《Endless Online: Wildcards (Book 1)》


 Endless Online Book 3 - PROLOGUE

    Endless Online Book 3: Oblivion''s Promise                                        -C. 2018 M.H. Johnson


    Prologue


    The clang of pressure doors slamming shut could be heard throughout the spaceship. Elise and Sten exchanged haunted glances as their ship went deathly silent, save for air filters striving to purify the stench of corpses laid low by their erstwhile companion''s deadly blade. Trained as a Highlord under the most unforgiving of masters, Elise couldn''t help but read the desperation, hope, and love in Sten''s gaze. Once the most daring of mercenary captains, he had risked so much, putting his wild luck to the ultimate test, when he first came to her rescue what now seemed a lifetime ago.


    They had both sought to put their pasts behind them, and for a time they had succeeded as treasure hunters and prospectors of all things. For a single precious year, life had been sweet. Until they had been captured by the cruelest of inquisitors just moments before they could escape Jordia forever with an incredible fortune in precious minerals. Then they were cuffed, beaten, and brought into the very bowels of the massive dreadnought perpetually flying over Jordia''s skies.


    Finding herself once more in the heart of her former master''s power, Elise had felt nothing but dread, all hope lost. Then they had been rescued by the most unlikely of heroes, all their hopes now pinned on a half-mad boy claiming to be from another world.


    Halvar, the seven-foot mercenary among them, chuckled ruefully into the silence, his one cybernetic eye whirring even as his soft brown human one crinkled with mirth. "If that boy had been playing us, he was a pure virtuoso. I never suspected Daudi ties for a heartbeat, save when first he danced with that ancient Psiblade in the garden, looking for all the world like a Darklord, for all that he had seemed but a lost babe in the woods when he first popped out of that vat of magic goop, just weeks ago!" He sighed and shook his head. "He reminded me so much of the innocent recruits my company would take on, and I''d have just a few short months to get them ready for a life of battle, glory, and hot death, like as not. Only reason why I pushed him as hard as I did to train."


    Elise nodded. "He was a babe lost in the woods to me as well. And how fragile his mind seemed when first I strove to train him." She closed her eyes and lowered her head. "I pushed him too hard. I became the very bitter taskmistress who had so long tormented me." A bitter chuckle. "In fearing for his life, for all our lives, I had become like the very pitiless lords I strove to protect him from."


    Her haunted eyes locked onto one of the decapitated corpses, cleaved through by blades of null-force as easily as a normal blade would cleave through air. "But, yes, when I caught sight of Val in the garden wielding that blade, seeming as much shadows and darkness as living being... the terror I had felt, unable to find the gaze of a man who could so easily cut me down... never had I felt so frozen with fear." She swallowed and looked away. "And then he handed me that terrible artifact like it was of no consequence, an item capable of cutting through Elementium reinforced mech-bots like nothing, and his expression read only disappointment after I accused him of such things, based on nothing more than shadows and fear."


    Sten shook his head even as he winced from the pain of his injuries, his face and body bearing the savage marks of the inquisitor who had enjoyed his work to a horrific degree. "No. How the hell could he have set that up?" He hissed and groaned. "Could one of those damned officials clued in a Dauda contact while we were filling out the paperwork for the mine? Giving him the perfect opportunity to study the territory before popping up out of a vat like that, giving us all a deathly fright, coming off like such an innocent, and how carefully he steered us past death, over and over again."


    Sten shuddered, face turning pale from pain. Elise choked back a sob, turning to Halvar. "Get Gregor up here now! Tell him to bring all the healing potions he has."


    Halvar gave a curt nod, heading off, still in trooper armor. Elise shook her head. "All that care, though. The things he told us, only moments before his identity was revealed. Why? Why would he bother with the story?"


    Sten chuckled softly. "What can I say? We were useful tools, and all know that the Daudi value their tools. Their word is their bond. It is the only thing that motivates people to work for them since they''re savvy enough to know that fear can buy man many things. Open many, many doors. But it cannot buy loyalty. It cannot buy friendship."


    Elise nodded, kissing Sten''s brow. "I''d like to think, maybe, somehow, he enjoyed feeling innocent, feeling somehow... free with us. I can only imagine what his life was like before. Perhaps fear, fury, and pain were all he knew. But with us?"


    Sten sighed. "We could have treated him better. We should have treated him better."


    Elise shrugged. "The past is already written, as you''ve told me more than once, my love. And we had every right to be suspicious on our venture, so many hands already turned against us, having to let at least a few government officials know our plans just to pay fees and legitimize our claim. When a boy pops out of a vat but feet away from us and we are suddenly sealed in, well, no one can blame us for our caution with him." She lowered her gaze. "And yes, Sten, if I could rewrite the past..."


    Sten nodded, even as the gnomelike Gregor burst into the room, his gaze panicked. "Bodies...there are bodies everywhere!"


    Halvar nodded. "He did his mentor proud, whoever taught our Val. A master mercenary commander without a doubt."


    Gregor''s eyes widened. "Nothing mercenary about it. He''s Dauda clan! You said so yourself. Now it all makes sense! Asking all those strange questions, the way he''d peer at you with his odd, peaceful eyes, then look away the second you looked back."


    Halvar''s gaze hardened. "He saved your life, Gregor, don''t you dare forget. He saved all our lives." Halvar grimaced, turning towards the command center. "Even now our lives are in his hands. Whether he''s a Dauda assassin who values his pieces or just a boy gambling with his life for the sake of his friends, our fates ride upon the dice he rattles even now."


    Gregor swallowed, nodding absently as he carefully fed Sten first one then a second ruby potion.


    Elise smiled. "Thank you, Gregor. It looks like your odd hobby is just the thing needed."


    Gregor nodded. "I gave you two, just in case. One of the ones I made on Phoebe and..." he suddenly paled, beginning to shake. "Oh no."


    Sten''s eyes bulged and he grimaced. "What did you do, Gregor? What did you do?!"


    Gregor stumbled back as Sten lurched to his feet.


    Elise shrieked as he put weight on his shattered knee, desperate to catch him before he fell.


    But her gesture was pointless as Sten lurched forward, blinking in surprise as he gazed first at Gregor, then at his knee, blinking in amazement.


    "Gregor..."


    "Yes, Captain?"


    "Can your potions mend shattered bone?"


    Gregor blinked. "No potion save a masterwork could do such a thing."


    Sten gazed down at his trembling legs, grimacing in pain but very much standing, then gazed back at his friends.


    No one said a word as the seconds dragged on.


    Sten chuckled into the silence. "That boy will never cease to amaze me. To the bridge." He gazed at Elise as she grabbed an arm, supporting his weight, pained still despite the miracle of a working joint. "I''m never leaving your side again, you know."


    Elise squeezed him tight, learning her head against his own as they navigated to the bridge. "I know. As soon as we get out of here..."


    "I''m marrying you."


    Elise flushed. "The courts would never allow it."


    "The hell with them. The hell with the Dominion altogether. The minute we get out of here, assuming my luck or Val''s holds, we head for the territories, centuries-long sleep be damned. We emerge rich, free, husband and wife ready to start over in the free territories. Our pasts count for nothing out there. It will be centuries before the Dominion expands that far, and they have every reason to leave the outskirts of settled space alone until it develops sufficient to even be worth claiming."


    Sten flashed a roguish grin as Elise helped him to his chair. "And who knows? Maybe Halvar and I aren''t the only mercs who want a fresh start and will fight to keep our new homes free. Either way, we will have centuries of peace before trouble comes knocking on our doorstep, especially with a fortune of Elementium to guide our way."


    Elise said not a word, even as she kissed Stens'' brow, tears flowing down her cheeks as she locked gazes with her lover before taking her own seat.


    Sten turned to Gregor. "Please tell me Valor wasn''t lying about our prize."Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Gregor blinked, shaking his head. "Pure madness. But I checked. He really did it! He had no reason to, but there really is a fortune of Elementium back there!"


    Sten closed his eyes with relief. "Thank the ancestors. Now tell me you secured it properly."


    Gregor looked affronted. "Of course! It''s all in nul-status. I''m no fool, Sten, whatever that kid might think." Gregor sighed. "I do hope he doesn''t get himself killed. Not until we''re free of the dreadnought, at least."


    Halvar chuckled at that.


    "I was kidding."


    "I know."


    "Do you really think Val''s Dauda clan?"


    Sten smiled. "Maybe not, Gregor. Then again, maybe he is. In the end, it doesn''t matter. If he can actually coax these bastards to open the bay doors and give us safe passage, I''ll count him a friend in my book for life."


    All four of them nodded at that, gazing breathlessly at the bay doors.


    Utterly unmoving as the moments ticked by, Sten and friends feeling the tension as an awful, unbearable weight pressing against them.


    "Bloody hells, what''s going on?" Gregor hissed.


    "Patience. It will take as long as it takes. And as long as those bastards staring at us outside are making no move to enter, I will count myself lucky."


    Gregor paled, gazing down at several score armored troopers pointedly gazing back at the ship, all of them armed with powerful laser carbines, though none made any demands. Yet.


    All of them jumped in their seat as the comms suddenly crackled to life.


    "Vessel 03X1 Mordingi. You are cleared for towing. Vessel 03X1 Mordingi. You are cleared for towing. Do not catalyze drive until launch is complete. Repeat. Do not catalyze drive until launch is complete."


    Gregor gazed at Sten in awe. "Angels mercy. I think Val actually did it!"


    All of them gazed out the command view in numb, grateful disbelief as the very soldiers who had been standing at deadly attention immediately flowed off to separate tasks, quickly and efficiently towing their ship to the launch point as Sten was directed through protocols and almost before they knew it they were shot by gravity pulse free of the massive dreadnought that stretched away endlessly before them, a vast and mighty capital ship capable of laying siege to an entire hemisphere, all on its own.


    "Vessel 03X1 Mordingi, you are clear. Vessel 03X1 Mordingi, you are clear to catalyze your drive. Safe journey. Dreadnought Alphastar out."


    Halvar gave his former mercenary brother a rueful grin. "I think it''s time we got this show on the road, don''t you?"


    Sten nodded. "Next stop, Phoebe."


    "No!" A suddenly panicked Elise squeezed Sten''s hand so tight he winced. "Please, Sten, anywhere but there."


    His brow furrowed with concern. "Elise, we don''t have to sell our find. You were right. It''s high risk, too damn high a risk in this system, even if the Phoebian consort is paying top coin for Elementium. But you know as well as I that the major hub jump points crest it''s electro-manasphere."


    Elise shook her head frantically. "Don''t be a fool! Did you forget the second dreadnought?! What the hell do you think they''ll do when a ship recently departed from the dreadnought of their chief ally and opponent enters their space? Mordingi''s already claimed the registration keys! His inquisitorial status is irrefutable. You don''t think Phoebe''s Overlord will hesitate for a heartbeat to demand audience with his opponent''s pawn before allowing him into the heart of his sanctuary? Particularly an inquisitor who has spy written all over him? Think!"


    Gregor grimaced. "Oh, that does sound bad, when you put it like that."


    A breathless pause. Sten swallowed and lowered his head. "You''re right. I''m a fool twice-over."


    "You and me both," Halvar softly said, turning to Elise who was herself gazing at Sten with sad violet eyes, as if shamed by a haughty tongue castigating the very man she had sworn her heart to.


    Sten flashed Elise a rueful smile, stroking her cheek. "No regrets, love. You''ve taken command of common sense, now steer us to shore."


    Elise nodded. "Quick. No time to waste. To Jordia before our stillness causes yet more unwanted attention!"


    And within seconds they were off, the telltale hum of their stardrive the only indication they were moving save the planet rapidly approaching, Elise''s lips curving in happiness despite her pain, gazing upon her birth planet, bittersweet as her journey to this moment had been. "Alright. As soon as we make it to Jordia''s outer orbit, we''ll crest to the far side. Tilgoth is the only decent destination point from Jordia, but we can sell the smallest portion of our Elementium for almost fair rates without anyone batting an eye. From there we jump to the major hubs, sell our treasures for a fortune, pay the requisite bribes, and head for a paradise planet to enjoy endless centuries free of worry or care."


    Gregor grinned. "Sounds good! I know several high quality partnership contractors at the Jita hub, and by now they should have an accurate profile of my, ahem, eccentricities. I''d love to see what selection of girls looking for immediate partners they have. It''s been too long since I was married. Maybe the third time''s the charm."


    Elise''s laugh was gentle. "You never change, Gregor."


    "I''m a sweetheart!" he huffed. "Once you get to know me. But most women don''t bother. A contract at least gives them a chance to see if they''re willing to put up with me. Maybe I can find a nice girl who likes shorter men and alchemy?"


    Halvar''s eyes widened. "Bloody hells, I nearly forgot."


    Sten frowned. "What''s that?"


    Halvar just shook his head, wasting no time, immediately getting on coms. "03X1... Mordingi to Jordia. 0X31 Mordingi to Jordian safety command. Do you copy?"


    Sten and Elise both gazed at Halvar in surprise, Sten''s frown deepening before turning his focus to the jump points on the far side of the planet they approached.


    "Jordian Safety Command. We read you, 0X31 Mordingi. What''s the problem?"


    "Solar flair! Omega class. We have readings of unexpected flare activity. Recommend following safety protocols immediately. Please pass concern to Phoebian Safety Command."


    The comms were dead silent for some moments. "Vessel 03X1 Mordingi this is a serious assertion. How good is your source?"


    Halvar grimaced. Sten gave a frustrated curse. "Damn it, Halvar."


    "Highlord," Halvar said at last. "If we''re wrong... we''ll accept field costs, expect bounty in turn."


    Dead silence once more. A different voice came on. "This is Colonel Kal Zechlo of Jordian Safety Command. Do I understand your assertion that a solar flare is imminent from a command-level source and you''re willing to wager the full value of your vessel on that?"


    Halvar nodded, even as Sten cursed, frantically racing for the jump point on the far side of the planet, the giant dreadnought, massive as it was, now just a speck in the horizon. "That is correct, Colonel Kal Zechlo. Alpha warning being given. I repeat, alpha warning being given."


    Elise''s eyes widened at the cursing coming over the comms. "Damn it, alright. Fields coming up in ten seconds. We''re sending a message to Phoebe. If your wrong, you know the penalty."


    Halvar grimaced. "And if I''m right..."


    "Yeah, you''re bloody heroes, five million credit bounty. Put your own shields up, and don''t try to leave the system."


    "Understood," Halvar said as Sten snapped off the comms.


    "Bloody hells, Halvar, what the hell are you trying to do? We need to jump out! Do you understand? We''re skirting oblivion''s edge by the skin of our teeth! What do you think you''re doing?"


    "Val''s request."


    Those quiet words silenced them all as a frustrated Sten prepped himself for jumping despite the warning. "Alright," he said as all of Jordia was suddenly covered by a shimmering azure field. "Alright. Our ship''s worth about 5 million credits. I know the jump captain here. A million credits should buy us a backdoor out of here. Hell, the captain can come with, we''ll give him two million! Start life anew rich as a lord. Just try to stall them as long as you can. Buy me time to reach out. How long until they wind it down?"


    Elise frowned. "Ten minutes minimum. For a random anomaly especially from a class A source, we have maybe twenty minutes before they need secondary verification.


    Their comms crackled once more, the voice clearly feminine despite being tinny and faint. "This is Colonel Alara Elistair of Phoebian Safety Command. Is this the ship declaring an Alpha class Solar distress warning?"


    Sten gave a frustrated shake of his head.


    "Yes," Halvar said, hesitating not at all. This is 03X1 Mordingi."


    An angry pause. "You do know the penalty if you are wasting our time, yes?"


    Halvar nodded. "Confiscation of our ship, the ruin of our good name."


    "A hell of a lot more than that. Are you sure you want to do this?"


    Halvar closed his human eye, shaking his head, Sten cursing in the background. "Yes," he said, firm as any commander. "Keep it up for a good thirty minutes, just to make sure."


    "Thirty? Bullshit. Who the hell are you to commandeer our resources for that long? Prime directives be damned, I''ll put you in a Valorian mine myself if you''re fucking with us."


    Halvar glared at the com. "I''ll tell you what. When this all blows over, you can question me personally and I can tell you my source. Then you can do whatever the hell you want to, lady, but there are some people you don''t want to fuck with, even if you are Safety Command. Do you understand what I''m saying?"


    Elise blinked at a shouting Halvar, nodding in odd approval.


    Sten smirked, his eyes saying all that needed to be said.


    "Shields coming on. And you sure as hell are no inquisitor, no matter that you came out of that dreadnought flying a Highlord claimed ship. You better be right, merc, that''s all I''m going to say. Phoebe out."


    "We''re rolling the dice for keeps, this time around." Sten shook his head. "Good thing Val did actually leave so much Elementium. Otherwise there would be no way in hell we could bribe enough people to keep out of those damn mines."


    Halvar chuckled ruefully. "Easy come, easy go. If Val does somehow win that duel and get ahold of that jump gate, no stray energies will be scorching our home when he overloads it, at least."


    Elise''s eyes widened. "That''s not how jump gates work, Halvar. Why would you think that?"


    Halvar frowned. "Val gave me the heads up. Wierdest thing. He gazed at me so intently and I just knew he planned on overloading it. After the performance of a lifetime he pulled saving our asses back there, I''m going to give him the benefit of the doubt. No matter how illogical his stances, somehow he''s always pulling winning hands."


    Elise swallowed. "He''s no physicist. There is no way..." Her gaze was one of horror. "That commander joked about Valorium mines. Sten, where we were, the only... oh gods. Oh gods, Sten, jump now! Now!"


    Sten frowned. "Elise, what are you talking about?"


    "Don''t panic," Halvar soothed. "We''ll get through this, don''t you worry."


    "No, you don''t understand, Val''s going to blow up the dreadnought!"


    Dead silence.


    Gregor burst into sudden laughter. "What are you talking about Elise? That''s absurd. Beyond absurd, it''s actually impossible! The only way to blow up a dreadnought class ship is piloting it into the sun!" He frowned. "Val isn''t that crazy, I mean, he couldn''t actually get ahold of the navigation controls somehow..."


    "Shields!" Elise screamed.

 Chapter 1

    "Val, watch your six, he''s spawning behind you!"


    Val nodded, tapping his keyboard at a mad pace, quickly refreshing his rapid buffs, his Hammer Guardian raising its shield just as the lich spawning behind him released its Doomclaw attack.


    Val froze as the screen flashed a brilliant rainbow of colors, oddly certain he had done this before.


    "Val, what the hell?" John cursed as the Lich walloped Val, sending him cartwheeling off his chair, crashing into the bedroom wall.


    A flash of excruciating pain and blackness as he drowned in the screams of six thousand souls roaring into him, each and every one of them desperate for one last gasp of life.


    Howling in their final moments to claim their killer as themselves.


    Val crying out as he found himself drowning in blackness once more.


    "Val, watch your six, he''s spawning behind you!"


    Val nodded, tapping his keyboard at a mad pace, quickly refreshing his rapid buffs, his Hammer Guardian raising its shield just as the lich spawning behind him released its Doomclaw attack.


    The screen flashed a rainbow of colors as he took massive damage to stamina and health, spitting blood, refusing even to look at the awful rent spurting gore from his chest as he tapped his primal potion, gasping with relief as his lungs and ribs sowed themselves up once more. It was team play, not solo, and he had two healers buffing his stats and wards as fast as they could tap their boards. Their dps specialist was blasting the massive boss trapped with them in the depths of the crypt with fire magics for all she was worth.


    Val frowned even as the dark corridors flashed with crimson magics. The Lich Guardian''s health bar was full. Julia wasn''t making a dent.


    "Oh shit, Val, it''s powering up! I''m casting my primal now."


    "Don''t waste it, or it''s pointless!" Val shouted into his headset.


    "He''s right, Julia," Finn''s sigh came through crystal clear, despite being stationed overseas. "You were its slave for over a year, remember? There''s no way that damned lich can''t read you like a book. He owns you, body and soul."


    "Did you have to say it?" Julia sobbed. "Why the hell did you have to say that, Finn? You don''t know what he did to me. You don''t know!"


    "We all know what he did," said John, the fourth member of their band. "It''s written all over your character sheet. Freed class one drone slave. You have a permanent minus two to your scholarship, but your psyche potential is fully awakened. You also have the Major Withdrawal disadvantage, and are highly prone to secondary addictions. But on the plus side, psychic and cybernetic classes are now open to you, and you have a base 75 in Psyche. That''s pretty good. Right Val?"


    Val was speechless, heart hammering, looking, really looking at the monitor that seemed to take up the whole back wall of his room. Graphics so lifelike it was beyond belief, that corridor of chrome, steel, and sourceless pink light looked just as real as his bedroom with its never made bed, bottles of discarded pills he didn''t think he needed any more, or the half-eaten egg sandwich Val was oddly certain had sat there for days.


    He could even smell the odd bite to the sterile, recirculated air in the heart of the dreadnought as the screen began to jostle forward, as if captured by a vidcam held in the hands of a panicked reporter or soldier racing down the corridors, and Val could somehow even sense the constant low-pitched hum reverberating through the structure as a whole, the cameraman stopping before a strangely ornate entrance in this spartan vessel, manned by several troopers wearing jet black armor and a jaded looking man in a blue uniform just now staring up from his monitor.


    The gaunt looking man smirked, and Val could only guess that his pallor came from the meaty stump of his wrist spraying blood even now.


    "Why the hell doesn''t he bandage that?" Val heard himself whisper.


    The Darklord suddenly looked up, locking gazes with Val. His smile was that of a corpse, a thousand silent screams bubbling out of his soul.


    "No point," Finn explained over the headset. "You already killed him. When you blew up the dreadnought. Even the Overlord, remember?"


    "So many lives," Julia sobbed. "My mind was open and raw and even when I was sailing in hideous waves of pleasure, I could somehow taste all their minds. My master''s sweet caresses sucked me dry but even so, he was gentle, at first, teaching me even as he used me, allowing my Psyche to blossom and grow. And I felt them, Val. So many lives! Young men and women finding love and purpose in their military life, having grown up in the cities of Jordia or Phoebe, all of them taught that their way was right! Harsh, imperfect, but doing far more good than harm. Like, well, like our own military back home." She sobbed a laugh. "Half the world hates our armed forces, Val, even as we try to play peacekeepers for the world."


    Val shuddered and tried to look away but couldn''t as Estof''s (that was his name) smile turned to a rictus, his flesh slowly melting away as the corridor filled with impossibly brilliant light. As if the core of a white-hot sun had suddenly burst to life in the center of that ship.


    And Val could hear it as well. The panicked final moments of disbelief and horror felt by six thousand souls, so many more of them innocent than Val could have imagined, far more like young privates he had once known and come to the aid of than he could possibly have imagined.


    And how they shrieked, long after death, long after their bodies were flash fried to oblivion, their very souls pulled into a hideous vortex that seemed to cross entire realities, pouring into a hideous singularity that would devour even those final echoes of all they had ever been.


    Val shrieked with the agony of it, even as his massive monitor blazed with the blinding intensity of a fusion bomb, leaving nothing in its wake.


    Only the memory of Val, somehow alive still, even as every fiber of his being screamed with the agony of six thousand souls pouring into him, all their endless potential now his own.


    Congratulations, you have reached level 9!


    Hidden questline: Free Jordia unlocked! - You have destroyed your first dreadnought, home to the Jordian High Council and Overlord Tytus himself! Actions that will no doubt send all of Jordia into political turmoil as Highlords and administrators try to consolidate their positions, prevent the southern continent from rebelling, and prepare themselves for whoever will fill that power vacuum! Do you have what it takes to free to entirety of Jordia from Dominion rule? Do you really want to?


    And the pain did not stop. It only grew. Each and every soldier on that ship, flickering thoughts of loved ones the last awareness that would ever be their own as they drowned in the dark abyssal seas at the heart of Val''s psyche. Feeding off them. Growing stronger. All their hopes and dreams, all their hidden potential, all that they could have been or hoped to be, somehow claimed as Val''s own.


    Hidden questline: Primal Lord Rising unlocked! - You have destroyed your first dreadnought and brought all your foes low. It''s true you harnessed pure matter-energy conversion, the highest form of explosives completely outlawed within Dominion space. But war is an unruly beast, and those who try to tame it with conventions are merely tilting the board in their own favor! Any smart tyrant rewrites history as he sees fit, and in the dark calculus of warfare, victory in battle justifies any means!


    The original Highlords cared nothing for convention, oaths formally sworn to the only treaties that mattered. As you gave no oath, your survival is its own justification! - It is conceivable that one with your unique background and ruthlessness could find a pretext to seize the mantle of power! All you need now is a Dreadnought of your own, and you''re well on your way to claiming Jordia for yourself!


    Just remember to avoid any Highlord''s gaze, Val, lest your poor brain get insta-fried. For we both know how fragile you are without your Shadowmind. Ever the dagger, never the shield.


    Have fun trying to seize a world''s worth of power!


    Even as guilt tore through him, it was nothing compared to the horrific, searing pain. For no soul would go quietly into that final goodnight, each and every one clawing frantically at Val''s mind, a primal desperation, to rise awareness above drowning depths and breath deep upon the life-raft of Val''s body, claiming his awareness for their own.


    How desperately they all fought as if Val rode stormy seas that were drowning men, each and every one struggling just to exist, and how cold and ruthless Val became, icy fury alone ripping through the sobbing faces of so many fragile souls, pleading for one last breath of life.


    Please! - so visceral, so lifelike, Val couldn''t help but strike them as if they were real sentient beings, and somehow it helped, as if the flash and fury of his Psiblade was their final abjuration, the cold sentence passed, desperate souls unable to face the presence of that blade.


    Save for one.


    Overlord Tytus himself.


    Hidden questline: Child of Oblivion revealed! - For you have become Death, the destroyer of worlds! A single starship is but the first step, Avatar of Oblivion! - Seeing how hideously efficient internalized Valorium matter energy-conversions are, what are the consequences, do you think, to unleash one in say... Jordia''s very core? One can only imagine how many tons of hyper-pressurized ore are squeezed to plasma-like consistency in the heart of that planet. How easy it would be with your True Artifice skill to catalyze chain-reactions heretofore unthinkable.


    To unleash a shockwave of destruction as brilliant as any supernova, instantly converting Jordia to superheated ash and plasma, unleashing exothermic cascades that will obliterate life on Phoebe as well before causing their sun to destabilize in a hideous cacophony of destruction a billion years earlier than once predicted!


    Imagine the inconceivable amount of potential potency unleashed, Val. The destinies of entire civilizations, the fates of entire worlds.


    Claimed and quantized by you. And you alone.


    Just like the massive black holes at the core of each and every galaxy, you too will grow in ways hideous and profound, should you choose Oblivion''s Path.


    Entropy is always waiting for new disciples, dear Val, and we have opened wide the gates of Oblivion.


    For you have indeed come home.


    Val stumbled back as his final opponent roared, the pair of them on choppy seas no longer, but the sleek and beautiful dreadnought that had been Overlord Tytus''s hard-fought and fiercely loved home. So many dreams he had had, fierce dreams of conquest and dominion played out by a brilliant mind able to unlock every moment of glory, every lesson learned in a pristine mental palace of perfection, in some ways so hyper aware and alert that to compare his intellect to a lesser man was to compare a human to an ape.


    And Val had committed such a hideous, unthinkable act of betrayal against every fundament of their people that Tytus had not even the moments to conceive a brilliant means of survival before the hideous energies released sent them all to oblivion.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    "You fool." Tytus''s cold words froze Val where he stood, the Overlord of nightmare proportions, glaring down upon Val. "You destroyed everything! You thought to save lives?" His mocking laughter cut like a blow. "All of Jordia will suffer for your vile act! Instability will rock both continents." He shook his head. "Even in those final moments, had you averted disaster, I would have made you as rich and potent as any ancient king. I know you could sense my plea, even when you had cleaved Solena in twain! You could have had everything you ever wanted, and now all is ash and ruins, and all you will get for your crime is death!"


    With that, the giant roared and charged.


    Far more real than any soul ever to have fought against inevitable extinction before.


    And in that terrifying moment, Val realized there was a very real possibility Tytus would win.


    The giant''s eyes blazed with crimson fury as his Psiblade crackled against Val''s own.


    "I will claim you, worm! I will live through you! I will rise once more and claim this world and Jordia both! We will be one, you and I, and then there will be only me! For even in the depths of despair I see before me the true path to immortality!"


    And their blades hissed as furious flurries turned to cautious exchanges, each testing the other for weakness, and what an edge Tytus''s shield turned out to be, Val cursing, his legs weakened by numerous darting thrusts. Not crippled, but his legs were alive once more with a cripple''s agony, the flesh remembering being burned so very very well. Val coughed bloody phlegm as Tytus judged his moment, Val''s guard too high.


    The desperate beeping of critical care equipment sensing cardiac arrest as Tytus''s blade at last slipped under Val''s guard, neatly piercing his heart.


    Unspeakable agony, as Val charged up the blade. A hideous gamble.


    Tytus blinked in surprised startlement, eyes widening in crimson horror as he began to topple over.


    For Val had taken his head.


    Even then the desperate spirit screamed and wailed.


    And Val smiled even as he began to die in the world above, knowing every Highlord fought blade and shield. And for all that they might cleave apart lesser men, all of them trained to take on other Highlords as if they held rapiers, useful slaves they then became.


    So he let his foe thrust as he charged forward for one final strike.


    And Tytus was the last soul for him to claim.


    Save one.


    Solena, beautiful eyes leaking tears of blood. Naked flesh exquisite perfection, save where he had cleaved her in twain.


    "I would have loved you, Val. You could have tamed my darkness," she sobbed. "My last thoughts, before you killed me, were of our family. The children we could have had." She lowered her gaze. "You will never know the woman I could have become, if only you had given me a chance!"


    Val forced himself to swallow, knowing he was running out of time.


    "I''m sorry, Solena." So much he might have wanted to say, if she were really there, anything but the memory of a beautiful smiling girl laughing so freely, once upon a time, before being found and claimed by Tytus himself, the most hideous of torments forging that girl into the ruthless monster she had become. Some of her acts had been unforgivable. But if she hadn''t lost herself to gleeful madness, she would have died like the other sobbing children too broken to go on.


    Ruthlessly exterminated.


    Those final moments also burned into Val''s eyes.


    And Solena had been the one forced to cut them down.


    And even after those childhood horrors, she had found the strength to go on, delighting at last in the conquest she had hoped to make of him. A wondrous perfect life with a man strong, deadly, who could protect her.


    So that little girl inside her heart could at last be free. A wife and mother safe and protected from the nightmare life she had had no choice but to embrace until her dark knight had at last found her worthy of rescue.


    And she had found her man.


    And he had killed her without a second thought.


    And when Val gathered up the memory of Solena, kissing her sobbing brow as she faded away, he found his heart pierced more savagely than it had been with Tytus''s final killing blow.


    Then Val alone stood before a sea of shimmering darkness, sensing death just heartbeats away.


    Wake up, Val! You have no time!


    Elise''s voice, her fist slamming down upon his desk. Jolting him out of his afternoon doze.


    A panicked Val blinked, gazing at a young frizzy-haired Gregor who sneered and shook his head even as Sten sighed and tilted back his chair. "We''re all dead anyway, Val, no matter what you do."


    Val''s eyes widened at that, even as a palm cracked against his desk.


    Elise''s panicked eyes boring into his own.


    "You need to learn this Val, and learn it now! No time to pick another path. If you would live, if any of us would live, you need to do this now!"


    Val gasped, confused, so much he wanted to ask, but he could see Sten''s ship, engines damaged, crashing into Jordia, horrified at the thought that perhaps his friends were naught but ghosts even now.


    "Val!"


    His eyes snapped to the board, beholding a complex matrix of interconnected principals and meanings both inconceivably complex and exquisitely self-contained. "The Personal Resonance Mastery chart. Do you finally understand it?"


    And feeling a curious rush of awe and wonder, he found that he did.


    Level 6 Personal Resonance Mastery Achieved!


    The desperate look in Elise''s eyes turned to a relieved smile, and in a breathtaking display of speed and coordination, Elise drew a chart even more complex than the last. Her gaze implored Val to study it as if his life depended upon it.


    Maybe it did.


    The interconnected meshwork of symbols, variables, proofs, and constants roared through his mind. Far too much to take in at once, yet somehow, as if hundreds of hours of study could be compressed into mere seconds as the insights and understandings of countless people poured into his own, the hideously complex chart revealed itself to be nothing more than the most exquisite of keys to a puzzle of meaning Val at last understood, sensing the ebb and flow of his own internal magics and how best to channel them more precisely than he ever had before in his life.


    Level 7 Personal Resonance Mastery Achieved!


    Never had he felt as sharp and hyper-aware as he did at that moment.


    Yet this remarkable achievement earned Val nothing more than a desperate nod as Elise presented yet another chart, dazzlingly complex, the chart before the equivalent of a single variable in the heart of a tremendous whole. And when at last he understood that indescribably elegant framework of reference and understanding, the rush of awe he felt was indescribable.


    Level 8 Personal Resonance Mastery Achieved!


    And when panicked eyes showed the tiniest glimmer of hope, that was all he needed to accept the herculean task now before him, the entire back of the classroom now displaying a chart of such complexity Val wanted to sob as he faced the most herculean of mazes, and he just a tiny speck expected to map it out in its entirety.


    And in endless moments that might have been months that Val was lying comatose in a critical care unit, a John Doe who nonetheless looked so hauntingly familiar to a father who had been forced to accept his son''s untimely death near a year and a half ago such that all bills were paid unstintingly, the best doctors in the world brought in by a man who could not get over how very much this patient looked like his long lost son, no matter that this boy was too young to be his own and the genetic tests showed the youth possessing hundreds of genes that had no corollary in any database on Earth... it all clicked together on the eve of his appointed death.


    Level 9 Personal Resonance Mastery Achieved!


    In exhausted euphoria Val roared his triumph, not giving a damn what challenges still awaited, knowing his feat had been profound beyond words to describe. He could all but taste it with each breath, feeling his potential to affect change, both Psion and Arcane, expanding just as did his understanding of the very secrets of nature itself, magic but one part of a great, glorious whole. A profound understanding that left him feeling on the cusp of something truly mystical. A power, a potency he could almost taste, almost grasp, affecting and infusing every cell of his being.


    He then looked inward, awed anew at how the odd forces and fields flowing between realities somehow allowed for the quantization of all one could do or be. And how reminiscent it was of the games he had loved so well before his life had taken such dark turns, or perhaps it was simply that those beloved games hinted at deeper truths still. Either way, he felt a momentary flash of amazement at how far he had come, for all that it had been at terrible cost.


    ______________________________________________________________________________________


    Valor Hunter Level 14


    Strength 13


    Vitality 13


    Finesse 13


    Quickness 17


    Perception 18


    Scholarship 13


    Willpower 17


    Charisma 13


    Luck ?? +2


    Health 10xVit+Str+IC= 148


    Survival (Health+(10xLevel)+Luck) = 288+?


    Stamina 10xVit+Str+IC= 153


    Mana 343 (337Accessible: 251 kg Elementium Stored)


    Psion 343 (337 Accessible: 200.9 L Silbion Stored)


    Insight 17


    Base Appearance 10. +1 (13 charisma) +1 (athletic) = +2 (+5 when you let your potency show.)


    Dark Points 3 (+3 to reaction rolls and influence when you let your intensity shine. -1 if you try to hide the darkness in your soul. +30% potency increase when you embrace your wrath!)


    Skills of Significance


    Shadowmind Rank 5 (Adept) / Psi-Sense (Shadowmind Dependant) Rank 4 / Psionic Perception Rank 3 / Arcane Perception Rank 3 (can sense hostile aftertaste of malicious poisoning) / Arcane Artificer Rank 2 / Psion Artificer Rank 2 / Cypher Rank 2 / Meditation Rank 3 / Rift Mastery Rank 2 / Psionic Oathbinding Rank 1 / Stealth Rank 3 / Sword and Shield Rank 3 / Magesight Rank 1 / Mageward Rank 1 / Basic Literacy Achieved! (Limited to texts of Arcane or Psionic nature) / Deception Rank 2 / Inquisition Rank 2 / Intimidation Rank 3


    Small Arms Rank 3 / Laser Carbine Rank 3 + Feat: Adept Use crouched, w/shield, odd positions no added penalty)/Grappling Rank 3/Sword and Shield Rank 4 / Longsword Rank 4 / Psiblade Rank 4


    Intense Conditioning - 1 hour/4days or 1hour hard sparring/3 days to maintain exercise gains: +1STR/+10stamina/+5 Health&Survival.


    Potion Formulas Learned / Basic Restoration (Jordia)


    Greater Skills Learned


    Greater Alchemy Rank 3 (Specialization: Elemental Infusions)


    Meta-Magic Feats: Stabilization Rank 2 / Spellboost Rank 1 (150% for triple cost) / Psiboost Rank 1 (125% for double cost)


    Personal Resonance Mastery Rank 9


    Greater Oathbinding Rank 1


    True Artificer Rank 2


    Jordian Magical Arts Learned


    Creation - Rank 2


    Destruction - Rank 1


    Manipulation - Rank 2


    Transformation - Rank 1


    Fire - Rank 2


    Water - Rank 1


    Earth - Rank 2


    Herbam - Rank 1


    Jordian Spells Learned


    Firestream Level 20 C/F - Cost 5 Mana


    Explosive Retribution Level 30 C/F Must save against Oblivion when casting. - Cost 35 mana.


    Condensation Collection. Level 5 M/W - Cost 0 mana.


    Stoneflow. Level 1 M/E - Cost 0 mana.


    Dwarven Catalyzation Level 20 C+M+T/E - Cost 20 mana.


    Automative Folly Level 20 D+M+T/E - Cost 20 mana.


    Plentiful Bounty (Greater Ritual) Level 40 C+M+T / E+H - Cost 150 mana. (20%+ Critical failure risk: This spell is far beyond your abilities!)


    ______________________________________________________________________________________


    Val coughed, focusing on the classroom once more.


    And then Elise, exhausted, dehydrated, looking on the verge of collapse, drew with trembling hands a chart so hideously complex it was on par with the 3-D matrices the dwarves used to store their own bodies of knowledge.


    An order of complexity that felt a magnitude beyond what Val had forced himself to endure up til now.


    Val turned around, somehow hoping Halvar could help, tell Elise to back down with her training, as he had offered to do once or twice as a fellow brother in arms what now seemed a lifetime ago.


    But Halvar was no longer there.


    The classroom was empty.


    And that''s when he felt the horrible pressure around his neck.


    Val! Wake up! You have to wake up now!

 Chapter 2

    A hideous cacophony of beeping drilled into his ears, fire alarms blaring in the background.


    But it was nothing compared to the awful throbbing roar in his temples as he got his first good look at the flinty gray eyes of a killer, strangling Val even as he wavered between awareness and final blackness.


    Fight, soldier! Fight now!


    Val roared at himself as weak, wobbly legs fought for leverage, twisting for all he was worth.


    A hard-lined face widened into a rictus of a grin showing yellowed teeth smelling of coffee, nicotine, and worse, his thick fingers squeezing ever harder, strands of oily hair falling free of a comb-over as he redoubled his efforts to murder Val.


    "Shoulda stayed under a little bit longer, kid. Potassium Sorbate was already in your blood, but you just had to twist and tear out the line, you little shit."


    Val hissed and wheezed as the man abruptly let go with one hand, smashing Val''s nose as hard as he could.


    The shock of pain tore through the hideous fog enveloping Val.


    "You think you can fight me? You think you''re going to win this, you little fucking shit? Hell no. I''m winning. I''m winning!"


    Val fought desperately against his enemy''s leather-gloved grip, tucking his chin in to make it that much harder to strangle him. But his position was horrid and if he didn''t do something soon, he was dead.


    The killer chuckled as Val''s right hand fell away. "That''s right, kid. Time for to go to sleep, and me to get paid."


    Grey eyes widened as the man gasped in shock, nose slammed by a palm strike too weak to break it.


    Val saw the killer''s snarl, knew the man was going to beat him like a savage, it being projected with hot furious eyes and suddenly raised fists.


    Eyes bulging out, the thug stumbled back and wheezed as Val lashed out with a desperate spear hand to trachea the instant before he lowered his head once more.


    Left hand throbbing, a panicked and disoriented Val paid it no mind as he still felt the killer''s grip, feeling at last the cord of leather strangling him even now. His vision began tunneling, a curious roaring in his ears as he began to collapse.


    Fight, damn you, fight!


    Sheer panic kept him awake as trembling fingers struggled to unknot the corded leather, forcing himself to icy calm as death came for him at last, his desperate fingers at finally loosening the twist. Unwind. Unwind. Off.


    An indescribably sweet breath of sweet, sweet air and Val wanted to sob with relief even as the ugly man who had come so close to killing him lurched up himself with a snarl, the room awash in flashing red light.


    "You little shit!" his would-be killer cursed, barely audible as the alarms blared on, Val desperately rolling out of the wheeled bed and onto the floor, feeling a painful jerk as tubing was ripped out of his arm.


    "I''m going to kill you for that!"


    And as the thug reached into his sports jacket pocket, time seemed to slow into final furious seconds, Val shifting his balance and launching himself forward, ramming his bed ahead of him like a linebacker would a blocking dummy, slamming it into his foe so hard the man wheezed and cried out, slammed to the ground.


    Cold fury met confused disbelief, the dreams of a boy vanishing instantly into the raging storm of a killer aloud no rest, no quarter, attacked when he was most vulnerable, who could answer with nothing less than sheer primal rage.


    Save for the mild thump and crack of bed hitting struggling assassin and he falling to the ground, everything was drowned out by the still blaring alarm, The room lit only by the flashing red lights from the hallway and what light shown through the windows, but Val could see his curled foe well enough, snarling as he kicked and pounded and stomped and felt the darkest of thrills as ribs collapsed under his furious assault, gazing into the eyes of a foe who knew he was mastered before slamming his heel down and breaking the would-be assassin''s neck with a final furious crack.


    Deep, shuddering breaths as Val strove for control, his wild frenzy quickly turning into the hyper-alertness of someone being stalked. His utter disorientation aside, he knew he was in someone''s crosshairs.


    Why he was in a hospital, he neither knew nor cared. He had to get out, and fast. There was a dead body in his room and self-defense or no, he had struck back with a madman''s fury, and civilians who had never known the desperate terror of fighting for one''s life would never understand the rage that had compelled him, would only think he was himself the savage, no matter that this monster had clearly entered his room with a killer''s tools in hand, doing all he could to assassinate Val.


    He frowned as he caught sight of the discarded syringe, mostly full, and Val wondered at what had caused him to jerk and pull away, forcing his would-be killer to resort to more brutal methods. He gazed down at his throbbing arm, looking at the blood trickling from his mangled port, hissing only once as he deliberately untaped and took out the bloody tube still in his forearm, eyes spotting tape and gauze readily enough, sparing only a handful of seconds to bandage the thankfully minor wound, noting no other injuries save throbbing fingers and heel, able to walk and flex his fingers without hindrance.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    But the last thing he could afford was to stand around in a daze with a body two feet from him. It didn''t look good no matter how one spun it, and if he stuck around he''d end up in a holding cell or back in a hospital bed, only now cuffed in place. A perfect sucker for his enemy to target a second time while a corrupt judicial system might or might not give him a fair day in court.


    Val was on someone''s kill list, and he needed to find out who before he wound up as dead as the battered corpse by his feet.


    A deep, focusing breath. Within seconds Val had stripped his would-be assassin of items, eyes widening at the stack of hundreds the man had been carrying, his burner phone unsecured and showing three unlisted numbers. The man''s wallet had a well-forged license out to a Kent Smith with matching discount cards and one charge card. He had been a professional, and clever enough to turn off all the equipment and setting off the alarms as well, Val assumed, before trying to inject him with a compound that Val knew could be used as an almost untraceable means of killing, having to resort to strangulation only when all else failed. The man had been no martial artist, but even an improvised garrote could be damn effective. If he had been facing anyone else besides Val...


    He took a deep breath, suppressing post-combat shakes he knew wanted to come, but there was no time. He had to focus and act. Fortunately higher end throw-away phones could take a half decent pic as well as download the simpler apps, and Val made sure to snap the license, face, hands, leather strap, and other incriminating evidence before checking for internet coverage and uploading the pics to one of the numerous dummy accounts he had in cyberspace for just such situations as what someone in his former line of work could expect.


    Val then forced himself to do what he had been avoiding, changing into his would-be killer''s clothes. Fortunately, the man had been true to stereotype, his attire a uniform charcoal gray. Not so dark as to make a statement, but dark and bland enough to just fade into the background. A few seconds of cleaning and the sports jacket looked serviceable enough. One could hardly see the flecks of blood he hadn''t quite been able to get out, and Val knew what to look for. Most would not. Black socks hid at first glance that the pants were too short, the jacket covering how much he had to cinch the belt. The shoes were the worst, but a couple slits from the knife Val found in a pants pocket allowed for surprising comfort, and hardly a tell. If nothing else, dressing completely in black was working to Val''s advantage.


    And it was only when he was slipping on the slacks that Val realized he had felt not a lick of pain in his legs the whole time.


    Of the hideous burns that had melted skin and muscle like plastic, there was no trace.


    And the face gazing back from the mirror as Val spared a quick second, making sure he could fit his role, chilled him to the quick.


    It was him, but not him.


    Flawless, free of all blemishes, and utterly symmetrical. Dark blue eyes gazed back at him, hair rich and full as he remembered. There was no trace of the ugly scar he had received as a parting gift from the engagement that had almost killed him. And the face looking back at him looked far too young, and as cold and hard as the most ruthless commander. Val swallowed and looked away, oddly disturbed by features both far more innocent, and deadly, than those he remembered.


    "Bloody hell," he whispered, refusing to spend a moment longer on the puzzle. Did someone give him plastic surgery? Was he trying to escape something?" He swallowed, wondering if memory loss had been an unwanted side effect for whatever had happened to him.


    "Regeneration therapy? Is there even such a thing?" he muttered to himself, but refused to waste any more time.


    The would-be killer gazed back at him with eyes already lost to death''s rapture. His hands were calloused, but his wiry arms were covered in track marks and sores. Val grimaced, a dozen possible scenarios playing out in his head, knowing exactly what he had to do. Anything else, and he would be a wanted man.


    Val quickly inspected the hospital windows. A flash of triumph to see it was only a pair of screws that kept the window from opening, and a few intense moments carefully unscrewing them with the tip of his would-be killer''s knife was all he needed to solve that problem, carefully putting them aside.


    He then turned to the body, quickly looking around. There. Exactly what he needed. Slapping on a pair of disposable gloves conveniently left among other various and sundry by the bedroom sink, Val double wrapped the body tightly together after cushioning the head in pillows, ripping up a spare hospital grown with frantic hands and careful application of the knife, providing him with a number of convenient strips he wrapped tightly around the body, securing everything in place. giving a satisfied nod when it was done.


    He grimaced. Now for the hard part. He dragged the body over to the windowsill, gazing out into the night below, relieved beyond words to find that this window of the hospital didn''t open to a busy thoroughfare, overlooking a darkened alley instead. A careful moment spent eyeing all around. There was no movement. Val supposed an alleyway between two buildings was not the ideal meetup point for a fire drill, and any homeless person or junky had no doubt shuffled off with the first blares.


    A few hard heaves and Val had levered the body half out the window, amazed as ever at how cumbersome deadweight was. A final glance. All secure. With an anxious breath, he heaved the rest of the way, watching the body slowly tumble through the night before crashing to the ground. Val flashed a tight smile. Nothing burst or splattered, the main reason for tying the bedding securely and cushioning the skull.


    And now it was time to clean up all traces and leave as fast as he possibly could.


    A quick glance some moments later showed a nighttime corridor suddenly blessedly silent, the alarm finally turned off, and a cluster of hospital staff was gathered by the far elevators, gossiping animatedly. Were they so jaded with drills and false alarms that they hadn''t even thought to evacuate patients? Some hospitals were that lax, staff told to stand ready without actually evacuating patients until administration gave them the okay, too distracted by buzzers, flashing lights, and the hype of the moment to worry about quieter individual patient alarms pinging off. A horrible risk for patients, but great policy for a would-be assassin wanting to throttle helpless victims with minimal interference.


    Val was more than slightly surprised that the main lights hadn''t turned back on, and no one even looking in his direction, but he was not so foolish as to waste the opportunity. He closed his eyes, imagining himself somehow sinking into the now quiet thrums and shadows of the building, as he were just one more cog in the sleeping beast that was the hospital. When he left his room his movements were purposeful without being hurried, somehow always where people weren''t looking, a bland, tired expression painted on his features. A visitor unworthy of notice as he made his way to the staircase, exactly where he thought it might be, just the logical spot for a T shaped building like this hospital. And how he knew that, he neither knew nor cared, having learned long ago to trust the intuition that had served him so well.


    Until it hadn''t.


    An abrupt buzz in his pocket as he raced down the stairs, knowing he needed a plan. Val frowned and paused, seeing a message from the most recent caller.


    -U done? Cold as fuck out here-


    Val smiled, a plan already clicking into place.

 Chapter 3

    A cool Chicago evening, not a star to be seen overhead, for all that the moon shone blue and brilliant. A portly balding man wearing an ill-fitting trench coat shivered and rubbed his hands as he tapped his steering wheel and took a sip of coffee, squinting at the hospital entrance.


    He looked down at his phone, frowned and shrugged. "This guy an idiot? Hell with it. Here, asshole, flashed my lights. Now quit acting the lost little sheep and get back here. It''s cold as fuck."


    The haggard-looking man tilted his seat back an inch, closing his eyes, smiling when the door abruptly opened and shut, the icy air encouraging tired eyes to open. "See? This was the perfect spot. Lights are out, chain fence is busted, can park here half the night in perfect..."


    His voice abruptly cut off and he wheezed in sudden panic, flushed cheeks taking on a sudden ghastly pallor as he felt cold steel pressing against his temple, crying out only softly as panicked hands spilled scalding coffee all over his fingers.


    "Who the fuck..."


    "Hands on the wheel."


    Frightened eyes hardened. "Listen, you little shit, you don''t know who you''re messing with! Unless you want Papa Dominic crucifying your ass, you''ll get the fuck out of my car."


    Val''s smile was colder than the howling Illinois wind. "Papa Dominic. That''s who you work for?"


    The pudgy driver began to tremble. "Hey, listen. No need for us to get off on the wrong foot. I''m just a driver. You need a ride? I''m your man. Name''s Ben. Tell you what, you look like a guy who has places he wants to go. Just give me an address and I''m there, no questions." Anxious eyes peered up at Val. "Fuck it. You got balls. I like that. You looking for a partner? I charge three hundred for a smash and grab, a grand for a hit, an even share for a major heist, and you won''t find a better driver. Never did time for a getaway crime, you dig?" His nervous smile widened. "Fuck it, we can talk business later. First drive is free, man. Where do you want to go?"


    Val snapped his seatbelt even as he undid Ben''s, faster than the other man could blink, his weapon still locked on Ben''s sweating form, now positioned such that even an expert couldn''t make the gun before Val got a clear shot. "Papa Dominic," he said. "I want to talk to your employer about a job."


    Ben swallowed nervously. "Yeah... a job. Sure, man. Only thing is, Sandy''s the one who handles fresh recruits. Seven AM. Like it''s the fucking military. Says he wants boys with some discipline. No meth-heads or drunks, but no one cares about the occasional coke bump to keep you sharp."


    Val coldly eyed the smaller man, letting the nervous patter of a man instinctively seeking rapport wash over him. He shook his head. "I''m not interested in Sandy. I''m interested in Papa Dominic. I suggest you get driving."


    Ben''s eyes widened. "Wait. Fuck..." Slowly his hand slid to his pocket even as he kept his eyes on Val. Val''s grin was all teeth. "If you try to pull on me, your death won''t be quick but it will be painful, shithead."


    Ben''s eyes bulged, jerking his hands high, not knowing how close he came to death with his abrupt move, phone falling between the pedals. He flashed a nervous grimace. "It''s just a phone, man. I just... dropped my phone. Here, let me get it. It''s yours, if you want."


    A sudden flash of insight, subtle shifts in posture and tension and the look in a desperate man''s eyes making the play all too clear, and when Ben abruptly yanked at a holdout gun underneath his dash he was already crying out, face rammed into the wheel an instant before his revolver was torn out of his hand, snapping two fingers in the process, his shocked scream slowing Val not at all.


    Val slammed Ben''s face a second time before yanking his head back. "The next time you fuck with me, you die." This time Val didn''t hold back the rage.


    He let it fill him.


    Black and sweet and terrible, and when Ben screamed as yet more fingers broke in Val''s steely grip, his smile was like death itself.


    He had never felt this strong before.


    So hungry for the kill.


    "Okay, I''m sorry, I''m sorry! Look, I fucked up, I was just scared, alright? You''re scaring the shit out of me!"


    "Good," Val whispered. "You should be." He lashed out and grabbed Ben''s left hand before he could gasp a protest, abruptly twisting back and snapping index and middle finger, and Ben began howling in earnest, his cries abruptly cut off as Val smashed in his nose. As the driver hacked up gobs of his own blood, Val grabbed the disoriented man''s thumbs with both hands, viciously twisting and snapping first one, then the other, leaving Ben a screaming, pleading wreck.


    "Please, oh god, please! Why are you doing this, man, why!"


    Val gazed almost pityingly at the curled-up heap of pain and misery seeming to try to shrink into his seat, his gaze now one of absolute terror.


    "You really don''t know?"


    "Know? Oh god, I don''t know shit, man, why are you doing this? Why?"


    Val snapped on his seat belt once more, revolver pocketed after a quick eye and spin assuring it wasn''t a rusted piece of shit, training his automatic once more on a trembling Ben who had clearly just shat himself.


    "Hospital alley, right over there. Pull up slow. Good. Now stop." He gave the alley a quick eyeball. Empty save for painted over windows and a pair of dumpsters. Good. "Kill the lights."


    Ben began to blubber, tears trickling down his panicked face. With most of his fingers broken, he had been forced to steer with his palms and was effectively helpless. He couldn''t even open his own door. "Please, man, please don''t do this!"


    Val smirked. "Shut up, fool, and pop the trunk. I''m not going to kill you. Yet. Unless you give me shit."


    Ben gulped and nodded, desperately using his unbroken pinkys to do the job. "Okay, okay, sure. Trunk popped and goddamn if that didn''t hurt. There you are, sir, car is yours. Just please don''t kill me."


    Val grabbed the keys. Even with Ben''s fingers broken, Val didn''t trust him. He took a breath of crisp nighttime air, surprisingly fresh, quickly glancing up, glad he had remembered to rebolt his hospital window when covering his tracks, looking down... there it was. A few minutes work to drag the body over to the trunk, a quick eyeball assuring plenty of room and a quick heave... and done.


    Val flashed a cold smile, happy to see there was plenty of room for what came later as well.


    "Drive," was all he said when he got back in, turning on the ignition himself. Ben, a trembling, sobbing wreck but complying, was finally on the way, driving slowly, carefully, all that his savaged hands and shattered moral would allow. Just as Val had intended.


    Soon enough, they parked half a block away from what Val was assured was the most popular nightclub in all Southwest Chicago, the Poison Apple. An abandoned parking lot next to several dumpsters and a broken light, convenient shadows empty of any other living soul


    Ben''s steady nervous patter had only increased as they neared the end of their drive, telling Val far more than he cared to know about Chicago nightlife or the best ways to ship meth and molly to all the local hot spots, and more than he could have hoped about Ben''s boss.


    What Val cared about was straight ahead, and finally he was in the right frame of mind to do what needed to be done. Hard as ice and twice as cold. The pause between heartbeats, the void between shadows.


    But first, there was one more thing to take care of here. Darkness smiled and Ben blinked, glancing about in confusion, then not at all.


    The cold intensified as evening fled midnight''s hoary touch, but the darkness that watched and waited was bothered not at all. Careful eyes registered the ebb and flow of clubbers, hard drinkers, and working girls surging past one, dying by three. He found himself registering every shift in the shadows, tiny flashes of cell phone text catching his eye. He heard the soft cries of passion buried in the darkness, sighs of ecstasy and relief caressing his ears as pleasures decadent and corrupting consumed so many desperate for darker things.


    But it went deeper than that. It was as if he could sense partygoers slipping inside the back entrance, junkies reveling in their fix, the soft tread of the pair of enforcers doing their rounds. He could feel them flowing through shadow as if they were all in the palm of his hand.


    He hissed, almost imagining a tiny voice in the back of his brain.


    ongratulations, you are finally waking up to what has been emerging all around you! Arcane forces and fields are now in full effect!


    Before ruthlessly pushing it away once more. Shadow smiled. He had gone from comatose boy to full-blooded killer in the space of an hour, another notch under his belt, exchanging crippling injuries for a bounty on his head. He''d forgive a little bit of madness. God knew that listening to that almost-voice had saved him more than once, once upon a time.


    But now it was time to focus, and Val allowed his psyche to slip fully into shadow once more.


    "Good night, huh, boss?" Said the testosterone enhanced giant escorting a middle-aged salt and pepper haired man to the sedan waiting for them by the back entrance to the club, armor-plated with bulletproof glass, from what Ben had said.


    The other tough, not as massive but looking sharper than most, gave a quiet chuckle even as their boss said nothing at all, peering intently into the shadows. "Every night''s a good night for Papa, Knuckles. Now get the fuck in and be a proper damn chauffeur for once."


    The giant frowned but didn''t protest, getting into the car and popping open the locks even as the smarter assistant opened the door personally for his boss before freezing with a gasp.


    Papa Dominic''s eyes widened in a moment''s confusion before he reached for his pistol, hand abruptly freezing when Val''s eyes caught his own. "You really don''t want to do that," Val said, even as a few quick hard movements got bodyguard two spreadeagled on the ground, hands behind his back, Val disarming him with one hand, always moving, grabbing Dominic''s pistol a second later.


    Dominic played it cool, but Val could tell by his frustrated grimace what he was thinking.


    "Sorry, Dominic, your soldiers won''t be drawing any beads on me, infrared goggles or no. Now how about we get in your car? Looks warm."


    "Boss? Is everything okay?" Knuckle''s concerned voice floated through the air as he hustled around back, only to stumble to a halt, wide-eyed, Val''s pistol stopping him cold. Val pivoted to keep both guards and Dominic in an even sight cone, between himself and the security he could sense even now approaching.


    "Everything''s fine, idiot, now get back in and get ready to drive!" Dominic turned to Val. "That''s what you want, right?"


    Val smirked. "Sure. After you turn around and disarm, Knuckles."


    Knuckles gazed at his master like a confused puppy. Dominic nodded and his henchman stripped pistol and brass knuckles before hurrying back to the front.


    "After you," Val insisted. "But please, hands where I can see them." Even as he said it, he quickly pivoted around, dragging the kingpin to the other side door, away from where a pair of marksmen might or might not be drawing a bead on them or attempting to. It could be paranoia, Val knew, but just because he was paranoid didn''t mean they weren''t out to get him.


    Hard eyes glared into his own when they were finally seated, Dominic''s hands where Val could see them. "Okay, hotshot, you got about five minutes to tell me what this is all about and maybe I''ll forgive this grand fuckup after I beat the crap out of my boys for being so goddamned stupid as to let a kid get the drop on me!"


    He shook his head, rubbing his brow. "Goddamned, kid, how old are you? Sixteen? You look like my daughter''s last boyfriend, only he was an idiot who thought his biceps made him anything but a punk, and you might be very many things very shortly if you don''t explain yourself, but you''re clearly no idiot." He flashed a dark smile. "So why don''t you tell Papa Dominic what the fuck''s going on and we put an end to this farce of an evening?"


    Val''s hard gaze gripped Dominic''s own. It said something, perhaps, that the crime boss paled and swallowed, for all that he clenched his fists.


    "Fuck," he whispered. "You''re the target."


    Val flashed a killer''s smile, miming shooting with his off hand. "Bingo, Domi. Got it in one."


    Dominic sighed. "It was supposed to be simple. Some poor sap got involved in government shit he had no business knowing, lost in a coma. It wasn''t supposed to be anything but a mercy killing. No one even thought you''d wake up. Just money in the bank, kid." His brows furrowed. "You don''t look like someone who''s served, and you''re clearly not in a coma. So what the fuck is going on? And where''s Kent anyway?"This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    He dared to meet Val''s gaze once more. "Shit. He was one of my best."


    "He was a junky who knew how to inject discretely and turn off medical equipment. He was strong, but his martial techniques were sloppy as shit. If he had been my student, he never would have passed." Val smirked. "Come to think of it, he didn''t."


    Dominic frowned. "You kill Ben too?"


    Val shook his head. "No need. Broke some fingers and both thumbs when he tried to draw on me. Put him in a sleeper, and he was out like a light. He''s shivering in the spare blanket he was smart enough to keep in his trunk, keeping Kent company. Miserable as shit, but he''ll live."


    Dominic glanced up to Knuckles, their driver, content enough to play some music and make it a scenic drive by the lake when his boss assured him it was just business. The boss nodded to himself. "You didn''t kill Ben, Knuckles, or Jay. Okay, maybe we can work something out where we can all walk away from this."


    Val nodded. "That''s the idea. You say it wasn''t personal? Fine. It wasn''t personal. I''m not who you thought, I''m very much awake, and your life is now in my hands. You answer my questions, you give me your oath never to intentionally cross me or mine, directly or indirectly, and we both walk away. What''s done is done, and no hard feelings."


    Dominic scowled, gazed consideringly at Val before giving a slow nod. "Deal. I answer your questions, you get the fuck out of my car, and you and yours are no longer me or my organization''s concern."


    Dominic offered his hand. Val smiled, feeling a curious frisson slipping past the shadowy depths that left his mind so icy and clear. It was almost an exhilaration, as if fate and destiny itself were being forged by mutual accord.


    Val''s eyes widened as much as Dominic''s did at the curious surge he felt suddenly flooding into the man before him, Dominic''s eyes widening as he gasped, a look of outraged betrayal replaced by a confused stare, yanking his hand free a heartbeat later.


    "What the fuck did you just do, kid?"


    Val felt a certain degree of consternation. "Honestly, Dominic, I have no idea." He shrugged. "Maybe it just means our oath had meaning." Val grinned. "If nothing else, I feel like I can trust your word, and that leaves me feeling a damned sight better than I have all night."


    Dominic glowered, before shaking his head. "Alright, kid. Ask me your damned questions so I can get you the fuck out of my car and go home already."


    Val nodded. "Who hired you?"


    Dominic looked ready to speak, paused, gazing at Val carefully. "What happens if I misspeak?" He said it casually, but there was something in his eyes, and a sudden horrid flash struck Val''s memory as he envisioned a man shrieking as he shook and spasmed, blood pouring from every orifice of his body as the flesh was torn right from his bones...


    "I really don''t think that would be a good idea, Dominic," Val said, the soft regret in his tone doing more to alarm Dominic than anything else that had happened that night, it seemed.


    "Fuck," Dominic whispered. "You''re one of them. That''s why they want to kill you."


    Val blinked. "What the hell are you talking about?"


    The older man chuckled softly. "You picked a great time to wake up, kid. Whole world''s going crazy, so why not?"


    Val frowned. "What does that even mean?"


    Dominic sighed, eyeing Val consideringly, letting the silence build. Val''s irritation faded, he smiled right back and relaxed into his seat as knuckles drove them smooth as silk along Lakeshore Drive. He had played this game many times before, pinning the older man''s gaze with his own.


    Dominic grinned. "You looking for a job, kid?"


    Val peered out the window thoughtfully for some moments, gazing at the bright moon overhead, mirrored perfectly in the lake waters. "Right now, I''m just looking for answers."


    Dominic nodded as the silence stretched. "Fair enough. Okay. About a year back, earthquakes. Like nothing you''ve experienced, if you never felt them before. Coastline cities took it the worst, thousands dead, major flooding, contaminated water, national reserves called to serve, and by some miracle, it was less of a fuck up than Katrina. Rest of the world?" He shrugged. "It got so depressing seeing scenes of the bodies that even the hardened assholes I know stopped watching the news. Five million dead due to collapsing buildings, drowning, contamination and disease, last I heard."


    Val winced. "That''s pretty fucked up."


    "It is. But life deals strange hands, sometimes. Because the season after? Bumper crops, the world over. It''s like something in all the sea spray, maybe, or, fuck if I know, fresh minerals spewing in the air from Mount Saint Helen erupting. Took a few score more lives, that, and all of this odd weather phenomenon had the scientists baffled, and people afraid it''s the end times." He smirked. "Most of those fools shut up when things calmed down, and damn if it isn''t cheaper to stock my club than ever. Crops growing faster, cattle feed is cheaper, and my supplier doesn''t use that cheap shit either. Our steaks and ribs are the best you''ll taste in Chicago, I promise you that."


    Val nodded. "Marinate your steaks in pureed pineapple for an hour, then sear it in butter. Killer tasting steaks as tender as Filet mignon."


    Dominic''s bushy eyebrows rose at that. "No kidding, pineapple and butter? Is that a Hawaiian thing?"


    Val shook his head. "You wash the puree off thoroughly once it''s done marinating. Enzymes break down all the fibers and leave the meet just a little bit sweeter, but you''d swear it was the meat, not the pineapple. Prep it normally, then you finish it, searing in butter. Let it rest for fifteen minutes, no five-minute bullshit, then serve. Best damn steaks you''ll ever have."


    The older man grinned. "I''ll have to give it a try sometime. Get some use out of that ninja thing I never use."


    "You do that. In the meantime, I''d love to know what shifts in the lithosphere have to do with someone putting a hit on me?"


    A hard stare.


    "Earthquakes and tidal waves."


    "Yeah, I know, kid. I''m not stupid." He turned to gaze out the window. "You see the moon out there, big and bright and beautiful as anything?"


    Val nodded.


    "Notice anything different?"


    Val almost shook his head, then swallowed, a cold tingle of apprehension racing down his spine.


    Dominic flashed a cold grin. "That''s right. Moon is brilliant as ever, not a trace of cloud anywhere near it, but what don''t you see?"


    Val frowned, gazing closely, feeling a surge of relief when he caught several tiny pinpoints of light, but not one of them twinkled.


    "Stars," he softly said.


    Dominic nodded. "Got it in one. Satellites? Yeah, you can see those, few as they are, and a few fools pretend they''re stars and everything''s okay. Planes can fly same as ever, and the moon''s bright and glorious as anything."


    "But the stars..."


    "Scientists can''t find anything, son. Everything past the, what''s it called, the Kuiper belt, where Pluto, which I still think is a planet, fuck those eggheads, is hiding. But past that final ring of asteroids, it''s all deep black space."


    Val frowned, feeling suddenly as if his entire planet was on the precipice of disaster. "That can''t be good."


    "No, it can''t, son, and it gets worse. Scientist gobbledygook about shifts in vacuum energy density and other weird, freaky shit that doesn''t make sense. Other crazy scientists coming up with wild predictions that there has been some kind of change in the forces and fields that make up reality. That we''re now in some kind of, well, bubble, and light from the outside universe now can''t reach us."


    Val blinked. "Where did you hear that? Sounds like a science fiction movie."


    Dominic smirked. "Pretty much, kid, but don''t let it get your britches in knots. Fact is, on a practical level, nothing''s changed. Sun''s the same as ever, thank the Virgin Mary, and all our farmers are having bumper crops the fucking world over." He shrugged. "As long as you weren''t one of the five million sorry souls to have lost his or her life in natural disasters this year, you''re sitting pretty, even if these are the end times."


    Val swallowed, dipping his head, demanding his pounding heart calm, doing his best to focus on the cool night once more, a comforting cloak of darkness, all around them. He smiled as icy calm took hold once more, his momentary panic now a far off, distant thing.


    The kingpin blinked and frowned. "Damn, kid, that''s a useful trick you have."


    "What''s that?"


    The older man shrugged. "You went from a frightened kid way over his head to hard as ice. You almost seemed to melt into the shadows. I guess wearing black suits you." His eyes widened, then he frowned. "Shit, that''s..."


    Val smirked. "Better than a hospital gown, I''ll tell you that."


    "Ruthless, but smart. I like that, kid." He sighed. "Okay, enough putting off with the bullshit. You got a burning need to know who the fuck is gunning for you, and I need to know you won''t tell a soul what I''m going to say." An intent stare hard as iron seemed almost to plead. "Not a soul, kid. This one''s bad news. You take my advice? You''re gone from the hospital, and as far as the world knows, Kent really did knock you off and manage to squirrel away the body while he was at it. If you''re smart, you''ll let the world think that, and stay out of the sights of some serious hard cases."


    Val nodded. "Point taken, Dominic, but if these guys are so badass, why did they outsource?"


    The kingpin smirked. "Plausible deniability. Why the fuck else? Think it through, kid, why do you think organizations like mine can still flourish in this day and age? As long as we''re discrete, don''t rock the boat, and don''t bother the tourists, we''re useful. Riffraff and punk gangbangers get out of hand? We get a quiet word from the chief, we crack some skulls, and a few more worthless pieces of trash end up in Lake Eerie, feeding the fish. Why do you think our city''s murder and assault rates are finally going down? Because organization is a hell of a lot better than chaos, even in organized crime, as long as we play by the rules. Someone high up the chain needs product or needs untraceable cutouts that will never get back to them? They call outfits like mine."


    Dominic straightened his cuffs. "Make no mistake, kid, we take out the trash, and our targets are never clean." His brows furrowed. "At least, that''s normally the case. I''m now thinking that in your case there''s been some sort of fucking mistake. But the way you took out Kent and got to me, someone''s trained you, and good. Are you one of Alicio''s boys?"


    Val smiled. "I just worked for a rich uncle. He gave me an education, and I got to see the world."


    Dominic blinked. "Shit, you really going to tell me you served?"


    Val shrugged. "Right now I''m just a guy in a killer''s suit, trying to find out what the fuck is going on."


    Dominic grimaced and shook his head. "Fuck. I should have known."


    Val said nothing, waiting for the man to collect himself.


    "What you have to understand is that he came to us through the appropriate channels. We got a heads up to expect an unusual guest, and that his request was to be treated with the same weight as all of our shared uncle''s requests are." The man flashed a jaded smile. "When that asshole came by, I could sense there was something just a bit off about him. But he knew just what names to drop, and his deposit was clean. Of course he made it clear that our target had compromised US interests working with terrorists, possessed classified information that jeopardized national safety if it got out, and it would be better for everyone if you just slipped quietly away while you were still in a coma."


    Val''s eyes turned hard. He squeezed his empty fist as his heart hammered with fury, heat twisting in his gut. Someone wasn''t just gunning for him, they were pulling in government sanctioned resources to do it, happy to destroy his good name while they were at it.


    Dominic''s eyes widened. Val swore he could smell his fear.


    Val took a deep breath, imagining his fury buried in ice, in shadowy blackness. As if he did naught but slide through the icy waters of a raging river, the power of inescapable currents flowing through him, his future as inevitable as death''s promise, and he but the deliverer. He forced himself to smile.


    "Shit," Dominic hissed, his complexion taking an unhealthy pallor. "Like I said, kid, I didn''t like the guy, but I didn''t know the asshole was playing us. They never dared cross us like that before."


    "Give me a name." A cold whisper, as if the night itself spoke in Dominic''s trembling ear.


    "He didn''t give me one, kid, they never do. He wasn''t a regular, I''ll tell you that. The two I normally work with come off as predictably self-righteous, and to their own minds, honorable." He raised his hand, as if to forestall retribution. "But don''t sweat it, these players aren''t quite as sly as they think. Of course I have them all on video, our state''s recently passed personal privacy laws aside. Now I''m not going to break trust with the two who have always been up and up with me, but this asshole?" He swallowed, gazing intently at where he thought Val must be. "I''ll tell you what, kid, you give me an e-mail address, and I''ll send you his photo along with whatever hits I can get on his pic."


    He looked surprised when Val shook his head. "Don''t even try to do a trace on his pic. If he''s a serious player, any attempt to ping him in the records will set off alarms left and right. That won''t do me any good, and unless you know what you''re doing with Tails and TOR in conjunction with a non-US regulated VPN, you''re going to get burned."


    The older man paled. "Shit. Last thing I want is for another one of you fuckers to be gunning for me personally."


    Val laughed at that. "And you''ll never see us coming, though most of us don''t do domestic wetwork. It violates our oath, the founding father''s intentions, and makes it a bitch to sleep at night."


    A dry chuckle. "Probably the real reason you guys outsource, and people like Kent, well, he''s not exactly a human being that was too worried about consequence or regret." Dominic sighed. "He knew not to cross me, so that earned him a certain measure of tolerance, but my girls couldn''t stand him and I think he might have been doing shit I really don''t want to know about behind my back. There''s a code of sorts, for men in my position. If our employees are loyal, do what they''re told, and don''t embarrass you or the company, you return that loyalty. But all that said, no one''s going to lose too many tears now that Kent''s gone." His gaze hardened. "You might look badass now, but if he had any decency, seeing a kid sleeping in a hospital bed looking the farthest thing from a terrorist should have had alarm bells blaring in his head. He should have snapped a pic and come back to me. He knows that, and the fuck if I want my organization taking a fall for this fucking con artist who for all I know was playing us."


    Dominic gave a satisfied nod. "I think this does work best, kid. You''ve disappeared, and only the cutout thinks we had anything to do about it. As far as anyone else knows, you just woke up and left. Now how do I send you a pic?"


    Val smiled. "You know the 52nd street diner?"


    The other man nodded. "Killer Reubens."


    "Their roast beef is also excellent. Sometime next week, between twelve and one, someone will stop by one of the booths inside and ask to read the NYT special edition. Your man will say this is just the sports, the rest of the paper is in my briefcase. Your contact, which might or might not be me, will say, ''sounds like a winner.'' Then your man can hand over the rest of the paper and palm the stick with the picks while we do the handoff. If things don''t feel right, your man can just hand whoever''s there the paper and keep the stick."


    Dominic nodded. "Good choice. Older white collars and retirees who still know what it means to read the paper are who they cater to. I''ll have one of my older boys who can blend in take care of it. If nothing else, he''ll like the excuse to munch on my dime for a week." He handed Val a card blank of everything save a number. "It''s a burner phone. Clean. If something goes south... you call me before you head over, maybe we can straighten it out without any unnecessary bullshit."


    Val nodded. "No prob."


    "Excellent." He then turned to the small ice box the limousine was equipped with, slowly pulling out a pair of longnecks, popping the lids and passing one to Val. They clicked bottles and drank. "Now that that''s taken care of, where should I drop you off, kid?"


    "Here is fine, Dominic. A pleasure doing business with you."


    The older man raised his brows. "Lakeshore Drive?"


    Val smiled. "For some reason, I feel like a run."


    The older man chuckled. "Alright, kid. You have my number. Call me if you freeze your ass off and need a decent place to stay. That goes double if you''re looking for work."


    Val nodded. "I will." And the moment Vincent signaled for Knuckles to slow down, Val opened the door and was off in a flash, sprinting for all he worth before slipping through the nearby tree line, all but disappearing in the inky shadows as the limousine turned around and drove off.


    Time passed, and Val, losing himself in the shadows as he made his way to the one place in the world he thought of as home, found peace in the simple act of running.


    At least for a time.