Keith Edward English's Blog, page 5

Phalax Breaks out of Jail

If you are even remotely interested in Thoughts of Steel, me in general, or fiction anything, you’ll want to get in here. It’s such a teaser too that it’ll surely piss you the fuck off… in a good way.

***

In the past month or so—he had begun to lose track of time—Phalax had awoken nearly every day to the sound of screaming, thrashing men, or a knock on his door signaling the arrival of a meal or his wife. One particular day, the former shook him from his sleep. He paid no attention to the racket, even when he heard steel ring out through the hallways, and just tried to fall back asleep. This noise was especially loud and prolonged, as if a band of marauders had invaded the prison and the guards were in the process of fighting off the lot of them.

Daily trips from the cell and out into the daylight kept Phalax sane and also allowed him a mental map of the layout of the facility. He imagined crazed men running through the corridors or beating down the only exit to the outside, a large set of double doors with steel bands across each.

With a renewed curiosity, Phalax got to his feet and pressed himself up against the door. Men screamed, steel clattered, and thuds pounded the walls. What caught Phalax’s attention was that the screams weren’t only screams of agony and anger but also screams of terror. The place is under attack, he thought. And then, all at once, he knew what was attacking.

The tome he had asked Felicia to bring him sat in a corner of his cell. By the wan daylight that streaked through the small, barred window up the back wall of cell, Phalax had read through the entire book in the past month. He had spent a considerable amount of time reading through the section about summoning. In these passages, Phalax discovered that the author of the book claimed to have access to another realm where infernal creatures resided. From this, he could pull demons forth onto Zepzier. The author then discovered that there were many other realms and that each was tied together. Most interesting was that one of the barriers between realms had frayed.

Phalax reached his hands to the eye slit in the cell door and tried sliding the smooth panel out of the way. After several unsuccessful attempts, the metal finally slid to the right. He stood at an angle and looked down the hall as far as the small hole would allow.

The end of the hallway was hidden from view but Phalax could hear something big pounding in his direction, accompanied by a series of terror-stricken screams. Finally, a soldier clad in full plate mail awkwardly and slowly ran into Phalax’s limited cone of vision. The soldier was the source of the terrified wails but not the cause of the pounding footsteps.

Phalax watched the man go for as long as was physically possible then turned his head back toward where the knight had come from, only to witness a mass of flesh fly past the small opening. Whatever it was, its skin looked crimson, and Phalax had to keep himself from jumping back at the sight. Phalax could then only rely on sound to keep track of what was going on, for the soldier, and whatever chased him, had moved past his field of vision. New screams of terror came from the soldier, and then a roar drowned out all other sounds and shook cell doors.

The roar ceased and the screams were replaced by a gurgling noise. Then, he heard a gut-wrenching, sucking sound, and images flooded his mind. Fear threatened to claim him but before he could panic, a huge blast came from behind him and showered him with pelting rocks that cut and bruised his unarmored back.

Phalax turned to see a small hole, near the back-right corner of his cell, through which light spilled. He also realized that the cell that housed the inmate to his right had been the target of the explosion. Phalax could tell that the entire back wall of that cell had been pulverized. The man screamed and pleaded as something sprang into the cell, visible only as a blur when it passed by the man-sized hole in Phalax’s cell. An ear-splitting scream caused such terror to take hold of Phalax that his knees buckled. Then, as suddenly as it was issued, the scream ceased and a splash of liquid could be heard.

Following the creature’s appearance was another blast of flame that tore through the wall of the cell that held its door, and blew the whole structure to smithereens. Another opening was made in the upper-right corner of Phalax’s cell; that time, the debris cut and smashed his face. Between the two breaches to Phalax’s cell, the wall that once separated him from whatever was coming into the prison was just big enough to conceal his body. Creatures sprang forward, straight through the cell and into the prison. Phalax could just barely make out dark skin and glittering fangs and claws as the entities sped past.

Better if he was hiding, he thought, rather than in plain sight. He somersaulted forward and ended his roll by springing to his feet and pressing his back up against the wall that was just barely wide enough to hide his body. The roll hurt him; the debris littering the floor tore into his back and opened fresh cuts.

Phalax uttered a hiss through gritted teeth, quietly cursing the injuries, and listened as something big proceeded through the opening fairly quickly. It seemed to stop short of continuing from the cell into the main prison. It let out a deafening screech that had Phalax covering his ears. Finally, it leapt through the opening and crashed into the hall.

Phalax didn’t relish the idea of trying to escape only to be confronted by some nightmarish horror, but also didn’t want to sit and wait for such a being to discover and slaughter him.

Finally, after waiting a couple of breaths and hearing no more of the beings coming through the portal they had blasted open, Phalax stuck his head out of the small hole on his right. He didn’t see any creatures stalking toward the prison and decided to slip through the small hole and make a run for his house.

As he maneuvered and climbed through the small opening, he noticed that the outer wall of the cell to the right of the one he now climbed into was completely destroyed. As he was leaving the jail and stepping into the glorious fall sunlight, his eyes fell upon the remains of the inmate. His torso and face had been ripped to shreds and he was mostly buried in stone from the wreckage of the wall.

Incapable of looking away from the dead man, Phalax backpedaled until he tripped and fell out of the prison and onto grass. Terrified at having seen the dead man so horribly mangled, he rolled onto his stomach and pressed his forehead into the cool earth. Sobs wracked his body and tears began to well in his eyes. He couldn’t stop, though; he couldn’t give in to the more fragile side of his humanity. He thought of his family and that was enough to dispel his fright and get him back to his feet.

With wet, sullen eyes, Phalax beheld a field of yellow-green abound with white trees whose leaves were yellow, red, and every color in between, covering and falling from the branches. He would have smiled at the beauty of the day on any other day. The sunlight and fresh, cool air felt so serene and pure to him that Phalax feared he might actually forget to keep moving. He’d been in the prison for what felt like so long…He ripped himself from the moment and sprinted along the prison wall, which was perforated with holes similar to the one that he had just escaped from.

Phalax made his way to the front of the prison without incident to behold a sight that struck sheer hopelessness into his soul. He leaned against the wall of the prison and stared out at the scene, trying to make some sense out of the chaos. There were creatures not of this world— demons, he knew, like the one that had attacked him, but bigger. Dozens of them ripped through guards, soldiers, prisoners, and civilians without hesitation. The defenders barely held their ground let alone struck back with any visible success; they were too disorganized. Many people and animals lay dead on the ground. One such corpse was sitting atop his steed, trotting around the killing field without control.

Although every fiber of his being screamed that he should go elsewhere, anywhere other than there, he had a plan. Phalax defied the paralysis his mind had set upon his body. He forced his joints to shake free of the cement that held them fast and prepared himself to plunge into the pandemonium.

Phalax paid no heed to the surrounding danger and the promise death and sprinted for the horse carrying the corpse. The horse was in the middle of a congregation of people near the edge of a line of trees, occasionally trampling people to the ground and dooming them to be slain by three demons harrying the bunch. Phalax sped past a demon, within inches of brushing against the five-foot tall, black-skinned creature. The demon had a mess of mangled, gray hair that fell around two short horns sprouting from its forehead and long, lanky arms that draped past its knees and ended in dagger-long talons that ripped the people to shreds.

Phalax had to shove past a hysterical woman to reach the steed. Without warning, the horse quickly turned and kicked. Phalax twisted out of the way but the woman clinging to him was pulled right into the path of the horse’s kick. Her head was smashed and she was lost beneath the mass of the frantic crowd. Phalax quickly spun to the horse’s side and ripped the corpse’s feet from the stirrups, then yanked the dead rider from the horse’s back. Following the stallion as it commenced another quick turn, Phalax bent low, picked up an abandoned halberd with a broken handle, then leapt up onto the horse’s back and kicked his feet into its flanks.

At first the horse’s only response was a quick buck, but then, once its two front legs landed, it took off and trampled a demon caught off guard by the charge. Phalax urged the horse down the path from the prison to the courthouse and witnessed the same abominations in front of the courthouse, only this massacre saw far fewer defenders and more civilian casualties than did the prison. Phalax cursed himself but he had to make it to his house, which was on the northwest side of the city, and he was currently on the northeast. So he sped past the dying people he had once sworn to protect with his life, only offering glances of regret and sorrow instead of the protective might of his lawful arm.

Phalax traversed the city roads with little resistance and hoped that by some act of the gods, the infernal creatures hadn’t made their way awfully far through the city yet. At one point a demon did orient on him. Covered in green scales that shined like armor in the sun and resting on all-fours, it resembled a canine with two rows of bony spikes lining either side of its back. Even though Phalax steered his mount away from the demon, it still leapt the six-foot gap to intercept them. Before the demon was within striking distance, its jaw popped open and revealed long fangs. The demon could’ve swallowed the horse’s head if it had caught hold of it. At the last possible moment, Phalax swung the halberd and cleaved the demon’s top jaw from its skull and sent it staggering and thrashing to the earth.

Without looking back, Phalax raced through the streets all the way to his house where he could see small packs of demons lurking around buildings and slaying people inside and outside their homes. Phalax jumped from his mount before the horse had even stopped moving and landed in a sprint that carried him straight up his steps and into his house. The interior smelled like brimstone, and although Phalax didn’t see any of the abominations, he knew that they were, and might still be, somewhere within.

Splintered wood along the walls pointed him down the main hallway. He heard his wife scream and something savage took hold of his body. Without a thought, he sprinted to the back room and burst through the open doorway.

A LATE Christmas Present: Monolithic (Ch. 8, 9, & 10)

Fal makes love then seals a deal. Vesik enters the monolith then finds a monster. The boys go drinking.

8

 

After Fal, Koe, and Alitor escorted Vesik to his apartment, they headed towards their barracks.

Silence had fallen over the group and Koe wondered why his normally talkative friend had shut up. He felt uneasy for quite a while and was about to speak when Fal finally resumed his normal character and said, “I think we got something to play around with here, gentlemen. Al?”

The big man smiled a devious grin and said, “Right you are.”

Fal’s eyes fell on Koe and he wanted to look away. “What? Fal, why are you staring at me?”

“Well, what about you? The Black Street case. Come now, Koe. We talked about maybe going over the Watch about a few things; this could be a good opportunity to do that.”

“I thought you guys meant taking long breaks and overplaying an injury here and there for time off, shit like that. What are you two getting at?”

Al smirked and looked away, giving Koe the feeling that the big man thought he was fussing over nothing. Fal said, “Well nothing solid yet. Why not just entertain us, Koe? We’ll spitball and go from there.”

Although Koe didn’t want to hear a single word more on the subject, he obliged. It felt as though they were messing with forces beyond their understanding just by talking about this. Dark shadows clinging to Cavia’s corners, alleys, and doorways held prying eyes that absorbed the intent of the three men and damned them to a terrible fate for it. Koe looked around warily as they moved.

Fal turned back to Al, then said, “Anything in that shiny dome?”

Al was slow to respond as he pondered his scheme. He was thorough in presenting a plan whenever he did, Koe knew.

The big man said, “Yeah. But let’s talk about it in a more private place. And, if my idea is going to work out, we need Henkel with us tonight.”

Fal looked askance at the big man and said, “Who?”

Koe replied, “Our fourth bunk mate. You sure he’s at the barracks?”

As Fal remembered who the man was, Al said, “Not completely but I’m betting he is. That kid doesn’t go out much at all. Every time we get back there he’s asleep. And we know he works the same shifts we do, we share a room.”

Fal asked, “Henkel won’t do anything with us. He doesn’t do anything other than work, shit, and sleep.”

A devious smile crept across Al’s face as he said, “That’s exactly what I’m betting on, the latter I mean. He’ll need money for tonight. And he’ll go out, we’ll convince him to. Tonight, we go the Serpent’s Eye to gamble some money away.”

Now it was Koe’s turn to look oddly at Alitor. He knew that the whole gambling operation was run by the gang. Why would they go there to actually gamble? But then Al had always been good at creating schemes that worked out. A cold pit of trepidation opened in Koe’s stomach and the foolhardy grins of his two friends did nothing to shrink it.

 

***

 

Wooden chips squished beneath Fal’s foot, so soaked through with ale, liquor and vomit as they were. He folded his hand then looked down at the spongy chunks of wood, pressed on a few with his toe. Then, he looked back up to the scarred, water-marked table and the thick cards sliding, and sometimes snagging, on the table. The hand was over, Henkel, sitting to his left, had just lost two silvers, enough coin to buy a hearty dinner and ample amount of wine. Henkel cursed and looked into the small box sitting in his lap.

Fal hoped he wouldn’t leave just yet; he needed Henkel at his side as he dug a hole through his own money then racked up some debt. Henkel shut the box, more copper and silver gleaming in his hand. Fal smirked, turned his head subtly and sighed, caught Koe’s gaze as the man rolled dice, then looked back. He nudged Henkel then said, “Alright, come one now, Henkel. Let’s quit screwing around and make some money, eh?”

Henkel nodded but looked at the dealer’s hands intently. Fal himself thought he’d seen some card switching once before, but he didn’t bring any attention to it.

Pipe smoke suddenly accosted Fal but he didn’t mind too much. It was a little rude to blow smoke into one’s face but he’d be smoking a pipe in this environment if not for the need for a clear mind. He turned to see a man to his right holding a pipe and showing a smile missing a few teeth. A thick mustache crept down over his upper lip and a bushy beard grew from his chin and cheeks. His deep eyes smiled more than his lips. The man said, “Feeling a stroke of luck, are we?”

Fal determined that this man worked for the gang. There was probably one of these fellows at each table and each game to ensure that any foul play was caught. “I am. I feel the gods smiling on me today. Just you watch.” Fal winked then turned back to the table.

In unison, the men and women at the table tossed in two coppers and the dealer began casting cards to the players. The short, thin man had a long sleeve black shirt on and failed to smile the entire time. Two cards ended before Fal and he flipped them over. Two thieves. The other players winced at his hand but he wanted to throw his hands up in joy.

The only way to beat the dealer was by him drawing two wizards. Anything else, a single sailor, king or queen, would kill his thieves. Fal disregarded the hands around him, even when Henkel slammed the table with a palm in joy. Fal had no interest in what the other man had drawn. The dealer called for each person to bet, one at a time. It came to Fal and he slapped down ten silvers. The man with the pipe let out a low whistle and then chuckled to himself, obviously enjoying Fal’s idiocy.

The dealer looked just as hard at Fal and he knew he needed to look serious. He stared back for a moment, then looked at the man’s still hands. It was pivotal that he act like winning this hand was his goal, not that it was throwing money away.

Slowly, the dealer flipped over a card. A wizard. Fal leaned back and wiped his forehead, feigning relief. The group had a mix of reactions, Henkel grinning as his one thief killed the wizard. Now his king was poised to win without complication, unless a queen came up.

Another round of betting ensued and Fal opened his purse. Within, was just two silvers and five coppers. He dumped it all onto the table, warranting looks of disbelief, even from the stoic dealer. Henkel threw in another silver. The dealer looked around slowly, taking in the large amount of money sitting on the table.

Everyone stopped breathing as the dealer took a card from the top of a deck and flipped it over. A king looked up at the table and noise erupted from the players. Fal groaned and rubbed his hands down his face. Henkel stood from his seat and threw his hands up, hollering in joy. The dealer took money from those who lost, paid those who won, and still ended up in better standing from the hand.

Fal knew what he had to do now. A throng of men sat at a table against the back wall on a raised platform. The table had a thick base and Fal couldn’t see behind it but believed at least some store of money was back there. He told Henkel to keep his seat open, scooped up a wide-brimmed archer’s hat from the floor and donned it, then walked over to the table. The men saw him approaching, stopped conversing, put their drinks down, and gestured for him to sit down. He took his chair and said, “You guys mind lending some money to a poor man?” Fal made sure to keep his head down as he spoke, the brim of the hat running just above the head of the person he spoke with.

One of them said, “Sure. Here, give us your name.” The man pulled out a piece of paper and Fal said, “Henkel Arbhast.”

“How much, Henkel?”

“Twenty silvers.”

The man put the pencil down and looked up into Fal’s eyes. “Twenty? You sure you want that kind of debt?”

“Completely.”

“Done.” The man scribbled more on the small note, stashed it in a pocket, then turned in his seat and bent low. Fal heard clicks as the man undoubtedly unlocked a chest. Five at a time, the man slapped silver down onto the table. Fal waited for all twenty to sit there, then he scooped them up and stashed them into the small leather bag at his hip.

Fal tipped his head to the men then said, “I’ll have this repaid tonight. My luck is sure to turn around. Thank you.”

The men at the table simply nodded and Fal turned and headed back to his seat.

Fal had a role to play now, he needed to seem like he believed his luck had turned, but not throw his money away. He needed to fold when he knew he had terrible hands, bet only when his chances of winning looked promising. And he did just that.

After an hour, Fal was cleaned out again, and Henkel had lost enough coin to try leaving twice before. Keeping Henkel at the table until he ran out of money was important though, so Fal had griped each time the man tried to leave. The last few hands, Henkel merely watched and the dealer threatened to kick him out of the Serpent’s Eye unless he planned on playing. Fal started betting a bit more aggressively to get rid of his money. Fal couldn’t be sure, but he believed that Henkel ended up out ten silvers from the night’s gambling.

Although distraught, Henkel thanked Fal for the night out, then left. Fal shook his hand, then looked over his shoulder to see Koe seated at the small bar in the corner of the Serpent’s Eye. Koe left his empty glass and walked out.

Fal made his way back to the men at the table. He took a seat and stuttered before saying, “I lost it all.”

The man who had given him the silver earlier smirked then said, “No worries, Henkel. You’re good for it right? I can count on you coming back in no more than ten days from now with twenty-five silvers right?”

Fal was quiet for a moment. He slowly moved his head back and forth as he pretended to think. Finally, he said, “I’d like a room please. Do you think you could give me a room tonight?”

The man sat back and looked to his partners. They shared a wary glance and several nodded. The man looked back to Fal then said, “You think you can pay for it?”

Now it was time for Fal to sound confident. He needed to show these men that he knew what he was getting himself into so they knew he wanted to make a deal. “Yes. And a whore.”

“You must have some valuable assets to cover all that.”

“I do. Worth twice as much as I owe now, I’d say.” Fal spoke with confidence, he truly felt confident, but he needed to show some amount of nervousness. He did not smile once, he wouldn’t hold the gaze of the man before him, and shut his eyes for a brief moment after speaking.

A man from the corner of the table said, “Room and whore comes to twenty-five silvers.” A key suddenly tumbled across the table and landed in front of Fal. He turned to see the man at the corner of the table sneering at him. “Room six.”

Fal swiped the key from the table and made a quick exit. He found a set of stairs near the bar and followed them up to a thin hallway. He passed rooms with small painted numbers on them until he found room six. He used the key and went into the dark room. A single candle could be seen on a small table and it was unlit, he’d leave it that way to keep the room dark. Open shutters let moonlight into the tiny room, providing enough light for Fal to maneuver past the small table and to the bed.

As Fal moved deeper into the room, the smell of pipe smoke and sweat exited his nostrils. Instead, he began to smell the musty odor of the water-rotted wood, the stale blankets and rough rug used as a pillow, a hint of sex as if the room had just recently been used by two lovers, and finally the crisp night air, staunching the others. Fal sat on the bed, immediately feeling disgusted by the greasy feel of the blankets, and waited.

Not much time passed before a soft knock came at his door. The door swung inward and a woman stepped in. From the light spilling in from the hallway, Fal saw thick lines of makeup above her eyes and deep red lips. A thin dress with beads sown into the bodice wrapped her curvy frame and a shawl fell from her shoulders. She shut the door and glided across the room to Fal, all in silence.

Fal took her hand and kissed the back of it, noticing as he leaned close to her that her strong perfume masked all the other odors of the room. “What’s your name, gorgeous?”

Those red lips turned up in a smile. “Sarah. And who might you be, kind sir?”

“My name is Fal.” He kissed her hand again but noticed as she pulled it away slightly. He let it go and she stepped back. “They told you my name was Henkel. Well, it isn’t. Listen, I need your help. I’m going to give these guys some information that will get me into some gold. I need you to simply provide an alibi for me when it comes down to it. The Watch will look into this and they might figure me out. All I need you to do is tell them you and I were out all night. You do that and I’ll give you forty silver.”

Despite the lack of light, Fal saw as Sarah’s eyes widened in surprise. She didn’t know the whole story and that’s how Fal wanted. She only needed to know enough. After she heard what information he gave to the gang, she’d never suspect that he was the one who would eventually sell them out. After this was all over, Fal would be sitting pretty in the money with his friends and then he’d be a savior to the Watch.

Sarah was quiet for too long, thinking too much. Fal said, “Sarah, it’s simple. And you may not even need to help me. Either way, I’ll pay you a quarter in two days and the rest after it’s all said and done. I just need the Watch to think I was elsewhere tonight. To the people here though, my name is Henkel, just to cover my own ass.”

A slight grin slid across Sarah’s face and Fal wanted to laugh. His plan was working so well. He just hoped that Koe and Alitor were taking care of Henkel at the station. Sarah said, “Let’s shake on it, Fal.”

Her thin hand reached forward and Fal took it. He then pulled her close to him. She gasped but smiled once she ended up straddling him. Fal breathed in her sweet scent and then ran his hands up and down her ribs and back, caressing the top of her butt as he did so. Sarah began writhing against him, pressing her pelvis down onto his lap.

Fal reached up and grasped her neck with two hands then pulled her lips down to his. He’d never before cemented a deal like this, but he knew he’d enjoy it. Something in the way Sarah moved against Fal and kissed him made him believe they had a connection, even if only on a physical level. Fal smiled as she leaned away and reached down for his belt.

 

***

 

After arrangements had been made for a meeting place in two days, Sarah left Fal to wait in the room. It wasn’t long until a rough knock came at his door. Fal said, “Come in.”

The door swung open and in came three men. Fal didn’t recognize any of them and figured it was good that these men hadn’t seen him before. If they tried to identify him later, they’d be going off of a man they only saw in a dark room.

“Henkel, what have you got for us?” one man, a mop of blonde hair spilling from his head and thick chops riding his cheeks, said. The other two men stood to the side of the blonde man, each holding a club in a hand. They’d use them if needed, but it was plain to see that they didn’t intend to. They believed that Fal had the information to cover his debts.

“First, what I’m going to tell you is expensive. In fact, it’s worth your entire operation here, the pull game you guys have going, everything you do in Cavia. Twenty gold is my price.”

The blonde man smiled wide, hiding the shock he must have felt from the steep price. “That’s ten times more than your debt. Let’s hear it, then we’ll price it.”

“No. I’m telling you what it’s worth. That isn’t negotiable. And, I’m not going to give you everything until you pay me what I’m asking. I’ll give you what you need to save your collective asses this time, but that’s it. The rest won’t cost any more than what I’ve already asked.”

The club-wielding men seemed annoyed at Fal’s bravado. They shuffled, slapped the club against their thighs, and adopted menacing smiles.

The blonde man said, “That certainly is expensive information. Five gold.”

“Twenty. And you keep pulling my dick around and I’ll walk out right now.”

“Henkel, you try to leave, and you’ll never walk again.”

“Don’t think you three would take me without a fight. I’m going to say this once more, try to listen this time. What I have to tell you, will only come out of me if I’m paid. Unless you hear what I have to say, you’re all done with. If I don’t make it back to where I need to be tonight, word goes out about where and when to hit you guys. Now that you listened, what are you going to do? Agree to pay me what I ask, or face the odds, which are stacked very highly against you?”

“You can’t tell me what it’s worth without me knowing what it is. But, shit that would put us away for good is serious. I can tell you that we’ll pay heavily for something good. So, what do you have to tell us?”

“The Watch knows where you operate your pull game from. Tomorrow, they’re going to tear through that place and take all of you with it. So, you have the rest of tonight to pack up and get the hell out. Twenty gold if you don’t mind.”

The blonde man looked at Fal’s hand and smirked. “That’s it? That’s all you have and it’s worth twenty gold. You’ll get ten, only because I’m feeling generous.”

“That isn’t everything. See, this information will keep you guys going for a while, but not for much longer. We know how to track you now, and unless I tell you how we’re doing it, you’ve only put a stitch in a wound that’s much bigger. That is, unless you think you want to roll the dice and try to figure it out yourself before we find out where you’ve moved to. You don’t have much time left though, and even sitting here bitching at me is going to take you more time than you should spare.”

“You said ‘we’. That makes you a Sentry. If everything you’re saying is truth, then the gold is yours. But, if you’re trying to screw us, remember, we know who you are and what you do. We’ll find you, even if it’s only one of us that makes it out. You’ll spend your last few moments in extreme agony. We’ll do everything we can to tear you down, Henkel. Understand me?”

Fal felt the sincerity in the man’s voice and knew that he’d keep his promise if he could. But Alitor’s plan was devised well, it’d get him out unscathed. He had always put a lot of trust in the big man and never before had that trust been misplaced or betrayed.

“Give me my gold. We have a deal.”

The blonde man said, “Tomorrow, after the Watch comes through and we make it out, meet me across the street from here. A tailor’s shop is there. Go behind that through the alley. You’ll find me and a bag of twenty gold.”

Fal shook his head. “I’ll find you with a bag of ten gold. I want ten now.”

It was as if the man expected Fal to take this route. He didn’t argue, but merely said, “Fine.”

The blonde man thrust his hand out and Fal looked at it. He smirked as he said, “I hope you didn’t hear me earlier and get any ideas. You may be cute but you ain’t got the rack of the other girl.”

Fal snickered as the man lowered his hand and looked at him askance. Fal said, “You lead the way to the money. Henkel’s going to turn his luck around starting with that gold.”

 

9

 

The monolith towered before Vesik and he wallowed in the pleasure of the sight before him. It rejuvenated his body and stimulated his soul in a way exclusive to these moments.

The godly pillar was much larger now. Vesik soon realized that the stone column actually hadn’t grown but that the distance he had previously seen it from had been halved. His vision sunk and he saw the spine of rock below his feet. The sight was almost nauseating as he knew that it was impossible to balance on such a surface.

Vesik extricated these thoughts from his mind for he dreaded causing the monolith to fracture again.

The dark sky had crept even lower now, as if it followed Vesik’s progress. Vesik’s vision was allowed to stare upwards only so much and he now noticed the dark sky being invaded by a scant crimson.

Vesik immediately hated the foreign sky as it was making quicker progress to the monolith than he was. He made to growl but his body did not comply.

Vesik knew that something was at his back and began feeling a burning sensation as he stayed inert. He thought himself forward and sure enough, the spectacular world around him fell away as he glided forward. The heat at his back dissipated.

The monolith loomed ever larger and ate up more of the sky as Vesik moved towards it with supernatural speed. He either floated or was comprised of an incorporeal form that defied physical law; he could not decide which was true.

The sky brightened as Vesik moved towards the stone pillar. He was outrunning the darkening sky and the crimson sheen creeping over the shining stars.

His world went blank for a brief moment then suddenly Vesik stood before the monolith, his vision inches from coming into contact with the smooth stone surface. He made to exhale in amazement but again nothing happened.

This sight was breathtaking to Vesik already and he knew that once his sight strafed to the side, he’d be stricken with such wonderment as no man had ever known before. He turned, so slowly it could have taken a day back on Zepzier, and his vision finally drank in the point where the monolith curved.

Pleasure wrapped Vesik and coddled him. He stood within arm’s reach of a god. His knees would have buckled had they been allowed to. He guessed that the pillar stretched for half a mile in each direction.

The top of the monolith was so high up that Vesik could not bend his view enough to see it. His view dropped back so that he stared back at the point on the pillar that he had first viewed.

Vesik felt as though he needed to keep going forward but didn’t understand how to with the godly pillar in his path. His wants weren’t enough this time though. Nothing happened and Vesik began fretting over the progress of the darkening sky.

Two human hands entered his view to either side. He was unsure if they were his but they were definitely moving forward. The hands levitated before the monolith for what seemed like eternity but what could have been seconds.

Slowly, they crept forth and once they made contact with the immaculate stone, Vesik’s vision blurred and wind surged past him.

His view coalesced and his world had darkened. He thought of the sky and almost panicked but once he recognized where he was, he faltered in awe.

Vesik was inside the monolith. Before him was a twisting tunnel that led to depths beyond his sight. The walls mimicked the smooth outer wall of the monolith.

Not another moment passed before he started down the tunnel. Strange orbs of light no bigger than a man’s fist and sometimes smaller than the tip of a finger and every size in between, floated in the air and lit the tunnel with a soft glow.

Several times the tunnel changed direction, sometimes pointing straight up, but never did it lose its polished shape, an oval with a flat top and bottom.

Vesik rounded a bend and emerged into a large room. The walls of the room were carved to portray intricate patterns and awe-inspiring abstractness. Statues were set to either side of a walkway made of the same stuff as the glowing orbs. The statues cast a soft, bluish glow upon the walls of the room also.

Each sculpture was a depiction of some being, most of them alien to anything Vesik had ever seen before. Some sprouted horns and long teeth while others had feathered wings or were so different as to be indescribable.

Vesik felt as though these sculptures meant little to him and so did not linger here long. He passed them all and exited the room through an opening then came to a halt.

To his right, was another hallway while the tunnel continued before him. He felt like he had a choice now. Neither route seemed more right compared to the other but he immediately felt the presence at his back indicate that it wanted him to continue walking straight.

Vesik decided not to obey it.

He floated down the corridor and came to a bend. He would have to turn left, and suddenly knew that doing so was of grave importance. He felt as though something terrible lay around the bend but couldn’t bring himself to stow his curiosity.

Doubt assailed him and wrestled with his original decision. If he didn’t do this though, then he would constantly berate himself for not. It would be the one stone he had left unturned.

Curiosity gripped his being and shoved him down the last few feet and turned him.

The tunnel ended here, but Vesik had yet to gain a full view of the dead-end. His peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a mirror-like surface. His vision flicked over to finally behold a vision of what he was here. Of what was behind him …

 

***

 

Waking up wasn’t the right way to explain it. Grogginess didn’t cling to him, nor did he feel rested. It was as if one moment he was looking towards a mirror and the next he was staring up at a dim ceiling.

Only one emotion emanated from him though: frustration.

Vesik swung his legs off his bed while a torrent of curse words spilled from between lips that sounded foreign to him. Never did he speak like he was doing now and this realization caused him to stop in mid-sentence.

He was up early again, he could tell by the scant bluish light that crept through the shutters on the one window to a courtyard in his room.

Since dropping out of college Vesik had found extra time to work. The next trials to become a Sentry had yet to begin so Vesik found himself working most of his days away. A framed mirror as tall as him was now posted to a wall near a corner opposite his bed.

The tired and frustrated young man moved to the mirror to get a glimpse of himself before he shuffled off to waste his time before going to work. He was standing in a spot exactly opposite the mirror and began making his way over to it.

One last step and he stood in front of the ornate piece of glass, close enough that he could touch his reflection. Of course that would only be true if he was staring at himself.

Black skin pulled tight against a muscular frame. Tentacles, glistening with intensity in light that was nonexistent, wavered. And a face … no the absence of a face. Oh gods! The obscene horror of the vision had Vesik biting back bile.

Vesik was terrified beyond his knowledge of the word, but the sight before him demanded that he stick his gaze upon it. His brain responded just as well as his body at this moment. He felt simple beneath the eyeless gaze of the creature.

It did not move much, but to slightly twitch every so often so quick the movement was a blur of color. Quickly the seizures worsened, and the being was ultimately spastically jerking. Then it calmed, serenity annexed the creatures body.

It seemed to exhale in relief as small holes opened on the being’s torso. Vesik watched with a heart that had seemed to have stopped beating minutes ago and his jaw slowly worked to make a sound of disbelief and horror.

Something pale extricated itself from the creature’s body, from the mirror itself, in a slow but constant manner. The ten small holes became two large ones.

Hands. They were hands and they seemed familiar to Vesik. The same hands he had seen in the dream. Now forearms, again looking so familiar, and less than a foot from touching him. Then shoulders until …

Black hair … then a forehead … eyebrows … finally an eye, just a single eye was all it took to break Vesik from his stupor. His eye. He stared deep into his own eye for what must have been only a fraction of a second.

The fingers brushed his night shirt as he flung his body backwards and flailed on the ground. He madly wriggled until the back of his head slammed into a short wooden chest.

He met his eyes in the mirror … and felt liberation. The scene in the mirror copied the one he was portraying this very moment.

Minutes of ragged breathing passed before Vesik could calm himself enough to peel his back off the wooden chest. He slowly walked to the mirror and gawked at himself. He searched the corners of the reflection for something that didn’t fit. Nothing was apparent.

Vesik flopped onto his bed to run through the events that had just taken place. A sickening possibility revealed itself to him.

He felt apart from his body when he was stuck in his dream world. What if that’s because I’m not in my own body when I’m there, he thought. Vesik spoke aloud, “Could it be that I’m actually stuck inside that … that thing?”

The scene he had just witnessed seemed to confirm that if not make it at least plausible.

Vesik stood at a mental crossroads as he tried to determine whether or not his nightly trips would yield a positive result. The monolith he almost worshipped was a beacon of power, stability, and confidence; a symbol of hope … or so he had come to believe.

But now doubt assailed him about the integrity of the godly pillar of stone. Vesik had come to accept that it was something from another world, a link maybe, like a meeting place between two realities. The creature he had seen was definitely alien to this world and Vesik harbored the notion that the other world he was coming into contact with was the native home to it.

Too many questions remained unanswered at this time; he would have to find the pieces to the puzzle, then decide what picture to make with them all. A task more difficult than he fully comprehended now but he did know this; he would have to go back. He had to make it to the top of the monolith, regardless of what transpired throughout.

 

10

 

“The fuck did I tell ya, huh?” Fal laughed and smacked Koe’s back.

Koe made a show of mocking him but couldn’t help but smile. Fal had just returned from meeting with the blonde man. He’d received the rest of his payment and then given the man another promise. A bag of ten more gold lay on a table in their room. Fal couldn’t help but poor the heavy, shimmering coins from the bag and onto the table. He then grabbed the bag from yesterday and poured that too.

Fal snatched two gold from the pile and said, “Let’s give Sarah two gold instead of the silver. She’ll like us a bit more and be more willing to go along with the plan. Yeah?”

Alitor looked at Fal oddly. Truly, Fal was not one to throw his coin to anyone, not even his friends. He felt himself redden and said, “Also, it’d even us out. Come on, guys.”

Koe said, “We can easily go out and spend those two gold between the three of us on drinks, nice meals, whores, and then a few more whores. Two or three each!”

“Well this one’s worth it, dammit.” Even Fal was surprised at the intensity of his voice.

Alitor seemed as though he wasn’t though as he threw his chin up and frowned at Fal. “You like this woman. She gave you the night of your life and now you think there’s some kind of connection between you two. Fal, I bet you right after she left the room she went and fucked some other sop with a bit of coin.”

Although the big man’s words stung and caused Fal to feel a shred of anger, he let them slide. He was probably right. Still, Sarah deserved this if she proved useful. “Come on, guys. You don’t believe I’d fall for a whore, right? It’s me. Fal. I wouldn’t fall for anyone. But still, let’s give her the gold. What if these two pieces keep our balls from the guillotine? Just trust me. We’ve followed your plans since the absolute beginning, big guy. Give me some wiggle room here, yeah?”

Both men shrugged and Fal felt better. He’d have to spend some time understanding why he felt the way he did about Sarah later. Sure, he’d laid with women of her occupation before, but she was just different. Something felt unusual between them that night. He hoped that she hadn’t continued selling her body that night. He should have kept some money to pay her so she wouldn’t have to work again for a few days. But he’d give her two pieces of gold tomorrow, and maybe spend some of his own fortune on her.

Alitor broke Fal from his reverie, saying, “So what exactly did you tell the blonde gangster?”

“Exactly what you wanted me to. I’ll have the rat who’s giving him away wrapped up in a neat little package in two days. We’ll meet at the abandoned building on Arc, between Mesh and Half. He bought it. I know when he buys something and besides, he paid me the gold right?”

Koe said, “So they’re expecting some Sentry. No details, right?”

“Exactly right. The meeting was short and sweet. Now let’s divvy out the gold.”

Fal made three piles of eight, leaving the two pieces for Sarah separate. He looked at the gold, felt an addiction begin to fill him. Koe was needed at this moment, to assuage the evil thoughts from Fal’s head. As each man took their even cut, Fal said, “This is why I love that brain of yours, Al. Come here, lemme kiss it.” Fal reached for Alitor’s dome with both hands and puckered his lips. Alitor swatted his hands away with a laugh on his tongue.

Koe didn’t miss a beat as he said, “This is not going to become habit, right?”

Fal looked to Alitor, who dipped his head, looked at the gold, then looked back up and shrugged. Fal said, “Koe, don’t worry about that. We have two months’ pay sitting in front of each of us. If we need to pull a stunt again, it won’t be for a while.”

Koe responded, “Just remember that this shit ain’t always so easy to pull. This isn’t even over right now. Let’s just get out of this one the way we came in. But for the rest of this, let’s be straight in our aim. We let these gangsters get away for our gold. Now, we need to put these fucks down. Yeah?”

“Exactly! Koe, you’re spot on. Anything else would be unethical.”

Both Alitor and Koe shot Fal an odd look when he said that.

Fal said, “What? I care about ethics.”

Alitor replied, “Do you even know what that word means?”

“It’s a type of pie …” Alitor stared at Fal as if he was an attraction at a sideshow. Fal showed innocent ignorance, but only for a moment before saying, “I’m fooling! Of course I know what that word means, you assholes! Gods, I’m not stupid. We wouldn’t have gotten this far if I was.”

Koe said, “Well with Al’s brain here, we could both be walking vegetables and still rule half the world.”

Alitor said, “Only half?”

Fal said, “Well hell, man, with me and Koe being the geniuses we are and you being a mastermind, we’re still pretty low on the ladder. Half the world is a compliment compared to what we’ve accomplished so far, even with us not being vegetables.”

“I know. You two are just slowing me down.”

Koe shook his head and laughed softly. “Well we have our plan. In two days, we get the drop on their new location and we spill it to the Watch. Now, you ladies want to sit here and have tea together, be my guest. I’m going to a bar to get plastered.”

Fal pursed his lips in a show of hurt although he felt relieved that the black man was lighthearted enough to joke, and said, “Can’t us ladies come with you and have tea there? What, are you embarrassed of us, Koe?”

Koe snickered as the three of them left the room they all shared with another. Their other roommate, Henkel, was locked up for starting a drunken brawl with another Sentry then pulling a weapon on him. Of course, the brilliance of this ruse lied with Alitor. Henkel would remain detained for several days as punishment.

Koe broke the silence, “Who’s playing which part in two days?”

Alitor said, “Wait until we’re alone to keep talking about this, Koe. We’ll talk later when we aren’t walking through the station or out in public. Let’s just find a place to drink until the women look good enough to pay the asking price.”

Fal said, “Hell I’ll pay it sober.”

The three chuckled and Koe said, “Hey should we get Vesik?”

“Nah. Kid’s been acting strange, ya know. Like he’s got some master secret hidden up his fucking sleeve.”

Alitor draped an arm bursting with muscle over each mans’ shoulders and said, “Too much thinking about matters that are not of import this moment. Just shut up and let’s go drink.”

A Christmas present: Monolithic (Ch. 5, 6, & 7)

Welcome to the dream world. This is something that I feel contains some of my most creative work. Thinking up the dream world took some effort, but it was wildly fun to do. Reach chapter 6 and you’ll be transported to this new, otherworldly place. If you’ve come here prematurely, then take a few steps back to read, chapters 1 & 2, then 3 & 4.

5

 

Fal, Alitor, and Koe approached Vesik as the young man was checking his gear for what seemed like the hundredth time. Fal startled the man with a slap on the shoulder then said, “The big day! Finally eh?”

“Yeah. Hey, thanks guys. I don’t think I would still be here if you guys hadn’t helped me out that day.”

Koe shrugged and said, “It was nothing, friend.”

“To hell with that. Damn straight it was something. You owe me, buddy. Big time.” Fal stuck a finger in Vesik’s face.

Vesik was speechless. Had Fal been helping him out just so he could get something out of him?

Vesik’s doubts scattered away when Fal burst into laughter and clapped him on the shoulder many times over then said through his laughter, “Just twistin ‘em bud. We’re all still here so we all graduated.” Fal sucked in a deep breath. “Life is sweet.”

Alitor said maybe his only few words that day, “No doubt.”

Fal shot him a disbelieving look. “Talkative around strangers now? You’re letting your guard down, big guy.” He referred to the dozens of other men dressing and checking their gear around them.

Alitor just shrugged and grinned.

The group conversed for a few minutes before being called out to the mess hall for breakfast. No one talked as they ate their food as if it was going to scamper off the plate if they took too long.

Bors entered the hall and his voice boomed, “Get your asses up and out into the yard!” As one and without hesitation, the men and women were instantly up and moving. Vesik noticed as Bors suddenly began weaving through the throng of moving Sentries. He saw that Bors held his chin high and clenched his jaw, something Vesik had learned meant Bors was on edge.

Against all of Vesik’s silent hopes, Bors walked right up to him, grabbed his shoulder and guided him from the group. Fal, Koe, and Alitor threw Vesik an odd look before turning back around and marching away.

Something was wrong, Vesik knew. This wasn’t going to end well.

“Vesik, they wanted to pass you.” Bors looked straight into Vesik’s eyes and caused the latter to look away. Vesik knew that Bors was privy to terrible fits of anger, usually not directed at Vesik but he’d gotten tastes of it here and there. Bors was certainly a different man than Vesik had first met now that he was comfortable with his assistant. “I can’t let them do that.”

Throughout his weeks of training and from the friendship he’d found, Vesik had developed some confidence in himself. He was able to respond to Bors when normally he’d sit quietly and accept his downfall without qualms. “Bors, what are you talking about? I’m here today. Why would you stop me?”

Anger flashed across Bors face and he growled, “Because you aren’t good for the Watch, Vesik. You pass all the written exams with flying colors. You are conditioned enough to get through the physical training well. But you can’t handle the pressure of this job. What happens when you fail to protect someone? Or you fail to protect yourself even? I heard of what happened in the yard when you just stood there and would’ve been stabbed. That wasn’t even real and you couldn’t help but shit yourself! I won’t let you become a dead body for no reason. This isn’t for you. Go back to college. You’re a much better assistant than you will ever be as a Sentry.”

Vesik felt that cold and hot sweat building. He was sure he was floating like he always felt when he was being demeaned. But now he was able to plant his feet firmly on the ground again, accept the slamming thuds of his heart without becoming mute, and say, “But why would you wait so long to tell me this? I see you every day and you never said anything to me.”

“I thought you’d already been dismissed from the program.” Bors was growing increasingly angry as he spoke. Vesik knew that he wouldn’t get a lot of time with his boss until he snapped and left. His time was even shorter than he had thought it’d be as Bors said, “They didn’t want me to stop you but I know you. They should have tossed you out that very day. I’ve been around you for two months and I know exactly what you’re made of, Vesik. Now you’re going to make me late for the ceremony. Get whatever shit you have left here and get the fuck out before I decide to look for a new assistant. Is that clear?”

Vesik swallowed his anger and said, “Crystal, sir.” He turned and stalked away, back to the barracks that held his few items. He walked the lonely halls and thought of his parents sitting in the stands outside. Surely they’d be troubled when they didn’t see their son, but he couldn’t go to them now. Fires had started beneath Vesik’s skin, boiling his blood and melting his pride. He could kill something right now.

His rage failing, Vesik began to feel as though he’d begin sobbing. And for that, his anger reignited, so intensely that he needed to let it escape him. Without restraint, Vesik opened his mouth wide and screamed.

 

***

 

Three weeks had passed since Vesik was denied his title of Sentry. Since then, his job had become hell. Bors seemed to disdain him for failing to become a Sentry, although he himself was the only reason why Vesik hadn’t made it. He had told his parents what had happened the day after the ceremony. They showed nothing but admiration for their son. They were good parents.

After work, Vesik met up with Fal, Koe, and Alitor for the first time since the ceremony. He had run across Koe yesterday and the plans were set. Vesik no longer bunked with the sentries and had moved out of his parent’s house. He instead had his own small room within the station he worked at. He quickly learned that there were many rooms within the station that were vacant as only single staff of the Watch could live there. Families were not allowed to reside there and those who did, seemed married to their job, not to a wife or husband. Vesik was completely fine with making his job his only focus, although he hated it.

Vesik hadn’t been able to approach any of the guys since that day but now the hurt stung less; he could stomach their pitiful glances.

The group sat down at a table and Fal didn’t even wait until after he had ordered a beer to say, “Vesik, man, where the hell you been? You repay our kindness by dropping out after you graduate or what?”

“I didn’t graduate.” Vesik stared into Fal’s eyes.

“What do you mean? You were there with all of us that day. We thought that maybe Bors prevented you from attending the ceremony because he needed you for something.”

“No. Bors told me to go. That I didn’t cut it as a Sentry.”

Fal said, “Man, that’s some bullshit. So you froze up one time. But you’re still his assistant?”

Vesik nodded but kept his eyes down.

Fal sighed then turned his twinkling eyes towards Alitor. “Hey, Al, there any way this can be a good thing?”

Alitor thought for a moment. “Vesik, do you have access to Bors’ files, stuff like that?”

“Yeah. Bastard’s so lazy I’m surprised he doesn’t have me screwing his wife for him.”

Fal couldn’t contain a giggle and Koe smirked.

Nothing could shake the big guy when he was in thinking mode though. Alitor didn’t even twitch when their mugs arrived. “You could be our information source, Vesik. Anything you think we should know about, don’t hesitate. Details about jobs. Which ones we should push for and which ones to shy away from. Shit like that.”

“As long as I’m not doing anything illegal.”

Fal said, “Of course not, friend. Well, now that we have our mugs before us let’s shut the hell up and get drunk.”

The four raised their mugs at that then drank deep. Vesik drank quicker than the others.

 

6

 

He knew he was dreaming and the realization brought thousands of possibilities to the forefront of his mind. Only for a moment though.

Once his eyes drank in his surroundings, he could do nothing but gawk. Even if he had the control to create his dream in his own image, to sculpt this landscape would be impossible.

Vesik stood on something solid but he could not see it. All around him the ground boiled with thick fluffy clouds. Rocks and spires exploded from the puffy ground in random disarray except for in one place. Directly before him the rocks just barely pierced the veil of clouds and seemed to form the spine of a mountain.

Suddenly a splash of water leapt out of the blanket of clouds then fell back beneath it. As Vesik focused, he noticed many such splashes but oddly enough, the water made no sound.

He now believed that he was on an island but that thought immediately felt false to him. Especially considering the sky that stretched above him for what seemed like an eternity without sporting one single wisp of a cloud. This gave him the inclination to believe that he was standing at a level above the clouds themselves.

The sky before him was a light blue as it would be at noon. But as he tracked the sky upwards he noticed it rapidly darkening. Vesik was not allowed to turn around, something just forbid him from doing so, but at the top of his vision he saw the sky become almost as dark as night and flecked with brilliant stars.

The stars reminded Vesik of shards of metal warring with rays of light cast off from a smoldering sun. Not a sun, moon, or planet showed across the sky though.

Vesik reestablished the notion that he was standing on a mountaintop. But the splashes of water made little sense. He felt a deep pang to plunge his head beneath the clouds and discover what the truth of this landscape was.

As he focused his sight back to directly in front of him he saw a great pillar in the distance. Immediately he was overwhelmed by the presence of the thing and would have fallen to his knees had he been able to. He asked himself why he hadn’t seen it previously but the thought escaped him quickly for it did not matter. All that mattered now was that it was before him.

The monolith was made of stone. The pillar either vanished beneath the clouds or floated on top of them, Vesik could not tell.

The great stone column was so big and stolid that the air around it seemed to be dead, as if it was incapable of supporting life. Nothing moved on or around the monolith.

The pillar was omnipotent, demanding, glorious, godly, and much more. Vesik suddenly felt a want, no a need, to worship the stone column. It was god and he was its servant. He felt pangs to spill blood for it, his own and others, to sacrifice for it, to love it, and to fear it.

This mix of emotion became all too real and Vesik realized that he was not dreaming, that instead, this was a real thing. He felt as though his lips and chin were quivering. Terror seized him and he felt himself no longer breathing.

This world somehow managed to become even quieter than the silence that had dominated it before this moment.

Suddenly, a bolt of light exploded off the top of the monolith. It took a few seconds but surely enough a deep rumbling sound tore through the land and assaulted Vesik. The sound was so loud and so clear that his vision became blurry.

When the noise died away Vesik heard and felt a breath of air escape the throat of something and wash over his neck.

Supernatural fear cloaked him but he felt the freedom to move. He turned.

 

***

 

Vesik was staring at a bookshelf across the hall from him. After several moments he registered the screaming voice of senior officer Bors and a tight grip on his arm.

He gasped then turned his head to look at Bors’ wide mouth spitting a torrent of obscenities in his face, ” …you maggot fucking, worthless shit! Wake up and answer me!”

Vesik was flustered and still gripped by the odd emotions that plagued his soul but managed to stammer, “S …sir? I … am awake.”

Bors took a step back and surveyed the man then growled and slapped him. Sharp pain exploded across Vesik’s face but deep rooted anger exploded within his head. He spun back to the officer with clenched fists and a crazed visage but was able to arrest his rage.

Bors didn’t seem to notice. “I’ve been here for several godsdamn minutes trying to get you up! And don’t think that was the first time I hit you either! What the fuck are you doing sleeping on the job, shithead!?”

Vesik wanted nothing more than to become that monolith. To radiate power and eradicate weakness by his very presence but as hard as he tried and as much as he wanted to, he could not.

“I apologize, sir, it just … I’m not sure how it happened.” Vesik dipped his head. He could only vaguely remember coming to work, as if that part was the dream and the landscape he had just woken up from was reality.

Bors spit on Vesik’s boot, not bothering to wipe the spittle clinging to his lip before saying, “You pull this shit again and I’ll drag you out of here by your hair and make damn sure that you don’t find another job in this entire city. You got that?”

“Sir, yessir.”

“Good. Don’t expect to be out of here anytime soon today. Oh, and you’re working for free today. Get to work!”

Vesik nodded then sat down and with uneasy hands he began organizing paperwork and looking through journals. Bors entered his office then slammed the door. Vesik knew that next time he saw him, Bors would be drunk.

Anger burned through Vesik like a flame to dry grass. He felt anger that this man thought himself higher than Vesik, Anger that Bors treated him as though he could do nothing right.

Shame collided with the anger at the fact that Vesik could not stand up for himself and that even if he did, he knew that the end result would be very painful.

So he continued on with working for a man he despised, doing a job he scorned. His emotions marinated and waxed stronger with each passing minute.

 

***

 

“I really can’t stand this job, dad. Bors makes me so damn angry sometimes.” Vesik spoke into his mug as he and his father sat on the porch.

Erik looked at his son with surprise apparent in his eyes. He was not used to hearing curse words, especially from his son.

Erik said, “It may be hard now, son, but at this rate your boss is going to succumb to a heart attack soon enough.” Vesik didn’t even smirk because he truly hoped that would come to pass. “Things will get better. Bors will ease up on you eventually. Although it is hard mentally, at least your body is being saved some anguish.”

Vesik knew his father was referring to his own back’s injuries from farming the land.

Vesik sighed. “I know. I’m going to try to pass the training next semester. That’s only four months from now. I just have to hold on until then.”

“That sounds best.” Vesik knew his father and wasn’t surprised when the man left off the touchy subject quickly. “So how about life outside the office? Met any girls yet?” Erik smiled in anticipation.

Vesik did not return the smile. “No. I guess I haven’t really tried looking yet. I met some guys from training. They all graduated. We go out and have a couple of drinks every once in a while. Maybe I’ll talk to one of the girls at the taverns some time.”

Erik grimaced. “Well as long as your mother won’t lose it when you bring her by, then that sounds like a fine idea.” Erik said this for himself also. Vesik could tell his father wanted him to find a wholesome woman and those he might meet in a tavern might not be the most respected.

“Yeah.” Vesik felt a sense of comfort being at home with his family. This was a place where he was respected and didn’t have to worry about others potentially snapping at him. He enjoyed this feeling, wished that he could always feel this way.

 

7

 

That godly pillar pierced the blue sky many miles in the distance. The top shimmered for a moment as if light had just flared from it. An echo of a thunderous boom resounded throughout the valley. Vesik felt the breath of air caress his neck again but this time he did not turn.

He began walking forward, towards the spine of rock that stretched to the monolith. Although he felt himself moving, he wasn’t sure he was actually in his own body when he was in this dream world. He moved onto the spine and with uncanny balance, traversed the narrow way as if it were a flat valley floor.

Vesik risked a glance up and noticed the dark sky and shimmering stars had moved closer to the monolith. He felt as though the night itself was chasing him now. He moved quicker.

A splash of water struck the stone he walked on and a few stray drops landed where he guessed his feet would be. They burned and he almost tumbled off the side of the spine. The sensation of plummeting left him suddenly and he felt a pressure keep him from falling.

When he surveyed the land again, he felt as if the scene was wrong in some awful way. Nothing had visibly changed but he suddenly felt the urge to scream in frustration and fear at his surroundings.

The monolith looked much less inviting. The fear that Vesik had first felt was more akin to respect, but this new fear was borne from how the thing looked extremely imperfect now through his eyes. It was as if he knew some terribly damning secret about the monolith that lent him a reason to hate it. He wanted to take its evil core and wash it clean.

He tried to speak but nothing happened. He then contemplated turning around but recalled the result of that last time. Then he remembered the incident with his boss when he had awoken.

A loud crack sounded from the monolith. Vesik inaudibly gasped and tears immediately swam to his eyes as he looked at the pillar and saw it now jutting into the air at an angle.

A large piece fell from the top and began its slow descent to the ground. Vesik wanted nothing more than to fix his god. He tried to close his eyes but was incapable.

Moments before the chunk of rock reached the end of its fall, a pressure, like that of a friendly hand, fell onto Vesik’s shoulder. Something inhaled as if it was going to speak.

 

***

 

Vesik awoke in his bed and cried out. His breathing was ragged as he searched for the monolith. After several moments he collected himself then swung out of bed and began pacing around his room.

He looked at his bed as though it were a place of disgust and intrigue as his brain worked. He threw back a curtain and judged that he had a few hours before he was to report to Bors. He chewed his nail as he contemplated going back to his dream world.

He banished the idea for he might awake with Bors screaming in his face again. His one-room apartment had one corner occupied by his bed, another by an oak desk with a drawer on either side, and another bore his door. Three new outfits hung in his closet while the clothes he’d taken with him from his parents’ house sat in a chest on the floor. The short, thick blade he’d bought many months ago lay on the side of his bed opposite his door near a small table harboring a thick candle.

Vesik dressed then stepped out into the hallway of the officers building he both lived and worked in. It was too early for breakfast so Vesik made his way to a library across the street from the building.

He was one of the few people there and the only one who actually seemed awake. The others walked around in a dazed stupor, either from not having slept yet or just waking up, Vesik could not tell.

He approached a bookkeeper and asked, “Excuse me, do you have a book that gives descriptions about the gods?”

The woman yawned then gave him directions in a very monotone voice. Vesik thanked her and headed off.

Vesik weaved through a few shelves and finally came upon the bookcase he sought. He grabbed tomes off the shelf and sped to a desk where he flipped through them. There were many gods, each with several names and a rough physical description.

Nowhere did Vesik find any information about a monolith or anything that described the world he stumbled into when he slept. Desperate, he approached the bookkeeper again. He said, “Do you know of any books that have to deal with an enormous monolith? One that might have something to do with some god perhaps?”

“I don’t believe we do. At least I have never heard of any book like that nor a god that has anything to do with a monolith.” A look of intrigue crossed her face. “Why do you ask if you don’t mind?”

Vesik thought it best if he didn’t tell her anything too detailed but his mouth betrayed his thoughts. “I’ve had dreams with a giant stone pillar as the focus of them. I’m just trying to understand what it might be.”

“Oh, well you might have more luck at a temple.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Vesik departed and head for the closest temple. It was a shrine of Malkor, a very well-known and respected god in Cavia. He had no more luck than at the library.

He cursed and decided that he would only get answers through his dreams. He needed to get to the monolith next time. Suddenly he felt troubled because he remembered a piece of the monolith breaking away from the whole and dreaded the possibility that the entire thing had shattered.

He craved sleep but warded off the obsession and went on about his day.

Sitting behind the desk before Bors’ office, Vesik heard many things about sentry duty. Today he paid careful attention when a senior chief came to Bors’ office. The carefree man left his door ajar and the voices of those arrogant men rang clear in Vesik’s head.

Bors said, “Chief, it’s good to see you. Have a seat. How are you?”

The man had a very gruff voice that escaped through a seemingly constant dry mouth. “I’m good, officer, and … um.” Vesik heard the sound of trickling liquid. “Bors, it’s barely first light, man.”

The pouring ceased and glasses banged together as Bors hastily cleared the alcohol from the table. “Um, yes, of course, sir. Just slipped my mind, how early it is.”

Vesik shook his head and barely contained a giggle.

Bors continued, “So for what reason do I owe the pleasure of your company today?”

Vesik could tell that the man tried not to sound condescending but it was a part of his nature.

The chief did not call any attention to Bors’ small transgression. Bors was known for such behavior. “We all know of the pull problem affecting Cavia. Thus far we’ve only been able to discover the small operations. But now, we have the whole damn thing. We know where they’re at.”

“That’s great news. How’d we figure it out?”

“This is a bit complex so pay attention. A Sentry was caught up sneaking a look at some secured files. He was questioned, and then his answers didn’t check out. We took it a little further and came to find a lot more than we had intended.”

Vesik was suddenly captured by the explanation. He listened a little harder and even leaned towards the open door. He was thankful that either man didn’t have the foresight to shut the door.

The chief continued speaking, “The gang we’re going after, they’re big. They don’t just run a pull operation, they have their hands in a lot of different pots. One of them, is extorting people with bad debts. So, this Sentry we caught, turns out he had racked up a lot of bad debt at the Serpent’s Eye. No logical man would stay the night at that inn unless his debts had been paid. Well, turns out that doing just that gets a man noticed by the gang. They operate the gambling that goes on there. Staying with a large debt is a sign that you mean to cut a deal, and he knew that. So his deal was to get it all wiped out for periodic information about our movements.”

Bors gasped and Vesik half smiled as he could tell it was a fake noise made to appease the chief.

“The gang reaches further than that even, has branches of it all through Cavia and contacts in Durthlem, Arnamos, and Nemere. Anyway, pull is their big thing. So, this is what we’ve come up with. The Sentry who was selling us out, isn’t going to be punished any further if he simply swaps sides. He’s given us the location of the hideout. Black and Moors.”

Bors said, “Where? I know Black Street but not that intersection.”

The chief said, “It’s a real small street, Moors is. And the intersection sits nestled against a bend. It’s easy to walk past. Unless you’re going to that intersection, it’s usually untraveled. And, let’s face it, it’s a shit part of town. Anyone over there won’t care about our protection and would probably take a shot at one of our guys if they thought they could get away. We’re keeping the whole thing quiet for now. But tomorrow, we roll through that place and cut the head off their organization. Sure, some of it will keep going. But we’ll take enough prisoners to give us the information to go after the whole godsdamn thing afterwards.”

Sincere interest dripped from Bors’ voice as he said, “Godsdammit, what a stroke of luck! Well that and someone doing their job right and pinning that fucker who had turned on us. Do they suspect anything coming from us?”

“Not a thing. Fish in a barrel.” The man paused, then, “Well not exactly. I believe that they’re going to do whatever they can to keep from getting locked up. It’s going to be a dangerous mission to say the least. We’re taking a lot of men so I just wanted you to be in the light about events. You’ll be coming with.”

Vesik could just imagine the look plastered on Bors’ face right now and a grin crept across his. “Me? But, sir, we have so many new recruits. Why not throw them the case? Ya know, get them some action in the field.”

“That’s the exact reason why you’re getting called in. I am heading this operation along with a few of my superiors and other chiefs. It seems as though the force will be broken into teams, each led by a senior officer. You’re leading a team in.” The chief’s tone changed to one of a nonchalant nature. “Come now, Bors, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten how to swing a sword.”

“No, of course not, sir. I completely understand the plan and agree with it. Those new guys need an example to follow. This will be a great experience for them.”

“Glad to have you on board, Bors. Well I’ll leave you to your business now, officer. You’ll hear from me soon.”

“Of course and thank you, chief.”

Vesik feigned disinterest as Bors walked the man to his door and bade him farewell. Bors stared at Vesik with anger in his eyes then retreated back into his office.

Vesik could just barely make out the sound of liquor filling a glass.

 

***

 

“Damn good work, friend, damn good.” Fal raised his glass as he slapped Vesik on the shoulder.

Alitor broke character for a moment to say, “Indeed, so we should steer clear of that one, eh?” He looked to Fal who was chugging his beer.

Fal set his mug down and said, “Something like that, yeah.”

Alitor nodded then took a long pull on his ale himself. Koe’s eyebrows perked up.

Koe looked to Vesik then said, “Hey weren’t you saying that you were going to charm one of these fine women one of these days? Well if you don’t do more than just talking, you’ll be on your deathbed with yourself being the only person to have ever touched your dick, man.”

Vesik shot him an odd look as Fal burst into laughter and Alitor pounded the table with his fist. Koe forcefully wiped the smile from his face then said, “I’m just saying that maybe you should stop talking and start doing.” He pointed to the bar.

Vesik glanced over and beheld an attractive woman sitting on a stool seemingly alone. She scanned the doors every few moments.

“Oh. But what should I say to her?”

Fal perked up and quieted his friends by raising his hands. With a smirk on his face he said, “I got it, I got it. Okay, so you have to approach her with a sad look in your eyes. Sit next to her then look into her eyes and say, ‘ya know, someone very close to me died today.’ Then she’ll say something along the lines of, ‘oh goodness, I am so sorry to hear that.’ You glance at the ground then say, ‘yeah, his name was My Dick,’ then look at her, ‘and I was wondering if I could bury him between your legs.'”

The entire group burst into laughter and even Vesik chuckled a bit. He took the situation seriously though for he had been working up the courage to talk to a woman for days now.

Vesik said, “I’m not sure if that will get me the response I want. Ya know what, I’ll just wing it.”

Koe raised his mug and said, “Good luck, buddy. Just charm her. Say whatever it is you think she wants to hear from you. Believe that you’re confident and she’ll believe you are too. Women like that shit.”

“Thanks for some actual advice, Koe.” Vesik shot Fal a deadly look.

Fal shrugged and feigned honesty. “What? I’m just trying to help. It works when I say it.”

Alitor shoved him as Vesik turned around. He heard Alitor say something about how with the right amount of coin any line will work on a whore.

Vesik drowned their voices away as he approached the woman. His heart threatened to carve a hole through his chest and he felt himself beginning to sweat. By the gods, why was this so difficult?

He reached her and almost didn’t speak, but as he sat down he forced the words out, “What’s a pretty girl like you doing sitting by yourself? If you don’t mind, I’d be honored to keep you company.”

Vesik thought to himself, what the hell was that? He was about ready to piss himself ten seconds before but his words made him sound like the most confident and smooth guy in the tavern. He marveled at his success thus far but paid attention to the girl.

She looked at him then back to the bar but a huge smile betrayed the effectiveness of Vesik’s words. She looked back to him as she said, “Um, well I was supposed to meet someone here but it seems as though he might have forgotten about me.”

“I apologize. Maybe I could take his place for tonight. My name is Vesik.”

Her smile grew, “I’m Aeris.”

“A beautiful name. It suits you perfectly. It is a pleasure to meet you, Aeris. Would you like a drink?” Vesik rejoiced inside, but another feeling began to overwhelm him. He couldn’t keep his mind from straying to the monolith and he felt just as powerful as that godly pillar. Dominance flooded throughout his body.

“You’re sweet, Vesik.” She bit her lip and he could tell that she was mulling something over. Finally she said, “But I should give my date some more time. I’m sorry. If he doesn’t show though then I would be more than happy to spend the evening with you. It’s just … well it would be a mess if he walked in and saw me with another guy.”

The dominance faded. He wrestled with several feelings at once and neither one could take precedence. “Of course, Aeris. I wouldn’t want to put you in a situation such as that. I’ll be sitting at that table there. Again, it was great to meet you.”

Her eyes sparkled. “Likewise.”

Vesik departed and felt her eyes on his back like hot daggers. His friends tried to keep straight faces, as if they hadn’t witnessed the interaction but they were like vultures on carrion the entire time the two talked.

When Vesik sat and had taken a drink, Koe said, “Wow, Vesik, you surprised the hell out of me, man. She’s thinkin about you. And hard too. Give it a few.”

Fal said, “Yeah, man, that was good. Hell you almost had me ready to take you up on that offer.” He giggled and the others just stared at him. He got uncomfortable. “I was just messin, ya fuckin idiots.”

Alitor said, “Guess what, Fal, so are we.” The group laughed and Fal made a very obscene gesture with his hand and waved it at the three.

When Vesik quieted, he said, “Man, I surprised myself even. Hell I’ll call that one a win. Just getting my feet wet and I didn’t do half bad. The game’s not even over yet. I still have a chance.”

Fal said, “Yeah well your number better come up quick. We’re not sticking around much longer. Gotta be up bright and early tomorrow.”

Vesik glanced out an open window. The night sky had just chased the sun away roughly half an hour past. “Oh, c’mon guys. You’re sounding like me now.”

Koe said, “A few more minutes then, just because we’re such nice guys.”

Fal pointed at Vesik and said, “Minutes, man, that’s all you get.”

Vesik accepted the offer then went back to his ale. A couple minutes of light banter passed and Vesik noticed that his friends had drained the last of their beer. Vesik silently cursed.

Fal rose and said, “Tough luck, friend. Try again next time, huh? C’mon guys.”

As the men rose and bade their farewells, a gentleman swiftly came through the doors. Vesik felt like stabbing the guy when he saw him head straight for Aeris.

Fal said, “Oh, just in time too.”

Vesik sighed and rose from his chair. He looked over at the two and saw Aeris with a perturbed expression. He said, “Goodnight, Aeris.”

She wiped her troubled look away and smiled at him. Vesik heard the guy whisper something to her low and quick.

The four made their way to the door but were stopped when Aeris’ date called after Vesik, “Hey, next time you come in here, I don’t want you talking to her. You got that?”

Aeris fussed at the man’s aggressiveness. “What’s wrong with you? He’s a nice guy. He backed off when I told him about you.”

Vesik turned and his friends did the same as he said, “Aeris, you probably don’t want me to hurt him so I won’t.” He looked at her date and felt the power that the monolith inspired in him grow. “If I had a woman like that waiting for me somewhere, I’d make sure to be on time. And I’d probably have a bouquet of flowers for her too.”

The man visibly took offense to that but Alitor cut him off, “Why do he get mad at you, friend? Is he bad person?” Alitor said this with a slur and heavy accent.

The guy didn’t take the bait. “You’re lucky you have your friends with you. I’d take you out otherwise.”

Vesik spoke without thinking, just like he had done with Aeris, “Let’s see how lucky you think I am after I beat you.” He looked at the guy but spoke to his friends, “Hey, guys, stay out of this one.”

Never before would Vesik have said something like that. The monolith had infected him with a sense of power and confidence.

The guy thought about it then decided he had to defend what he had said or be made to look like a coward. “Come on then.”

The barkeeper shouted, “Take it outside! You break anything in here then you’re paying for it.”

Aeris pleaded with her date to stand down but he followed Vesik outside. The Bar was located at an intersection and the street that the entrance to the bar was on was narrow. A moderate amount of traffic populated the area so this was going to turn into a show.

Vesik spun and walked backwards as he bade the man forward. As soon as the guy stepped onto the dirt road, Vesik put his fists up. He thought of them as boulders, extensions of the monolith.

The man rushed forward and attempted to tackle Vesik. Vesik spun out of the way and threw a right that missed. He pressed the man and landed a left jab then skipped back a step even before the man tried to counter.

And try he did. After the wild punch disturbed nothing but the air, Vesik sprang forward and landed a right cross that snapped the guy’s head back. He didn’t fall though.

Instead, as Vesik tried another jab, he rushed forward and got close to Vesik. He landed several short punches to Vesik’s midsection which caused him to drop his hands. Before Vesik even realized his folly, he ate a right hook and stumbled backwards.

Vesik barely kept his feet and tried keeping distance between himself and his attacker. As the man came in to finish the fight, Vesik lifted his foot and kicked at the man’s chest. He was still dizzy from the hook though and his foot only clipped the man’s side.

Vesik brought his hands up but the man assailed him with several quick punches that got the job done anyway. Vesik fell to the ground and was saved any further beating when Alitor grabbed the man and threw him to the side. “It’s over.” He said.

Fal and Koe flashed their sentry badges at the onlookers and shouted, “Break it up, we’ll take care of it.” Vesik was hauled away by his friends. He was conscious but his legs were too unsteady to be entrusted with his weight.

Alitor said, “Good try, Vesik. I didn’t think he was going to come back from that right. Not a bad showing.”

Koe added, “Yeah and if you would have landed that front kick, guy would’ve been too busy finding his air to hit you.”

Fal said, “It’s because you’re stuck behind a damn desk all day, man. Gotta get you back into fighting shape. Once you get out onto the streets with the Watch, you’ll tear up any shithead like that.”

Vesik wasn’t bleeding but his jaw was sore from that hook so it pained him to say, “Yeah, thanks guys.” Rage boiled inside him though. He knew that the monolith would crush any threat and he wanted that more than anything now. Vesik craved sleep right now.

A Christmas present: Monolithic (Ch. 3 & 4)

Hopefully you’ve already seen chapters 1 and 2 posted here and read the hell out of them. Actually, I really hope you read them when they first were published in my anthology. Either way, here is chapter 3 and 4 of Monolithic, the story that sets the stage for our antagonist from Thoughts of Steel. Enjoy.

3

 

The loneliness that plagued Vesik no longer mattered as he excelled at his job as an assistant and maintained his grades. The silver he’d received as payment for his duties was mostly put away in a locked chest hidden at home. He contemplated moving into his own apartment but decided against it. Lodging was available to him at the Watch station he worked at for a subsidized rate. But he couldn’t fathom the idea of leaving his parents.

Vesik’s parents would only take so much of the money he tried giving them, but he spent what he could for them without them knowing though. Now, as Vesik made his way through town to the college, the morning sun warming the back of his neck, a hefty amount of coins jingled in the purse tied to his waist. He planned on buying new tools for his parents once his class was over today.

Vesik daydreamed as he walked, smiling at the few people he passed as he caught their eyes. One man sneered at him and Vesik’s nerves jumped but he continued onward. An arm suddenly draped across his shoulders and he turned to see a homely woman leaning on him.

“Can you walk with me over here? I’m not feeling well and need to get out of the sun.” The woman’s eyes drooped and she staggered with each step, putting most of her weight into Vesik, guiding him to a place between a shed and a house. Beyond the house and shed was a field of green grass.

Vesik was nearly too uncomfortable with the touch of a woman to speak, but he said, “Yeah. Are you sick?” He certainly was too uncomfortable to think.

Shade from the two buildings fell over Vesik and the woman like a blanket. She suddenly seemed fine as she stepped away from Vesik and stood on her own. The man who had mugged Vesik earlier appeared from the road, brushed past the woman. Vesik knew that something was wrong but that was as far as his thinking took him. The man drove his fist into Vesik’s jaw. Surprise more than pain had Vesik on his backside, breathing heavily and trembling.

The woman walked behind Vesik as the man began speaking, “Give me that purse now.”

Not a single thought of resistance crossed Vesik’s mind, but he was too scared and surprised to act. He simply sat and looked up at the terrible man. Life felt as though it had frozen over, trapping Vesik in it. He wanted so badly to simply close his eyes and wish this whole confrontation away. This was so alien to Vesik that he felt as though it wasn’t real.

The man sighed in frustration and nodded to the woman now standing behind Vesik. She bent down, reached under Vesik’s arm and around his waist to grab the purse and yank it free. The string keeping it tied together snapped and then the two rogues took off at a jog out into the open field.

Tears swam in the corners of Vesik’s eyes. He didn’t think of the money he’d lost, but rather the reality of what had just happened. He was still trying to understand and accept it all when someone walking along the road caught a glimpse of Vesik and stopped.

It was a boy and he focused on Vesik’s mouth as he said, “Are you alright?”

Vesik finally broke himself from his paralysis and touched his fingers to his lips. They came back bloody but Vesik couldn’t feel any pain. He slowly got up and felt as though he’d continue ascending right through the clouds. He looked to the boy and nodded his head slightly, wiped his lip on his sleeve, then trekked back onto the road, aimed for home again.

 

***

 

Erik called Vesik out onto the porch of their small home and Vesik knew immediately what was on the agenda. Sure enough, two large mugs of ale were gripped in Erik’s hands. Vesik looked down at the porch in shame. Why couldn’t his father be toasting him for defending himself, beating his attackers, then taking them into a Watch station? Why was Erik instead showing pity for Vesik because he was too blind to see the robbery coming and too weak to do anything at all to prevent it?

After getting home, Vesik had hidden himself from his parents as long as he could. In that time, he thought about how he hated himself for not doing anything. Even throwing a single punch or refusing the thugs would have left him with a more intact sense of pride then playing the helpless victim role. His physical wound paled in comparison to his emotional hurt.

Vesik took the mug and sat down. The rest of the day had served him well to bread anger in him and he said, “I should have done something, anything at all would have been better.”

Erik nodded, took a pull of his ale, then said, “The money can be made up, son. Don’t let that –”

“It isn’t that. I couldn’t do anything at all. I could barely breathe. I was a perfect victim and didn’t do anything at all about it.” Tears rolled down Vesik’s cheeks and he felt more ashamed and angry because of it. He wanted to beat the mug he held against his temple. Instead, he lifted it to quivering lips and drained half of it.

Erik glanced at his son but was sympathetic enough to not stare at his son’s weakness.

Vesik knew a stronger man would have fought back. His father would have fought even with his injured back and old bones. He suddenly thought of his solitude in the real world, his alienation at the college that seemed to just naturally happen. He thought of how people were forced to interact with him when he served as Bors’ clerk. He made a decision then.

“Dad, I’m going to try to become a sentry. There should have been one there today to take those two in for what they did to me.”

“What about school? You haven’t finished yet, Vesik.”

“But it’s already served a good purpose. Bors won’t kick me out because of this, he’ll probably agree with my choice. I can go back later if I want to. It’s just, I don’t know. I just don’t think I can keep doing this. I want to be somewhere where people like me, and want me around.”

Vesik hadn’t told his father about his alienation at the college but he figured that Erik had surmised as much as he merely nodded without question. He then said, “You know you’ll have to make difficult choices as a Sentry. Even more difficult than the one you’ve just made, or ever have made before. Vesik, you might have to kill someone at some time. You think you can do that?”

“I don’t need to make those decisions now, dad. I can cross those bridges when I come to them.”

“And if you can’t get across them? What then, if you don’t make it?”

It was finally time for Vesik to unleash his anger. He knew what his father referred to; his weakness. It wasn’t easy for Vesik to raise his voice to his father but he couldn’t ever do so to any other person. He said, “You think I’m soft. You don’t think I’d make it through.”

Erik began to speak but Vesik wouldn’t hear any of it.

“All the stuff you’ve said to me about loving life and seeing the best in everything, that was all a mask to hide my weakness. I’m weak, I get it. You’ve known it. And that’s what you always meant.”

Erik slammed his mug onto the wooden planks, a wave of ale spilling over the lip. A hole must have opened in Vesik’s heel as his rage drained from him. He looked at his father and forgot all about his righteous anger.

“Vesik, don’t ever speak of your gift like it’s a curse. It is not a bane on you or anyone. You learn to love it and just know that it’ll only help you one day.” Erik looked at his son with sadness in his eyes. It was easy to see that he didn’t enjoy startling his son.

Erik continued, “Son, I just want you to tell me that you can make it through. If you do, then I’ll believe you and stand behind you completely. And you know your mother will too. So?”

An iota of zeal crept back into Vesik, he took a deep swallow of ale then said, “Yes, dad. I’ll make it through. This won’t tear me down.”

“Okay. And you know that your gift will help you. You’ll be able to take down the vile people in this city and help those who need it with passion. You won’t be led astray by the promise of power, money, anything. You’ll be the best Sentry any man can be, Vesik. You’ll do fine, kiddo.”

Unlike when Vesik had decided to attend college, he didn’t feel a foreboding fear creeping into him, infecting his bones, flesh and heart. He was driven this time by an angry fire. One that would only be snuffed out by the reclamation of his pride and the achievement of his goal. He’d become a Sentry and never again be a victim. He’d save innocent people from being victimized each day he breathed.

Vesik finished his ale, hugged his father, then went off to bed. He laid down and craved sleep, only because he wanted time to pass as quickly as possible. The current term was coming to an end in two weeks. He’d finish out with flying colors then apply for the Watch. Tomorrow though, he’d walk the streets of Cavia again with a pocket full of silver, then use that to purchase a strong blade.

Sleep came upon Vesik as he imagined the feel of steel in his hands and all the evil in Baronfall at the blade’s point.

 

4

 

Vesik was crammed between two other trainees for the Watch who were crowded by dozens more themselves. Not one made a noise as the instructor hastily described a drill. He pulled one man out of the crowd and positioned him between two junior instructors.

“This drill is meant to simulate a real encounter that you may come to face while on duty. The officer holding the weapon is the bad guy and the other officer is an innocent bystander,” barked the senior instructor.

He looked to the trainee he had pulled out of the crowd then handed him an unloaded crossbow. “Your job is to keep the bystander alive and to only shoot if you absolutely have to.”

The trainee nodded. He turned to the two junior officers and the drill began as the senior shouted an order.

The trainee immediately aimed the weapon at the man with the wooden blade. “On the floor, now! You take one step towards him and I’ll put a hole through you.” The officer with the blade grinned then rushed towards the man playing the innocent victim. He only got one step closer when a twang announced the firing of the crossbow.

“Good! Next!”

Another trainee shuffled out. He fired the weapon before the ‘criminal’ had a chance to make a move. “Too quick! You just killed a man without giving him a chance to cooperate. That’ll be some fun paperwork. Next!”

And so it went, until it was Vesik’s turn. He gripped the crossbow hard, tried to stay the shaking of his hands. The order was given and he leveled the weapon at the officer. “Get on the ground.” There was little zeal in Vesik’s voice and he felt cold sweat drip off him as his tension and apprehension swelled.

The officer lunged towards the would-be victim and surprise crossed his face. He poked the man with the sword and still Vesik stood there with an uneasy grip on the weapon. The officer with the weapon looked to the senior instructor then advanced on Vesik.

Cold fear stayed his hand. As he watched the man advance, he felt as though it was a real situation and that made his body go rigid. In the back of his mind he expected some other valiant person to step in and end this for him, just like that day twelve years ago.

But that didn’t happen.

The wooden sword poked Vesik in the chest and still no noise emitted from the crossbow. The man looked at Vesik as if he was crazy and Vesik then realized what he had done. If this was real then he would not only have let an innocent person be killed, but he would be dead as well.

“What kind of shit was that!?” Vesik gulped and turned to the senior instructor as the enraged man stomped towards him. “What’s your name?”

“Vesik, sir.”

“What is your problem, Vesik? You just let your city down then died like a pansy bitch! What if that ‘bystander’ had been one of the Watch? A disarmed man who placed his life in your hands? Even if you did manage to live through that by some miracle, what the fuck would you say to his family?”

Vesik stammered until the instructor cussed him back into the ranks. Once Vesik was lost in the sea of other trainees, the instructor said, “Been doing this drill for sixteen years now and never have I seen that! Next!”

Vesik dropped his eyes to the ground and felt the cold glowers of the people around him burrow into his back and pierce his very soul.

That night a few of the men who were witness to his blunder approached him. He prepared for a tongue lashing and maybe a few bruises.

One man said, “Vesik, right? Man you really screwed up today. We think we got you pegged though. You’re one of them guys that doesn’t like hurting things. Something psychological,” The big man next to the speaker seemed impressed as he shuffled his feet a bit, “that just won’t let you go through with it. Well we got something that might help; you gotta come with us though.”

Vesik spun the cogs that made up his brain in an attempt to discover any hidden motive behind the man’s offer. Nothing came to the forefront so he asked, “Why do you want to help me?”

The man rolled his eyes. “Contrary to what you might think, not everyone here wants to see you flounder around until you’re thrown out of this place on your ass. Also I’m bored, and so are my chaps.” The man flashed Vesik a cheesy smile. “What do ya say?”

Vesik came to a decision after only a few seconds of contemplation. Either this was going to be what got him through the last weeks of training or he would still be shit out of luck. “Alright. So what’s the plan?”

 

***

 

As the sun fell beneath the earth and dragged the blue sky away, the four men made their way to the forest, Vesik carrying a bow.

Vesik walked next to the man who had done all the talking. His name was Fal, short for Falantor. His name and accent suggested that he was from the regal east country of Dumen. And after inquiring about it, Vesik discovered that he indeed was.

Fal disdained his full name and normally beat any man who used it if not came close to doing so. Oddly enough though, that was exactly how he introduced himself. Vesik thought he had the guy figured out soon after meeting him.

Fal told everyone his background because he wanted to be an oddity; a diamond in the rough. He made damn sure to tell everyone he met that his name was a curse though because he could never identify with one of those ‘tight-ass, stuck-up, sons of bitches’, as he so elegantly put it.

The other two men weren’t quite as odd, but still made sure to angle themselves against the grain of normality.

The big, stupid one was named Alitor. Well actually, the last thing he could ever be rightfully deemed was stupid.

The man was a genius in many fields. Vesik discovered this when he asked Fal if the man was simple. Fal rolled his eyes then said to Alitor, “You don’t have to pretend around this one, Al, he’s the last guy you have to worry about stickin ya.”

Vesik raised an eyebrow as Alitor perked up and began speaking less like a brutish infant and more like a learned scholar. He explained to Vesik, “I enjoy playing the part of a simpleton because it makes people underestimate me. This one guy kept poking me in the head, so hard his nail cut me open. He was angry that I had bumped his pal and couldn’t apologize without sounding like a ‘fucking idiot’.”

Alitor rumbled out a deep laugh as Fal said, “Boy that poor fellow almost fell on his ass when Al came back with … ah you tell it, big guy.”

“I grabbed his finger then apologized with all these fancy bullshit words. Then I said, ‘How was that? If your pal didn’t understand me then I could reiterate my condolences in about seven different languages.’ The guy’s face was a truly heart-warming moment. I laughed the entire time I beat him.” Vesik couldn’t help but think the guy maybe had a few screws loose despite his apparent genius.

The final guy was really only special because of his skin. His complexion was very dark. For the most part he was a normal guy if not kinder than most. His native name was something unpronounceable so he just insisted people call him Koe, the first syllable of his name. He was from an island far south towards the end of the Endless Sea.

“You’ve seen it?” Vesik asked the small dark man. “The end? Well that’s a ridiculous name then!”

“Not completely. The sea does snake through the land it meets by way of rivers and what have you. The name is a bit over exaggerated though. It’s just a really big sea.”

Fal chimed in, “Hey, Al, why not come up with a name besides sea for the damn thing. That could be your impress on the world, or whatever.”

Alitor took on a very serious tone, “Impression. And that is far from what I desire to be known for. Any dullard can make a noise while screwing their mouth up then name something after it.”

Vesik discovered that he was the youngest of the group. Koe was closest to his age and the other two were only a few years older.

The distance passed quickly for the group as they conversed and joked and they nearly smacked right into the first trees of the forest. This was the part of the forest just west of the southwest gate. It was extremely close to the city and therefore held little if any game.

The sun had dipped below the horizon completely by now. Koe said, “Come on, Fal. We got maybe twenty minutes of light left, man. This is pointless.”

“Stuff it. We better put those twenty minutes to good use then. So, Vesik, my friend, you’ve never hunted?”

“Nope. I stayed home while my father went out.”

“Alright, but you agree that it’s okay to hunt for food, right?” Vesik nodded. “Okay, well, tonight you are going to kill every animal you see, then leave it. There is no reason for you to kill these animals. If you can do this then I think it might help you pull the trigger the next time someone tries to stick you.”

Vesik swallowed hard. He had already come to enjoy the company of these very different men but his instincts screamed at him not to go through with the plan. He forced himself to nod then stalked through the forest. Fal, Alitor, and Koe stayed behind.

Fifteen minutes and most of the remaining light fled before Vesik found an animal. It was a squirrel rapidly biting and pounding a hard-shelled nut. Vesik drew his bow and after almost a minute found the courage to release it.

The arrow flew faster than Vesik could see and when his eyes opened he saw the shaft of the arrow but not the tip … Which was because he had missed horribly.

The squirrel scampered away and Vesik pulled his arrow from the ground after steadying himself with a few deep breaths. He skulked back out of the forest.

Fal stared at him with interest apparent in his eyes. The other two seemed slightly uncaring. Vesik shook his head and Fal’s shoulders slumped.

“What happened?” asked Fal.

Koe guessed, “Probably couldn’t find anything, Fal.”

Fal feigned deafness to Koe’s voice. Vesik said, “No, I found one. A squirrel. I shot too, just missed him.”

Fal took it as a win. “Hey at least you had the balls to shoot. Al thought you were going to bitch out like earlier.” Fal clapped Vesik on the shoulder.

Alitor shrugged. “Guess I underestimated you, friend.” He winked.

Fal said, “Don’t think I’m gonna forget about the money you owe, Al. How about you pay me in ale? To a tavern then!” Fal laughed aloud as Alitor and Koe shook their heads. Vesik just smiled and trailed the trio, amazed that he was finally fit to be considered a friend by someone.

A Christmas present: Monolithic (Ch. 1 & 2)

In anticipation of my novel, Thoughts of Steel, releasing in early 2016, I give to all your thirsty eyes the story that started it all. Monolithic is the novella that explores Vesik as a human, and the things that result in his becoming the monster he is in Thoughts of Steel. Three unique characters find themselves in a terrible predicament as they attempt to use their power for selfish reasons.

Here are the first two chapters of Monolithic, that you could pay $$ for on Amazon and receive along with it 8 other awesome stories. I hope you dig it.

1

Cavia bathed in the soft, warm glow of the spring sun sitting above the horizon. Long shadows pulled away from buildings, people, animals, and fences as if they longed for freedom. A young man lead a horse along a path, taking as much pleasure in the gorgeous evening as he thought any happy person would. He wondered if the world he lived on, Zepzier, ever could experience such joyous evenings as this. Certainly life was better in every way in the country of Baronfall, and even more exquisite in Cavia.

Buildings were sparse along the path but the man knew that they’d end up smashed close together soon, once he got deeper into Cavia. The man held reins that guided a horse name Sugar through the city. He headed towards the square with a cart full of crops pulled behind the horse. He reached out and stroked her chestnut colored flank, then gave her a quick hug with one arm and continued on.

As he made his way onto the main road, a dear friend of his mother’s came into view. Merith pulled up beside him with her own cart. “Hello, Vesik. I swear every time we’ve ran into each other, you’ve grown a foot taller. How are your parents?”

It was true that Vesik was tall even at the age of eighteen. He had grown into a lanky young man. Very little muscle clung to his bones and even less fat. The tips of his black hair reached into his eyes but he kept them swept to one side.

Vesik took a moment to recall that he always loved the sound of Merith’s voice. She was growing older, the thin lines on her face a testament to that, but she was still pretty. Her high cheek bones gave way to roundness that accentuated her wide smile. Sparkling blue eyes looked out between long lashes. Regardless of her age, Vesik believed that men would be tripping over each other to get a look at her each time they heard her soothing voice.

Vesik said, “Managing. Father’s back is still causing him trouble but he’s stubborn as a log about getting his work done. Ma’s great though. I’m doing all the trips for her so she doesn’t work herself to death. We went through those terribly hot, dry summers for a few years. If the temperature hadn’t lightened up like it has then they would have worked themselves into the ground by now.”

“I don’t know why they haven’t moved out to the forest yet. It baffles me that no one else has caught on either. That’s people though. Sure, it can be tough managing around the roots and lack of sunlight but all anyone would have to do is find a workable place.” Merith flicked her hand at the air as she dismissed the idea. “Oh, have you met my son yet?”

“No, I haven’t. Ma told me that you conceived a couple of years ago right?”

“That’s right. He’s in here somewhere.” Merith rummaged through her cart until she came back with a squirming little boy. She placed him on the ground and took the carrot he had been chewing on from his hand. She shot him a wilting look but did not reprimand him then.

“Here he is. Honey, say hi to Vesik.”

The little boy looked into Vesik’s eyes with visible intensity. Vesik caught the boy’s gaze and thought that he was either a troublesome brat or a well-disciplined child. He decided on the latter as the kid said, “Hello, sir.” in a very respectful tone. Vesik could tell he was fierce though, with boundless energy waiting to break through his well-mannered character.

“Well go ahead and tell him your name too.”

“My name’s Phalax.”

Vesik crouched so that he was at Phalax’s eye level. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, young sir. How old are you now?”

“Five.” Phalax held up five fingers to accentuate his answer.

“So grown up already.” Merith and Vesik smiled at one another.

“I’m learning my sword skills already. Watch!” Phalax dove for a stick on the side of the road and flourished the piece of wood through the air with little skill or grace.

Merith said, “That’s not good form, Phalax. Show Vesik what daddy taught you.”

Phalax nodded forcefully then calmed down. He held the wooden blade before him in a guard position. He managed to stay perfectly still for three seconds – which was no small feat for a child his age – then cut the air with a controlled side chop.

Both Vesik and Merith clapped as Phalax brought the stick back up in front of him. He then dropped the stick and scampered to his mother’s side.

Vesik, Merith, and Phalax walked on together. The bold little boy even added some of his own interjections into Vesik’s and Merith’s conversation.

 

***

 

“He’s adorable, huh?”  Vesik’s mother, Elara, replied as he told her of his encounter with Merith.

“Yeah, he is.” His father, Erik, had remained quiet the entire time, his mouth mostly hidden beneath his bushy mustache although Vesik could tell he never once smiled at his tale. Erik sat at a table and stared into it as if he was watching a scene unfold between the grooves of wood. “How much work did you get done for the next crop, father?”

Erik slowly looked up at his son and Vesik got a sense that his father was going to tell him something that had nothing to do with the question he had asked. “Not enough. I was … preoccupied. Wandering mind.”

“About what?” Vesik saw his mother avert her gaze to the floor and knew that it was going to be something that he didn’t want to hear.

Erik looked hard into his son’s eyes. “You don’t mean to live here all of your life, do you?” Erik continued when he saw a confused look settle on Vesik’s face, “I mean, don’t you want more than this? You don’t have to be a farmer your entire life, son.”

“Well I haven’t ever thought about it. What else is there for me? I have a home and family right here. The farm is a part of my life. How would you two manage without me?”

“It’d be difficult but we’d find a way. I’m just saying that you only live once, son, and I don’t want you to look back and think that you wasted your entire life picking crops.”

Vesik thought hard about what he wanted to say. Somewhere within him he reveled in the thought of discovering new frontiers in this life but he also felt a fear of many things. “And if I don’t want to leave?”

Erik sighed as if he hoped not to have to say these next words. “You don’t have a choice. I’m sorry, son; I don’t want you thinking that we’re kicking you out. We just want your life to mean something to you. We want to help you though, as you have helped us. The college is accepting new students in a dozen days or so. The Watch is always accepting recruits. Just pick a direction and we’ll get you started.”

Vesik thought for a moment and decided that the feelings of pain and anger welling up inside him were immature. He honestly felt thankful as he said, “Well I’m not sure yet. Can I have a few days to think about this? I mean which path to choose.”

Erik smiled and Elara couldn’t help but hug her son with tears in her eyes. “Of course, son. We’re both very proud of you.”

That night Erik and Vesik stepped outside into the warm spring night and sat together on a bench with their backs to the wall of the house. Erik handed Vesik a mug of ale he had went and procured that very night.

“First I want to thank you, son. There have been many times in my life when I felt like the people in this world had no right to live. You know you are just like my father; you wear his name well.” He looked at his son. “You two almost have the exact same set of ideals and traits.”

“Thanks, dad. I think it’s because of how good you were to me and ma growing up.”

Erik shook his head. “Thank you, son, but that’s not it. I was the apple that fell far from the tree. I wasn’t like my father. I spent a lot of time as a young man depressed. I looked at Zepzier through cynical eyes. I always thought the worst of things. I don’t know how but you inherited this amazing ability to find love for all living things, just like my father. It skipped me somehow and I know I would have been much better off had it not. This whole world would be better off if people were more like you and my father. It’s a gift, son.”

Vesik nodded and drank deep of the bitter ale.

“Also, I am very proud of you for what you have done around here. You’ve been a godsend.” Erik paused and smiled at his son. “That being said, do you have any idea what you want to do?”

Vesik had been thinking about that all night and still was unsure. “Well it’ll either be college or the Watch.”

“I’m not here to tell you what I want from you, that isn’t my place. You’re a man now, Vesik. All I want you to know is that if you choose the Watch, it’ll be hard. Remember, one day you may have to hurt someone else, or even kill them. You’ll have to make hard choices but you’ll also be keeping people safe. I don’t know how much you care for academics though. This will be a tough decision for you.”

Warring thoughts clashed in Vesik’s mind. He forgot for a brief moment that he was holding a mug of ale until a drop landed on his boot. He had pondered a similar notion himself. He was scared of failing, of being a disappointment, of having to ever take charge of anything. Making this decision had been terrifying on its own. Now, faced with the reality of being a Sentry was enough to make him crawl into a shell and away from the world.

Mindlessly, Vesik brought the mug to his lips and sipped the ale. The tang and sour of the drink snapped his mind back to the present and he knew his answer. He wanted to be a Sentry, to be a hero and an accomplished man. But he wasn’t strong enough to handle such a responsibility yet.

“College, dad.” A thrill ran through Vesik as he made his choice, borne of fear for what lay ahead and his inability to commit to what he really wanted to aspire to. But then he reassured himself that he could attain that dream later, and he felt better on all fronts. He drank quicker.

Erik nodded then said, “We’ll go to the college tomorrow and get it all figured out. This will be a good thing for you, son.” Erik struggled to find words to say, Vesik could tell he was brooding. He finally said, “The gods know you weren’t going to pull a woman out of the ground here. Maybe you’ll find one somewhere in the city.”

They both shared a smirk and the tone of the conversation turned from serious to one of light banter. They finished their drinks together and went inside. Vesik felt a pang of trepidation as he lay down in his bed and knew that if not for the ale clouding his feelings and thoughts, he would have been up all night, staring into the darkness and fearing the future.

 

2

 

It turned out that Vesik took to academic subjects fairly well. He found himself excelling in matters that dealt with numbers and money without having to study much. He quickly decided that he’d search for a job dealing with money, perhaps as a lender’s assistant. Regardless of his professors’ qualms about the importance of a well-rounded education, Vesik took classes that only associated with numbers, money, policy, and writing.

Not even six months into his schooling did Vesik begin seeking a job, although out of necessity more than anything else. His father had stashed away some money but not much. The silver Erik had given the college was just enough to get him through his classes currently and now he wouldn’t have enough money to return next term.

After listening intently to a discussion from one of his professor’s on the economic reasoning behind lending money and the goal of interest, Vesik approached the man. He waited behind two other students, still running through the new information he’d been taught today and committing it to his memory. Finally, the professor said, “Yes, Vesik?”

“Professor, Illium, I was hoping you’d be able to provide me with some guidance.” Although Vesik had yet to actually ask anything of the man and he was not being scrutinized or forced into some responsibility, he felt as though he was beginning to float. The nervousness that came with just speaking to his professor was profound and frustrating. He tried and failed each time to battle his nerves when doing something so simple.

Vesik’s voice suddenly sounded small as he continued, “Um, what kind of work do you think I’d be … um … that I’d qualify for at this time?” His heart beat against his chest as if he were about to defend against a savage army of barbarians for his very life.

Professor Illium knew well of Vesik since he had taught him in several classes before. Vesik had mustered the courage to speak with the scholar several times before and so Vesik was comfortable that he knew enough about him to give him a solid answer. “Well, not much, Vesik. I’d say something such as beginning to lend money or even work for a lender would be beyond your scope now. But, I know you are versed in the skills required for basic mathematics and some assistant work. Perhaps you could serve as a good clerk for an office of some sort. One that didn’t require you have any responsibilities that dealt with any sizable sum of money. But why are you asking this? Do you plan on dropping out?”

Vesik shook his head then said, “No, sir. I just need to make money to cover my tuition here.” As was routine, Vesik’s nerves began to slowly calm as the two conversed at length.

“Good. I wouldn’t be pleased with you leaving so soon. I hope my advice helps, just don’t get in over your head somewhere; you need to focus on your schooling.”

“Of course. Thank you, professor.” With that, Vesik turned and left. He then went to the office of the school and spoke with a man at the desk. He asked if the school knew of any positions that needed filling as a clerk in Cavia as many employers came to the school to look for men and women to hire. The man told Vesik that he had not but took his name and promised to inform professor Illium if anything became available.

Vesik then left the school and headed home. Never had he went out with friends as he saw others do, primarily because he didn’t have any. Although he longed to be included in such activities, the stress of meeting people and being asked to do anything was too much for Vesik to overcome. He never once was approached by anyone in school as he absorbed the professor’s message then swiftly headed home, avoiding gazes and conversation. Although Vesik wished he was strong enough to be social and make friends with which to go drinking and carousing with, he was happy with his progress in school.

Just several weeks ago, professor Illium had come to Vesik’s home along with his wife to have dinner with Vesik and his parents. The professor had remarked on Vesik’s strong intellectual ability and Erik and Elara seemed as though they would pounce on him with hugs and praise. Thankfully, they saved all that until after Illium and his wife had left. Vesik quickly came back to his present and thought about what it would be like to work a real job as a person’s assistant.

 

***

 

Only three days had passed until professor Illium stopped Vesik after class one day. He said, “You have an interview with Captain Bors of the Watch. He is in need of a clerk to handle his appointments and whatnot. It’s today, now in fact. Do you have something better to wear than that?”

Vesik was so caught off guard and his mouth had gone so dry that he forgot how to speak. Truly, his stomach must be burrowing its way through the earth at this very moment, he thought. Finally he said, “Um, no.” Vesik looked down at his green tunic and the loose red leggings that flowed down his legs. He didn’t even have a belt to tie his tunic about his waist tightly and suddenly realized how shoddy he must look. Shame burned in him and he felt himself fluster.

Illium said, “No need to worry, Vesik. Come with me. The clothes I have for you may be a little big but they’ll do.”

Vesik wordlessly walked with his professor as the man spoke about what Vesik should be wary of during the interview. He absorbed this lecture as if he was in class, committing each point to memory as if a small man lived within his head and chiseled words onto his brain. Soon, they were at the man’s house, Vesik sitting awkwardly in a small living room waiting for his professor. The man quickly returned with black pantaloons, a red sash, and a white shirt with long sleeves and a collar. Vesik quickly stripped off his unworthy clothing as Illium retrieved a pair of brown, leather boots.

“Be quick, Vesik. You should get to the Watch house early rather than late. It’d look best that way.”

Illium’s words were law and Vesik hastily pulled the clothing on. All of it was slightly big but not as oversized as Vesik’s earlier outfit. He had no idea how to tie the sash correctly so Illium did it for him. He wished he had some flashy piece to show off, a bracelet, pin, or necklace to aid him. But he wouldn’t dare ask his professor for something so gracious. Vesik finally pulled the boots on, admiring them as they stopped a quarter of the way up his shin.

Professor Illium looked him over quickly then said, “It’s a good thing you don’t grow much facial hair yet or we’d need to give you a clean shave. Now, go to the Watch house near the square. You know the one I speak of?”

“Two blocks north of it?”

“That’s it. Move quickly but do not show up sweaty and flustered. I’ve sent along a good review of you and your ability in academics. I didn’t send any other students because I know you need this and that you’d do well. Let me know how everything goes in class tomorrow. Good luck, Vesik.”

Vesik fought the urge to hug the man, thanked him quickly, picked up his clothing, then hustled from the house.

 

***

 

Half of an excruciating hour spent obsessing over a fantasy of what the interview should be like passed all too quickly. Captain Bors himself walked from a hall, seemed to not even notice Vesik, then went behind an oak counter with a man seated behind it.

Captain Bors was a squat man with a wide build. His gut poked out from between his coat although he seemed to possess strong arms with thick muscle. A goatee circled his mouth and covered his chin. Bushy brows sat above dark eyes split by a pointy nose.

“Where is he?”

Vesik wanted to stand and introduce himself but was stuck to the bench he sat in. The clerk said, “Right there.” His pointed finger felt like a thousand prying eyes.

Bors looked at Vesik and seemed to take stock of his entire life. “Hello, Vesik. Illium said good things about you.”

Vesik used a mechanism that he discovered helped him often. He dipped his head as if nodding but really was just hiding that he was closing his eyes so that he could speak. “Captain Bors, it is nice to meet you.” When Vesik looked up again, Bors was throwing him an odd look. Vesik realized he had forgotten to look up the entire time he was speaking.

“Yes, well. Follow me.” Bors took off and Vesik quickly got up and began following.

Bors kept quiet as he led Vesik around a few corners and into his office. Vesik felt as though he was floating and that the air was hot and cold at the same time. He was sweating beneath his clothes.

A low, empty desk sat outside of the captain’s office, a polished chair behind it. Vesik could see himself there, rifling through the few drawers, filling them with important papers and items, doing calculations and setting appointments. He’d be someone that other people would have to request permission from. He’d have authority.

The pair moved past the desk and into Bors’ office. The room was small but not cramped. A desk sat towards the back of it, one bookcase butted against one of the side walls that sported only a dozen books and pamphlets, the chairs seated on either side of the desk were padded unlike the one outside the office, and on the sill of a window above Bors’ chair sat several bottles of amber colored liquids along with three glasses next to them.

Vesik lowered himself into his seat, and waited as Bors did the same. The captain said, “My last assistant was incompetent. He had to be let go. But, the college usually turns out good men and women. My last assistant wasn’t from the college. So, Vesik, tell me a little about yourself.”

Why did Vesik have to talk so soon? Why didn’t Bors just blather on while Vesik could get by with nods and fake smiles? “Um. I farmed growing up. My parents, they owned a farm. Well, they own the farm now too. Um. So, I helped them my whole life. I joined the college two terms ago. And … yeah.” He hated that he ended most of his responses that way when he was nervous.

Bors nodded his head and tapped his fingers against his desk rigorously. “So, just two terms? But you’re confident in your ability?”

Vesik nodded his head and then sat still, his eyes plastered to the captain’s judging gaze. Bors wasn’t speaking so Vesik said, “I’ve taken two classes in assisting.”

Something close to approval passed Bors face as he made one big slow nod. Vesik hoped he wasn’t sweating so much that Bors could tell. But then he felt a bead slide down his temple and his hopes were dashed.

“Why the Watch, Vesik? Why not a job somewhere else?”

Now is where Vesik’s answer mattered for a lot. He could tell that Bors was proud of the Watch, the badges and patches on his coat showed as much. But he also straightened up in his chair as he spoke about his beloved organization.

Channeling his best display of confidence, Vesik tried to straighten up to match Bors and hold his gaze. He somehow managed both as he said, “I’ve always admired the work that the Watch does.” He inwardly marveled at his steady voice. “Cavia wouldn’t work without the Watch. My father told me of a time where two Sentries save my mother and I from being killed by a rogue when I was just a boy. I’ve revered them ever since.”

The smile that crossed Bors’ face caused Vesik to smile back; he’d said the right thing. He’d somehow managed confidence. Bors said, “Vesik, do you have any more classes to take today?”

“Yes, sir. I have two more at the eleventh hour of day.”

Bors suddenly got up, turned around and looked outside. He then said, “It looks like it’s the tenth of day right now.” Vesik surmised that he must be looking at a sundial outside his window. The sun would begin falling behind the horizon in two hours. “Vesik,” he turned as he spoke, “what would you think of skipping those classes just for today? To begin working?”

A cold worm slithered through Vesik’s intestines. He’d gotten the job as Bors’ assistant! He was so excited that he felt the familiar flash of embarrassment and nervousness. “Of course, sir!”

Bors thick-fingered hand shot out and Vesik met it with his own. Vesik winced at the pressure of the squeeze and Bors smiled. “Glad to have you, Vesik. Now, let’s toast to this new partnership.”

W0ith practiced ease, Bors spun around, procured a bottle of dark red liquid and two glasses, then spun back to place it all on his desk. He filled each to a knuckle length deep and Vesik stared at the liquid as if it was a magical potion. He’d never had hard spirits before, just ale, and even that was rare. He prepared himself for the strong concoction, told himself that he mustn’t spit it out for any reason.

As Bors plugged the bottle with a stopper, Vesik thought of how his new employer was such a genuine man. Bors was a good-spirited sergeant with a love for his profession. Vesik knew that he’d enjoy his position with this pleasant man.

Bors lifted both glasses and proffered one to Vesik. The amber liquid within swirled as Vesik took it and he moved the glass back and forth to hide the trembling of his hand. Bors held his glass out and Vesik clacked his own against it softly. Bors said, “To your success as my assistant.”

It was nearly impossible for Vesik to take his drink as he smiled so wide. But Bors threw his drink back and Vesik had to follow suit. The liquid cascaded down his throat, seemed to get stuck, then began burning holes through his flesh. He nearly coughed the drink all over Bors but he forced the drink down, the contents of which were surely part acid. Tears came to Vesik’s eyes and he wiped them away as he heavily sighed and wished for the burning sensation to leave his throat.

Sparkling light seemed to leap from Bors’ eyes as he savored the horrid drink. “Strong, huh?”

Vesik vehemently nodded his head.

Bors slammed his glass down and said, “Right! Here, I have some work for you to get started on.” Vesik stood with his empty glass in his hands as Bors opened a drawer and pulled three folders stuffed with papers from them. He looked at the mass of paper and saw days of work within those folders. He wondered how long Bors had went without an assistant. Regardless though, Vesik was ecstatic. He couldn’t wait to run home to his parents to tell them of his success. For the first time in the world outside of his home and parents’ farm, he felt as though he’d won.