Knightmaremage: Thank you for the feedback! I realize that my chapter lengths can be very short, but I feel that they are the appropriate length for my writing style and the length of this story. That being said, I of course recognize that we can always improve and hone our skills, so I'll try to improve my pacing and word-crafting abilities :)
Thanks for bringing those things about Garrett up. Unfortunately I can't play the original games, but I've watched a few cutscenes on YouTube and I can definitely see that the Garrett from the original game is significantly different from the reboot's!

Laren_najm38: Don't ask me why, but I've learned a little bit about lock picking - using my own door and old paperclips please don't call the cops on me - and let me say that it is very tricky to master! Well, tricky for me at least.
Hm, I think that Garrett does not want another Erin. Considering how wrong he went with her (she did become somewhat of a mercenary/assassin after all), I think he'd do his best not to make the same mistakes. So if anything perhaps he's helping Isabella not out of obligation to her, but rather to seek redemption for himself.
Yes, in this story he still has the Primal in his right eye, I believe. The game doesn't show his face after he (debatably) seals the Primal in the ancient book, so the ending is ambiguous in that regard. I thought I'd play around with that ambiguity a bit :P

Josierose501: Thanks! Heh, my knowledge of lock picking may seem sketchy but I swear I'm not a criminal :P
I do in fact have something fairly significant in store for her (all in due time, my friend, all in due time).
I'm so happy that you're enjoying Isabella's character so far, but I do hope I'm not yanking Garrett out of the spotlight. I'm trying my best to balance both of their plots to some extent while also establishing a connection between our two main characters. Hope you can enjoy the rest of the story!

Chapter 19

Dusk had painted the sky in strokes of soft orange light. The streaks of dying sunlight smothered by the clouds and the smog shone in muted colours, chased to the edges of the world by the dark ashen veil slowly creeping across the sky. The sun was setting, paving the way for monstrosities of all sorts.

In the darkness of the tower Garrett lay prone, trapped and unable to escape the thoughts plaguing his mind. Broken, incoherent visions flashed briefly but brutally, burning white hot in his head. He couldn't discern more than a few images, but they were images he'd rather not have been able to see. Some were of gears and steam and cold sterile metal, others of blood and gore. Most were of her, though. He could still see her face whenever he closed his eyes, feel her gaze boring into his brain. She looked angry, vengeful. But why shouldn't she be, he thought.

He ambled to the basin, wanting nothing more than to escape for just a few hours in solitude and perhaps make a few coins. Dipping his hands in the cool water, he peered into the grimy cracked mirror propped up against the wall. His eye glowed an ethereal blue, appearing brighter in the darkness of the room. He let his gaze drift downwards to the scuffed wooden surface of the table, to the steel razor lying tantalizingly close. As he stared back up at his reflection, he felt his fingers twitch.

With a steady hand, he raised the metal instrument now gripped tightly in his hand to his face. The light emanating from his eye seemed to flicker, as if it could sense his thoughts. He drew the blade closer, and it wavered more violently.

A soft thud jolted him out of his stupor. He whipped around, razor still in hand, towards the source of the noise. He let out a sigh of relief and set the knife down when he saw the bird pecking lightly on the frame of the window. A small matchbox lay at her feet. Basso's hurried scrawl was messier than usual - Garrett suspected he was in a hurry when he wrote it. There were only a few lines of script on the back.

4: Not safe. Get out of there. Wmvir'w Viwx.

Garrett reached for a stick of charcoal and piece of parchment, recognizing the encrypted message immediately.

"Four… four letters back." He scribbled hastily on the parchment, quickly deciphering the message. "Siren's Rest."

For just a moment, he felt a slight pressure in his head, heard an unintelligible murmuring coming from nowhere and everywhere. Before he could make sense of what had happened, the moment passed. Silence. He shook his head clear, then turned on his heel and dropped the note in the burning brazier. He waited to ensure the paper had burned to ashes before he continued.

The sight of a figure curled up in the corner almost startled him. He had nearly forgotten about her, again.

For reasons unknown to him, the girl had insisted that she use an old mattress she had found in the cache of "antiquities" downstairs instead of his bed. He hadn't argued the point much - or at all, for that matter. He still wasn't accustomed to having her around, nor was he particularly pleased about it. If worst came to worst, he supposed in a few weeks he would be able to send her off on her own without sentencing her to her death. She was progressing, after all, albeit very slowly.

With a gentle nudge of his foot, he roused Isabella from her sleep. "Get up. We have to go."

She groaned and pushed herself up. "Wh-What? Go where?"

Garrett had already rounded up the more precious and rare collectibles he had acquired. He sifted through the pile, taking a few of the smaller trinkets and stowing the rest in a silver-plated strongbox. He closed the clasp firmly and placed it under a loose corner floorboard.

"Take only what you need. We leave now." He ignored the strange murmurs permeating his thoughts.

Isabella scrambled to get up, still in a groggy daze. "Alright," she huffed. "Will I at the very least have the privilege of knowing where it is we're -"

She didn't get the chance to finish her sentence. Garrett raised a hand to stop her, using the other to motion for her to be silent. He slowly crept towards the window, peering outside with keen eyes. All was quiet. Nothing moved. An inexplicable pull gravitated his gaze downwards. He froze when he caught sight of what had been causing his unease.

Staring back at him were two familiar blazing eyes. A wicked, twisted smile contorted the creature's face as it looked up at Garrett with a predatory hunger. It clung to the sides of the tower only a few stories down, gouging its razor-like claws deep between the stones as it crawled up. A garbled wheezing noise escaped its gaping mouth in a sick parody of a laugh. The humming in his head intensified tenfold as he stared down at the steadily advancing creature.

"Isabella," he called without breaking its gaze. "Down the stairs."

By some miracle, she appeared to have sensed the urgency in his voice. Without another word, she jumped up and fled as fast as her legs could carry her. When Garrett heard her descend the second flight down, he promptly pushed himself away from the window and followed suit. A roar of fury ripped through the air as he turned around. From behind him, he could hear the creature rapidly scaling the walls. Within a few seconds, it had entered the building and was gaining fast on Garrett's heels.

Carefully controlling his breathing, he hoisted himself over the railing and dropped to the next level. He continued his descent immediately.

"There's a latch at the bottom." He spared a glance over his shoulder. The creature was at the top of the stairs. Doubling his speed, he shouted, "hit the switch and push the stone loose."

"I know, I saw you do it!" An irritated cry called out from below in reply. "Give me a moment."

"We don't have one," he muttered as he dropped next to her.

"Got it!" She kicked the stone out and lay down on her back. Placing her hands on the wall outside, she pulled her body through the aperture in one swift motion.

Garrett was already halfway through when he felt a cold hand clamp down on his leg. He grasped for a handhold as a tremendous force pulled him back. Isabella whipped around and took his wrist in both of hers. Bracing her foot against the wall, she dropped down and pulled with all the strength she could muster.

"Hold… on," she gasped.

Garrett used his other leg to kick at the hand on his ankle. It only tightened its grasp. He cried out as his bones ground together painfully. Feeling Isabella's hold on him loosen, he glanced up at her. She let out a slow breath, then let go of his wrist. Without any resistance, the creature immediately wrenched him back in the tower. Adrenaline pumped through his body, forcing the mild confusion out of his mind, as he assessed his chances of survival. The odds did not appear to be in his favour.

The same grating noise filled the air as the creature hunched over its prey. It cocked its head as Garrett, trying in vain to find an opportunity to escape or distract the monster a mere foot away from him, searched the room. When he found nothing, he cursed under his breath and faced the creature again. He wasn't about to make its job any easier by standing still.

Just as he was about to make a dive between its gnarled legs, a voice hollered out to him. "Cover your eyes!"

He didn't have to think twice before he shielded his face. The flash bomb rolled to a stop right in front of him. A subsequent crack sounded as the bomb combusted. Garrett was already out of the tower when he heard the creature shriek in pain. He pulled himself out as fast as he could, exhaling in relief when he saw cloudy skies above. He paused - something felt wrong.

Waiting patiently for him to stand up, the Thief-Taker General stood proudly with a smug grin plastered across his face. He leaned heavily on his cane, pointing his loaded crossbow directly at Isabella's head. Flanking him were two heavily armed guards. His eyes lit up with amusement when he saw who had just emerged.

"The notorious Rat King," he drawled. "Miss me?"

He shifted his aim towards Garrett. "How satisfying it would be to kill you right here and now…"

Garrett narrowed his eyes at him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Isabella open her mouth as if to speak, but he raised a hand to silence her. "So what's stopping you?"

The General chuckled as he lowered his arm. "Got strict orders not to kill you. The Baron needs you alive."

He motioned to his men. "Take him. Don't be afraid of roughing him up a bit." He nodded towards Garrett, then turned his head towards Isabella. "You can kill her. Her death is long overdue anyway."

Garrett turned to Isabella questioningly, but she remained silent, her eyes locked defiantly on the man in front of her.

The General observed the exchange between the two, then let out a small laugh. "What, she didn't tell you? And here I thought whosoever shares your bed shares your secrets. Suppose not every old saying's a wise one."

As he barked at his men to hurry with their task, two bolts bore into the exposed neck of each guard. A third hit the Thief-Taker in his good leg, leaving him howling and crumpled on the ground. Without missing a beat, Garrett sprinted to the cover of the darkened alley behind him with Isabella hot on his tail. The two climbed to the roofs in no time, only pausing to stop once they were a few blocks away.

Isabella sat down as she caught her breath, resting her elbows on her knees as she let her head hang.

He paced behind her. "Wanna tell me what that was about?"

She raised her head again and looked up at him with the trace of a smile on her face. "It appears we have a guardian angel. Imagine that."

"I'm not joking around. What the hell was that?" He kept his voice low, but couldn't hide his seething irritation.

She sighed and turned her head away. "I suppose you were going to find out one way or another."

Garrett turned away abruptly, keeping watch for any signs of danger even though he suspected none were present. He took in a breath to collect himself before turning back to face her, silently demanding an explanation as he looked expectantly at her.

"I promise I will explain it to you. I'm guessing I don't have much of a choice now anyway," she said, eying him nervously.

Isabella rose and brushed the dust off her pants. "But not here. Anything could be lurking in the shadows. The City has ears everywhere - you of all people should know that."

"Fine," Garrett replied, starting off without looking back. "I need to meet with someone. You're coming with me."

"Lead the way," she replied drily.

No trace of sunlight graced the sky. The City was shrouded in complete darkness, the clouds choking out even the sparse light from the moon. Silence was the music of the City that night. Monstrosities of all sorts, its scourges now unleashed and free to roam the decaying streets.

End of Part II