Standing in a wide room with an array of beds and personal belongings strewn about, stood Nur and Imeran. The former was led to a particular bed and with a quick look over with olfactory sense they report their findings.
“It’s different.”
Imeran walked over to the cabinet that was at the foot of the bed. He rummaged around in it, pulling out a few opened letters that laid at the bottom. Giving it a cursory glance, he looked towards the bottom and compared it with a few other letters.
“This is indeed my wine servants stay of rest. I remember giving him an order in jest to refer to himself as wine servant even when not in my presence. That, and I have seen his signature before. There are no problems here.”
Taking the letters in his own hand, Nur walked around and into the hall for a moment before returning.
“The person who dropped the wine earlier passed by this room but did not enter. They are not the same person that lived here.”
Surprise flittered across Imeran’s features. He paced around the room in silent concentration, until he began to think aloud.
“Why would someone infiltrate my personal abode? Competitors would get no benefit from anything here and no harm could be done to me so long as my Vigil is here.
“Could it be...? The letter…”
Stopping in place for a moment, Imeran looked towards Nur with a dead expression.
“Thank you for spotting this. I know not their aim but now I can take measures to prevent this from occurring again.”
His features loosened slightly, a slight smirk on his face,
“To think the spy who was able to pull off such a feat would be found out from your shocking admission from earlier. Anyone who saw even a fraction of what you are capable of would cry tears of blood to hear you wasting your talent, hah!
“We must part for now though. I need to clean house over the next three days. My work should be done then, thus, after this brief parting you will be welcome to stop by here whenever.”
Imeran clasped his arm with Nur’s closely and pulled him in lightly,
“Be well, my friend. Even if you do not come, I will definitely track you down to change your mind.”
With such parting words, he left the room in haste with nothing left in his wake but the wind.
----------------------------------------
Exiting the long row of decadent manors and stepping onto a series of well-kept streets, Nur headed towards the central vein of the city with an empty mind. Idly staring at the twinkling stars above that were just coming into view, he continued onwards until a familiar scent tickled his senses.
Making a decision on the spot, he put more life into his steps and focused his spirit on the trail. Dissecting it from the myriad of others that were twisting and tangling with the one he tracked, he closed his eyes and held onto it as best as he could.
After losing it several times over, backtracking more than once to regain the trail, he crossed through the far less populated central street and stood at the entrance of the western sector.
Frowning, he confirmed the path once more. A nagging feeling began to worm its way into his mind while a cold chill began to run its way up his spine.
Gathering essence into his being, he shot forth through the winding streets and narrow alleyways. From pristine corridors to unkempt. Looking below his feet, he saw the familiar golden symbols interwoven into the street becoming far sparser and more infrequent.
He continued to sprint with all his might, all the way until he suddenly lost the trail. Stopping for a moment, he walked back until he came to an alleyway that was covered in shadow. The smell now joined another even more familiar, intimate scent…alongside a heavy metallic tang.
If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Nur touched his forehead, finding heavy beads of sweat covering both it and his hands. Memories threatened to break loose from the shackles of his mind, screaming and screeching with threats of madness.
Nevertheless, he walked into the alley. The darkness washed over him, grasping at both body and mind. The previously cool and refreshing night air now felt like far colder and unwelcoming as if death’s scythe had descended upon the mortal plane.
Footsteps sounded out from the other end of the deserted area, disordered and frantic. Two orbs of light, eyes reflecting the moonlight flashed into existence.
The owner of the footsteps stopped suddenly.
“Who goes there?”
A flash of brilliance pierced the black veil and opened up the vision of the two present with light. A small but bright orange flame floated overhead, revealing all.
Wearing different clothes and a different face, the man who carried the scent of the fake wine servant stood before Nur. His frightened visage relaxed upon seeing the one across from him, a sly smile appearing on his face. Nur noted absolutely none of this, however, as his attention was focused on the still wet blood that was all over the man’s clothes.
“Well hello there Nur, I did not expect you to find me so quickly. Or even at all. Hmm, the information seems to have been somewhat lacking or outdated.”
The man walked next to Nur and opened his tunic slightly, revealing an eye etched onto his skin.
“Familiar, right? I hope you did not think that we stopped monitoring after you arrived here, right? That would be pretty stupid of you, especially given how much effort we spent on you, right?
“We can be anywhere, anyone, at any time. Though this time I quite liked my assignment, it is not often I get to live an easy life of being a simple servant who pours wine.”
The man circled Nur with light steps, his cheery visage showing signs of frustration the longer Nur remained silent.
“Hmm, I had thought you would have some kind of reaction. Strange, right?”
The light above the two brightened even more, allowing the man to see every one of Nur’s features. He noticed that his eyes were always tracking a single point on his person, a splotch of wet blood that stained his clothes.
The man’s demeanor brightened once more,
“Oh, this? You know what you must do. Even I know but on the first day of my assignment, who would have guessed you would reveal that you decided to go against it!
“Thus, this little friend here is left over from a little warning that I just got done making. A cute little art piece detailing the beautiful yet sorrowful permanent parting.”
The man stepped clear into Nur’s vision, laughing in pure sadistic ecstasy as he watched in real time comprehension dawning upon his target.
“Are you angry? Frustrated? Sad? Shocked? An obedient dog is expected to follow their master and a bad dog is, of course, punished.
“Poor sand blood, ah, what was his name. That little scamp, quite the runner he was you know. Ah., Oh I know:
Erisin”
A fleeting memory flashed through Nur’s mind, a young boy no older than twelve with deft hands and quick feet.
Brother Sharp Tooth
A flash of cold light made itself present, whistling steel cut through the night air with deadly precision. The man’s head was sliced off and fell to the ground, his expression still of one of pure ecstasy.
Sheathing his blade, Nur stomped on the decapitated head with all the force he could muster. Like a rotten fruit, it burst and caked everything around it in blood and brain matter.
Shaking from anger, a heavily breathing Nur turned to walk away but was stopped by a sudden flow of essence below him. He jumps diagonally into the air, attempting to escape, but a golden lasso shot forth from the very road he had just stood upon moments ago.
Wrapping around his leg, it dragged him down. Upon landing he grabbed the lasso and ripped it into shreds, noting that it came from the sole golden sigil that was on the lonely road.
However even after he ripped it off, a golden band of essence remained on his leg. Alternating between his normal vision and his spiritual eye, he saw it only appeared in the later and not the former.
Silver chains entered his field of perception, ones that he dodged on instinct, but they mirrored his every moment. A single chain became two and two became a dozen in no time. He slashed at them with his sword, but they merely repelled one another for but a moment and when he attacked it with a fist of pure essence, it latched onto his skin and snaked around his whole arm.
He suddenly felt the weight of the world bearing down upon him, as if a thousand heavy rocks had been placed upon his body. More chains snaked their way onto his body, bringing his knees crashing into the ground and even digging through the stone that paved the ground.
Struggling with all his might, his face red with exertion and his mouth howling incoherently. He felt his muscles slowly begin to snap and his vision began to tinge with red.
From the corner of his eyes he saw several blindfolded figures holding the other end of the chains, they surrounded him from every direction in their approach.
“You are under arrest for the crime of murder. May the Iudex judge his crimes in accordance with the Emperor’s commandments.”
Such words followed him as his head smashed into the ground, knocking him into unconsciousness.