84: Murderer (Patreon)

Ravin’s compound wasn’t hard to find. And a compound it was, with multiple wood buildings surrounded by a palisade wood fence. Guards manned watchtowers at the corners, and a pair of menacing gate guards prevented anyone from getting in.

Vir jumped up onto a nearby rooftop with Neel to peek into the compound. What he saw impressed him. Unlike the run-down shacks that surrounded it, the handful of three-story buildings inside the fence were well built, and even sported carvings on its wooden architecture. A small garden occupied one corner, and a stone walkway extended from the entrance to homes and other structures.

Ravin had built himself a small oasis in the cesspool that was the Warrens. Vir might have thought it beautiful, if he was unaware of how Ravin had obtained such wealth.

Lahar hadn’t been the only one exploited by the crime lord. Everyone Vir approached had similar stories. Either they knew of friends or family who’d met misfortune by Ravin’s hand, or they themselves had been subjected to his cruelty. Vir couldn’t find a single positive account of the man.

Whatever hesitation lingered in Vir’s heart evaporated after hearing their stories. Removing Ravin from power would be a boon to the Warrens.

A part of him wanted to believe that the Brotherhood was on the side of good, but another voice in his head said this was merely a coincidence. Vir didn’t know how far the Brotherhood would go, but he sensed that they’d go to great lengths assuming the money was good.

It didn’t matter. He didn’t support the Brotherhood. This was merely a mutually beneficial business relationship, nothing more.

Neel wandered around the nearby rooftops while Vir spent a good hour monitoring the guards. The more he watched, the less impressed with their setup he grew. The guards in the towers slacked off most of the time, staring off at the horizon or taking quick naps when they thought they could get away with it.

The gate guards looked equally bored, but had fewer opportunities to slack than their tower friends. Still, apart from giving mean looks to passersby, Vir didn’t get the feeling that they took their jobs seriously.

Finally, the complete lack of patrols—both inside and outside the compound—shocked Vir. This was a far cry from the castle. Vir had not only infiltrated the castle grounds, but he’d even gotten inside the royal prince and princess’s rooms. With the number of holes in their security perimeter, he wouldn’t even need Dance of the Shadow Demon to break in.

Getting to Ravin wouldn’t be the issue; there were only three buildings in the compound, and Vir figured Ravin would call the largest one home. It was what came after that frightened Vir.

Can I really kill him? Vir thought. Sure, he had the Brotherhood’s mandate to kill this person. No one would fault him for doing so, and he’d be improving the lives of many people.

But despite understanding this, Vir’s hands trembled, and nothing he did stopped it.

I need to calm my nerves.

He’d enact the plan tonight, in the dead of night. Not only would Dance of the Shadow Demon function better at night, but Ravin would be fast asleep. He’d sneak in, kill the man while he slept, and slip out. All without anyone knowing he was there. If he was lucky, his men would only find out the next morning, and by that time, Vir would be long gone.

For this mission, he’d chosen a new disguise he’d never used before. A dirty-looking Warren-dweller. With his ragged clothes, and with his chakris and chakrams gone for servicing, he fit right in.

Vir descended from the rooftop with Neel back to the alley and searched for the nearest food vendor. Unlike inside the city, there were no taverns here. Rather, vendors cooked and sold food from stalls right on the street. The wealthier ones had mobile stalls, while the cheaper options spread banana leaves on the filthy road and set their food right on top.

Not desiring to contract any fatal diseases, Vir selected one of the cleaner, fancier looking stalls. He bought a few vegetable kabobs, eating them as he walked. With his mind preoccupied with the upcoming assassination, he scarcely noticed their taste.

This is bad. I need to calm down, Vir thought. But that was easier said than done. The only one who remained oblivious was Neel, who kept stealing glances up at him, expecting food.

Vir found an empty alley spot and retrieved some dried food from his pack, placing them in a small bowl for Neel. He didn’t dare let the bandy lick food up off the ground here.

He petted his faithful companion as he ate. Neel’s mere presence helped keep Vir grounded. The bandy had been at his side through thick and thin.

“You’re such a good boy, Neel,” Vir said, ruffling his fur. The bandy cooed appreciatively, but it was Vir who gained the most from the exchange. His worries just seemed to melt away.

Vir spent the next hours scouting the compound with Neel. He wanted to be sure he hadn’t missed any guards, so he cased the place from every perspective he could think of. He visited the nearby rooftops, he walked the alleys all around the compound, and planned out several escape paths.

While Dance obsoleted much of his planning, he wanted to have a plan in case Dance failed him. As Rudvik would say, Hope for sun. Plan for rain.

After circling the compound for the third time, Vir finally took a seat on a rooftop. There was nothing further he could do to prepare. He thought about waiting until tomorrow so he could have his armor, but every day wasted meant more people who’d suffer. Lahar’s wife and child might come to harm, and Vir was sure Lahar wasn’t the only one currently suffering at Ravin’s hands.

Besides, if he got into a fight, it meant he'd already botched the job. No. He would get by without it for this operation tonight.

As the sun set, Vir stared up at the Vimana floating above the city. Janak’s avatar said he’d been monitoring Vir from there, but that he lacked the ability to influence anything. Which Vir took to mean that he lacked control over the Vimana.

For the better, Vir thought. He didn’t know what kinds of powers those floating palaces had, but he doubted it was anything this world had ever seen. Every tale of lost magic from the Age of Gods always spoke of devastating, mind bending power. Some said the gods even had weapons that could level entire cities in the blink of an eye.

First Prana Swarms, and now magic from the Age of the Gods coming to life… Vir wondered how he’d ended up with such a bizarre streak of occurrences lately.

The Altani airships had swarmed Daha, and remained parked and patrolling for an entire week before they finally left. On one hand, a week was a long time to let an entity like a Prana Swarm run free. On the other, the fact that Altani mejai had subdued the monster within a week spoke volumes about that country’s power.

Vir only hoped they killed off that monster for good this time.

The orange and yellows of sunset gave way to blue and finally black. Magic Candles and Magic Lanterns flickered on, illuminating the Warrens with an amber glow. The sounds of the bustling city continued well into the light, long after the sun’s light had died away.

Vir waited for the stars to come out, but they never did. It wasn’t the Vimana—Daha’s city lights simply drowned out the light of the stars.

“You stay right here, buddy,” Vir muttered, ensuring Neel didn’t follow along. Though the bandy may be fearsome in a fight, no amount of training could teach his four-legged companion the art of stealth.

Ravin’s room had been even easier to find than Vir expected, thanks to the large window and bright Magic Lanterns within. Whenever Ravin moved from one room to another, the lights went with him, announcing his exact position.

Vir waited for the last light to wink out, indicating his destination.

Navigating to Ravin’s home the traditional way was—while not risky—riskier than using Dance to insert himself directly inside the man’s home, so Vir activated his Talent, slipping into the shadow in front of Neel’s eyes.

The bandy thought it was fascinating, and tried to follow its master into the shadow, but Vir didn’t let him.

From the Realm of Shadows, Vir used Prana Vision to scope out the interior of Ravin’s home. Thanks to the slums’ density, the rooftop he’d been just under twenty paces from Ravin’s home.

Vir took his time to confirm that no other presences occupied the hall he planned to exit from.

Silently, he slipped out of the shadow into the crime lord’s house, gazing up, down, and all around with Prana Vision.

In doing so, he found his first problem. Ravin wasn’t alone.

With him slept another adult-sized signature, as well as a smaller one.

His wife and kid!? Vir thought, panicking. He’d expected the man to be alone. Vir hadn’t even considered Ravin would have a family. Let alone one that slept right next to him.

Vir halted in his tracks. Can I do this? Could he really kill the man in front of his own wife and child? What if one of them woke up? Did he really have the right to deprive a child of their father? A wife of her husband?

His mind played worst-case scenarios endlessly on a loop, debilitating him. Vir’s heart pounded in his chest and he found himself unable to take even a single step forward.

Then his training took over. He fell into his Kalari deep breathing, slowing his heart and calming his nerves.

This changes nothing. Whether or not the man had a family, his atrocities remained. Just that Vir didn’t know if he could live with himself after he did this deed. And yet, something propelled him to continue. A voice that said that nobody in this world was truly good or evil. That sometimes tumors had to be excised before they grew malignant.

Vir knew whose voice this was. It wasn’t his. It was Ekanai. But the Reaper had no power over him here. He wasn’t worried about possession. Rather…

Isn’t this what you want from me? You ‘want’ me to kill Ravin, don’t you?

But the voices in his head remained silent.

Vir took a deep breath and pressed on, bending his knees to reduce the sound of his footfalls. From the loud snores coming from Ravin’s bedroom, he needn’t have bothered.

A Magic Lock barred Ravin’s door, and once again, Vir Danced past it rather than risk making sounds picking the lock. As he’d recently learned, only poorly made locks could be picked. Good ones needed the orb to be unlocked before granting entry.

Vir slipped into the shadows and emerged right beside Ravin as he snored on his enormous bed. The bushy bearded man slept beside his daughter, who hugged his back, sleeping peacefully. On the other side of his bed, turned away, was Ravin’s wife.

For this mission, Vir wouldn’t be using his katar or his chakrams. In fact, he’d holstered the chakrams and chakris in padded pouches at his waist out of worry that they might rub against each other and make noise.

Instead, Vir produced a long, thin needle. When inserted in just the right way at exactly the right spot at the base of the neck, it would kill the man immediately. There was just one problem. Ravin’s daughter clung to her father’s back, her face resting against the back of his neck.

To kill him, Vir would have to come inches away from his young daughter.

He moved the needle closer. A foot away from the man’s neck. An inch. He stopped.

Just another inch. A quick thrust and it would be all over. He’d activate Dance of the Shadow Demon and he’d be gone before anyone saw him.

Then Vir’s eyes landed on Ravin’s daughter, only to find her staring at him, wide eyed. Perhaps either due to fear or shock, she said nothing. She merely stared.

Vir jerked in surprise, causing the needle to penetrate Ravin’s skin. The man jerked awake, confused.

Vir didn’t allow the man to wake. With a deep breath, he drove the needle into Ravin’s neck.

Ravin roared in pain, and his daughter screamed an ear-piercing wail that deafened Vir’s ears.

With as high off the ground as Ravin’s bedroom was, Dance of the Shadow Demon took a full ten seconds to activate. Ten seconds that felt like ten hours to Vir as he stared at Ravin’s daughter.

He slipped into the shadows just as Ravin’s wife found a knife beside their bedside. He popped out in a nearby alley and fell to his knees, heaving.

Vir had succeeded. He’d killed his target in just a few seconds, and in doing so, had liberated dozens of people from the crime lord’s grasp.

And yet, all Vir could hear was Ravin’s daughter’s screaming over and over. Screams that would haunt him forever.