Chapter 101

Chapter 101

Thunk

Thunk

Thunk

Miles burst through the door of the necromancers lair, his eyes wild. His bow was at the ready, the glinting arrowhead reflecting the sterile lights above. He aimed at me for just a moment before he lowered the bow slightly. Hey kid.

I raised an eyebrow. Had me going. Seemed like you were actually worried before you opened your mouth.

Calling you kid wasnt bait, you paranoid bastard. You just remind me of someone. Miles seemed to regain himself, and crossed the room to crouch down next to the body. The corpse was lying face down, the white front of the bald mans jacket stained completely red. His head was turned to the side, a single crossbow bolt impaled in his left eye.

I gagged, held a hand to my mouth, and turned away as Miles poked at the corpse.

Didnt fight much. Miles said. This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

No.

No defensive wounds. No other visible injuries.

He thought he could talk his way out of it.

Immortality or sob story? Miles asked.

What?

When he tried to weasel. Did he offer you immortality or tell you a sob story about a loved one who died?

I didnt bother hiding my surprise. Sob story. Spent the whole exchange pontificating over his dead daughter. Youve dealt with more than one necromancer.

Just a guess. He fell face first, but not very far. Miles emitted a low whistle. Jesus. You made him kneel? Why not make it easy on the both of you and shoot him in the back of the head?

Its not supposed to be easy.

No, I guess its not. Miles grunted as he stood from his crouch and crossed the room to me. I felt his cool gaze as I ignored him and filled a syringe with the proper mixture of drugs and injected it into one of the unconscious Users IV.

That your first? Miles asked quietly.

Not exactly. But this was different. I answered, matching the quietness of his tone, letting vulnerability leak in.

How so?

The first oneI remember walking in. Losing myself in rage and grief and something else. The last thing I remember was looking at a table covered in cigarette butts, and seeing a knife. I shivered. Then it all goes hazy.

You blacked out.

Yeah.

A hand gripped my shoulder. What you did here was hard. I know its literally the last thing you want to hear right now. And what Im about to say will feel hollow and pointless. But this was the just thing. The right thing.

I paused in the middle of refilling the syringe. My lip quivered. He begged.

Of course he did. They all do, eventually. People capable of what he did will do anything to stay alive, to perpetuate their black stain of an existence. Miles shook his head. Youre not a monster for making that call. You just didnt buy his bullshit.

Let's not talk about it anymore.

Sure. Of course, kid. He released my shoulder. Eventually, youll need to. Doesnt have to be a shrink, could be a loved one, or a friend. Just dont bottle it. For now, lets focus on all the people you saved.

I cleared my throat, relieved. One useful piece of information that came from talking to him was what he used to put them under. Propofol. Ideally, wed reduce the dosage and let them come out of it on their own, but as you know, were under a time constraint

It was all going to be okay. I could rest now. There were thousands of other people in my region. On the off-chance what wed just claimed didnt push us over the top, it would be close. Someone else could handle it. I couldnt micromanage everything.

Sleep nearly took me.

What happened the last time you felt safe?

shattered the reverie.

My eyes snapped open. It took an inordinate amount of effort to pull up the timer.



No choice. If I lost consciousness, there was no telling when Id wake up. Had to push through. Just a little more.

Tell the driver to stop. Im going to go.

Miles said something inaudible. When I shook my head, he leaned in closer across the aisle. Come on, were golden. Twenty-five isnt enough for you?

What can I say, Im insatiable. I reached up, using the personal railing that ran the length of the vehicle to haul myself to my feet.

Just wait till we get back to the region, Miles warned. Bad idea to stop a convoy when youre an HVT.

A what?

Miles pointed to the lux. High-value target. Were a fucking piata just waiting for some thumbsucker with a bat.

Right. I admitted. My judgment was slipping. I wobbled unsteadily on my feet, punching the button to lower the ramp, stopping it just before it made contact with the blurring road. Ill ride the bike out.

Gonna burn yourself out. Crazy motherfucker. Miles shook his head. Still, he withdrew from one of his many pockets and handed it to me. I took it and sheathed it at my side.

Maybe. But Id rather be crazy than dead. Make sure the lux gets where it needs to go? I asked.

Done. If we dont see each other before this shit-show is over, find me after. Itll be worth your while.

Everyone on either side shifted upward to make room as I summoned my motorcycle. It had several deep gouges on the sides. It stalled at first, then roared to life on the second turn of the key.

A small hand pulled at my arm. I turned to see Astrid, who immediately looked away in irritation. Astria asked me to pass along a message. She wanted to thank you for saving her.

Beyond Astrid, still seated on her spot on the bench, was Astria, who smiled and gave me a small wave.

You would have figured it out. I shrugged. Eventually.

It was meant to be an olive branch of sorts, but Astrid shook her head, clearly not buying it. Stay alive.

You too. I turned my attention to Miles. Message me if what we have fills the receptacle. If we finish ours, I'll help the other regions as much as I can.

Ill keep you updated. Miles said. He seemed to hesitate, wanting to say more, but eventually held his silence.

Next to him, Grayscale stared at me like I was an idiot. It was a reasonable reaction, all things considered.

Ready? Bob called to me from his spot at the front, one hand poised over the metal divider that separated driver from passenger. Chastity was slumped over on his shoulder, unconscious and snoring.

I nodded.

Bob slammed his fist against the divider. The APCs brakes squealed.

I hit the throttle and the bike screamed, wobbling once as I hit the pavement but leveling out, picking up speed as I left the boiling cramped space of the APC behind. The easy lux that landed around the outskirts of the city would all be gone at this point. Realistically, there was only one place where Id find more. It was also the one place Id been trying to avoid.

Steeling my nerve, I began to navigate towards downtown.