Ten - Innocence Spilled
The first thing that Corvo did was running back to Emily's room. He found her snuggled up in bed beneath layers of comforters, holding a pillow close to her chest.
Senior watch officer Edward had followed him upstairs, and waited patiently outside The Empress' chamber. Corvo came back out, gently closing the door behind him.
'She's fine,' He mumbled to Edward. 'But don't take any chances. Get five senior officers to guard this corridor. I want two more in the balcony, and place two Arc Pylons, one at the stairs and one in the balcony.'
'Yes sir.'
'If there's a slightest vision of someone infiltrating, ring the alarms immediately.'
'Yes sir.'
Corvo nodded at him once and walked back to the staircase, going to the lab. His mind was jumbled up. He still couldn't get the facts around his fingers, and he secretly expected this to be a dream.
The words were ringing in his ears again and again, each time making lesser sense than the last.
Who could possibly be playing as The Masked Felon other than him? Who else would want to get Willow out of prison, and why?
The watch guards were running around, shifting positions to make a tighter defence arrangement that General Maurice had trained them to.
He could hear thunder rumbling outside, and soon the sound of raindrops on the walls.
'Rossi! Jerome! Get to points D and H right now, nobody's covering' em!' One of the Officers shouted.
The door to the library was wide open, revealing the long experiment table, green boards and couches around the fireplace.
Corvo walked in and shut the door behind him, and only then did he see Piero seated on the couch, holding a smoking pipe in his left hand.
'Where's Sokolov?' Corvo asked, walking towards the couch.
'He went home for the night, four hours ago. Said he needed some real rest.' Piero answered, his line of sight directed towards the fireplace.
'Has he heard about the news?' Corvo asked, sitting down on the couch beside him.
'I think it has spread like fire by now. The Empire's most feared murderer has returned. Quite a good reason for all the Lords and Generals to stay inside for a while.'
Corvo closed his eyes, pressing his fingers softly against his eyelids.
'It wasn't me,' Corvo answered.
Piero turned to him, removing the pipe from his mouth. The fingers that held onto the pipe were trembling slightly, and his mouth was agape.
'What?!' He breathed.
'I was here all the time. I have the mask with me too.' Corvo continued. 'I haven't moved or stepped out of the tower since last night.'
Piero put the pipe down on the table and stood up hastily, covering his mouth with his hand. He turned around and paced the room nervously.
'Who could possibly . .' He kept mumbling to himself as he looked at the floor.
He stopped abruptly and looked at Corvo again. 'So Willow has been kidnapped?'
Corvo nodded grimly.
Piero stopped himself for a second and took a deep breath, like he was trying to calm himself down. 'Just when we were about to cure the plague . . .' He mumbled, shaking his head slowly.
Realisation struck Corvo. He had been thinking about all the affairs inside the tower, while out in the city people were still dying of disease. Now that a bigger problem had shown up, he was afraid that the reformations would be delayed.
Each day, there was a minimum number of thirty people dying of plague, and they couldn't afford to delay it anymore.
Corvo stood up slowly, and turned to Piero.
'You're right,' He said aloud. 'We can't wait for things to fall in place any longer.'
'What do you have in mind?' Piero asked.
'I'll put an end to all this. The Whalers' attack, Anna Maria's death, The Bone Charm in Willow's chambers, and now a second masked felon. All of this has to be connected somehow.'
Piero nodded. 'You just have to trace each incident back to its source.'
'Meanwhile, though,' Corvo said, walking to Piero, 'Emily will need political support in the court. It's absolutely true that I don't trust any of the court officials, but it's a fact that there are a few of them who care about the city's welfare. They just don't speak up because they're afraid.'
Piero gave a nod, listening intently.
'You and Sokolov are very important to the Empire, especially now.'
'You suggest that we utilise our importance in politics?'
Corvo gave a nod. 'You'll also have to cover for me. I'm sure nobody will suspect me of anything for a while after that interrogation, but since I'll be doing a lot of things in secret, I will need a solid alibi.'
Piero smiled. 'You as the assassin have been my greatest creation, Corvo. I will do everything in my power to keep that assassin alive.'
Corvo looked at him for a few seconds, his mind taking in the depth of what he had just said. He wasn't very offended by his words, but he wasn't very happy either.
'Do that,' He finally said aloud, and walked to the door.
'It's amazing, isn't it?'
Corvo stopped at the door. 'What is?'he asked without turning back.
'The terror the masked felon creates among all the people.' Piero said, and Corvo could almost hear him smiling.
'How is that amazing?' Corvo nearly snapped, slightly offended.
'Sometimes even the most powerful of all need someone they fear,' Piero said. 'To stand up for the ones who can't . . . Sometimes a society like ours needs someone that can cut the cancer off.' Corvo wanted to get out. He didn't want to hear anymore of it, but his body defied his instincts.
'I assure you, Corvo, even if the people don't appreciate the Masked Felon now, they will, years later. The lord protector will be remembered, maybe till a three generations ahead. But your other side -'
'Looks like there are two masked felons now,' Corvo interrupted him rudely. 'So until I put an end to the other one, the generations ahead will be confused.'
He waited for a second hesitantly, and walked out of the door.
Piero smiled to himself, turning back to the fireplace. He could almost feel the intensity of what lay ahead.
He would never understand the Outsider's games.
It was past midnight, and Corvo was out in the city in the Estate district, The Heart buried beneath his thick coat. He wore a black colored coat instead of the royal blue one, because the latter was an obvious sign of the Lord Protector. He had his hood on, and walked slowly on the streets, unmindful of the rain. There was no one out, only a few corpses and one or two guards running to seek shelter from the rain.
He used his dark vision and looked around carefully, his ears open to every sound.
Tonight, he was looking for a rune. He needed to listen to The Outsider, at least get an idea of whatever was happening.
Soon enough, The Heart started beating faintly against his chest. Immediately he snuck into an empty alley and blinked onto a rooftop. He rushed onto the rooftop of an old library, running across the wooden tiles. He slowly dug his hand deep into his coat, and pulled out the mask.
He felt a sudden rush of excitement and passion, looking at the mask as he ran across the rooftop. He paused at the edge, staring into the blank metal eyes that seemed to be tempting him to put it on. Piero's words kept ringing in his ears, like they were being whispered to him again and again. For once, he allowed himself the comfort of dreaming about fame and honor.
No, he told himself instantly. My honor lies in protecting Emily. My honor lies in my badge, in my position and my loyalty to The Empress.
He held on to the mask for a few seconds, and then put it back in. He shifted his attention back onto the Heart, and carefully followed the direction.
After a short journey across low roofs, he finally found a shrine beneath a tree, hidden away from the rest of the world by a tall wooden fencing. He watched the purple light from the rooftop, and descended onto the ground.
Stepping closer to the rune, he extended a hand and wrapped his fingers around it.
Instantly, the surroundings seemed to fade, nothing else seemed to exist except the shrine.
The familiar figure formed in front of him, strange dark clouds wrapping his floating body.
The Outsider smiled down at him.
'Corvo, my old friend,' He laughed to himself - a mysterious, evil laugh. 'So you have come to seek my aid again. You ignore me for a whole year, but when an unknown force threatens your loved ones, you run to find me. Humans indeed make disloyal friends.'
Corvo was lost, dazed. He couldn't speak in his presence. All he could do was listen.
'It seems that another of my disciples has found you. How interesting. Looks to me that he has gotten onto your nerves, hasn't he?' He shook his head, like he pitied him. 'So much at stake, so much to lose, even after all you have already lost. And yet you think about the victims of the plague. Empress Emily and Piero Joplin keep piquing my interest more and more. And of lately, so has Willow Ride. Where is she, Corvo?' He gently floated ahead, moving around Corvo slowly, looking down at him.
'Even with all this at stake, you try to resist me. You try to get things done without using the gifts I gave you. Tell me, do you really think not using your powers will help you? Do you think a plain sword in one hand, and a crossbow in the other will defeat all your enemies?' He moved closer to Corvo, his black eyes boring into his skull.
'You should embrace your abilities, Corvo. Especially the ones I gave you. The Lord Protector alone cannot defend the Empress against all enemies. And your honor lies in protecting her,' his lips curled into a smile. 'Does it not?'
He moved back to the shrine, extending his hands in mid air.
'I trust you will make the most entertaining play, Corvo.'
His form faded into darkness.
Corvo jerked, suddenly aware of all the fences and buildings around him. He looked down at the rune in his hand, The Outsider's words echoing in his ears. He put it into his pocket, and pulled out the other item - the mask.
He slipped it onto his face, listening to the tip-tap of rain drops on the metal surface. He felt a surge of excitement resonating in his veins.
The dark night saw an even darker figure blinking through rooftops in faint clouds of light blue. He never used his powers unless absolutely necessary. Tonight, the case was different.
He took a pleasure in the speed, in the ability to rush through time and space at an incredible rate. His heart was beating loudly in his chest. He kept looking up at the black clouds, at the drops of rain that fell against his mask, and still travelled perfectly.
He couldn't deny it any longer. He loved this feeling. He loved the power. That was what his mask stood for, the part of him that acted as per his own will, unyielding to any other rules or demands.
He loved it.
He rushed ahead faster, listening to his heart banging against his ribs, watching his surroundings move at a lightning speed.
He noticed something from the corner of his eye. He stopped blinking and simply ran across a rooftop, looking to his right. There was another figure on the neighbouring roof, running across it, looking back at him.
Corvo leaped forward onto the next roof, and the figure did the same.
He stopped running, and turned to look at it.
The figure stopped too, looking at Corvo.
Corvo tilted his head, and it followed his movement.
Corvo saw the shine of metal under it's dark hood.
Immediately, Corvo knew it was the man who had kidnapped Willow earlier that night.
He felt a boiling anger rise through his veins, and didn't attempt to suppress it.
'You!' He yelled furiously.
The red robed figure bowed his head once, like he was happy with Corvo's accusation.
'Where is she?' Corvo demanded. The man turned around, and ran across the roof, leaping onto the next.
Corvo rushed forward immediately, blinking through the space. He saw the man sneaking into an open balcony door in a building, and followed him inside, drawing his sword.
He saw him standing in the lonely apartment, facing the door to another room. He looked at Corvo and raised a finger to the smile on his mask, gesturing him to be silent. Corvo stepped forward gripping his sword tighter, but the next second the man had entered the room.
The next thing Corvo heard was a blood chilling scream ripping through the silence of the night. He rushed into the room, and found the man holding onto a civilian, a woman. He held his sword against her neck tightly, his other arm gripping her shoulders. He looked at Corvo.
'Stop, don't!'
He slashed her throat, and crimson blood splattered on the floor and walls.
Corvo lunged at him, and he jumped out of the window.
He glanced back at the dead woman, and pushed himself out of the window, following the man.
He could see him on another rooftop, descending slowly into another open balcony. Corvo clenched his jaws and blinked onto the rooftop. He vaulted over the banister and jumped onto the balcony, but he was too late.
He was exposed to the sight of a dead man and woman, their blood spilled across the furniture and walls. Corvo rushed to an open window and pushed the billowing curtains aside. He looked everywhere, but found no trace of the man.
He brought up the courage to look at the dead couple again, and slowly walked over to their corpses, their heads lying flat on the table. His mark was glowing, burning into his skin more painfully than ever, but the sight occupied every inch of his mind.
He sheathed his sword absent mindedly and looked around to find another open door, leading into a dark, peaceful room.
Corvo stepped in cautiously, using his dark vision. He could see only a tiny golden figure, and he ceased his power immediately. He walked over to the tiny figure, tucked in and wrapped in layers. His mind pictured things, expecting another horror, more red blood. He gently removed his mask and knelt down beside it.
The baby was alive. Her tiny fingers were curled at her chest, her eyes closed in peaceful slumber. Corvo stepped back and closed his eyes for a second, picturing the man's red robes, the mirror image of his mask.
He had killed them for amusement.
He walked out of the room, gently closing the door behind him. He put on his mask again, and jumped out of the window, rage curdling inside him, growling like the storm.
Thank you for reading, please let me know what you think!
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