Brandon stepped out of the shower, and grabbed the towel on the rack. It had been a long day, taking Amy out to shop. She was a whirlwind, racing through the megamall and still doing almost nothing but window shop. She had refused to let him spend very much money on her, except for lunch.
Still, while she was looking through the bookstore, he had stepped next door to the jewelers. One of his father's friends, Carlos, had run the store for years, and was a good friend of his. He had given Brandon the ring, and refused to accept payment for it. "Your lady friend is lucky, Brandon, so consider this to be your wedding present from me."
Brandon stepped into his bedroom. On the nightstand, a small black box lay, open so the tiny engagement ring was visible. 20k gold, with a small diamond set in the middle, surrounded by tiny rubies, it was a beautiful sight to behold. The brooch had been a mistake one of his secretaries had given him. It just did not suit Amy. Maybe this would be a suitable apology.
All he needed now was the chance to ask her. He would have done it tonight, but she had to leave, having to work in the morning. Even then, she had refused to let him give her a ride home, insisting that she could walk home by herself. She was incredibly modest and unassuming. It was one of the things that had attracted him to her in the first place. And besides, soon enough she would be having all he could give.
[I]Who would be my best man, though? [/I]Brandon spoke to himself. His brother was off in the northern continent, devoting his life to martial arts training, and would not be available for many years. He was sure Amy would pick Kami, Velda, and Jessa for bridesmaids, but he had no one to be his best men. Perhaps Stryker, for the man was honorable and good, and a close friend of Amy's.
As he walked into his den, he spotted the rack of pool already set up. With a tiny smile, he pulled down one of his pool cues, and broke the rack. Perfect shot, he told himself, as six balls, all stripes, entered pockets. Brandon laid the cue down on the table, and went to arm the security system.
Walking back into his bedroom, he saw the message light blink on his com. He ignored it. Whoever it was, it could wait until morning. He laid down in the bed, and was soon fast asleep.
**
The Creator watched the doomed man fall asleep. Although it was cruel, the way fate would go tonight, it was essential. The universe needed a Guardian, and one life was worth that.
The Creator felt the Destroyer approach. Like light and dark, the Destroyer was the perfect antithesis of the Creator, the one who brought chaos the universe. As the Creator was looking for the Guardian, so was the Destroyer looking for the Angel of the Abyss, the one to bring crisis to the worlds.
I greet thee, o Destroyer, the Creator said.
I greet thee in return, Creator. Have thou found the Guardian yet?, asked the Destroyer.
I have, Destroyer. Look thusly, the Creator spoke, and showed the Destroyer his choice.
Such evil in thy choice, Creator. One might be forced to consider thee off thy proverbial rocker, the Destroyer quipped.
Nay, Destroyer, I
have my wits about me. The evil in his
soul is your, if you would accept it.
So much evil, though! Perhaps I do not need a soul for my Angel after all. Perhaps, with so much evil, it will become conscious on it's own, answered the Destroyer.
Do as thy will, Destroyer. Now, let us watch. The
trial of this soul will be done tonight, even though it will be some time
before the new Guardian's soul shall be ready to pass on to me, said the
creator.
The two gods sat back,
and waited for the conclusion of events.
**
A slim bar was passed
under the window. Light pressure was
applied, and a crack appeared under the casing. A slim tool was passed through this crack, and it slipped the
fine wire, the one connecting the window latch to the alarms, off it's catch.
Stryker carefully opened
the window, and slipped inside. As he
stood, he loosened his sword in it's sheath. Focusing a minor amount of magic, he created a dim light in the palm of
his hand to guide him.
A pool cue was sitting on
a pool table. Stryker assumed it was
the one used in the brutal act of rape that had occurred that evening. He did not touch it, for the genetic samples
removed from the cue would validate what he did tonight.
Stryker slipped out of
the room, and down the hall to the bedroom. The light in his hands revealed Brandon's limp form under the sheets,
asleep. He would remedy this situation
shortly.
Reaching out, Stryker
grasped the shock of hair sticking out from under the sheets and viciously
jerked Brandon out of bed. As the
rudely awakened man came out of bed, Stryker kicked him in the knee, breaking
it and dropping Brandon to a crouch. He
then stomped on Brandon's ankle, shattering it to insure that Brandon would be
going nowhere else.
Brandon's sleep-filled
eyes focused on Stryker. "What the hell
is going on, Stryker? What are you
doing?"
"This is punishment for
your crimes, creature. For your rape of
Amy tonight, you have been sentenced to die. And may the devil have no mercy upon your soul."
"What the hell are you
talking about, Stryker? I didn't do
any…" Brandon's words were cut off,
abruptly and literally. Stryker prodded
Brandon's side with his sword, and as the doomed man straightened out
involuntarily, Stryker removed his head with a clean swipe of the sword.
Wiping his sword clean of
the blood, Stryker observed the remains of the body. Brandon's blood was spilling onto the expensive white carpeting
in copious amounts. His head had rolled
off to one side, an frightened expression on it's face.
Stryker sheathed his
sword, and spat on the body. "Burn in
hell," came his succinct remark. With
that, he turned and left the way he had came in.
**
That was it?, asked the
destroyer. No torture? No enjoyment of the death? No endless suffering?
It is not needed, Destroyer, answered the Creator. His soul is pure, and tempered his evil.
My guess is, Creator, that he failed his test, said the
Destroyer.
Indeed? Thou are
wrong, Destroyer. He has passed my
test, answered the Creator.
Yet he killed in cold blood!
The Destroyer proclaimed.
Yet redemption shall be his, and the evil cast out, the Creator replied.
Not quite understanding,
the Destroyer turned his attention back the planet.
**
As Stryker stepped
through his front door, the light on his com went off. Walking over to the set, he pressed the
button to take the call.
Kami came onscreen. "Stryker, we have a surprise for you! Two, actually"
Stryker opened his mouth
to ask, but Kami stepped offscreen and Amy stepped up. The bruises had faded a little, probably due
to the healing magic of the doctors, but she still looked awful. Her word, though, sounded almost happy.
"Stryker? I'm sorry how I acted when you were
here. I didn't mean to snap at you like
that. Why don't you come over, I think
I need to give you a hug."
Stryker tried to deliver
his good news, but Kami interrupted. "The other good news: The
constabulary found the guy who did this. Some drunken biker from a bar right there was outside taking a leak, and
had spotted Amy. He was the one who did
it, Amy identified him right off!"
"I, uh… yeah, that's…
great… I'll be right over… in a little bit…" Stryker stuttered, before shutting
the com off.
He sat on the sofa,
thinking. What had he done? He had assumed that Brandon was the
guy. He had been so wrong! His jealousy had driven him to kill an
innocent man! And there was no way he
could undo his mistake, ever…
There was only one thing
to do. Stryker reached over, and
pressed the transmit on the com. "Hello, City Constabulary? Please put me through to your chief… thank you. Hello, Chief Williams? I would like to report a murder. Brandon Alerics. Yes, I know who killed him."
"I did."