The heavy rain did little to wash down Sterling's apprehension as Xavier navigated darkened country roads. Emilia dozed fitfully, though her restless murmurs had quieted. He watched over her, guilt stewing again. This life of peril was no fate for her- yet leaving meant ramifying the fragile vestments drawing them together. further than that, it meant being vulnerable when the coming trouble surfaced from the murk. And pitfalls without mistrustfulness remained, as proven by their mysterious hassle. The foreigner's parting words echoed ominously" We will meet again, when fates shifts the runs formerly more." For Sterling carried secrets indeed he did n't completely understand. Casts of a shadowy once visited his dreams, holding answers to the familiar blue eyes bored into his memory. As the SUV pulled into a safehouse driveway, he roused Emilia gently. Within the bolstered fort's walls lay the only sanctum she might find. But for Sterling, answers still called from the darkness stretching endlessly beyond. Emilia drifted into an uneasy sleep as Xavier and Jack examined Sterling." Whoever this masked man is, he is operating outside our radar for now," Jack growled. Xavier tapped restless fritters." I have had feelers out for any intel on unusual numbers crossing Donovan. Nothing so far." His eyes bored into Sterling's." You are holding back. What are not you telling us?" Sterling turned to the rain- lashed windows, gathering snarled vestments of memory." There's.something familiar about him. I suppose he may be connected to my history, before I joined Donovan's association." Silence hung thick until Xavier soughed." We all have blanks demanding filled. For now, concentrate on healing up and getting your woman nearly safe." A tale of gratefulness escaped Sterling's lips before fatigue dragged him to rest. But dreams offered no sanctum-only casts of that enigmatic blue regard, hints of a history just beyond grasping. The coming night, under cover of darkness, Sterling slipped from the safehouse alone. Answers called him to venture formerly more into the murk of his uncertain history. nearly, a light might shine to illuminate the path ahead. The rain had braked to a misty mizzle as Sterling crept through girding forestland. Where his bases led, only fractions of memory guided- yet ever he knew this path. At the timber's edge impended remains infrequently visited since nonage the charred shells of what was formerly a great manor house house. Sterling picked his way through the ashes, tracing faded prints in the earth. A cellar doorway remained complete, buried as if to seal whatever evil occurred then long agone
. Sterling threw his weight against the depraved wood until it splintered, revealing staircase descending into murk. His steps echoed in the moist underground space lit only by fluttering exigency lighting. Shelves lining earthen walls remained partial- grazed, creator still droning in the corner drunkenly. A distance was thrown off fine cabinetwork, revealing secrets of the once pictures of a smiling family, a child's delineations, letters sealed but unsent. Sterling peered upon a face he slightly flashed back - his own, laughing beside parents long lost to honey and shadow. A noise startled him into a protective crouch. But it was only a field mouse, scurrying from uncovered recollections. As Sterling gazed deeper, would this half- forgotten once eventually yield the answers that finessed his dreams? Or only raise new questions from the ashes? Sterling sifted precisely through the bones of his history, seeking any indication to identity of the mysterious foreigner. A glint in the dirt caught his eye- a gold chain nearly buried. He exhumed a charm from the soil, rubbing down blemish to reveal faces in the portrayal. A regal man goggled proudly back, arm around a beautiful raven- haired woman. Between them stood a boy no further than five, with eyes as blue as. A jolt shot through Sterling as pieces fell sprucely into place. That familiar radiance, the veiled history with Donovan it all made nightmare sense. contending upstairs two at a time, Sterling surfaced into the thinning forestland. Mist parted to reveal a lone figure standing silhouetted against the stars, as if drawn by the call of disclosure. " It was you," Sterling said raggedly, scarcely believing the words." All these times, and it was you." His family inclined his head, a solemn ghost arising from the murk of the history." Hello, Sterling. It's been a long time." Questions swamped Sterling but one cried loudest." Why? After what happed, why come for me now?" A bitter shriek escaped Damian's mask." Because the dears that consumed our family were n't accident or fate. Donovan has much to answer for, and I'll have vengeance.with your help." Sterling plodded to reuse the stunner exposures. His family Damian, allowed
lost to the fire, now a revengeful phantom hanging the murk. And Donovan, the man Sterling had given his life to, at the root of it all. " Why should I believe you?" he asked sluggishly." All these times, not a word until now." Damian lifted his mask, revealing haunted eyes that imaged Sterling's own." You saw the verity in that charm, as I knew you would. Our once shape our future- now will you stand with me to shape ours?" Memories swirled- of family, of following Donovan as father figure after the dears. Had it all been a precisely spun web of falsehoods? Sterling felt himself wavering on the edge of an uncertain cliff. A crinkle shattered the pressure- Sterling's radio, Xavier's gruff voice calling for him amid growing fear." exigency at the safehouse- get back now!" Dread gripped Sterling's heart as he and Damian contended back through the misty forestland. What new trouble had surfaced in the murk, closing around them formerly more? They burst from the trees to find the grange gates hanging open, SUV abandoned in the drive. In the hoarse remains of the structure, only one question echoed" where is Emilia?" Sterling's world braked to a agony as he searched the smoldering remains. No sign of Emilia or Xavier among the scorched debris. A metallic glint caught his eye- Jack's crippled revolver, lying where its proprietor had fallen. Sterling knelt numbly, closing the empty eyes as reason and fury warred within. " Donovan," he wrangle, the name bane on his lingo. After so long fighting at the monster's side, the falsehoods were laid bare at last. A gloved hand squeezed his shoulder." We'll make him answer for this," Damian pledged." But first, we must find your woman- before the trail runs cold." Sterling jounced grimly, rising to face his family. Their history was reforged in the fires of this night, purpose now aligned where formerly divided. Family, at last, in the operations of revenge. Following faint tracks into the timber, they discovered skidmarks along the muddy road betraying a hasty vehicle escape. Lights pierced the darkness ahead, intimating at a distant emulsion brewing ominously through cadaverous trees. Sterling and Damian melted into the woodline, readying their stolen arms. Deep in adversary home, deliverance and reckoning lurked just beyond the treeline, awaiting their final battle with the dragon Donovan. Staying low in the encounter, Sterling and Damian surveyed the emulsion. Fortified guards patrolled high concrete walls, searchlights sweeping the timber edges. " How do we get outside?" Sterling rumored. But Damian was gone, melting into the murk. Sterling's radio crepitated" Distraction incoming, move when you see dears." Moments latterly an explosion rocked the far side of the emulsion. Guards swarmed as dears climbed the hedge. Sterling charged from cover, picking off plodders quietly. An air articulation came into view- just large enough to admit their narrow frames. Inside, they commandeered a situated vehicle, taking out its motorist stealthily. Driving among the fear, they scrutinized each structure for signs of Emilia. At the central command center, shocked voices cried" interferers!" over the radio. Sterling and Damian slipped outside, munitions raised. A hulking gorilla barred the stairwell, meeting a fate as nippy as his comrades beyond. Rushing up, the sisters arrived at a heavy sword door. " Emilia!" Sterling cried, ramming the portal with adrenaline- fueled force. Outside, bound and gagged, Emilia glanced up with swirling feelings fear, relief, and mistrustfulness at Sterling's strange companion masked in shadow. But no time for explanations. Damian's cutter freed her as Sterling stood guard." further traps await Donovan's lair. Stay close." fortune's windup was poised to begin. The triad stealthily made their way deeper into the fort- suchlike emulsion. Although they had finessed discovery so far, Sterling knew Donovan would be anticipating retribution. As they crept down a stairwell, Sterling heard voices around the corner. He signaled for the others to stay as he inched forward, gaping through the rail. In an open area below, Donovan paced girdled by guards, barking orders into a walkie- documentary." I want the family and his nut set up, do you understand? Shoot on sight if necessary." Sterling snappily retreated, dread pooling in his stomach. They had been made it was only a matter of time before Donovan's men swarmed this position. They had to get out, now. As he turned to partake the grim news, Sterling set. Where Emilia and Damian had stood ready to flee, there was only empty space. They were gone. Spinning in place, Sterling searched frenetically but set up no sign of his companions. A faint click was the only warning before darkness claimed him. When Sterling awoke, he was bound and alone, facing the cold boo of his former master." Well well, the extravagant son returns. I believe it's time we had a little converse."