A meeting was going down in an alley when the sky had blackened and the moon caressed its gentle light over the earth.
Two cars were on either side of the open space in the middle of the surrounding brick structures. Bodyguards were standing near the vehicles, watching; waiting for the moment they would be forced to take out a gun and pull the trigger to end the life of another.
Two men were in the very middle stood face-to-face: Vasco and his contact. Vasco was a lean, tall man with greying hair although not from age. His eyes were a firey red and orange that looked like a raring inferno when seen into.
The man his opposite was an inch or two shorter than he was, making it so he was looking down on him enough to notice. His eyes were brown and his hair was black. Nothing about him came off as memorable.
Jayla was above them, watching from the rooftop one foot planted on the edge leaning forward on her knee.
From where she was standing making out what they were saying wasn't possible, luckily it didn't matter since given some time there would be some words between her and Vasco.
It was going to be difficult with the guards of his unless he was going to be kind enough to not sick them on her like a pack of hungry dogs. The chances of that were unlikely due to his lack of a heart. And maybe because of how their last encounter went.
She saw them exchange a laugh and some more chatter with an envelope entering Vasco's hand before they finally started to part ways.
The man in the nice red suit got into his car, his boys following inside. The car pulled out of the alley and turned on the busy street. Vasco however, paused at the passenger side door fingers about to slip under the handle.
He turned, eyes peering up right at Jayla. Shock took over her expression, about to step back before she restrained the movement. "Jayla." He said with a wide smile like he was seeing an old friend.
"It has been so long." His men drew their guns, all of them aiming at her. "You must understand. Seeing you here is simply a threat in itself. Being in the Agency and all that."
Jayla's eyes drifted back, she weighed the option of moving out of sight to try and get the drop on him again. If she did, they would open fire and would be on alert though she would only need a single opening to get her ability going.
"I can practically smell your hesitation from here." He commented, noting her expression and body minor body movements. "Listen, I know you want something I have and frankly I don't feel like replacing my men so I promise they won't shoot you." He raised his hand to the side, his men lowering their guns.
Trusting a man like Vasco was a double-edged knife. He was known to keep with his word when he gave it but that was only when he respected the person and she had no clue as to what he felt toward her. If she went down there, there was the chance she would get her brains smeared on the concrete from a bullet or she could leave with exactly what she came looking for.
She walked over to the nearby fire escape, going down the steps before she got low enough to jump over the edge and land on the ground. She walked close to Vasco, standing some feet in front of him.
She could recognize the stench of fresh blood on him. The crimson hue gripped his sleeves at the wrists, barely visible at a glance. She wondered whose head he caved in before he came here. What poor sod was given an early grave? The question lingered only a second, his voice piercing her ears.
"The book, am I right? That's why you're here." He took a step forward, noting the aggression in her eyes. He saw a wolf in her steed. A predator that was backed into a corner. Its furrowed fur and raised tail paint an aggressive picture.
His arm was bloodied. Marks of teeth deep into his forearm, blood drip, drip, dripping into the soil feeding it with the water of his veins.
He stopped in his tracks, Jayla's eyes met with his own. People tend to look away or down when scared. He liked she wasn't afraid, liked that she stood her ground. Not many did, not many had the balls too.
"What do you know?" She asked him, not trying to worm her way around the question, instead meeting him headfirst.
A wide grin bore his face, his arms to his chest one crossed over the other. "The man I spoke with. He gave me an invitation to a particular auction that you might find of interest."
Her eyes went down in consideration but only for a moment, not wanting him to notice her hesitation. She needed to keep up her visage of power. Unfortunately, for Vasco, it was like a game of checkers. Simple and easy to pick up on.
"And what am I to give for the invitation?" She asked with those same peering eyes that brought such fond memories to Vasco's thoughts.
"I want a favour. A favour of which you can not forgo. A favour of which I can ask anything I desire." Jayla could recognize that look in his eyes. The look that meant he was plotting.
For someone who she would despise so deeply, she had no choice but to admit how clever he was, how capable he was.
"And I assume you won't tell me until you ask for it?" She said with a raised brow, getting a slow nod in response to him saying. "Of course, to tell you now would be to spoil the fun."
She closed her eyes for a moment, taking in exactly what this meant. She would be at the mercy of whatever Vasco wanted. Her hand extended, eyes opening with a collected demeanour about her. "Fine. You have a deal."
Vasco let out a bit of laughter, at first she assumed it was because, to him, he had won. "You think I would simply shake your head and trust that you would follow through with what I ask?"
"Dane." He peered over his shoulder. "Come here." The man walked over, slotting his pistol at his side. He stood beside them, a hand clutching him by the neck, fingers digging in. "A deal made in blood," Vasco said coldly, tearing out his guard's throat.
The man fell to his knees, choking on his blood. Gargling filled the night sky. Vasco's hand went through the man's hair, throwing him between himself and Jayla.
The image of the wolf filled his mind again. He could see it, whining, whimpering. Its body was torn down the middle by what looked like claws. His fingers were bloodied, red dripping from the tips and flesh was under his nails.
He stared at it with a rare expression of compassion. He knelt to meet its level, a hand caressing its neck as he held it close.
For this man, that same compassion was not shown; he rose a foot above his head and pushed him into the floor, the sound of a cracking skull was all they heard before a wet squelch gave way under the pressure.
Vasco lowered to a single knee and put his hand in the ruby red. It covered his entire hand when he came back up, taking Jayla's in his own. The air tensed, weighing down on them both.
Both of their eyes shimmered in correspondence as the blood trailed up both arms and ended at the elbow. The pool at their feet rose into the air, swirling around them. As it moved around them it broke into smaller and smaller droplets until they all came to a stop and fell to the floor like rain.
Small spots of red were made on their clothes, hair and faces. Not enough to bring major attention to some passerby, but enough for someone standing close to notice.
He wiped his hand on his white button-up shirt, a long red streak going across his chest. One of his men opened the door for him, Vasco looking back at Jayla to give her the address.
Vasco got into the vehicle, eyes meeting with hers for a brief moment. "Don't die before I call in that favour. It would be a real shame for your soul to be lost to eternal damnation." He laughed a little with the door acting as the only thing that stopped it from continuing to be audible.
She watched the car leave the alley and round the corner onto the street. Jayla stared at her bloodied hand, wondering just what she was getting herself into. She felt an immeasurable disappointment in herself that she was forced to make a pact with Vasco.
She found herself thinking. "Is any of this worth it?" Not only did she have to start working her way back into a life she left behind. She was now indebted to Vasco: A man who desired to serve only himself.
* * * * *
Footfall filled the wooden hallways as Vasco's hands clasped together at his lower back. His clothes were still dirtied with blood. He stood outside of a large door, raising his hand and knocking on it to get the attention of the man inside.
He went inside, looking at the man clouded in shadow with his blue eyes barely peering through it. "Apologies for disturbing you, sir." He said with a light bow of his head. "Just like you had expected, I was given an invitation for an auction that contains Purgatory." He reached into his shirt, walking close to the desk and laying it on the desk.
"I'll retrieve Eli and Zara." He turned and made his way to the entrance, glancing back at the man who still gave him no response. He closed the door and walked back down the path he took. Finding Eli and Zara was the hard part.
Because they were amongst the most trusted of the Cult, they were given tasks that were deemed to need a more delicate, trusted hand. So all he needed to do to find them was to ask those who were assigned under them.
He stood in the elevator, descending each of the levels until he stepped out on the 19th floor.
He walked past the various worker bees of the cult who didn't have the typical expected appearance of robes. Instead, they kept an average appearance outside of the tattoos lining their skin that related to ancient scripture and images of unfathomable horrors.
That was something that was a constant need, to keep up appearances. If anyone were to come inside with a curious intention they would just see the typical workplace. People wearing nice enough clothing to not be seen as casual.
He eventually would find himself in a section of the floor that was meant for the people underneath Eli's heel; the higher-ups of the cult, those that were hand-picked by the leader himself were always given sections of the cult to ensure that everything ran smoothly.
He looked to the one who seemed to be in charge. "Where is Eli?" The woman looked at him with a curious, then-humoured look in her eyes. "Eli left not that long ago, he rarely shows up in fact."
She placed down the papers that she was holding. "If you stick around, you might have a chance to see him." Her hand pushed the papers to the sides, eyes tracking over them. "There was an incident with a ritual in the city, it was disrupted and the creature was sent back to the old realm. He's seeing over what happened."
He sighed and nodded his head. "Where?" She told him the exact address and what building he should look for.
* * * * *
He stepped into the broken-down building, putting his foot in between the fallen pillars and debris from how aged it had become.
He could hear the sound of people begging in the next room, walking into a scene that he was not quite expecting.
Eli was standing there, his traditional clothes of Japanese origin coating his body, beads around his neck, two cyan eyes held on the kneeling men in front of him and his most noticeable feature was the deer antlers coming out from his black hair.
The people in front of him wore the same robes as the ones that Russell intercepted. They were pleading, begging and sobbing for their lives but Eli didn't bat an eye.
"Did you cry this way when you failed?" He knelt to be on their level, staring into the eyes of the one in front of him. He outstretched a hand, clasping their neck with a tight hold.
Vasco could see the fear that was welling in the face of the victim. Eli didn't have to hold down any harder for the life to be drained from the one he held. Their face became pale, the blood seeped from their mouth, nose, ears and eyes. Pouring to the floor in a pool at the knees.
Eli got to his feet, letting the fresh corpse fall to the side, a swirl of green magick caressing his arm and vanishing into his flesh.
"Shepherds lead, sheep die and wolves bear their fangs and tear flesh from bone." He scanned over the ones in front of him. "What do you think your place is in all of this?" They all looked to one another, there was a right answer to the question. "Wolves." One said with haste and fear. "We are wolves."
Eli gave a disappointed shake of his head, eyes locking with the man who spoke. He knelt in front of him, the same as he did with the one he killed mere seconds ago. "I assure you. You are not wolves. You are sheep." He stepped back. "And sometimes the other sheep must be given an example. An example to keep them from straying too far from their purpose."
He looked to the one who stood behind him who wore black robes and a skull over their face. "Give them the blade." The person reached into their sleeve, taking out a dagger that was lined with ruby and gold at the handle. The blade curving with sharp ridges on the back.
The black-robed individual placed it on the ground at Eli's feet before they stepped back again, out of sight and out of mind.
"Humans have forgotten their place in the food chain. Think themselves above it or that they dominate it. You will be reminded of your place. You who are prey will die and one of you will survive."
There was hesitation at first. Hesitation to kill those that were once called friends and allies. But that faded when they truly felt the gravity of the situation; to realize that your life is in the hands of a cruel man is revealing of many things, like how much of your humanity you are willing to give up.
The one closest to the knife wasted no time in hesitating. He went for it, hand-stretched, crawling on his knees. Arms wrapped around him, pulling him back and shoving him out of the way. He grabbed the man in turn, keeping him from moving. He took a fist to the face because of it.
One of the women took advantage of the fighting, she got the blade in hand with swift movement and took to her feet. She eyed the two fighting and pounced. She drove the blade into the back of the man on top, him hunching forward in pain; she made sure not to stop there, slitting his throat next which poured a spew of blood onto the man underneath him.
His face was painted red caught in horrified shock. He tried pushing the weight of the dead man off him but his weight felt like it increased tenfold. The woman who stood with shaky hands and wide eyes raised the blade again, about to drive it through his skull.
She was caught off guard as the fourth individual, another woman, tackled her to the floor. Hands clutched her wrists, bashing it against the ground until she let go. But the goal was not the blade; hands went around her throat, squeezing the breath out of her and keeping anymore from entering her lungs.
Her face started to turn blue and pale, her eyes were bulging like the veins under her skin. She clawed and scratched the hands responsible for etching her closer to death but it was futile. Soon enough she lost consciousness. The one on top of her grabbed her by the hair, smashing the back of her skull into the wooden floor.
There were a few cracks at first, with splatters of blood staining the boards. But then that crack, crack, crack turned into a more squelching-like sound as brain matter was eventually exposed.
The act was brutal and savage. Not stopping even for a moment to realize that she was long dead by now. The woman got to her feet gripping the knife. She looked back at the man who was now escaping from the corpse that acted as his prison.
He made himself appear smaller by lowering his head and posture, hands held on level with his face, his palms open so that he could catch her wrist if she swung for him.
Based on physicality he took the advantage so she would need to be on the more careful side. She rounded him with each step that she took, moving slowly and precise. The blade was held as though her life depended on it.
Eli watched from the side, an intrigued look in his eyes that contrasted with his deadpan expression. Vasco came up beside him. "Still the same as ever Eli." He said, commenting on what he had been watching since he got here.
"Vasco." Eli's eyes shifted to the side when he acknowledged his presence. "Finally crawled out from your rathole I see." His attention was wrought back to the people still alive as the woman cut the wrist of the man when he went to intercept her, making him back off even for what would only be a moment.
"Is it to serve yourself or the Master this time?" Even if his voice lacked emotional expression, the question itself was enough indicator to show he still held anger from the last time Vasco was involved with the cult directly.
"I am always here to serve the Master. Like you." He didn't believe in calling the man who led the cult 'Master' but when it came to Eli, he knew it was more wise to implore it to avoid aggression from his acquaintance.
Eli did not give a response, his attention caught by the sudden movement of the two as the female broke the stalemate between them by rushing in. She anticipated him trying to grab her, ducking under his arms to slice the side of his stomach.
He put his hand over the wound and winced in pain, his attention gripped by it just long enough for the dagger to be driven in between his right shoulder blade with an audible breaking of the bones in its path.
The blade slid out as easily as it went in; the blade was given another taste of his flesh as she with precise intent, drove the weapon into the middle of his lower back, specifically the spine. His legs gave out under him and he fell to the floor with a yell of pain and anguish.
She stood over him with crimson running down the length of the metal. She knelt to the ground, and with hair in hand, slit his throat.
She walked up to Eli, handing the blade to him which he took and she fell to her knees with a cold, dead look in her eyes. "You have served well." Eli complimented with sincerity. The blade was then taken by the black robe in company with Eli.
"To shed your false skin and to show your true self. It must be gratifying." He put his hand to her chin, tilting it up to look into her eyes. "Return and go to Sylvia, my right hand. She will find you your place."
"Thank you." The woman said half under her breath like she couldn't believe the situation she just came out of. She got to her feet, the black robe leading her out of the structure and presumably back to the building Vasco came from.
"Now. What do you want?" Eli said with his eyes meeting Vasco's, the nature of a killer clear as day. If he wanted to, he could tear out Vasco's throat right now and that look told him just that. "The Master wishes to participate in an auction of which the book Purgatory will be in. He wants you and Zara to be there to ensure things run smoothly."
"If the Master wishes for it, it will be done. But if I learn you are scheming something, rat. I will tear your head from your body. And it will not be fast." Vasco lowered his head with a tense feeling in his body. "I would have it no other way."
Eli walked past Vasco and left the building, leaving Vasco to take in a couple of quickened breaths as his facade of confidence fell. His hands were shaking. He often forgot the type of fear that Eli could instill and hoped to forget it again sooner rather than later.
* * * * *
Vasco found his way back to the base of operations for the cult, going to the 25th floor that was run by Zara. He walked a path that was similar to the 19th and all the others since they were carbon copies of one another.
He was hoping that Zara was going to be easier to find than her counterpart. The first step, like Eli, was to find the one placed in charge by Zara which took some asking around.
By the time he finally did find Zara who was in the staff room. She was sitting in a leather chair in the corner with her legs hanging off the side and her head draped on the other armrest with her neck-length dark blue hair hanging off.
Her attire was a white undone button-up shirt that had the sleeves done up to elbow length. Strangely only three of the buttons of her shirt were done up making for a risky game to play when it came to keeping her chest concealed by the loose fabric. Her pants were a pair of loose black jeans to make sure the fabric wasn't hugging her legs.
with a cigarette stuck to her lips. A steady stream of smoke came off the burning end of it even though she appeared asleep.
Vasco tapped her shoulder to try and wake her. At first, it didn't prove to work with her turning to the side, cig falling from her mouth and about to hit the floor with Vasco catching it in his palm.
He let out an annoyed sigh at the burning sensation of his skin till he crushed it and tossed it in the trash.
"Zara." He said making sure to increase the volume of his voice loud enough to at least stir her slumber.
"Go away." She said with a drowsiness captivating her voice, not even opening her eyes to see who it was.
"Kai would be disappointed to learn you rejected his request." She opened one of her shallow ocean-coloured eyes, glaring at him before opening the other. Zara moved her legs off the armrest, putting her back against the leather and planting her feet on the floor hunching forward.
"Kai huh?" She said with a hefty sigh. "What for?" She peered up at him. "Auction for the book he's after." Zara stood up, standing fully at 5'7. She stretched, arching her back in the process holding her arms above her head.
She sunk her hand into her pocket, taking out a pack of cigarettes to place another in her mouth and lighting it with her middle finger, shaking off her hand. "How do you even do that?" Vasco asked with his head shifted to the side.
"Secrets hold great value," Zara said leaving Vasco standing there as the door closed behind her.