Chapter 79

Calm

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Vynette’s POV

I lay down next to Jett and peered up into the clear, cool night sky. The Calm had arrived, and it gave us an opportunity to venture outside during the Hot Summer.

Jett has led me to a secluded open-top cavern deep within the mountain range that was my home, Helsia Deep. He needed to remain hidden from the general population, so as to maintain the ruse of his execution.

I don’t know what it is about him, but he makes me forget about the horrors I witnessed at the Water Palace, and the loss of my best friend, another Helsian lost to the ravages of war.

He asks me about Keth all the time. Talking about him seems to help, and somehow Jett knows this. Keth was there for me when I lost my sister, the darkest moment in my life. And now Jett is here for me now.

I turn my head and examine his face. His brown eyes sparkled as he marvelled in the crystal clear sky, a faint tint of red the only hint that it was a Hot Summer. He is quite handsome… For a Xaabosian, and he seems like a good man.

I just find it so easy to talk to him. A dashing smile appears to be permanently plastered onto his dorky face, coupled with an salvo of lame jokes, and bizarre insults. Not that they insult me of course, as they are said in good nature, and I give as good as I get.

Tonight, we are enjoying each others silent company. Words are not needed tonight. They would just get in the way of a perfect evening.

There is only one thing that could make this night even better. But that is madness, I could never allow that to happen. And besides when this is all over, and his cousin has been brought to justice, he will be the Xaabosian Emperor, and I will still be a Helsian pilot.

Oh Keth… I pray to the ancestors that you made it out alright. But I saw the flames as I flew away like a coward, I know the truth. I will remember you, forever my friend.

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Sage’s POV

Death, murder, routine, credits, upgrades. That is all that I cared about. Add revenge to that list, and I am complete. Except I’m not. I can feel it deep within, a sense that I have lost my way. Everything that I have done before no longer matters, I need a new direction, a new purpose, a new target.

Weeks I have been down here trying to plan for the Calm, and the disposal of those two bounty hunters. Now that it has arrived I no longer feel the desire for revenge.

Working out always helps to clear my head. Yet today, everything seems to be a muddle. Emotion is for the weak, and yet I am allowing it to take control of me. Why?

How did I become like this? What drove me to become this… Monster? I can no longer remember what made me choose this path. I have been alive for centuries, prolonging my life through implants and all manner of transplants and transfusions. But is this truly living?

What is my purpose? – To kill. – Why? – Because I’m good at it. – I don’t want to kill any more. – But what I want is irrelevant. I need to finish this. – I could just walk away? – No! That is a sign of weakness! – Piss on weakness!!!

It is almost time. I jump onto the computer one last time, checking to see if there have been any last minute changes. I spot something interesting, and navigate my way into the data.

Is that… No, it couldn’t be!

This could change everything. Is this going to be my new purpose?

I have a decision to make now. Either I follow through with my assassinations, and plan for revenge, or I abandon it all, and roll the dice.