Chapter Eight - Portents of Release
Happiness met her when she woke, her eyes wrinkling up into little smiles of their own without even opening. Still not believing it, she rolled over and opened them but the other occupant of the bed was gone. Reality smacked her about the face with a two-by-four as it dawned on her what she had done. Yeah, the sex had been good but was it really worth the consequences? The eyes now contained pain; the twinkle had evaporated from them like vapour in the heat. Slowly she curled into a tightly wrapped ball, sheets clutched tightly between her fists in frustration. Tempting the fates was no way to live your life, let alone ending a night. Pain blossomed in her belly as something pressed against her stomach lining. Throwing back the sheets, she stared in horror as she watched a protrusion; still engorged by her flesh, push forth from her centre. Slowly it withdrew but came back after a few seconds. Fire burned through her veins as it pushed even harder: something was fighting to get out. Panic enveloped her as she desperately tried to push the moving lump back inside of her but metal claws grabbed her right hand and a hand made of flesh grabbed her left, pulling them away from her belly to either side of her head. Her eyes met those of the two who were holding her arms: Sydney Losstarot and Romeo Guildenstern. Hands grabbed her legs as they tried to kick away, this time belonging to Duke Bardorba and Jon Hardin. The four dead men, each inextricably linked to Leá Monde, held her down firmly as she thrashed against them and the ever-growing agony from her womb. The protrusion receded but she knew it wasn't over; foreboding swamped her mind as she knew what ever it was, it was coming now. And so it did; the Blades of Sin, the Blood Sword, erupted through her chest; the main blade pushing straight up as the diagonal blades slashed her in half. Still conscious, she saw the face of the fifth man as it rose through the gap between her chest and her legs: Ashley Riot, his eyes closed and grin macabre. Removing one hand from the hilt, he pointed it to her, her blood dripping from his outstretched fingers as he mouthed two silent words.
"You're next," were the first words Callo Merlose said when she sat bolt upright in her bed, emerging from the nightmare with her mind totally clear.
"Mmmgh?" came a sound from beside her, buried underneath the covers.
Throwing back the covers, Callo saw Sondra Felsham curled up like a cat resting by the hearth.
"Nothing to worry about Sunny, nothing at all." The lie rolled from her lips far easier than she expected it to but her eyes couldn't hide it as the Observer noticed, the pupils were like pinpricks and the irises contained only one thing: death. It was this that would haunt Sondra for the rest of her life... what she had left of it.
Sunshine shone through the window but it shunned him, silently slinking away from his body. No, it was too good for the likes of him. He was a murderer for the first time since his reawakening. Ashley Riot sat slumped in the chair that he had been in all night since leaving the Duke's townhouse. He had held that knife in his hands and plunged it into the old mans chest, bringing his life to an end. He had killed someone in cold blood and it wasn't even in the service of his country or by a ghastly accident, it had been done for his own intentions and now he was haunted by Bardorba's words: it had been foretold... Prophecy, it was all dictated and written but wasn't set in stone. He needed to adhere to the path laid before him or the whole world would face the consequences and it wasn't a road that Agent Riot wanted to tread. All he could hope for was the next two weeks to pass as quickly as possible and with him thinking as little as he could. He needed something to distract himself from the deeds in his past and those still ahead of him...
Several hours later, Grand Stewart Le Sait was still contemplating the meeting he had had earlier with the Pretender. Troubling news indeed, it was verified that Inquisitor Merlose was indeed helping the ex-Riskbreaker and so by all accounts, she was a mole, a thorn in his side and a threat to his plans. As long as she lived, Ashley Riot would have a constant stream of information of the VKP's movements and that was simply unacceptable... but how to remove her? The Pretender could do it but then there was a chance of their exposure and that was also out of the question. He could hire outside of the VKP but that was dodgy at best so that left only one real option. They wouldn't kill her, she would kill herself...
