CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE
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Alaric Sampson
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2nd of Janus, 936 PC
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Alaric had stepped foot in lower Locke on two occasions when he lived in the city. Once to see it, because all good members of the Crimson Nine exposed themselves to the filth they tried to hide. And once to visit a man who’d disrespected Catalina while she was at the market the day before. Their interaction had turned out to be a simple misunderstanding, but that didn’t stop Alaric from breaking the man’s legs. Back then, lower Locke was the scummiest part of the city, but now, with so many of the finer areas in shambles, it was practically fit for a king. Which, in some ways made hiding in Kathar’s home away from home as his third visit to the district feel somewhat elevated and prestigious. At least, that’s what he’d told himself when they arrived at the shitty little shack of a house.
They sat side by side in front of a cracked window, watching the streets for any signs of Lotus and to pass the time before they made their way to the university.
“So, whose pocket are you in these days?” Alaric asked. He blew warm breath into his cupped hands and studied the man’s stern face closely. He looked unfazed by the cold. Guess living in the forest prepares a man for the elements in a way city-life can’t.
Kathar tapped his foot on the flimsy floor. He hadn’t said much of anything since they met up in the alley earlier in the night. Only a few words here and there to explain that he used the house they were in during his visits to Locke. A pitiful excuse for a house – no fireplace, thin walls, and not a single item of decor except the finely crafted furniture Kathar had no doubt made himself with his magic. Alaric always thanked The Creator that his magic did more than shape wood beautifully. Although, if it had, perhaps he would appreciate the craft more.
“Silence is one way of getting a point across,” Alaric said, realizing Kathar lived with a young child. He’d never be the first to ruin an opportunity to sit in a welcomed silence. “Surely you have something to say though. Call me names, insult my mother, whatever will make you feel better.”
Kathar’s eyes never left the window.
Alaric’s hand slid to his chest. He continued talking strictly as a way to muffle the thumping in his chest. “Lovely place you have here. Almost as nice as the den.” He hoped talking about anything other than their rocky past might coax words out of the secretive Purist.
“It gets the job done,” Kathar said.
“Speaking of which. Have you seen Urman lately?” No response. “Odd that with only one friend you would pick such a terrible one.”
“I have more than one friend. And besides, Urman and I were close long before he took the path he chose. And Rellin chose the one he’s on now. You don’t simply abandon a friend because he made choices you don’t agree with.” It was clear Kathar had put a lot of thought into how to justify maintaining a friendship with a killer.
Alaric blew into his hands again. “I can respect that. We all have an Urman in our lives. Mine is Jameson.”
“Talk about demented friendships. You still haven’t killed him?”
“The last I checked, Iris is still alive. So, no. I haven’t killed him yet.” He glanced at Lily who had asked Diedro to show her how to sharpen a knife. “I’ve passed that responsibility to someone new anyway.”
Kathar looked at him for the first time in an hour. “If I ever see him, I will kill him.”
“If you desire to do so you may want to work quickly. You’re at the back of a long line.”
The bang of a Wrecker passing by made Alaric’s finger curl around the arm of the chair. There were a few more bangs before the hideous vehicle appeared in the window frame, moving as slow as Alaric in the morning.
“I miss this,” Alaric said, turning the focus back to their conversation.
“I don’t.”
He expected the answer but not the hatred that spat from Kathar’s lips. “Oh, don’t be like that. It was a mistake. I was in a bad place.”
“You’re still in a bad place. Worse, really.”
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“What does it say in The Book of The Creator?” Alaric asked flippantly. “He who feels evil, sees evil.”
“It also says, where love is absent, hatred will rule,” Kathar said. “You made me abandon any love I felt for you. How could you ever think I would hurt her? I loved her.”
Alaric clenched his teeth. He wanted to refuse the claim, to justify what he’d done, but he couldn’t. “She was my world.”
“And she wasn’t mine?”
“You don’t understand. She was my first. In some ways, my only. I’ve never felt such pride in something. I loved her even more than Catalina. I thought I could handle losing her but Camila was… well…”
Kathar didn’t speak but the glance he gave Alaric was telling, understanding.
“When did Iris block off the tower?” Alaric asked.
“A few years ago. She couldn’t figure out how to tear it down so she had it closed off from the world. I imagine it’s the only time she hasn’t gotten her way. Spoiled bitch.”
Alaric rubbed his chest. He could think of another time she’d been denied but now was not about him. He put his hand in his pocket and wrapped his fingers around the carving inside. As badly as he wanted to pull it out, it would only incriminate him if he let Kathar see it.
Lily and Diedro were standing now. The mercenary was showing her how to properly use the knife. Lily spouted off a long list of questions you might hear a young assassin ask her master. Diedro answered them with dull practicality that somehow sounded more intimidating than if he’d have a single ounce of enthusiasm.
“She did a terrible job matching the stones,” Alaric said.
Kathar’s chest revealed the faintest of laughs but no noise came out of him. “Ceralline would have hated it. That woman was a stickler for everything matching perfectly.”
“Aye, she took after her mother in that regard.” In many ways, really, but he didn’t dare try to talk about them. Not with sorrow crawling up his throat and into his voice.
Kathar grinned at a memory in his mind. “I remember when she came home the day she’d convinced Captain Meldar to change the colors of the buttons on their uniforms to gold so they matched better. She smiled for hours.”
Alaric chuckled. “I remember seeing her that morning. She’d been a woman on a mission.”
They each let their own memories entertain them for a few moments.
“What are you doing in Locke?” Kathar asked.
There was no necessity to hide anything but Kathar, he wanted Iris dead for many of the same reasons as Alaric. “I came to get my hands on the formula.”
Kathar turned in his chair. “Iris’ formula?”
“Aye.”
“You know where it is?”
“I believe it to be in the university. We’re heading there shortly to retrieve it. I’d love for you to join us.” Even with resentment covering his soul like a thin layer of dust he couldn’t deny how useful Kathar was as a fighter. Not to mention he could use him as bait to lure Urman closer if it came to it.
Kathar’s eyes narrowed. “Alaric, Urman had the formula when I saw him in the Emerald Forest. He was bringing it here to trade it for information about his brother.”
Ames wasn’t lying. “With who?”
“I don’t know but no one at the university. He was planning on going to the docks.”
“Where is he now?”
“I don’t know.” The same rage Alaric had felt in Capricia’s chambers started to rise in his chest again. Were there any three words that could be more infuriating? “I was with him in the forest until he wandered off in the night. A woman wrapped up in chains appeared not long after. Threatened to kill me if I followed her or Urman then checked my things for the formula. When she was done she stared into my eyes for so long I could feel myself growing older by the time she walked into the woods.”
“Manaya,” Diedro said behind them.”
Alaric said. “You say Urman was heading to the docks?”
“Aye.”
Alaric rose and looked at Diedro. “Looks like you’re going to get to kill Tripelthin after all.”
Diedro nodded then started putting his weapons away. He handed one of the smaller knives to Lily and said, “This is yours now.”
Kathar stood. “Where are you going?”
Alaric turned to him, putting both hands on his shoulders. As he stared at the man he gathered the strength to say, “I’m sorry, Kathar. So, so sorry. Ceralline loved you very much. I wish you would have had a chance to make a life with her. I would have been proud to call you family. No, that’s not right. I am proud to call you family.” He paused. Swallowed. “I blamed you because I thought you should have protected her but I know you never wanted to hurt her and if you could have kept her from the horrors of the world, you would have. I should have never accused you. I was desperate to find her killer. I was furious that everyone else thought it was an accident. I beg you for forgiveness.”
Kathar locked eyes with him and nodded his head like the good man he was. Alaric had looked Kathar in the eye hundreds of times when he and Ceralline were together. He had searched for flaws in Kathar’s character and tried to find reasons to deny the man his daughter, there was never a reason to doubt him, never a blemish to speak of. He was a man you want your daughter to love. Perhaps that’s why as they stared at each other, Alaric could see a crack in his perfection. There was a secret hidden somewhere behind Kathar’s eyes, a pain that wasn’t just for Ceralline, but now was not the time to solve that riddle. They had to get to Tripelthin before he got away.
“To the docks then,” Alaric said.