir spent the next hours scouting thepound with Neel. He wanted to be sure he hadnt missed any guards, so he cased the ce from every perspective he could think of. He visited the nearby rooftops, he walked the alleys all around thepound, and nned out several escape paths.


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    While <em>Dance </em>obsoleted much of his nning, he wanted to have a n in case <em>Dance </em>failed him. As Rudvik would say, <em>Hope for sun. n for rain.</em>


    After circling thepound for the third time, Vir finally took a seat on a rooftop. There was nothing further he could do to prepare. He thought about waiting until tomorrow so he could have his armor, but every day wasted meant more people whod suffer. Lahars wife and child mighte to harm, and Vir was sure Lahar wasnt the only one currently suffering at Ravins hands.


    Besides, if he got into a fight, it meant he''d already botched the job. No. He would get by without it for this operation tonight.


    As the sun set, Vir stared up at the Vimana floating above the city. Janaks avatar said hed been monitoring Vir from there, but that hecked the ability to influence anything. Which Vir took to mean that hecked control over the Vimana.


    <em>For the better, </em>Vir thought. He didnt know what kinds of powers those floating pces had, but he doubted it was anything this world had ever seen. Every tale of lost magic from the Age of Gods <em>always </em>spoke of devastating, mind bending power. Some said the gods even had weapons that could level entire cities in the blink of an eye.


    <em>First Prana Swarms, and now magic from the Age of the Godsing to life</em> Vir wondered how hed ended up with such a bizarre streak of urrencestely.


    The Altani airships had swarmed Daha, and remained parked and patrolling for an entire week before they finally left. On one hand, a week was a long time to let an entity like a Prana Swarm run free. On the other, the fact that Altani mejai had subdued the monster within a week spoke volumes about that countrys power.


    Vir only hoped they killed off that monster for good this time.


    The orange and yellows of sunset gave way to blue and finally ck. <em>Magic Candles </em>and <em>Magic Lanterns </em>flickered on, illuminating the Warrens with an amber glow. The sounds of the bustling city continued well into the light, long after the suns light had died away.


    Vir waited for the stars toe out, but they never did. It wasnt the VimanaDahas city lights simply drowned out the light of the stars.


    You stay right here, buddy, Vir muttered, ensuring Neel didnt follow along. Though the bandy may be fearsome in a fight, no amount of training could teach his four-leggedpanion the art of stealth.


    Ravins room had been even easier to find than Vir expected, thanks to therge window and bright <em>Magic Lanterns</em> within. Whenever Ravin moved from one room to another, the lights went with him, announcing his exact position.


    Vir waited for thest light to wink out, indicating his destination.


    Navigating to Ravins home the traditional way waswhile not riskyrisk<em>ier</em> than using <em>Dance </em>to insert himself directly inside the mans home, so Vir activated his Talent, slipping into the shadow in front of Neels eyes.


    The bandy thought it was fascinating, and tried to follow its master into the shadow, but Vir didnt let him.


    From the Realm of Shadows, Vir used <em>Prana Vision </em>to scope out the interior of Ravins home. Thanks to the slums density, the rooftop hed been on was just under twenty paces from Ravins home.


    Vir took his time to confirm that no other presences upied the hall he nned to exit from.


    Silently, he slipped out of the shadow into the crime lords house, gazing up, down, and all around with <em>Prana Vision.</em>


    In doing so, he found his first problem. <em>Ravin wasnt alone.</em>


    With him slept another adult-sized signature, as well as a smaller one.


    <em>His wife and kid!?</em> Vir thought, panicking. Hed expected the man to be alone. Vir hadnt even considered Ravin would have a family. Let alone one that slept right next to him.


    Vir halted in his tracks. <em>Can I do this?</em> Could he really kill the man in front of his own wife and child? What if one of them woke up? Did he <em>really </em>have the right to deprive a child of their father? A wife of her husband?


    His mind yed worst-case scenarios endlessly on a loop, debilitating him. Virs heart pounded in his chest and he found himself unable to take even a single step forward.


    Then his training took over. He fell into his Kri deep breathing, slowing his heart and calming his nerves.


    <em>This changes nothing.</em> Whether or not the man had a family, his atrocities remained. Just that Vir didnt know if he could live with himself after he did this deed. And yet, something propelled him to continue. A voice that said that nobody in this world was truly good or evil. That sometimes tumors had to be excised before they grew malignant.


    Vir knew whose voice this was. It wasnt his. It was Ekanai. But the Reaper had no power over him here. He wasnt worried about possession. Rather


    <em>Isnt this what you want from me? You want me to kill Ravin, dont you?</em>


    But the voices in his head remained silent.


    Vir took a deep breath and pressed on, bending his knees to reduce the sound of his footfalls. From the loud snoresing from Ravins bedroom, he neednt have bothered.


    A <em>Magic Lock</em> barred Ravins door, and once again, Vir <em>Danced</em> past it rather than risk making sounds picking the lock. As hed recently learned, only poorly made locks could be picked. Good ones <em>needed </em>the orb to be unlocked before granting entry.


    Vir slipped into the shadows and emerged right beside Ravin as he snored on his enormous bed. The bushy bearded man slept beside his daughter, who hugged his back, sleeping peacefully. On the other side of his bed, turned away, was Ravins wife.


    For this mission, Vir wouldnt be using his katar. In fact, hed holstered the weapon in a padded pouches on his waist out of worry that it might make noise.


    Instead, he produced a long, thin needle. When inserted in just the right way at exactly the right spot at the base of the neck, it would kill the man immediately. There was just one problem. Ravins daughter clung to her fathers back, her face resting against the back of his neck.


    To kill him, Vir would have toe inches away from his young daughter.


    He moved the needle closer. A foot away from the mans neck. An inch. He stopped.


    Just another inch. A quick thrust and it would be all over. Hed activate <em>Dance of the Shadow Demon</em> and hed be gone before anyone saw him.


    Then Virs eyesnded on Ravins daughter, only to find her staring at him, wide eyed. Perhaps either due to fear or shock, she said nothing. She merely stared.


    Vir jerked in surprise, causing the needle to prate Ravins skin. The man jerked awake, confused.


    With a deep breath, Vir drove the needle into Ravins neck.


    Ravin roared in pain before going silent when his heart stopped. His cries were reced by those of his daughter, who screamed an ear-piercing wail that deafened Vir.


    With as high off the ground as Ravins bedroom was, <em>Dance of the Shadow Demon </em>took a full ten seconds to activate. Ten seconds that felt like ten hours to Vir as he stared at Ravins daughter.


    He slipped into the shadows just as Ravins wife found a knife beside their bedside. He popped out in a nearby alley and fell to his knees, heaving.


    Vir had seeded. Hed killed his target in just a few seconds, and in doing so, had liberated dozens of people from the crime lords grasp.


    And yet, all Vir could hear was Ravins daughters screaming over and over. Screams that would haunt him forever.