Velli

“Hello, Carreon,” I say.

He blinks a few times before shaking his head. “Velli.” He looks around and pushes himself off the chimney I propped him against. He sets himself back down with a groan over his injuries. “Whadda ya…? Where are we? Is this a roof?”

“Yes.” I take a seat beside him to get a better view of the moon. It’s out tonight, and it’s massive. A couple of people are out flying as well, but they don’t interest me.

“What happened to Wulf?”

“Dead.”

“Oh, Division, geez, man, I don’t want to die. How do I get out of this? What do I do? Don’t make me fight anyone else.”

“No, no, you won’t fight anyone else. I have a plan C. You have a new order. Once you complete this, things will get much easier.”

His eyes bulge, and his jaw drops.

“Thank you, thank you. You know I have a Weakness, so you’ll be blessed for this—”

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

“No, I won’t.” I’m tired of his nonsense. “You’ll go to the Nightmare Couple and attempt to rob them. You’ll get caught on purpose. Then, when they start torturing you—not before, this is important—you are to tell them I, Velli, have the map of the Heirs’ prison.” I raise my hand to silence him. “I’m aware I don’t. You will tell them that anyway, though. Don’t worry about what happens next. You are to never mention me beforehand or give any indication that this is a setup.”

“If they torture me, they’ll kill me after.” He gulps hard and cries freely. “I got people to feed, man. Not a family but… well, me, I’m people.”

“We all die eventually.”

“But now, but now…”

“But now you must die so someone I love can live.”

He grabs at my feet. I don’t flinch. He won’t hurt me. He places his head there and begs. “Please, please, I know you believe I’m evil, and maybe I have been, but I have a Weakness, you understand. It’s because of my Weakness.”

We all have an excuse, don’t we? A reason why we can be monsters. I did just order a man to his death. He fought well, though. What did he call me…? Penance. He took his penance well. He fought with honor, and he probably would have won if he weren’t fighting an Heir. That’s good, isn’t it? To fight with honor. And if even pure women beating scum like Wulf can do some good… perhaps. Carreon wipes his tears on my feet.

Dream’s words come back to me. “Be kind to those, even the cruel and selfish.”

Okay, Dream, we’ll do it your way. I will try to be kind.

“Carreon, fine. You may live, and you won’t even have to be tortured. However, after this mission, you shall remain in my service.”

He kisses my feet, and I formulate a new plan.