Countless terrible whispers assaulted Kai’s mind. Unholy statements unfit for lower beings. Cold, stabbing pain crawled up his fingers. Freezing blades dragged themselves through his arms, his shoulders, his neck.

  Kai’s head pounded. He saw images he should never have seen. He forgot the scenes as fast as he saw them, but they continued to gnaw at his sanity.

  His thoughts froze. Time stretched. The world spun.

  The images stopped.

  And there was nothing. No sounds. Only darkness.

  A cool sense of peace washed over Kai. His racing heartbeat slowed…He was back in Noll’s home. He was—

  The dark book hovered in the air before him.

  It was open. Didn’t Noll say it wouldn’t open?

  Kai was alone.

  Two yellow pages of undecipherable symbols hovered in front of Kai. The dark scratchings shook and hummed.

  He squeezed his eyes shut. Too late.

  The pages appeared in his mind. One word on the left-hand page glowed with golden light. It looked archaic, but he understood it.

  He tried to think about anything else. Anything except for that word. He’d even think about—

  The golden word grew, dominating his every thought. It pulled him. Entranced him. He had no choice.

  The golden word held his attention hostage.

  The writing was in a language he’d never seen. He couldn’t read the script, yet he knew its meaning:

  “Rise.”

  Kai opened his eyes. The dizzying fog receded from his mind. As his sight cleared, Noll came into focus, coughing violently on all fours. The treacherous black book lay on the ash-covered floor, inches away from Noll.

  Noll’s left hand tentatively reached toward the book before he recoiled and crawled away in haste.

  Kai spoke in a low voice:

  “Wha—what happened?”

  Noll raised his head and met Kai’s eyes with his lips curved in a small smile. Kai reconsidered the man.

  Why was he smiling? Bringing him along was a risky move. Though without him, Kai would have to bear the risk of the book. And it wasn’t clear whether Noll would part with it peacefully.

  Old Haggar’s words remained in Kai’s mind. But who would be crazy enough to use a dangerous artifact like this? He glanced at Noll’s smile.

  The old man didn’t give him instructions on how to use the book. Why not keep himself safe and allow Noll to bear the burden? The alternative could lead to a fight Kai wasn’t sure of winning. Better to bet on the sure thing.

  He had little choice.

  Noll shook his head. “I’m not sure.” He took a deep breath. “I’ve had the book for months, but I never got it open.” His gaze grew intense as he looked up at Kai. “You didn’t read it, did you?”

  Kai considered his next words.

  Would lying help him? Or would he miss out on potentially important knowledge?

  But who could Noll share his suspicions with? It was his creepy book. Anything he said would implicate him worse than Kai.

  Kai cleared his throat and fought to control the tremor in his voice.

  “I couldn’t read the script, but I saw the pages.” Kai pinched his brows and risked a glance at the sinister tome before averting his eyes. “What else did the old guy tell you?”

  “You saw it? For real? The old guy said anyone who reads the book will turn to ash on the spot.” he stood and examined Kai. “He must have exaggerated. You’re still alive, right?” Noll had a strange gleam in his eyes. He was already lost.

  Kai focused his gaze on the insane bald man. “What would you do if I told you to get rid of that book?”

  Noll reached down and grabbed the book, clutching it close to his chest like a toddler forced to share his toys. Kai sighed.

  “What can it do? What Gift does it give you?”

  Noll closed his eyes and tried to pry the book open without success.

  “It’s locked again…Hm? Oh, if I touch anyone while holding the book, they sleep. It can last an hour or two, depending on the person. It also makes me invisible in darkness.”

  What a dangerous ability.

  Kai kept his gaze on Noll, while the bald mercenary kept his gaze on the insidious book. “Any other dangers we need to worry about?”

  “Not really. That geezer said not to fall asleep while holding it, but that’s easy to avoid.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Well…he said something about fate, but I wasn’t paying much attention. I wanted to get away before he realised he’d got screwed.”

  His brows shot towards the ceiling like they had a feud with gravity.

  “I thought he was wrong in the head, but” - Noll’s eerie smile widened - “You opened the book!”

  Kai grimaced. The creepy book, the creepy old guy, ravings about fate. That kinda stuff never ends well. Noll gripped the book so tight his knuckles turned white, unhinged obsession written all over his face.

  This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

  That’s gonna be a problem. But we can’t beat Dakas without the book…

  A grim resolve settled in Kai’s ruthless heart.

  “Pay attention, Noll. We need to discuss our plan for tonight.”

  Noll’s brows furrowed. “Tonight? That fast?”

  Kai shrugged. “Blame Renzo.”

  “Ashes.” Noll shook his head, his eerie smile faded. “What do I need to know?”

  He might be less of a liability than I thought.

  Kai didn’t see any reason to beat around the bush. They had little time for niceties.

  “We’re hitting the Carver’s Dusk house.”

  “Ashes, Kai! That’s better than facing Renzo? Are you insane?”

  The irony of clutching the black book like his precious child while questioning Kai’s sanity was lost on Noll.

  Kai held back laughter at the absurdity. “A friend gave me the information we need to pull it off.”

  Noll crossed his arms over the dark book. “You didn’t come to me for this?”

  Kai scoffed. “And where would that get me? Last time I listened to you, I had three Carver goons giving me a warm welcome.”

  Noll shifted his gaze away from Kai. “You have friends?”

  “Not the point.” Kai sighed, “Carver Mob’s boss and three lieutenants are meeting a government guy tonight.”

  “And? Why do we care?”

  “They’ll only have one Marked guarding the Dusk house. The others are gonna be too far away to react to our disturbance.”

  “Which one?”

  “The worst one.”

  Noll’s eyes widened. “Ashes! Do you have any good news?”

  Kai had nothing to offer but a shrug. “I know it’s a trap.”

  Noll’s eyes strained to bulge out of his head. “That’s good news? Are my ears working?”

  Kai tapped the side of his head. “Better to know it’s a trap than stumble into it.”

  Noll shook his head. “Better to meet death with a smile than have him take you by surprise?”

  Kai pointed at the leather-bound book. The silver skull glared back. “You can handle Dakas with that, can’t you?”

  Noll’s lips drew a thin line. “Maybe.”

  “Maybe?” Relying on maybe was a tragedy waiting to happen.

  “I did some research on Dakas.” Noll’s eyes darted around the room. “Nobody knows what his Gift is, but it counters physical attacks.”

  Kai’s shoulders drooped. “So we’re ashed? Why’d you say maybe?”

  A smile crept onto Noll’s face, he stole a glance at the ominous book in his arms. “Because I can put him to sleep if I can get close.”

  That was more like it. Kai found a smile spreading across his face too.

  “But,” Noll said, “there’s still the Dusk in the air.”

  Kai nodded. “Not an issue. I built up a high tolerance working in the labs.”

  Noll’s mouth hung open. “What about me?”

  “We’ll find you a mask on the way in. They’ll have guards at the gate.”

  Noll sighed. “Fair enough. When do we start?”

  Dim sunlight penetrated the window near the wooden chair.

  “That book works best in the dark, doesn’t it?”

  The corners of Noll’s mouth turned up.

  Kai took the lead, and they navigated through the dark maze of the slums without trouble. The cold bite of winter reminded Kai of the malevolent dark book. The book Noll gripped as though it would run away.

  Kai wasn’t sure it couldn’t.

  The ash rain covered their cloaks. Both Noll’s orange and Kai’s green cloaks were better off for it. Grey was a better colour for stealth. Even if it came at the cost of bathing themselves in remnants of the dead.

  Kai had little time to consider the cost of things. He’d allow Noll to sell his sanity for the sake of their survival. For the sake of his survival.

  A stray thought bloomed in his mind.

  Was he any better than Renzo? He crushed the thought with cold logic. He couldn’t afford to be better than Renzo.

  He’d be worse if it came to it. He had to do whatever it took.

  As they approached the border of Carver territory, Kai stopped and gazed in the direction they had come from.

  Noll furrowed his brows. “What is it?”

  Kai didn’t bother to whisper. “We’re being followed.”

  Noll scanned their surroundings for the perpetrator. He kept his hand tucked inside his shirt and on the dark book.

  Crumbling tenements surrounded them on both sides. There was nowhere to hide. Though Kai knew better than to take things at face value.

  He focused on a conspicuous mud growth on the wall on their right. “Dane? I still have time, don’t I?”

  Noll looked at Kai with pursed lips. “Are you alright, Kai? There’s nobody there.”

  Kai shook his head. “He’ll come out soon enough. No point hiding now.”

  A sigh echoed through the alley. Noll’s eyes narrowed.

  “Congrats” came from a bored voice. “You found me.”

  Kai raised his chin. “You could’ve tried harder.”

  “Why bother?” The voice replied. The muddy growth on the building squirmed. A chiselled, languid face emerged from the mud. Dane. A Serpent Mob lieutenant.

  His gaze wandered until it fell on Kai. “You’d notice me soon enough.”

  Kai gestured to the mud surrounding the man’s face. “Then, why the charade?”

  Dane’s shoulders exited the mud. They rose and fell at the speed of a slow breath. “Orders.”

  Kai scoffed. “Renzo sent you to finish the job he couldn’t? What will the others think?” Kai glanced at Noll, hoping he had the awareness to prepare for a fight.

  Dane’s leg escaped the muddy cocoon. His other leg soon followed. His upper body broke free, and the muddy growth shrunk. The mud compressed into a thumb-sized ball. Dane tilted his head while examining it between his gloved fingers.

  Another sigh escaped the Marked’s lips. “Here to watch, then report.”

  The tension is Kai’s body released. This was a fight he didn’t want. Taking down a Marked by surprise was one thing. Possible, but risky.

  Fighting a Marked head-on was suicide.

  Kai nodded. “Are you gonna keep following us?”

  Dane offered a slow nod, then pocketed the mud ball.

  Kai expected as much. “Are you gonna interfere?”

  Dane offered a slow shake of his head.

  “Are you gonna help?”

  Dane held back a smirk before giving another slow denial. Kai couldn’t blame him. It was a silly question.

  Kai turned to continue into Carver territory.

  Noll glanced between Kai and Dane. “That’s it?”

  “That’s it.” Kai replied.

  Kai raised his voice as they moved forward. “Seen Renzo lately?”

  “More than you have,” Dane’s bored voice replied.

  Kai hadn’t seen the slimy bastard in weeks. It didn’t bode well.

  The Dusk house was an unassuming concrete block. Its grey walls, chipped and decaying, basking in the dull moonlight filtering through the thick clouds above.

  The air in the surrounding area carried a sharp, acrid scent that clawed at Kai’s throat. A blend of toxic chemicals and something darker.

  He knew well what brewed inside those walls.

  Dark dust, also known as Dusk. The insidious black powder kept slum dwellers docile and content. Government-sanctioned ‘medication’ produced and distributed by the mobs.

  Its consumption - mandatory. Only mobsters were exempt.

  Metal grates covered the windows of the Dusk house, casting shadows like prison bars across the cracked pavement. An iron gate covered the wooden door at the entrance. A teenage guard, not yet twenty. Not Marked.

  The Dusk house needed little exterior protection. Multiple Marked and mundane guards were always inside. Nobody was crazy enough to attempt breaking in.

  Nobody except Kai.

  The street was empty at this time of night. Dane stayed back, making no effort to interfere. A man of his word. A rare specimen.

  Kai didn’t bother concealing his approach. He sauntered towards the teenager guarding the Dusk house door. The teenager was short. An average dweller. A gas mask covered his face. A hooded red cloak covered the rest of him. He narrowed his eyes as he spotted Kai.

  “What do you want?” The mask muffled the boy’s voice.

  It wasn’t one of yesterday’s goons. That would’ve made things messy. Kai raised his right hand and showed the boy the fake symbol he had drawn earlier.

  “I’m a new Marked. I heard the Carvers have work for good pay. Is this the right place?” The boy turned his head to focus on Kai’s right hand.

  A pale hand grabbed the boy’s shoulder in his moment of distraction. The boy’s eyes rolled back in his head. He released a heavy breath and dropped to the ground like a sack of Darkshards. Noll emerged from the shadows like a dark wraith. The corners of his lips curled up.

  “Amazing, right?”

  Kai couldn’t deny it. The potency of the cursed book was clear. “I admit it’s formidable, but stay alert. You take his mask.” Noll bent down and unclasped the straps.

  “You sure you can handle the Dusk without a mask?” Noll asked.

  “We already discussed this, didn’t we? This scarf will be enough.” Kai rubbed the back of his neck. He built a tolerance to the Serpent Mob’s Dusk, but he couldn’t know if the Carver’s were producing something stronger. Or something different.

  If he was wrong…

  Kai wrapped the black scarf around his face; Noll donned the gas mask. They nodded at each other. Kai took a deep breath. He had to be right. He despised anything that messed with his memory.

  He moved to open the wooden door. Noll kept his hand on the book, his eyes glimmering under the moonlight. Kai’s scalp prickled at the sight. The silence before the storm.

  His hand gripped the door’s handle.

  Everything disappeared.

  Patreon.

  Also: please follow, favourite and review the story - it helps me reach more people.

  What's one thing I could do to keep you reading?