I was instantly blinded by a bright light. I’d thought the lighting in the central room of the maze was bright, but I guess it had been just bright enough to irritate me at the time. This new light was searing, even with my eyes closed I could feel it burning away at my retinas. It definitely wasn’t Dante’s place, that was probably about as dim lit as I was used to after the maze. This light was coming from the sun, something I hadn’t seen in what felt like forever. Even before this whole mess, I’d never really just gone and taken a look at it. I mean you’d have to be stupid to look right at it, but I wasn’t doing that now and it was still blinding.
“Where are we?” I hissed sounding vaguely like what I imagined a basement dweller going outside for the first time in months might sound like.
“Well, we’re out of the maze. I guess you knew that though, and we’re definitely not in my den, it’s much too bright for that. The brightness is, I imagine, what has you so bothered?”
“You try living in a cave for a day and staring at the sun, see how you react.” I growled. I couldn’t exactly tell where he was anymore though, after he let go of me. If I knew the general location of his face I would have made a move to poke his eyes out. It would have been a futile effort but satisfying nonetheless.
“Try four days.” I didn’t bother freaking out about that, I knew my perception of time in the maze had been skewed. “And burned alive on top of that, I won’t deny that your perseverance is charming. I might be convinced to cut you a break if you continue to get the same more or less decent results.”
“Don’t forget I went into all that blind.” I grumbled, the pain in my eyes finally receding. Dante’s random jump start to my previously presumed deceased ego distracted me from my contempt for him. Temporarily of course, I knew deep down that I hated him about as badly as I had ever hated anything else.
“Yes, we mustn’t forget how my own wrath and general disdain for you got you into that mess.” I rolled my eyes. I understood that it had been a punishment, but I still couldn’t be sure if he had even thought I would survive. “I’m willing to put my rage to rest for a few minutes, however, presuming you can do the same?”
“That depends on what’s going to happen in the next few minutes.” By the look of the building we were in front of it could have been anything. “What’s with the pawn shop anyway?”
“This pawn shop, apart from collecting the valuable remnants of a thousand failed courtships, is the property of a contractor.”
“You aren’t going to try to kill them for some piece of glass lodged in an old grandfather clock are you?” That seemed to be about on par with what we’d been doing thus far.
“This particular contractor is someone you’ve heard mention of before. I only know him as the Old Man, if he has another name no one I know knows it.” He seemed anxious as he explained, looking more at our surroundings than at me. “Despite my record, or at least what you know of my record, of dealing with other contractors this is not a visit of conquest. The Old Man is capable of reducing us both to ash with a look, and while you may be able to recover from that given the time, I won’t be so fortunate. So again, I would suggest that we both behave in a very polite and civil fashion, lest this be the last time we both see the sun.”
“Sure. You do that.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m still not sure how much I actually want to live anymore, so I’ll decide after I meet the guy. Who knows I might actually like the geezer.”
“Exactly the kind of attitude I like, the elderly have so many fun stories you wouldn’t expect from an old wrinkled bag of skin.” I froze at the introduction of this new voice. It was chilling, in a way that I imagine Dante tried to be. I could never imagine that kind of tone from him though, it was both haunting and alluring.
“Heh, really?” I didn’t exactly know what to expect when I turned around to see who had joined in on the conversation. I wasn’t let down. He was taller than Dante, who was already just slightly taller than me, slender but not in the almost creepy way Dante was. It didn’t occur to me until midway through my inspection that I was relating all of his features to Dante’s. I needed to stop spending so much time around him. “I can’t picture you fitting in with that kind of crowd.” Unless he was doing charity work, or pushing his grandmother around in a wheelchair like any well-mannered grandson ought to.
“I actually don’t, I would just like to imagine what it would be like.” He chuckled and brushed his hand through his short auburn hair sheepishly. His smile was perfect, inviting even… unlike a certain someone else’s somewhat eerie and off putting smile.
I suddenly became very aware of how I looked. Now that I could see better I could see that my skin was burned dark reddish and there were burn scars on my arms and legs, though they appeared to be fading fairly fast. Then there was the matter of what I could see of my skin… a good portion of my clothing was burned. As is I was wearing the equivalent of short shorts and a cut off tank top… which was less than I’d ever worn in public.
“I see you found our private conversation interesting.” Dante interrupted. I instantly felt a new level of hate for him for interrupting. Something about the forcibly polite way he said it suddenly made me remember my caution. This was a stranger after all. Attractive or otherwise he could be dangerous, and judging by Dante’s reaction he was dangerous.
“Well I did come all the way here just to eavesdrop on you and your cute little collector, if it hadn’t been interesting I would have been greatly disappointed.” The man chuckled again. “I did also come to browse, so now that my eavesdropping is done I’ll go do that.” He turned to open the door to the pawn shop and walked through, the ringing bell above the door left an ominous feeling in his wake. Even though he was gone Dante’s forced expression remained.
“Who was that?” Anyone that could so casually aggravate Dante was someone I wanted to know about. Well that wasn’t the only reason, but it was the only one I felt safe thinking.
“A contractor.” Dante whispered through clenched jaws.
“Yes, I got that, but who is he?”
“Oh you’ll probably see, he has a very interesting way of doing things. You’ll probably be the focus of his harassment the second you step through those doors.”
“Harassment?” I felt sick all of the sudden. “Can’t you just kill him or something? He can’t be that much of a big shot, can he?”
“Oh, he’s the biggest shot.” Dante was actually smiling now. “Remember that thing I did that one time after I paid Trish a visit? I’d rather not have that happen again.”
“Be honest with me, you’re just a scrawny little weakling compared to most of these guys aren’t you.” I mean next to a human he’d probably seem like a god, but next to another contractor he was like that awkward short cousin you never talk to because he has an attitude.
“Weakness is relative.” He hummed. “I also choose not to pick meaningless fights with people I might want help from later, regardless of how I feel about them. So do try to maintain that kind and civil attitude as he flirts with you shamelessly.”
“Flirting? Is that what you mean by harassment?” They might have meant the same thing to him, but I’d never considered harassment to be flirting. Maybe if it was really obnoxious and unwelcome, but that was like… a separate thing entirely.
“After you.” Dante held the door open, completely ignoring my question.
I rolled my eyes as I walked past him and into the pawn shop. It looked about as normal as any other pawn shop I’d ever been into, not that I’d been in a ton but I had been to more than a few. It was a little on the small side, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t any less full of things no one really wanted. There was a large area devoted to jewelry next to the register with a display of antique and modern firearms on the wall behind it. Old light fixtures and cheap chandeliers hung from the ceiling around the store at seemingly odd intervals. The rest of the space was cluttered with shelves, racks, and wall displays with everything from power tools to clothes.
“Is that the Old Man?” I nodded casually over to the friendly looking man behind the register with grey hair. He looked about right for the part.
“No, he’s completely human. He just works the store.” Dante muttered under his breath. His caution was both hilarious and terrifying. “However I do have business with him. So I will take care of that while I wait for the Old Man to take my presence here seriously.”
“What am I supposed to do then?” I seriously didn’t want to wander the store and run into that other contractor now. “Unless you want me involved in your business?” The words ‘please say yes’ scrawled infinitely across my mind.
“Not this time. It’s not really that important… It’s actually about you.” Had the next words that left his mouth been along the lines of ‘that’s why it’s not important’ I would have made as much of a mess as I could before he could stop me.
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“So it’s about me, but it’s not my business?” Our harsh whispers were starting to get the attention of the man behind the counter.
“Calm down.” He shot me a threatening look. “It will be your business is what I meant to imply. It just isn’t… yet.” I had the eerie feeling he was going to try and buy me something to make up for throwing me in the maze. If he thought he could calm me down with a stupid silver pendant he was going find me a great deal less receptive to that sort of thing than Hope. “You can feel free to browse, just don’t steal anything.” My jaw clenched, as much as I wanted to chew him out and get him killed I didn’t want to go down with him. Unfortunately my life depended on his.
“How about a little spending cash in case, heaven forbid, I actually want to buy something.” All of my money was, as far as I knew, back where I hid all of my valuable possessions. A place I had no way to get back to now.
“Fine.” Dante reluctantly produced a roll of money from a pocket. “Is this…” I plucked the roll of bills from his open hand before he could decide to give me less. “Enough...” He sighed but didn’t bother to get the money back. I doubted he needed it, he was probably loaded.
“Thank you.” I smiled and walked away to browse.
I made a conscious effort to stay as far away from the other contractor as I could, always leaving at least two different ways to escape if he came at me directly. It was hard to pay attention to him and whatever I was looking at, I chose to pay less attention to my browsing rather than get cornered by the guy. He didn’t come at me directly, I could tell he was planning out how best to get closest to me though. All of his movements seemed to circle around me, like a vulture. I could tell he was trying to corral me into the corner of the store opposite the door, and he was doing it very well. I didn’t actually notice how well I’d been boxed in until I couldn’t actually get out without directly confronting him.
“Excuse me.” I mumbled under my breath as I attempted to push my way past the contractor. Of course he didn’t move out of my way, in fact he moved to stop me.
“I can’t actually excuse you. A man does not excuse pleasant company, he entertains them. While I’m in the vicinity of that topic…” He reached over my shoulder and picked something off the shelf. “I think I should apologize for listening in on your conversation earlier.” I was frozen in place with a mixture of panic, and shamefully, excitement as he gently placed a pair of sunglasses over my eyes. “My treat.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t accept gifts from older men.” Which was true, it only ever led to awkward situations. As much as I actually wanted them I removed them and placed them back where he’d taken them from.
“Do I really look that old?” He looked a little hurt.
“No, but you could be thousands of years old and I would never know.” Which was also true, but somehow I couldn’t see things getting any more awkward than they already were. “I’m still trying to get used to expecting these kinds of things, so pardon me if I’m off by a few hundred.”
“Well you’re not wrong.” He laughed lightly. “A few hundred is a bit of an understatement though. People usually guess my age in variants of thousands, however only one individual has ever guessed correctly. He’s quite the researcher, he figured me out so quickly while others have spent hundreds of years trying and failing. I’m a little surprised that you hold any animosity towards him, he’s an old and gentle soul.” Too many things were swirling around my head now, I couldn’t formulate a proper response.
“What are you even saying?” I ran back through what he’d told me. “You’re the Old Man, aren't you?”
“That was contextually implied, yes.” He smiled, it seemed so much more bizarre now. “I apologize if I gave you the wrong impression through my little ruse. I don’t generally play such mind games, but I was curious.”
“Why on earth would you be?” I was shocked. Why would a man, a contractor, older and more powerful than any other being known to exist be interested in me? Even if I was exaggerating his significance, he was still a contractor and I was basically a slave, I was still confused.
“As I said before, or implied rather, Ah…” He hesitated for a second, cutting his sentence short. “Dante, is a very interesting individual, and just about everything he does I find interesting. His interest in you has caused you to interest me.”
“You’re kidding right? You meant Dante earlier?” I nearly burst out laughing. “Gentle is something he most certainly isn’t, and while he may be old at heart it isn’t in a good way.”
“I know everything he’s done, but unlike you I know why. To put it simply, I have the box the puzzle comes in that has the picture you’re putting together, I can see where every piece falls into place. Beyond that I can also see every detail of the picture as it was created by the artist, there are no lines from where the pieces come apart for me. Everything is complete.”
“Well I’d love for you to share that with me.” I could already tell what he was going to say though, and it wouldn’t be the answer to all my questions.
“Where would the fun be if I did all the work for you?” I had expected about as much, I couldn’t count on anyone to make things easy for me. Not even the man who had no real stake in my life. “If you ever know what it feels like to live forever, you would understand. The little things, the absurd games and petty challenges, they make things so much more enjoyable.”
“You know, I almost want to say that’s the worst excuse I’ve ever heard, but it isn’t. Dante’s excuse, for the same question mind you, is much worse.”
“I know things even he remains ignorant to. He might actually be the least informed of us, besides you. I could understand if he keeps you in the dark merely to have someone less informed than himself.” I could at least understand that answer, Dante felt like the kind of person that might intentionally confuse someone just so he wouldn’t be the most confused. “I suppose my response, because I hesitate to call it an excuse, could be better summed up by saying I do not wish to hand out causal spoilers.”
“Causal spoilers?” The term struck me as out of place, which made me feel out of place. Ultimately I was the one intruding on his world and I was allowed to be informed at his discretion.
“Think of it like this,” He paused for a moment as if waiting for something.
“A causal spoiler could be best described as information regarding what is about to happen only to have it happen because it was revealed.” Dante had crept up behind me, his sudden interruption made my blood run cold and I froze in place. “A self-fulfilling prophecy.”
“Exactly.” The Old Man smiled, friendly as ever despite being interrupted. The whole conversation had me thinking though, if he knew Dante would interrupt him did he stop early on purpose? It made me feel uncomfortable to think that the Old Man could know what I was going to do before I did. “I find it’s best to let things play out naturally so as to let others retain a sense of control. This ideology also fits quite smoothly with my effort to maintain a neutral standpoint on what we would call political affairs.”
“If he’s neutral, then why are we here?” I turned to Dante. If I was going to be hustled around by some fortune telling ancient demigod contractor for fun, I’d prefer not doing so for nothing.
“Our business is more dire than some petty squabble betwixt a haphazard mixture of warlords, deities, and businessmen. As such it qualifies as an exception to his rules.”
“Could you have said that any less like a dweeb?” I was running low on insults, dweeb felt like it was scraping the bottom of the barrel.
“I like that he used the word betwixt.” The Old Man muttered. “I miss the days when people said betwixt casually.”
“Thank you.” Dante did a small bow. I had expected him to be a suck up, but actually witnessing it was disgusting. “And just betwixt you and I, I wish more people would say it.”
“Could you two please stop saying betwixt. I feel like I’m trapped in a renaissance fair.” I was on the verge of making a poor decision. How two "adults" could act so childishly at a moment that was supposed to be so serious was beyond me. “I thought we had something important to do.”
“You do.” The Old Man sighed like I’d just crashed his party. “Dante feel free to go ahead and ask what you were going to.”
“I have no intention of asking. I need the shard you have, it’s the last one.”
“No.” His reply was quick and his expression changed the instant he said it. He was no longer the let down childish man that had just had his party crashed, he was a grim faced businessman that was severely disappointed. “There is, or at least there was, one more piece. You should have seen it, it is a long sliver that rests just on the edge of the mirror. Owen came across it recently and as I understand it he intends to break it into as many pieces as he thinks will upset you to the point of confronting him directly.”
“Do you know where he’s hidden the pieces?” Dante’s expression was a twisted mix of anger and some sort of humorous pity I couldn’t quite understand.
“So far he has only split the piece once. As you can imagine breaking a shard can have catastrophic consequences, as it is an incomplete form of the mirror. Unfortunately he had someone else do it for him, nonetheless he has slowed down a bit as a result. You should have enough time to hunt down the stray fragment before he makes more and distributes them likewise. It is highly likely that he has hidden the one piece in a place that has some sort of connection to you.”
“Thank you.” Dante had slowly regained control of himself and had resumed a calmer demeanor. “I appreciate all the help you’ve given me. I’ll be returning soon with both pieces.” The Old Man looked concerned for some reason but said nothing. It felt like he doubted that Dante could take on Owen in a direct confrontation, and if he doubted him then I was concerned as well. I already doubted that Dante would take him on in a direct confrontation, it wasn’t really his style.
Dante gave a respectful nod to the Old Man and walked away towards the door. The Old Man turned to the shelf behind him and began fidgeting with objects on display at random. I was confused, and as a result stunned in place. They had just had what I perceived to be a very important conversation and ended it so suddenly and so casually dismissed themselves that I had no idea what to do. After what was probably only been a few seconds of confusion, although it felt like longer in my mind, I walked quickly after Dante who was waiting for me by the door.
“What even just happened?” I asked quietly.
“Exactly what you think. We just conducted business, he gave me information and I gave him reassurance that I could do the work he’s given me. We need the last pieces of the mirror, now we know where to look.”
“But you were hoping he would have the last piece?” He had asked the Old Man for a piece, but there wasn’t much elaboration on the matter.
“He does have the last piece.” Dante assured me as he pushed me out the door and back onto the street. “He will only give it to me, however, directly before it is about to be destroyed so that the mirror cannot be used again.”
“Has it ever been used before?” The way he talked it made me think it had, although I could have just been seriously misreading everything that was going on. Leading me in the completely wrong direction sounded like what Dante would do.
“It has, but on or by who I’m not sure. All I know is that every time I find a piece there’s always a part of someone’s soul in it.”