Redemption and a Pocket Watch Part 4

[edonil]

Phelan looked up from the corpses of the young couple he had just killed. Moonlight gleamed faintly through the window, shining off the poisoned blade in his hand. He walked quietly over to the stairs, and climbed to the upper floor of the house. Stalking through the hallway, he came to a bedroom, and entered it.

In the bed, a small child lay asleep. His body trembled as he walked over. A young girl, no older than ten, eyes closed peacefully. He reached out a shaking hand, gently smoothing her hair as he put his dagger near her neck. Hating himself with everything in his soul, he swiftly slit her throat, free hand dropping over her mouth to muffle the screams. The blood drenched his hands, shining crimson, and he could hear himself screaming like one of the damned...

Phelan sat up in bed with a strangled cry of horror, covered in cold sweat. "A dream," he muttered, dropping his head into his hands. But it had been more vivid than a dream. The memory had been more vivid even than the job itself.

It was four months since he had struck the deal with Lucius, four months of murdering men, women and children on that monster's orders. The targets had been anything but random- the Governor's Secretary despised waste. Each kill had been carefully selected for a desired effect, and Phelan had been the tool to achieve it.

A braver man would have spat in Lucius' face rather than sign that contract. Or at least would have killed himself. Phelan was under no illusions, he knew he was a coward. Death terrified him. He had done enough to earn himself quite the miserable place in Hell before the deal, but after it? The assassin was becoming even more convinced that Satan himself would have no desire for his soul when he died.

Phelan dropped his hands, and rolled to rest his feet on the floor. He stared at his left hand. The damage to his hand from the pistol exploding had been too severe, and Lucius had ordered it replaced. He had needed a weapon, and a crippled one was useless to him. The amputation had been done within hours, and a mechanical hand was grafted on within a week. Phelan hated it with a passion. A slave collar was a mark of ownership, but at least it could be taken off one day. The prosthetic was the outward mark of his slavery, and it mocked him each morning with its permanence.

He got out of the bed, and began pulling on his clothes. It was shortly before dawn, and Phelan had much he needed to do today. Lucius had been demanding newer poisons, based on the unique creatures and plants in Malifaux, and so the assassin would be heading into the woods just outside the city, collecting specimens. He grabbed a set of weapons, strapping on the various sheaths in their proper places. A handful of throwing daggers went into hiding places up his sleeves, a short sword flat against his spine, a longsword at his waist. In another part of the room he packed a bag carefully with beakers and small pots for plant cuttings. Before he left, he checked the growth of the plants he already had, taking a grim satisfaction in their progress.

The assassin closed the door behind him, and started to walk down the hall. He stopped as he heard boots clicking rapidly against the floor behind him, and turned his head. With a sigh, he leaned against the wall as his keeper caught up with him.

"Good morning, sir," the woman said as she caught up with him.

"Sabine, my name isn't 'sir'," he replied.

"I know, sir." She held out a pastry to him. "Breakfast?"

Phelan shook his head and took the food from her. "Thank you." He arched an eyebrow as he saw the rifle slung over her shoulder. "The rifle is different. New toy?"

"I've been getting tips on it for the past few weeks. I figured learning from the Guild while I had a chance was a good plan." She smiled as she tugged the strap to a better position. She would have been a pretty woman if it hadn't been for the scar on her face, but as it was, her smile still lit her up and gave hints of what she had looked like before it. Sabine had been the woman who had handed him over to the Guild, but Phelan had found it difficult to hold that against her the past few months. Lucius had given her a posting in the Guild Guard as a reward for his capture, and assigned her to be the assassin's watchdog.

"Ready to go, sir?"

"Now's as good a time as any," he replied, eating the pastry as they walked toward the entrance.

---------------

Phelan knelt down next to the tree, pulling a small trowel out of his pack as he looked at the flower in the dirt. "This is a new one," he muttered, carefully getting it out of the ground. He examined it, and put it into a specimen container.

Sabine stood nearby, watching the trees with her rifle in hand. There was an odd irony to the situation- they had first met as he was killing the man she guarded, and now his life was in her hands. He stood, dusting off his knees, and looked around any other plants he didn't recognize. He had found a few mushrooms, a couple new types of moss, and a handful of flowers, which would be plenty for him to experiment with. The best part, so far at least, was the complete lack of anything threatening jumping out at them.

"Sir? I think you might want to pull out your weapon..." Sabine said quietly, raising her rifle to the ready.

"What?" Phelan looked around, drawing his longsword. "What did you see?"

"Just a shadow of something off in the woods...I'm not really sure what I saw. But I think we should start getting back."

He nodded, and began backing towards the limit of the forest, then froze as he heard a twig snap off in the distance. He glanced toward Sabine, who shook her head. That hadn't been her. "Run?" he mouthed. Again she shook her head. She started to sign something, and grimaced at the confusion on Phelan's face.

"Panicking would be a bad idea," she whispered, pitching her voice to reach his ears.

"So what do we do?"

"Keep our heads, get back as quietly as possible. You go first, I'll-" Abruptly, she raised her rifle and fired. Phelan flinched at the sound, and spun to see a strange, almost cat-like creature bounding through the woods towards her. It was covered in what appeared to be leaves, any exposed areas seemed to be made of bark. It roared as it bore down on the woman, eyes glowing red. She fired again, and Phelan saw some of the bark shatter into the air, but the creature didn't slow down, tackling Sabine.

"Sabine!" he yelled, dropping his pack and leaping forward.

[thatnicguy]

Fantastic! Dammit edge of your seat and then done! Can't wait for next installment!

[SteamHammer]

Great story so far. Keep it coming please.

[hakoMike]

I'm really enjoying this!

[Twizz666]

waldgeist FTW! D: