Ghost pulled Alistair onto the shore of the young mage’s own mind. He placed him there with his arms crossed over his chest, Alistair pale, his long dark hair nearly covering his eyes.

“I’ll get all of this figured out,” he told him. “It’s better you rest here. You don’t have to trust me, but trust me.”

Ghost stood for a moment near Alistair as he solidified his plans for what would happen next.

First, he would visit Beth Dash, the banker who had set up the account he ‘shared’ with Alistair. This was something he needed to modify now. Following that, Ghost would head underground and find Tiuri the fence. It was crucial that he checked on Felix without physically going to one of his mansions, especially after what they had heard from Kanda.

“She says that she has the dungeon core card,” Alistair had told Ghost earlier after a spectral conversation with the older girl.

“So Tarnis actually coughed it up?” Ghost asked.

“Apparently. And she’s hell-bent on using it on Felix as soon as possible.”

“Meaning our trip at the end of the week to Solaria and to Marrowstone from there? Not good,” Ghost had said at the time. “She’s getting too bold. This is a risk to us.”

“I don’t think we can stop Kanda at this point.”

“I agree, but I also think it’s not as hard to stop people as you may think.”

“If you’re about to give me yet another assassin ‘it’s fine to kill some people’ kind of quote, spare me.”

“It is fine to kill some people,” Ghost said without skipping a beat.

And he meant it.

Now, as he took possession of Alistair’s body later that night, Ghost accessing both his sword and the Dracolich dagger that he had Alistair arrange before falling asleep, he thought about some of the deaths he had been part of.

As the Rune Railpath slowed, the train making noises as it came to a complete stop, Ghost also thought about where all of this was heading, the final arrangements he would need to make, and what would happen next.

Alistair deserved a chance.

Ghost was certain of that. He was certain of it because there had been a time when he too was naive like Alistair, when Ghost himself was on the precipice of becoming the man he would become. Ghost had been pushed in the wrong direction at this point, so far into the path of darkness that it seemed natural.

For many years, it even seemed right.

Everyone had something they were good at, and it turned out Ghost was good at killing people. Why not turn this into a lucrative business? Why deny his instincts and the way he had been raised? Just as a battledeck mage had their border tasks, Ghost had murder tasks.

He became desensitized to it. Delivering death with precision became completely natural. He thought about it all the time. How to strike faster, how to deceive better, how to operate in a smarter way. It was part of who he was, a bringer of slaughter, a man with murder on his mind.

Ghost didn’t want this for Alistair.

And this wasn’t because Alistair wasn’t capable of taking this role. Ghost had recognized in the way he had fought back several times now that Alistair would have made an excellent assassin especially with his battledeck powers. He was smart, he could be ruthless, and with the right guidance, Alistair would become an absolute monster. There would only be one assassin like him in that sense, Kanda, and she was a target that they would have likely eliminated anyway had they gone down this path.

But they weren’t going to go down this path, which was why Ghost needed to visit the banker and the fence.

The hood of Alistair’s jacket now over his head, Ghost left the train and kept to the shadows much better than Alistair could ever hope to. There were Baronblade trainees out, yet Ghost was able to avoid all of them as he reached the city center, where he stole a horse and took off toward Beth Dash’s mansion.

After crossing a bridge, and narrowly avoiding a Solarian guard patrol that led him down a dark alley filled with drunks and debris, Ghost neared the banker’s mansion. He used a tree to make it to a first floor rooftop, where he checked windows until he found one that was open. Ghost slipped inside, careful not to let the sheath of his sword clack against the wood of the windowsill.

“Eep!”

He was greeted by a young girl, who sat up in her bed and tugged her blanket to her mouth.

“Shhhh,” Ghost told her as he registered the sheer terror in her eyes. He expected the girl to scream again, but she never did, the girl trembling nervously instead. She pulled the blanket completely over her head.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Ghost took this as an opportunity to hide himself behind a large wardrobe, one close to the door. All Ghost needed to do was open it and let himself into the room beyond. But he had to make sure the girl thought he was a figment of her imagination, a literal ghost, first. He remained there in the shadows, hoping she would go back to bed.

Ghost whispered a curse as he heard the girl shift her blanket aside. This was followed by a creak on the floor as she placed a single foot down. She had just placed the other foot when he elbowed the side of the wardrobe.

“Eep!” The girl yelped and jumped back into the bed, where she pulled the blanket over her head again.

Seizing on this opportunity, Ghost moved to the door, let himself out, and shut it behind him without making a sound. Once in the hallway, he oriented himself, the assassin cursing under his breath that he didn’t have access to Noctarii in this mode, not without waking Alistair.

Beth’s house was massive. He didn’t exactly know the direction of their bedroom, and he didn’t need to find out when the girl’s door swung open and she came charging out, her blanket now over her shoulders.

“Mom!” the girl shouted as she ran her top speed toward the end of the hallway. “Mom!”

Ghost followed her, always far enough behind that she wouldn’t actually see him. He slipped into a storage closet just as she reached Beth’s door. The girl exploded into her parents’ bedroom, which had a way of waking another sibling, a boy. Ghost could hear him in the room beyond, grumbling that his sister was too loud.

“There’s nothing there; it was just a nightmare, little babe,” Beth said as she followed her daughter out. She turned to speak to her husband, who remained in the bed: “I’ll be back. Just try to sleep.”

Beth pulled a loose robe over her exposed chest and took her daughter’s hand. She headed back down the hallway, Ghost following behind at a far distance. He waited outside the young girl’s bedroom as Beth checked everything.

Ghost remained silent as the banker spoke to her daughter in hushed whispers, assuring her everything would be okay.

Five minutes passed.

Then ten.

Finally, Beth exited the bedroom. She turned, and as she started off, Ghost stepped up behind her. “Not a word,” he said, the woman immediately startled. He was prepared to cover her mouth, yet she was used to this kind of thing by now, Beth simply tensing up and relaxing her shoulders.

“I told you, never my home,” Beth whispered, barely able to hide her agitation.

“There isn’t a lot of time.”

She slowly turned to him. “Downstairs,” she said she fixed her robes and headed toward the stairwell. “Now.”

Ghost followed her down into the kitchen, where she poured herself a glass of water. “You came into my daughter’s bedroom window? Are you fucking kidding me?”

“It was the only one that was open. My apologies.”

Anger flared behind Beth’s eyes. “What the hell are you doing? I thought we had an agreement.”

“I need to confirm something and there isn’t a lot of time. I want to make sure that another person has access to my bank account.”

“Another person aside from Gerald Starblack?”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“Alistair Blackstar.”

Beth gave him a funny look. “You can’t be serious. Is this another made up name?”

“Would it matter if it was?”

“No, not really. Alistair Blackstar, yes? Gerald Starblack, and Alistair Blackstar.” The woman stared at him crossly.

“I only want you to add his name after the weekend. The start of next week.”

“Why?”

“I have my reasons. Pay yourself for your services, pay yourself whatever you’d like for being disturbed here tonight. Get something nice for your daughter to take her mind off whatever it was she may or may not have seen. I didn’t want to have to visit you this way, but it is important to me.”

“Fine,” Beth said as she kept her arms crossed over her chest. “Alistair Blackstar. I’ll add it to the account.” She peered at him a moment longer. “Something seems different about you.”

“How so?”

“Are you okay?”

“I’ve never been better.”

“I suppose it doesn’t matter,” Beth finally told him. “I would offer you a glass of water, but I’d rather you leave. Now.”

“I’m sorry to disturb you. I can let myself out the front door.”

Beth followed him to the front door and he opened it. He turned about one last time. It seemed like she wanted to say something, but she never did, the banker remaining with her arms crossed over her chest.

Ghost moved on. He mounted his stolen horse again and traveled through Solaria until he came to an entrance to the vast network of debauchery that lived in the catacombs of the city.

This time, he knew where he was going.

There are always sideshows and freaks down here, the threat of violence around every corner, and an equal amount of suspicion. It was an environment he understood, one that understood him. He pushed through it all as he reached the area where Tiuri the fence kept his shop.

The man wore even more gold jewelry than he had the last time Ghost had seen him. His eyes fell upon Ghost and he grinned. “I was wondering when I would see you again.”

“I’m here for information.” Ghost produced a bit of money he had gotten in Lumina and placed it on the table. “Will this do?”

“It will,” Tiuri said as he quickly put the money away. “I will tell you everything I know. For a price.”

“I just paid you.”

“I suppose you did. That was supposed to be a joke.”

“It’s not good to joke about things like that.”

“My apologies,” Tiuri said as he picked up a bell and rang it. He shrugged and placed it away. “What do you want to know?” His eyes flickered to the back of the room. Ghost watched them for a moment until they returned to his face.

Ghost casually placed his hand on the hilt of his blade. “Felix Bancroft. Anything you know.”

“Bancroft? Bancroft has gone mad. He’s ordered several of the people he works with to his estate, and they haven’t been seen since.”

“He must have only gotten back a day ago.”

“Yes, since then. There are Baronblade trainees everywhere now, including the catacombs.” Once again, Tiuri’s eyes jumped to the back of the room.

Ghost turned as two masked guards stepped into the space.

“You wouldn’t,” Ghost told Tiuri.

“I’m afraid I already have.”