《The Sons Of Nox》 Nocturnal animals
The deep silence that inhabited that forgotten suburb was suddenly interrupted by the constant sound of footsteps, which echoed and spread through the alleys, acquiring a cadence similar to that of an echo. The growls of a black cat were coupled to the uniform rhythm produced by the stranger''s footsteps, giving shape to a new melody, much more weirder and disturbing than the previous monotonous sequence of sounds. The cat that followed the man closely, for some reason decided to separate from him, and climbed through a house with stone walls blackened by soot. He did so until he continued his nimble ascent to the top of a high peaked roof. Then, emitting faint mewls, the feline vanished into the dense night, allowing the cawing of a raven born from the shadows to take center stage. The bird flew in circles until it descended precipitously on the stranger''s shoulder, where it rested for a moment before resuming its flight and disappearing into the darkness. The stranger had the appearance of a man of no more than twenty-five years of age. With an above-average height, he moved hurriedly through the shadows, hunched slightly on his back. He was only visible at times when the dim lights of the street lamps revealed his presence. He possessed a pale complexion, sharp features and was dressed in a long coat that covered him to below the knees. His eyes were hidden by dark glasses with round lenses that reflected the light of the streetlights in the form of sparkles. And in his right hand, he held what appeared to be an antique violin case, very tarnished in appearance due to the passage of time and lack of proper care. All these elements gave the young man a certain somber, mysterious and reserved air. But at the same time, as all those characteristics complemented each other, they ended up giving his presence a peculiar magnetism. With each step the stranger took, his face reflected an evident grimace of pain. But in any case, despite the fact that he was suffering from some kind of injury, he continued to move quickly through the streets, not even bothering to dodge the puddles of foul-smelling water that had accumulated after several days of heavy rains. After continuing to walk for few minutes, he looked up at the sky and noticed that the rain was falling with greater intensity than before. So, without stopping, he stretched the collar of his coat and turned the corner in the direction of the cemetery. Once he reached the place, he crossed the rusty gates that enclosed the entire plot and continued to walk deeper into the cemetery populated with hundreds of mausoleums and gothic structures. He walked until he came face to face with a steep path that branched off just before he reached the end of his journey. The young man paused for a moment, but immediately resumed his path to the right, along a path that stretched unevenly with inlaid cobblestones and portions of dirt. Though its only light came from the faint reflection of the moon, which peeked carefully through the storm clouds. He could see in the darkness as one more of the nocturnal creatures that dwelled in the surroundings, hidden under the cloak of shadows. He continued along the path that wound through tombstones and worn-out mausoleums, guarded only by the presence of grotesque statues that lay crumbling from the inevitable passage of the years. At the end he stopped in front of a pit, and without hesitation he entered it. This entrance connected the outside with the catacombs, which extended in the form of subway tunnels until they ended on the other side of the cemetery. Once inside, he immediately felt the dense and rarefied air due to the smell of moldy earth, rotting flesh and bones. The stench was emanating from ancient tombs long ago desecrated by the blasphemous activities of tomb raiders. As he traversed the dark, narrow tunnels, he heard rasping sounds, similar to those produced by a person suffering from an intense coughing fit. Undeterred in the least, he continued walking, attributing such sounds to some of the addicts, who, because of their dependence on esker flower or opium, used to seclude themselves in solitary places to consume their drugs. He made his way down the aisle until he stopped in front of an ancient tomb that had a marble slab on its main face, covered with strange symbols engraved in metal all along the structure. One of the main symbols located in the center of the plaque, was disarranged in different geometric figures that seemed to be able to change places. The stranger rested one of his long fingers on one of the pieces and began to move them from one side to the other, shaping another new figure very quickly, as if he already knew by heart the combination of movements necessary to achieve it. When he finished, the pieces together formed a seven-pointed star with small snakes engraved on the inside of each of the ends. With the completed figure in front of him, the young man took a small knife from inside his coat and used it to inflict a shallow cut on his index finger, from which blood began to flow abundantly. With the same wounded finger he began to overwrite the symbols on the plaque with blood, leaving the outlines of the seven-pointed star for the last. Once he finished, he closed his eyes as if he needed to concentrate and rested his palm on the engraving, keeping it this way for a few moments. Suddenly, metallic sounds were heard coming from inside the tomb, as if some kind of internal mechanism had been deactivated. Then, the marble slab slid inward, revealing a compartment that had been hidden. The stranger reached into the hole and extracted from within a gleaming pendant, comprised of a silver chain attached to a medium-sized locket of the same material. Holding the amulet between his fingers, the young man marked with his blood one of the symbols engraved on the object, and then brought the container to his mouth. Turning a small knob on the outside of the locket, he drank a strange glowing substance, which he immediately swallowed. A moment after he took the substance and it reached his organism, he began to tremble violently for a few moments, clenching his jaw tightly, as if he were in intense pain. Once the minutes had passed, the effects suddenly ceased and his appearance seemed completely revitalized. All his wounds had healed, and this could also be seen in the gash he had inflicted on his finger. The cut had healed amazingly after ingesting the elixir. Only a faint pink mark remained as a trace of the wound on the skin. At that moment he observed the pendant that he still held between his fingers and placed it around his neck, hiding it under his clothes. Then, from one of the pockets of his coat he removed what looked like a bag with coins and some strange crystalline fragments, which he deposited at the same time in the hole of the compartment. At that instant he averted his gaze to the ground when something strange seemed to catch his attention, but he only noticed a couple of rats moving nimbly along the wall, until they stepped over his boots. Without further delay, he put all his concentration back into what he was doing, and returned the marble slab to its original position. He wiped away the traces of blood that had been left on the engravings and then continued down the narrow corridors that led to the end of the catacombs.
When he was outside, left the cemetery to resume his walk through the lonely streets... Thank you very much for reading my story, dear "Children of Nox"... If you like the chapters so far, don''t forget to leave a like, a comment or a follow! That would motivate me a lot to continue writing... Until then, Greetings! Stolen Amulet
Although he was well aware of the kind of beings that inhabited the darkness, he preferred to walk through the city under the cover of night. Where he could move freely, without the inquisitive gaze of the common people. Although most of the city slept, there were marginalized sectors that continued to be active, roaming the streets in search of satisfying their vilest and darkest needs. The stranger; despite this, found dealing with the presence of these beasts of the night much more tolerable. As long as their business did not intrude upon his own, of course. He continued to walk indifferently, disgusted with everything around him. Every corner he looked at seemed corrupt, dirty, lifeless, gray. He tried to give some relief to his head and for that he concentrated on making his mind blank, he did not want to think about anything else. However, despite his intentions, he did not succeed. In a few minutes the thoughts swirled in his mind again like a force impossible to evade. He then noticed that his clothes were soaked by the rain, as was the violin case he carried with him: Should he go somewhere where could drink something strong and dry his clothes by the warm fire of some hearth? Or should he go back to his dark and lonely store? he thought. These questions went around and round in his head without an answer. He remembered then all that had happened. Those terrible hours that had passed since nightfall. That unfathomable evil he had been able to survive. The enormous cost of his mistakes, the consequences of which he would have to bear for the rest of his life. He finally concluded that he did not want to go back yet, even though it was only after midnight and he preferred to continue wandering aimlessly through the streets. He crossed under a bridge where two vagrants were abusing an old prostitute in a drunken state. One of them, noticing his presence, stopped what he was doing and demanded some money. The young man continued walking without giving any answer, ignoring them completely. And before his indifference, the subjects got angry and insulted him repeatedly, looking for a confrontation. But he continued without turning around. With his mind absent, little by little he moved away from the place where they were. In the end, those men desisted, somewhat disconcerted by his indifference, and returned to their own business. Thus he walked with no apparent direction. Like a specter condemned to wander aimlessly through the city. He felt an inner emptiness that suffocated him and dragged him to the depths of a nightmare: What if man''s natural tendency is to exert his will always toward evil, and any attempt to reverse it is meaningless? he thought. ¡°It all seems like a lost cause!¡± he whispered. His thoughts tormented him and forced him to watch all his beliefs unravel. Suddenly, someone stepped in his way and pulled him out of his reverie. ¡°Do you need company, handsome?¡± said a woman; who appeared unexpectedly from one of the side alleys, in a soft tone. As he observed her carefully, he noticed that she was an attractive young woman with a slender body, dressed in modest but delicate clothes, with fair skin and reddish hair, damp from the rain, falling towards her shoulders and covering part of her breasts. Although she tried to hide it with a smile, a certain tiredness was reflected in her eyes, as if she had not been sleeping properly for some time. What was that young woman doing in this part of town? he thought. And the question came to him suddenly. These backstreets of the suburbs were characterized by being little traveled or almost desolate" "To tell the truth, it would be one of the last places in the whole city that a prostitute would choose to carry on her profession. After observing her carefully, he realized that something about that young woman aroused a certain distrust in him, although he could not say with certainty what it was. In any case, his intuition warned him that something was not right: ¡°What''s your name?¡± he asked sharply. ¡°For you, tonight I''m Candy¡± She answered, opening and closing her eyes sensually. ¡°And you, handsome, what''s your name?¡± she asked him, returning a beautiful smile as she approached him with a feline look. The stranger remained silent, just staring at her. She wore a long light-colored dress, with a tight corset that slimmed her waist and gave shape to a cleavage impossible to ignore. The prostitute stood in a provocative pose in front of the young man and approached him, brushing his crotch with one hand. Then she reached around his shoulders and very subtly touched his lips with her own. ¡°Now that I see you up close, I wouldn''t mind warming your bed tonight for half the price,¡± she whispered those words in his ear. The stranger shuddered as he felt her warm breasts against his body. And his senses went crazy, impregnated with the lilac scent of her moist skin. Undoubtedly, a part of him wanted her intensely. He longed to grab her tightly by the waist and possess her right there in one of those filthy alleys. Candy watched him out of the corner of her eye, unable to hide her curiosity. ¡°What bad luck for me, it seems that the gentleman who came to rescue me tonight, had his tongue eaten by mice!¡± commented the young woman and her lips formed a sarcastic smile, while she continued clinging to him by the neck without taking her eyes off him. ¡°What do you say?¡± ¡°Do you agree to spend the night with me? Or don''t you find me attractive enough?¡± ¡°It''s frustrating to talk to someone without looking straight into their eyes!¡± she added with a certain whimsical air. And in a delicate way, with her two hands she took his glasses by the silver frames that surrounded the lenses-, ¡°they are strange but I like the way they look on you.¡± The young woman smiled, while she slid the glasses carefully until she removed them completely. The stranger continued in silence. He knew he should stop the young woman from removing his glasses, but still he didn''t stop her. Delighted by her beauty, he wished that the warmth of her company would allow him to forget even for a few moments how miserable he felt.
Candy looked straight into the young man''s eyes and gasped, inadvertently dropping the glasses to the floor. As she stepped back, all the terror she felt at that precise moment was reflected on her face. The stranger''s irises; in the dim light of the streetlights, glowed with an intense violet hue, and this gave his presence a menacing aspect. As if they were the glowing eyes of a nocturnal predator stalking its prey from the darkness. The young woman, frightened and paralyzed by fear, reacted impulsively and tried to get away from there in a fit of desperation.
¡°Wait a moment, I don''t want to hurt you!¡± he shouted, while trying to hold her with his arms and searching in his head for the right words to calm her down. But the young woman managed to free herself anyway and ran away from there, running down the same street where she had appeared.
He remained motionless, watching her walk away until the figure of the young woman disappeared in the fog. Hundreds of thoughts churned in his mind, making him reflect for a few moments on how things had happened in that brief encounter with that mysterious young woman. And in the end, he blamed himself for allowing it to go so far. He remembered the same story repeated over and over again, but with the faces of different women from his past. With a sense of bitterness tightening in his chest, he bent down to pick up his glasses that were on the floor and put them on. Then he pulled up the collar of his coat to protect himself from the rain, and at that precise moment he realized that something important was missing...
His suspicions were right. The encounter with that woman had nothing to do with fate, far from it. Nothing in his life had ever happened that way, and neither this time his approach with her was an exception to the rule. He thought of the beautiful young woman. In the sweet perfum of her skin. On her soft lips. But after a few minutes had passed his thoughts seemed to clear. He understood then that he had to get to the bottom of the matter if he really wanted to find out who was behind this. Now, everything that had happened was very hilarious to him... Unable to contain himself he gave a deep laugh that echoed through the silent streets, and then continued walking down the same alley where she had disappeared... This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Damsel in distress
The young woman ran through a gloomy passage without stopping, until the heel of one of her shoes broke, causing her to lose her balance. Once she managed to recover, she sat down on the wet ground and took off her shoes. After doing so, the young woman remained on the ground with her bare feet resting on the wet cobblestone. Her body was trembling frantically and this was not only due to the cold night air, but also to the feeling of fear that the encounter with the man had given her. In addition to this, she could not help but reproach herself for having accepted such a dangerous assignment, which had left her exposed as if she were a true novice. Allowing her emotions to take control of her actions was an unacceptable mistake for someone who made theft her profession. And that was why it was so difficult for her to acknowledge the fact that she had made that very beginner''s mistake. "Who was that man?" "Couldn''t he be human?" "Or shouldn''t he be human at all?" she thought. These questions went off in her head. But try as she might to find a logical explanation for her encounter with this fellow, she could not come up with one. She had grown up on the streets of Nordham as a child. And as she grew up, she learned the hard way about the existence of certain hidden strata in the city''s underworld, too dangerous to deal with. With whom it was best to keep a certain distance if one wished to preserve one''s life or sanity. The fear that invaded her was for this reason, a part of her believed that she had transgressed the boundary, had meddled with what she shouldn''t have. "You must be wary of even the simplest looking jobs" "You must always foresee even the worst of possible situations, because those we consider improbable, usually come true" "There are no sums of money, luxury items or precious jewels valuable enough to put life or liberty at risk," she thought, as she repeated such principles over and over to herself. Those were the only valuable pieces of advice she had ever received from her father, and keeping them always in mind had served her well in surviving the harsh life on the streets. Or that was until one damn day, driven by her growing ego and pride, she decided to set aside that advice and ended up taking jobs that actually challenged her skills. "I would from now on accept the kind of dangerous contracts that even the most experienced thieves in town refuse to accept, even if they were offered hefty sums of money for it," she had thought naively. With this she would get the fame she deserved. She could be crowned one of the best thieves in all of Nordham, and she would gain the respect of everyone. Hopefully in the near future she would retire on top, thus being able to buy herself the life she deserved. Suddenly, memories that were lodged in her unconscious came to light. Those recovered memories were directly related to that man dressed in black. She now remembered having seen that type of men before on only two occasions. One of those memories was from a long time ago, when she was just a child. She lived with her father in a tenement and one of these men had passed by her when she was playing in the street with another girl of the same age. Although she was very small, she remembered the feeling of terror that had invaded her, and also the fear that the mere presence of that man caused in all the people who were there. The second time, on the other hand, had been only two years ago in an inn in the city. Two of them were located in the darkest and farthest corner from the other tables. They wore on their faces the typical black glasses with which they hide their eyes and did not seem to talk too much between them. They only exchanged a few words every now and then while drinking. All the people who were there seemed uneasy with the presence of both of them, but they disguised it by talking loudly, laughing and making meaningless jokes. Everything was going normally until a group of ruffians entered the bar. After a few minutes, they too became aware of their presence. Perhaps stimulated by alcohol or simple stupidity, the group of drunks began to harass them, seeking to start a fight repeatedly. This was until one of the men in black; tired of the aggression, hit three of them with the butt of his revolver, leaving them unconscious there in the blink of an eye. A fourth ruffian, seeing his comrades humiliated, rushed forward with a dagger in hand, but before he could try anything, he too was already unconscious on the ground with a broken jaw. The others who had been left standing watching everything that had happened, preferred to escape in a cowardly way rather than confront them. After this, the two men in black paid what they owed and left without further ado, before the uneasy gaze of the people who were there without daring to say anything to them. Very few things were known about them, since all their activities were carried out in an atmosphere of great secrecy. But the common people said that they were demons who usurped other people''s bodies. Others maintained that they were black alchemists, connoisseurs of forbidden knowledge. Or they simply referred to them as crows of bad omen, warlocks or hunters of death, since they were always observed lurking in cemeteries and were accused of using corpses for terrible and inexplicable purposes. They also seemed to be interested in performing those tasks of supernatural characteristics that most ordinary people could not perform or would not even dare to attempt. It was rumored that they were part of a secret Order of the king, and because of this, they had also been observed lending their services to the city guard in certain matters. The common people commented that they had certain privileges or liberties. Among them, they were attributed the possibility of killing if they thought it necessary for the effective fulfillment of their missions. Another rumor that I had heard in the streets was that you could hire their services if you had the kind of money necessary to do so. Although very few people understood what the rumors were referring to. The truth is that it was very rare to see them in the city and much rarer was to run into a death hunter in broad daylight. However; when this exceptionally happened, it could be observed that they were always armed, using their typical dark clothes. Moving most of the time in small groups, and only exchanged a few words with those strangers who were related in some way or another to their business. To tell the truth, their reputation was worse than that of the king''s official executioners. Most people feared them and shunned them at all costs as if they were carriers of the plague, preferring always to keep at a safe distance from them. She, for her part, had always thought that all the stories told about death hunters were the result of people''s imagination and stupidity. But, having seen right into the eyes of one of them, she was sure that they were not normal humans. Although she considered herself a professional thief, she had not acted according to plan. Now she feared that the hunter of death was behind her steps. These thoughts only increased the fear she felt, for this reason she immediately stood up and searched inside one of the hidden pockets of her dress, where she hid the pendant she had successfully stolen from him. As her fingers came into contact with the cold metal, she felt a deep relief. In spite of everything that had happened, she had succeeded in accomplishing her goal. She brought the necklace closer to her face to see it in more detail and noticed that it was a very peculiar one, made entirely of silver. The locket in the shape of an inverted triangle had strange carved symbols, and it was also surrounded by seven snakes engraved in great detail. One of them was much larger than the others, and sealed the contents of the object by leaning with its mouth open to display its fangs. On one side of the amulet, there was a red blood stain on one of the symbols. She wanted to clean it with some of the fabric of her dress, but no matter how hard she tried, it was impossible to remove it. Suddenly heard footsteps coming from the next street, and when she perceived that they were approaching her, she interrupted everything she was doing. Although she felt very frightened, she understood that she had at least a few minutes left and she had to act quickly. She searched for a suitable place to hide the pendant, and after a moment, decided on one of the holes in the wall facing the alley where she was. After doing so, she hid in the dark porch of an abandoned house and there she waited expectantly until the figure of a man appeared a few meters away, staggering from one side to the other as if he was struggling to stay on his feet. That man, quite drunk, threw a bottle towards the house for no reason, and the object hit one of the walls close to the place where she was hiding. Despite this, she remained motionless as the glass bounced off her, grazing her shoulder and part of her face. After a few minutes of waiting, the man continued to walk as best he could until he tripped over something that caused him to fall to the ground and lay there in a state of total unconsciousness. The young woman waited cautiously for a few minutes until she got tired of waiting and left her hiding place. In the alley she retrieved the pendant she had hidden and once again with the necklace in her hands, she decided that the best thing to do was to take refuge in her rented room. There she would wait until daylight to deliver her assignment and claim her well-deserved reward. As she made her way to the hotel where she had rented a room for the night, she thought of demanding double the payment from that fanatical hierophant of the Golden Flame. Who, with clever trickery, had managed to seduce her into accepting such a risky job. She had accepted for a sum of money that she had considered very interesting. But now, having already fulfilled her objective, she was in a different position, in which she could take a greater advantage, that is what she would do without hesitation: "What could be the real interest that hierophant had in the silver pendant?" "What if its value was much greater than she thought?" "Perhaps that unpleasant man was playing a trick on her?" "Perhaps it had some kind of historical value that she didn''t know about?" she thought. And faced with these questions, the young woman came to the conclusion that she should corroborate its value on the black market before making any hasty decisions. When she arrived at the hotel, she quickly climbed the stairs without making any noise, managing to avoid being seen by the front desk attendant. Once she entered her room, she took off the wet dress she was wearing and in just her underwear lay down on the bed. She still felt upset, as if something inside her had been affected. When she closed her eyes she still saw the image of that man watching her with his fierce eyes. It was not the first time that she had seduced her victims to achieve her goals. In fact, many were those who had fallen under her deceptions and manipulations. She had always boasted of her coldness to act indifferently to men, but now, something was different. On the one hand she felt fear that this young man was actually a supernatural being who might seek a vile way to take revenge on her, making pay for her offense with her own life. But also a deep part of herself was sure that he was not entirely evil, although she was ashamed to admit it, she longed for a new encounter with him. The possibility of seeing him again dragged her into a whirlwind of images of them together as lovers, kissing passionately. This made her hate herself and she felt utterly stupid as well. "What if he really was a demon, and this thing she felt was not something real, but the result of a spell or some kind of enchantment?" she thought. At first it seemed somewhat absurd, but after a moment''s meditation she thought it might be a possibility since she had never felt anything like this for a man, let alone someone she had only had one encounter with. After turning over in her head a thousand possibilities, she fell into a deep sleep...
Mercury retrograde
A few hours later, the young woman awoke with a start when she heard an abrupt and insistent knocking on the door. Frightened, she preferred to remain motionless without making a sound. The room was dark and for this reason she could see, through the gap between the door and the wooden floor, the reflection of a light in the hallway and the shadow of a person on the other side. "Had that man managed to find her?" "No!" "It was impossible, it couldn''t be true," she thought. And she tried to convince herself of that. Then, another round of knocking was heard again. The young woman very slowly opened the bedside table next to her. She reached into the half-open drawer and when she withdrew her hand, she was holding a small, low-caliber gun. Clutching it in both hands, she hesitantly pointed it in the direction of the door, praying wouldn''t have to use it. She had always used other skills to keep an attacker at bay, but she was willing to use it anyway if she had no other choice. ¡°Dear, that''s the wrong room!¡± said a woman''s voice approaching from the hallway. ¡°Opss! I hope I didn''t wake anyone!¡± exclaimed the man. And then the couple''s footsteps could be heard walking away towards another of the neighboring rooms. The young woman sighed in relief as she put the gun back where she had taken it from. Much calmer than before, she relaxed back into the comfort of her bed, and gradually fell asleep again. With her eyes half closed, she looked out the side window that overlooked the street, and she thought she could make out a strange shadow that might correspond to the distorted silhouette of a person. At first she did not want to give it too much importance and attributed it to a phenomenon originated by her imagination. But after a few moments, the initial shadows were followed by sounds that resembled knocking. As if someone was pressing on the window from the outside, trying to force the lock that kept it closed. For this reason she began to get restless again. And, although there were only a few strange creaking sounds on the wooden floor, she decided to stay alert just in case. A few minutes passed and the idea that someone was watching her settled in her mind; she tried to calm down but this presumption grew more and more in her head until it became a certainty. The young girl; driven by a growing fear, decided to turn on the night lamp beside her and the yellowish light from the lamp spread dimly throughout the room, as did the smell of kerosene which became much more intense than before. She glanced in the window and around, but noticed nothing out of the ordinary. The latch lock was in place and everything seemed to her just as she had left it. Through the window saw only the desolate street, illuminated by a few streetlights that lingered despite the heavy rain. On the outside of the building, she noticed that there was a narrow cornice that continued below the window, which extended around the entire hotel. While it was too narrow for a man to move along, for a thief of her type it would have been the best way to get inside the building. After checking the bathroom; which was the only place connected to the room, she concluded that she was losing her mind. She didn''t like to lose control, so she forced herself to keep her composure. Soon with the coming of morning she would be able to finish her work and perhaps take some time off: "Maybe it was time to get away from this damn city once and for all," she thought. She lay back down on her bed with the intention of falling asleep again, but this time; as a precaution, she left the lamp on to feel safer. The same way she did when was a child and was terrified of stormy nights. This time she slept for a little over an hour and when she awoke, she opened her eyes sleepily. Then, to her surprise, she found the figure of that man dressed in black. He was standing in front of her; only a few meters away, staring at her expressionlessly with his strange glasses on. The young woman, startled by his presence, began to cry out in desperation, asking for help: ¡°Help! Please, somebody help me!¡± The stranger, faced with the outrageous reaction of the young woman, tried to shut her up by covering her mouth with his hand. ¡°Let me go, you bastard!¡± shouted the young woman. She bit his hand hard and in this way managed to free herself from him. ¡°Ah, stupid girl! I don¡¯t want to hurt you!¡± ¡°Help! Please!¡± The young woman continued to scream as she ran half-naked towards the entrance with the intention of escaping. The girl struggled at the door trying to open the lock, but due to her nerves she was unable to do it in time. He grabbed her forcefully from behind, wrapped his arms around her and covered her mouth again to shut her up. Noticing that it was impossible to calm her down, he pulled out a razor and held it over her throat in a threatening manner: ¡°I swear, I don''t want to hurt you, but if you don''t calm down at once..., I''ll cut your throat right here,¡± said the stranger with a stern tone. ¡°Do you understand?¡± The young woman nodded her head, indicating that she understood. Then the man closed the blade of his knife and put it back in his coat. How was it possible that the hunter could have found it? the young woman wondered, unable to comprehend what had happened. She had taken all the necessary precautions and, despite this, something had escaped her control.
She tried to calm herself. She took a deep breath and her thoughts cleared a little. Then an idea suddenly came to her. She had to win his confidence any way she could, so that an advantage would appear before her that she could use to her advantage. The intuition told her that this young man, strange as he was, was not entirely immune to her charms, and perhaps she could use this against him. These thoughts comforted her, allowing her to convince herself that, in spite of everything, she could get out of this dangerous situation alive... ? ? ? If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The rose and the snake
He approached her and managed to perceive again the perfum of lilacs impregnated on her skin. Although it was hard to admit it, he liked to hold her in his arms, even if it was by force. ¡°Now, I want you to listen to me carefully!¡± he said, bringing his face very close to hers. ¡°I don''t want to hurt you, I just want you to give me back what you took from me! Nothing else!¡± ¡°I don''t know what you mean¡± The young woman replied, shaking her head. ¡°Come on, I know the amulet is here, don''t deny it. I''m just trying to be nice and respect your privacy, otherwise I would have looked for it myself while you were sleeping.¡± ¡°Oh, I''m sorry if I wasn''t considerate enough to realize that you cared about my privacy,¡± she replied with a sarcastic laugh, ¡°I think you have a wrong concept of what respecting a woman''s privacy is... what can I say, intruding into my room like this, forcibly subduing me, is unacceptable!¡± she added with evident anger. ¡°Well, you didn''t seem so shy when we first met. I thought you were willing to meet without so many formalities,¡± replied the young man mockingly. ¡°You don''t know anything about me!¡± They remained silent for a moment. He enjoyed the warm breath of the young woman, who watched him from her profile while still holding one hand on the door handle. ¡°How long have you been following me?¡± ¡°No...¡± answered the young woman, unable to complete the sentence. ¡°Why do you want the necklace?¡± ¡°I don''t know what you''re talking about! You''re hurting me!¡± ¡°Impossible! Do you want me to believe that I was a victim you chose at random?¡± he answered, clinging to her more tightly, ¡°You insult my intelligence! He grabbed her more firmly, but this time by the neck, and felt her body tense with fear. Believe me! You won''t get out alive if you don''t tell me everything!¡± said the young man, threatening her again. ¡°I don''t know anything about the necklace, or about you or the strange group you are part of! I only do my job... that''s all I have to tell you!¡± ¡°Your job? Who hired you?¡± ¡°I''m not going to tell you anything else. You fucking idiot! Who do you think you are to do this to me?¡± The stranger took off his glasses and grabbed the young woman by the shoulders. After turning her around so she could look him in the face, he leaned her hard against the door and looked her straight in the eyes, getting so close to her that he could feel her breath on his face. ¡°Answer the question, I''m not playing, don''t make me hurt you!¡± he whispered, and the expression on his face became menacing. The young woman could not bear his gaze. Then, she ducked her head without daring to say anything else. At her silence, he seemed to lose his patience. And moved by an outburst of anger, he directed a sharp blow with his fist towards the door: ¡°Who hired you? I''m not going to ask you again!¡± ¡°All right!¡± cried the young woman with her eyes full of tears. ¡°It was those fanatics of the Golden Flame. That horrid hierophant called Lucius Dormant came to see me and offered me a large sum of money for your silver pendant. ¡° ¡°How could you find me? What information did he give you about me?¡± ¡°He gave me a photograph of you and a piece of paper with the location of those places you frequent. As well as the address of your store in the suburbs.¡± ¡°Did you go into my store?¡± he asked, frowning. ¡°No, I didn''t!¡± said the young woman, shaking her head, ¡°I swear! I was thinking of doing it as a last resort... in case I hadn''t been able to get hold of your necklace first. But, as you know, things turned out differently.¡± The young man looked at her expressionlessly as if he was analyzing her every word. ¡°How long have you been following me?¡± ¡°A couple of days ago! Although I was only able to follow you for short moments. You sneak away very easily, I must admit! It''s very difficult to keep track of you! You only go out at night to visit strange places and most of those places would disturb even the bravest man. Just the thought of some of those macabre places gives me the creeps! I even thought about resigning the contract! I thought you were some kind of crazy psychopath, like the ones in the newspapers!¡± ¡°Maybe you weren''t wrong! Maybe it''s something much worse than those simple killers.¡± He replied angrily, ¡°It would have been better if you had resigned. But now it''s too late for that, there''s no turning back. How did you manage to approach me in that alley? How the hell could you anticipate my location?¡± The young woman raised her head and looked at him defiantly. ¡°What are you going to do if I don''t answer any more of your damn questions? Are you really going to kill me? I don''t think so!¡± ¡°I wouldn''t pull the thread any further if I were you. There''s a limit to my patience, I''m warning you for the last time,¡± he threatened her, clutching her tighter. ¡°Now tell me! How could you find me tonight?¡± ¡°It was pure chance! I saw you walking down one of the streets near the cemetery and decided to follow you. But I lost your trail when you entered the cemetery and I wasn''t willing to search for you through tombs and mausoleums. So, I circled the grounds and waited behind some trees until you appeared again. But after several minutes, tired of waiting in the rain and not noticing your presence anywhere, I decided that the best thing to do was to return here. I walked through the streets with that intention, until the shouting of some homeless people alerted me and I took a look towards the place where they were to see what was going on. Despite the distance and the rain, I could recognize you near them, it was you that those bums were shouting at. So, I checked which direction you were heading and ran down one of the streets parallel to yours. After that, I just had to wait there, hidden in the crossroads of the alleys until you arrived¡± said the young woman and ducked her head again, ¡°That''s all! You already know what happened next, or do you want me to explain it to you too!¡± ¡°What else did Lucius Dormant tell you? I want you to tell me everything!¡± asked the stranger, completely ignoring the last words said by the young woman. ¡°That was all, he didn''t give me any more information about the object or about you! The only thing I can add is that he seemed very interested in having that locket as soon as possible. That''s all I know!¡± He continued to stare at her, as if he could read her thoughts: ¡°All right, I believe you¡± he said, adopting a friendlier attitude than before. ¡°Now, where is the necklace? Tell me that and I''ll leave you alone. You''ll never see me again and you''ll remember this night only as a bad dream.¡± ¡°All right!¡± said the young woman in a cold tone. Then she wiped away her tears, ¡°It''s on that table by the bed.¡± ¡°Can I trust you, Candy? I bet that''s not your real name, or am I wrong?¡± he asked, smiling at her. The young woman stared at him for a moment, without saying anything. Until finally, she answered: ¡°No, you''re not mistaken, my real name is Alice.¡± ¡°Alice? That''s not the name that was written on that photograph in which you appear next to your father.¡± The young woman immediately looked away from her bag and noticed that it was open on a chair, with some of her belongings scattered outside: ¡°Did you go through my things? You dared to go through my personal things!¡± She repeated to herself several times and her eyes turned red with fury. ¡°Nice to meet you, Ava...My name is Kalev, by the way,¡± he replied holding out his open hand for her to shake.
Ava viewed his outstretched hand with some disdain and did not shake it. She just turned around and walked in the direction of the bedside table. There, she stopped at the side of her bed and put on a red robe with which she covered her half-naked body. Then, she opened the nightstand drawer with a certain hesitant air, and from inside she again took the small-caliber gun she had put away earlier... ??? Rejected opportunity
¡°I''m going to give you, Kalev, a chance to leave the way you came in!¡± Ava said in such a serious tone that I could tell she wasn''t kidding at all. ¡°Oh, come on, why do you have to take things to this point? I thought we''d made progress now that we know our real names! What are you going to do if I refuse to leave without what''s mine? Are you going to kill me?¡± He asked, ¡°Listen, I''ve faced things you couldn''t imagine even in your worst nightmares,¡± Kalev began to approach very slowly. Ava''s body stiffened as she held out her arms threateningly. She was very nervous even though she was trying hard to hide it. ¡°So..., give me the locket at once and stop wasting my time!¡± he demanded and looked at her with his fierce eyes. ¡°Don''t take another step or I''ll shoot you! I''m not playing either!¡± The young woman threatened him, very upset, while holding the small revolver in both hands. ¡°Give me the gun, Ava. And let''s get this over with!¡± Kalev continued to move forward slowly, ignoring her warnings. Then, without meaning to, Ava pulled the trigger and the firearm produced a loud bang. The abrupt sound of the shot broke the silence of the room, being heard in the hallway and also in the other adjoining rooms. The bullet hit the young man''s chest and he fell backwards to the floor, lying motionless for a moment on the carpet. ¡°What did I do!¡± Ava exclaimed aloud, as if she didn''t understand what had happened. She was dismayed by what had happened. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably and she dropped the gun to the floor. ¡°You shot me, your crazy bitch, or don''t you see?¡± Kalev gasped as if he had suddenly regained consciousness. And with an effort he lifted his head to examine his wound. ¡°I didn''t want to do it, you made me do it. I''ve never shot anyone before in my life.¡± Ava commented with tears in her eyes. Kalev crawled to the wall leaving a blood mark on the carpet. And there he leaned against the wall to try to pull himself together. ¡°It''s very serious!¡± Ava exclaimed when she saw the amount of blood he had lost. At the same time, she covered her mouth, not knowing what to do. ¡°Stay like this, don''t move! I''ll go get a doctor! It''ll be all right, you''ll recover!¡± ¡°No! I just need... I need the amulet!¡± Ava remained watching him without moving. She couldn''t make sense of his request and thought maybe he was delirious from the pain. ¡°Quick! The locket! Give it to me! Or you''ll have a dead man in your room in a few minutes.¡± Ava despite still not understanding Kalev''s strange request, nodded this time without hesitation, and looked urgently in the dress where she had kept it. Once she found it, she handed it to him immediately. ¡°You need a doctor urgently, you''re bleeding to death!¡± He ignored Ava''s words and held the amulet in one hand. With trembling movements, he opened the container and drank the substance inside from the locket. A few seconds after absorbing the strange liquid, Kalev began to convulse frantically, making jerky movements. Ava tried to approach him with the intention of helping him, but Kalev, watching her with his intense eyes, signaled her to stay away. After a few minutes the convulsions stopped and he remained seated with his head down. Ava looked at him in fright, unsure of what to do. She saw him so motionless that she thought he had lost consciousness and, despite his warnings, she reached over and took him by the hands. His skin was very cold and dark veins were visible on his face. ¡°Are you, all right?¡± she asked with concern. ¡°Do you care now?¡± he answered, moving his body repeatedly, as if he was checking his condition. ¡°I am not a murderer.¡± Ava replied ¡°I thought if I gave you the locket, you were going to kill me anyway. You know what they say about people like you.¡± ¡°What do they say?¡± asked the young man, still with his head down. ¡°You know!¡± ¡°No! What is it?¡± ¡°That they are free to murder people!¡± she answered with a sigh. ¡°Oh, that!¡± exclaimed Kalev as if the answer Ava had given him sounded most ridiculous. Then, he began to move his body quite naturally, as if he hadn''t been shot a few minutes ago. After checking his movements, he made a satisfied gesture with his face and slightly ajar the collar of his shirt. He inserted his hand and when withdrew it, had the lead bullet between his fingers. He contemplated the fragment of the projectile for an instant, and at the end he threw it with annoyance to the ground. ¡°What? How can that be possible? I just shot you!¡± said Ava with some skepticism. And unable to restrain herself, she rushed at Kalev with the intention of checking his wound from which she had seen him bleeding only a moment ago. ¡°Get away!¡± said the hunter, pushing her back. ¡°I can''t believe it! How could you have recovered so quickly? It''s impossible!¡± ¡°Forget about me and everything you''ve seen today!¡± Kalev stood up and put the amulet around his neck. They stood in silence for a moment, each immersed in their own thoughts. Until Kalev cleared his throat and extended his hand toward her. ¡°I need the photograph and the paper with the directions the hierophant gave you.¡± ¡°I don''t have your photograph here. Only the paper with the information.¡± Ava answered as she searched in the same dress where she had hidden the necklace. ¡°For your sake, I recommend that you destroy them!¡± Kalev took the papers that Ava gave him and burned them with one of the kerosene lamps. ¡°What am I going to do now with my contract? What am I going to tell the hierophant?¡± ¡°That''s your business!¡± He replied curtly, showing that he was annoyed with her. ¡°What are you, some kind of demon? How can you be healed instantly, I can''t understand?¡± Ava insisted. ¡°Questions and more questions, that''s all that comes from your lips, isn''t it? You behave like a nagging child, you''re infuriating!¡± ¡°You''re annoying me!¡± Ava shouted, grabbing one of her shoes and threw it at him with force. But Kalev managed to dodge it with a quick movement and the shoe ended up hitting a vase that shattered as it fell to the ground. ¡°You''re out of your mind!¡± exclaimed the death hunter as he bent down to retrieve his glasses and the violin case he had left by the window. Suddenly there was a knock at the door that was repeated insistently over and over again: ¡°Miss, Miss, are you, all right?¡± asked a man from the other side of the door. ¡°It''s the hotel concierge! He must have heard the shot!¡± ¡°I don''t know what you''re going to do, but I''m getting out of here!¡± said Kalev, and at the same time opened the window of the room. ¡°Miss, please open the door or we''ll have to force our way in!¡± shouted the janitor again. And he was heard talking to a guest who also seemed to have heard strange noises. ¡°Don''t leave yet, I''d like to talk to you about what happened! Please!¡± she pleaded earnestly as she headed for the door without adding anything else. Kalev watched her and didn''t say anything either, he just followed her with his eyes. Ava opened the door, looking angry at being disturbed so late at night, and excused herself for the strange sounds, saying that she was suffering from a severe headache and that she had broken one of the vases in the room as a result. Despite this, she made it clear that she was willing to make up for the damage caused earlier in the day when she left her lodging. Excusing herself again and without giving the concierge a chance to open his mouth, the young woman slammed the door in his face. The old janitor stared in bewilderment at the closed door in front of him, confused at such insolence shown by the young woman. Ava turned again toward the room and noticed that Kalev had left despite her request. She walked over to the window that had been left ajar and closed it. From there she could see that the gas lamps overlooking the street had been extinguished, and now absolute darkness reigned outside. As she walked towards the bed with her bare feet, she stepped on something that caused her a sharp pain and this unpleasant sensation spread from her foot to her whole body. She gave a cry of pain and when she lifted her leg, she saw that one of the fragments of the broken vase had been stuck. With two of her fingers she grabbed the piece of glass and ripped it out in one go, covering her mouth so as not to scream. Then she sat down on the edge of the bed and turned her gaze to the nightstand, where she noticed a gold coin gleaming on the piece of furniture.
¡°Why did you leave it there? What is it..., a gesture of pity or compassion? I don''t need anything from anyone!¡± Ava shouted as she threw the coin on the floor, and lying face down on her bed, she began to cry... Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Another night to forget
Kalev took to the cold streets of the city again and moved through them with long strides. He felt that the night had been too long, and now all he wanted was to get to his lonely, warm store to sleep and not wake up for a long time. While he walked, placed his hand under the collarbone and felt his upper chest where Ava had shot him. He checked to see that the wound had healed, leaving him with only a rounded mark on the skin. "Why are you always attracted to women who are unhinged?" he thought, as images of that encounter with the young woman also came to his mind. He kicked over an empty food can that was crushed at one end only, and it continued to spin down the street until it fell down a gutter. He continued down a dirt alley that reeked of urine, and in that place dimly lit by small campfires, the homeless huddled together like rats to conserve some of their body heat. Kalev walked steadily on the wet mud that stuck to his boots, and looked carefully at that decadent place that darkened his heart. He was undoubtedly on the road to hell. Some looked at him sideways and spat at his feet in a hostile way, others slept covered in dirty blankets or pieces of cloth, without noticing anything. He took one of the alleys and drove through it to the corner, where he stopped when he heard the unrestrained crying of a woman along with some strange shrieks, difficult to identify from where he was. When he reached the place where the sounds were coming from, he found a disgusting man violently beating a woman. She was lying on the ground with her body covered with bruises, and a few meters away from them, two rickety children who seemed to be her sons. They were dressed only in rags and were crying and trembling incessantly. Faced with such a decadent image, a feeling of hatred came over him. And before he could realize what he was doing, he grabbed the guy from behind and pushed him hard into the mud, pulling him away from the woman. Without giving him time to react, Kalev pounced on him and started punching him in the face repeatedly, losing control of himself. He hit him, over and over, until the screams of the woman tugging at his clothes snapped him out of his frenzy of rage. ¡°No! Please stop! You''ll kill him! He''s my husband and he''s a good man! It''s only the alcohol that turns him into a demon!¡± she added, even though her face was disfigured from the beating her husband had given her. Kalev grabbed her face and turned around to look at her small children, who were crying and scared. ¡°What kind of mother are you? Look at the condition your children are in! They won''t survive the winter if they continue to sleep on the streets, and you only care about your scum of a husband!¡± The woman sobbed wordlessly as her husband turned to them, moaning in pain. His nose was broken and a trickle of blood flowed from his mouth. ¡°Take this!¡± Kalev added, putting a handful of coins in the woman''s hand, ¡°with these coins you can rent some room and buy some food for your children. Agreed?¡± asked Kalev helping her to stand up. The woman nodded her head but stood there in the same place, as if she could not react. At that moment another wanderer appeared behind Kalev, holding a wooden stick. And he took advantage of his distraction to hit him in the back. ¡°Who do you think you are to come here and meddle in matters that don''t concern you?¡± Kalev fell to his knees on the ground, leaning with one hand on the violin case and with the other he lessened the impact, keeping it extended in the mud. Despite this; due to the inertia of the fall, his glasses slipped off his face and fell into the mud. In addition to another metallic object that escaped from one of the pockets of his jacket, although he could not specify at the time what it was. When the tramp showed himself ready to strike another blow, Kalev managed to anticipate it and pushing him back with a kick in the stomach, which gave him enough time to get to his feet and remove the element with which he had hit him. The warlock, looking him straight in the face, was paralyzed with terror: ¡°A warlock! A hunter of death! A demon!¡± shouted the man as he ran away at full speed in panic and asked the god Aion for help. The man''s flight was also joined by the woman, who, shrieking loudly, escaped in the same direction the wanderer had taken, leaving aside her small children who, like wild animals, crawled on the ground, collecting a few coins that their mother had thrown away in her haste to flee. In the end, the children also escaped and ran in a direction opposite to their mother''s. Kalev picked up his glasses that were on the floor and cleaned them before putting them back on. He then did the same with the mud-covered violin case, and watched for a moment the man who lay unconscious in the mud, shivering with cold. Until he decided to resume his way through the alleys, without being able to stop thinking about the hilarious outcome of all his actions.
¡°Definitely, another night to forget...¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Daeomontrateia
The rain had ceased and a blanket of gray clouds gathered, covering the entire sky of Nordham. As in the firmament, a thick fog spread over the streets, giving the whole city a dreamlike appearance, as if it had been transformed by the action of some kind of spell, in a new kingdom settled on dreamlike lands. The few people who circulated in those urban areas, did so carrying small hand lamps that emitted faint and vibrant flashes. They gradually lost their strength until they were completely absorbed in the mist. In Nordham was a district much more remote than any other in the central part of the city. This far-flung suburb was inhabited by little more than a hundred inhabitants, mostly elderly people of sullen demeanor and with tendencies not likely to leave their residences. The buildings that predominated in this part of the city were characterized by being old buildings, mostly demolished and uninhabited, which had been built in general with a marked gothic architecture, which greatly enhanced the gloomy atmosphere of the place. A man dressed in elegant clothes leaned out of the window of a classic carriage, which was traveling at a considerable speed along the paved streets. He looked uneasily at the dark vertical walls of an imposing building a few meters away from him. They were made of stone masonry, and both the walls and the central door had eccentric ornaments decorating them. He raised his eyes even higher and noticed the sharp spires crowning the towers of those imposing buildings, from which a certain oppressive atmosphere was given off, as if it were the noxious aura of a colossal creature. Between two of these somber and extravagant constructions was a peculiar store that was out of place with the rest. It was the only store to be found in that little-traveled spot in the city. Since most of the stores were located several streets away, where the circulation of people was much more assiduous. ¡°Here it is, stop!¡± shouted the man as he banged on the door so that his old coachman could hear him. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± nodded the coachman, pulling hard on the reins, having been taken by surprise at his employer''s sudden request. The pair of horses pulling the carriage slowed down a little at a time. And when they managed to stop, they uttered a loud whinny in complaint. The carriage lurched forward for a moment, but regained its usual position, stopping a few yards in front of the indicated spot. ¡°When will the day come when you learn to stop gently, Norris!¡± reprimanded the man to his coachman, and opened the door to descend to the street. ¡°I''m sorry, sir, it won''t happen again.¡± ¡°Bah! Next time I''ll give you a caning so you''ll learn!¡± replied the man in the fine suit. The man with the intelligent look and firm countenance took out a pocket watch from his vest and checked the time. Clicking his tongue, he put the watch away again and walked towards the store, tapping the floor three times with his cane. When he was a few steps from the entrance, he began to feel an uneasy feeling come over him. Although it was not the first time he had visited that part of the city, the mere fact of being forced to enter that dreadful store and having to engage in a conversation with its eccentric owner made his nerves stand on edge. It was an old building, somewhat narrow and high. The upper part of the roof ended in the shape of a peak, and was covered with slate tiles as well as the small sloping eaves, wich were discolored by the passing of the years. At the front of the store were two rectangular display windows with glass panes opaque with grime and dust. Through which, only with much effort could one see through them some strange metallic objects and a few small bottles without labels, which appeared to be some kind of potions impossible to identify with the naked eye. Above the shop windows was a rickety dark-colored sign, on which certain peculiar drawings could be seen, such as what appeared to be a distilling ball and two half-moons painted on the outside. The moons were colored in an antagonistic way, and looked in the opposite direction with respect to each other, with horrifying expressions. Inside the ball were also images of a raven, a snake, an octopus and dragon. In addition to other strange symbols included inside, very difficult to recognize. At the top of the sign could be read " Daemontrateia " painted in ornate white letters, somewhat blurred but still legible. The man turned away from the dirty shop windows and averted his gaze to a bronze lantern that waved in the night breeze. That peculiar lantern was fashioned in the shape of a dragon and was suspended at one end of the store. After observing it in detail for a moment, he tightened his grip on the briefcase he held in his left hand and went to the door, took hold of the handle and turned it carefully, producing a slight creaking sound. The door opened smoothly and he entered, feeling even more nervous than before. Once inside, he sensed the same charged and rarefied air that he had felt every time he had been there. In that gloomy place there were not only dripping candles burning, but there was also a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, supporting strange metal cylinders from which a greenish light emanated. And many more of these objects were scattered throughout the room, dimly illuminating the room with yellowish lights as well.
The man went to the reception desk and, finding no one there, pressed a peculiar claw-shaped metal bell and rang it repeatedly. Willing to wait a moment, he took a quick glance at the various shelves there. Some of these were filled with ancient books, grimoires and foul-smelling scrolls. Others were filled with jars and containers holding different kinds of substances, crystals, strange plants, dissected animal remains, alchemical elements and even human remains such as skulls and bone parts. Unable to contain his curiosity, he took a book from one of the shelves that was covered with dust and cobwebs. He wiped it with his hands and looked at the leather binding that had some rusted iron trimmings. On the cover of the volume there was no title, only a geometric symbol in the center whose meaning was unknown to him. He opened the book halfway and noticed that it was written with some kind of signs belonging to a language that was completely foreign to his knowledge. In addition to the characters corresponding to that unknown language, there were strange drawings in which the figures of grotesque beings were represented, which seemed to be the product of the imagination of a twisted mind, who; as a manifestation of his madness, had decided to leave testimony of those abominable creatures in that creepy grimoire. He continued to turn the pages despite his displeasure, and noticed a kind of dark red seal located at the bottom. At first, he thought they had been applied with the typical wax used to close correspondences, but upon closer inspection, he realized that those dark marks had been engraved with blood. He closed the book abruptly and put it back in its place, disgusted by the horrible images he had seen. Then decided to move away from those shelves and approached the showcases that contained a peculiar collection of different objects, which at first glance he found most interesting. Most of them were different types of firearms, ammunition, crossbows, circular metal artifacts, ancient swords and a striking section of silver daggers. Within that collection were some daggers very different from the rest, whose blades seemed to be forged from some kind of sharp stone with strange properties. Some of the daggers had a crystalline blade with a kind of gaseous essence inside. The others on the other hand; of opposite characteristics, seemed to be made of a rock as dark as obsidian. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Daeomontrateia II
As the minutes passed and the store owner was conspicuously absent, the man decided to ring the bell again at the front desk. Finding himself somewhat impatient, he approached the back of the store with a certain timidity, where he thought he heard some persistent knocking noises that seemed to come from the stairs leading to the basement. As he made his way through the room, he found himself in one of the corners of the room with a workshop filled with oddly shaped artifacts and tools. After observing them carefully; despite his limited knowledge of the subject, he was able to identify those artifacts as indispensable to develop trades related to the sublimation, fusion and distillation of different elements and substances. Suddenly, while he was examining the various gadgets, he heard the footsteps of someone hurrying up the stairs. A young man wearing dark glasses peered through the doorway and watched him for a moment without saying anything. ¡°Sorry, Kalev.¡± excused the man, blushing a little at having been caught in his intrusive behavior. ¡°I''ve been waiting in reception for a few minutes and I thought you might not have heard me,¡± he added. ¡°You can take a seat, Vincent, I''ll be with you in a moment,¡± said the young man sharply and pointed with his hand to a corner where a few dark-colored antique armchairs were located. And, without waiting for an answer, he went down the stairs again, stamping heavily on the steps. Vincent sat down, putting aside his suitcase, and with interlaced fingers rested his hands on his cane. He felt that this brief encounter with the young man had made him even more nervous than before. He began to examine the room and noticed that the place, as well as the whole store in general, was covered with a thick layer of dust. On the wooden upholstered walls hung multiple paintings with gloomy depictions, dominated by the silhouette of a pair of glowing-eyed gods, born from a mass of chaos and primordial darkness. In addition to these strange paintings, there was something else that caught his attention to a great extent. At either end of the room stood two very ancient sculptures majestically carved from stone. After analyzing them for a moment, he realized that they bore an obvious resemblance to the gods depicted in the paintings. One of the statues depicted a man with hard features, covered with a long cloak that reached the base of the throne, on which he sat with a certain solemn attitude in his posture. His gaze reflected an air of disdain and arrogance, typical of a king conscious of his great power. The other sculpture, on the other hand, had the figure of a woman with a fine and delicate body. Dressed only with a veil that surrounded part of her torso, exposing her breasts and part of her abdomen. The woman protectively rested her hands on the shoulder of a couple of small curly-haired children, who seemed to be her sons. Each of those statues had glowing stones, similar to amethysts, embedded in their eyes. And as the light from the lamps reflected off the crystals, their eyes gave back faint purplish sparkles. Vincent remained there absorbed with the image of these sculptures, which seemed to him both beautiful and frightening at the same time. Until the sound of the store owner coming up the stairs brought him out of his reverie. The young man crossed the threshold of the door leading to the basement and headed for the shop table, oblivious to the presence of Vincent, who was watching him from the other end. In his hands he carried a metallic sphere which he placed on one of the workshop tables, and taking one of the steel tongs that were there, he began to turn a few screws protruding from the outside of the object. After a moment, the man in the couch began to cough and searched through his clothes restlessly. ¡°Excuse me, do you have a problem if I light a cigarette here?¡± Vincent asked aloud, holding a cigarette in one hand and a lighter in the other. Kalev turned and watched him for a moment, as if that question had reminded him that he was there. ¡°You can do it if you want to!¡± the young man answered in a deep voice and then went on with his work. Vincent put the cigar in his mouth and flicked the knob of the lighter, which emitted only a faint spark. After trying for more than a minute and failing to get it to light, he put the lighter back in his clothes. ¡°Excuse me, Kalev, do you have a lighter I could borrow? Mine seems to have gotten wet from the rain and doesn''t work.... Sorry for the inconvenience!¡± he hastened to add. Kalev set the metal sphere down hard on the table and wiped his greasy hands with a rag that was lying there. He turned and walked over to where Vincent was sitting and took a seat next to him. He rolled up his black shirt to his forearms and reached into the small pocket of his vest, from which he pulled out a lighter and handed it to the man. Vincent thanked him with a gesture, brought his cigarette to the mouth and took the lighter shakily. For this reason, he had to hold it with both hands to keep a steady pulse. ¡°Your condition has worsened!¡± said Kalev as he stared at him. ¡°Since I got my promotion my health has deteriorated greatly," Vincent answered, taking a long drag on his cigarette. ¡°Sometimes I think I never had to aspire to anything higher than the position of sergeant. How I long for those years when my only concern was catching petty thieves and petty criminals,¡± he added with a sigh of resignation. ¡°The respected position of district commissioner did not meet your expectations?¡± asked the young man with a certain sarcastic tone. Vincent pursed his lips and his face tightened, showing a clear displeasure. ¡°Now it''s not only up to me to keep the crimes committed by mere mortals in check, but I also have to deal with the atrocities carried out by the monsters that belong to your world,¡± Vincent pointed out loudly, as he took a folder out of his suitcase and threw it on a small table next to Kalev. ¡°If you had told me about the existence of this reality a year ago, I wouldn''t have believed it. I would have thought it was an idea born of a disturbed mind, or a fragment of a world taken from a horror novel. Sometimes I think it''s a nightmare, just a bad dream? But no, it''s all real!¡± He added and exhaled the smoke upwards, ¡°I have so much pressure that, when I am alone in my office, I look up at the ceiling and imagine a deadly sword hanging over the ceiling, lower and lower and about to fall on me with certainty.¡± ¡°Listen, Vincent, your duties are only limited to informing us of those cases that... How shall I put it? Which by their peculiar characteristics are the exclusive competence of the Order,¡± explained Kalev with a stern tone, ¡°that''s all..., you must not take care of anything else. Only those acts with which you can provide us with relevant information and which do not involve exposing yourself. It is crucial that you do not intervene or you will put your life at risk unnecessarily¡± Kalev kept silent and took the folder, opening it from its ends. ¡°There you will find all the peculiarities pertaining to the new case.¡± Vincent pointed out in a sarcastic tone, while taking repeated puffs on his cigarette. Kalev looked up for a few seconds in Vincent''s direction, but said no more. His glasses glittered for a moment from the reflection of the lights illuminating the room. Then he turned his full attention back to the reports. Inside the folder were enclosed several photographs taken of at least eight different women. All of them appeared half-naked, their mutilated bodies covered in dried blood. Whoever committed these macabre acts had stabbed the bodies of these young women numerous times, and in addition to this, they had deep, masterfully executed cuts, both on the necks and on the limbs of the fallen ladies. Kalev, studying the photographs carefully, could also distinguish different signs drawn in blood on the skin of some of the women and on the wooden floor where they lay lifeless. ¡°Have you taken photographs or individually recorded each of the signs on and around the bodies of the young women?¡± Kalev asked, pointing to the symbols he was referring to in the image. ¡°I''m afraid not. I''m sorry,¡± Vincent replied, looking down, ¡°those are the only photographs that have been taken of the crime scene.¡± Kalev clicked his tongue and clenched his jaw in distaste: ¡°The photographs as evidence are deficient, as the signs are blurred or incomplete.¡± ¡°We thought they were just meaningless drawings!¡± ¡°It was necessary to record those signs in the right way.¡± Kalev answered sharply. Then he put the photographs down on the table to pick up the written report and began to read it carefully. ¡°What makes you think that these murders are the Order''s business? Such acts are commonplace in the city.¡± ¡°Well..., As you read in the report, the crimes were committed after midnight at the Red Orchid brothel. Atypically, the establishment was closed all night. But, behind closed doors an exclusive meeting was held for important wealthy men, all from the outskirts of the city.¡± ¡°Madame Diane runs that brothel. Did you have a chance to question him?¡± Kalev asked. ¡°She''s dead! She was also found lifeless on the spot with her head severed. In fact, this is her photograph,¡± commented the commissioner, opening his briefcase. ¡°And that''s not all..., we also found the body of Basile Erdevane, a nobleman from Harlifax. Byron Dulash, an important merchant from Norfall, and Erwin Rimerk, a wealthy banker from the city of Yorkdell¡± Vincent threw each of his photographs on the table as he named them.
¡°It''s strange, I don''t deny it. But you still haven''t answered my question. It could have been a planned assassination for power, political or economic reasons. And the murder of the women, well...An obvious way of not leaving loose ends. You know that if there is no link that somehow connects these crimes to the business of the Order, I can''t help you. No matter how aberrant the murders committed, I can''t do it,¡± Kalev concluded, closing the folder and placing it next to the photographs.