"Barry, nice to see you here. Why don't you come in?"
It was one of the perilous colleagues of Boss, a debt collector, Waynie's debt collector. The bull of a man who had almost broken his door had a bilious grin. His teeth were coated in a greasy, clotted film of neglect, their tawny color a testament of it. He was another of the few Awakened who were still lingering in Ravenheart. No doubt on official business. Waynie donned a mask of courtesy, every word laced with the forced grace of necessity.
Barry shook his head and gestured Waynie to come outside. "Step outside. Your wife isn't going to want to hear this."
Waynie hesitated, glancing over his shoulder. She had slipped into the other room, tending to the children. She had called for him just moments ago. Now, she was gone. A deliberate absence.
After closing the door and stepping onto the front porch, Waynie nodded at the man and while carefully balancing his tears, picked up his dirty shoes from the entrance area. His gaze dropped to the papers clutched in Barry's hand. "I thought you guys were going to leave me alone." Barry shoved the papers into his grip. "We got a message from Chi Cho before she entered her third nightmare. She mentioned that you didn't show."
Waynie stiffened. He had his reasons, but none that would satisfy Barry. He had been delayed. The entrance to the Seed had collapsed. But more than that, he had made a choice—one that involved killing Ki Song's guards. A detail he had no intention of sharing.
"Look," Waynie said evenly. "I'll figure something out. The entrance collapsed. There was nothing I could do. I'll dig it up if I have to. My bell tears matter. If I can warn them of danger, I will."
Barry shook his head again, slower this time. "See, that's the thing. Your 'bells' aren't why Chi Cho kept you around. If I'm being honest, she finds them annoying. That's why you won't be working with her anymore."
Waynie's stomach turned.
Annoying? What the hell did that mean?
His breath hitched, an invisible weight pressing against his ribs. No, this couldn't be right. Chi Cho relied on him. He was useful. He was necessary. He—
Barry didn't wait for him to catch up. "Thing is, the company still values you. Always has. You think fast. You act fast. You're hard to track. That's what we want from you. We want you to fight."
Waynie felt his pulse hammer in his ears. "No. No, no, no. I'm not a fighter. You can't make me do that."
"It's already done." Barry exhaled, tilting his head. "Look, I know you're a coward, but it's too late to enter the nightmare. You'll do what we tell you, or you're in breach of contract."
Coward.
Waynie grit his teeth. He hated that word. Was he one? Maybe. Maybe not. There had been a time when risk hadn't been a luxury, when throwing himself into the fire hadn't weighed him down. Back before he had received the flaw. No, even later. When did it change? After Nephis. After Nai. After he had to take on responsibilities.
But cowardice? That wasn't the whole picture.
Breach of contract. That part mattered. He was a Master, not some low-rank Awakened who could be bossed around. Money and corporations didn't hold the weight they used to, but they still meant something. And right now, he needed them. If he wanted his family to have a future after he was gone, he had to play the game.
Barry sighed, running a hand over his face. "Look, maybe I came at this wrong. We're not thrilled about what happened with Chi Cho, but what's done is done. It's dangerous, yeah, but not what you think. Just a guard contract. The company's shipping supplies between here and the Waking world. Only a few Masters. Ki Song won't approve shipments from inside the city, so we move them through Dream Realm territory. It's about fifty miles of travel. Not hostile, still Ki Song domain, and you can use your bells to avoid any trouble. Simple."
He tapped the papers still clutched in Waynie's hands. "That's a copy of your debt. The rest explains what you're retrieving and where to take it. When you arrive, sign and return the documents. That's it. You get through this, and you're in the clear. Do you understand?"
Waynie's fingers curled around the papers. His chest burned with something close to anger, but he swallowed it down. He could rip this bastard apart if he wanted. But that wouldn't change anything.
He breathed out slowly.
"Yeah," he muttered. "I get it."
Maybe he was a coward. Maybe not. Either way, he didn't have much of a choice.
As if the fateful encounter with the debt collector hadn't been taxing enough, the next hours turned into a true chore. On his way back to Ravenheart, Waynie had cleaned his stuff to the best of his abilities, but whatever little remained of blood and brain matter on little cracks in his tears and on his clothes had ever so slightly dirtied the chair and the kitchen table he had been sitting on. So now instead of getting to finally enjoy a cup of tea, his wife had forced him on cleaning duty. It took him hours to fix the mess he had made and after that she was still not done. She was picking new things from his wardrobe and then finally pushing him to take a bath before putting them on.
For what it was worth, the plumbing in Ravenheart was mostly working. The unpleasant smell of the undead infected the city and this level of hygiene had just turned out to be necessary to not to turn the entire city into a cesspool of disease.
The bath in the end turned out to be a real moment of reprieve when Anya joined him and gently stroked some of his glass shards as if she knew that they meant a lot to him. But this moment was short lived, because Nai and Seigan only joined shortly after and jumped into the water.
As Waynie was walking outside the bathroom, just with a couple of nylon ropes that the shards were attached to, otherwise naked, in his usual style with his back bent backwards and his arms stretched forward, he was contemplating whether he should take on his Ki Song uniform or the clothes Anya hat put out for him. In the end, he went for Anya's option. Or at least tried to, because before he could take his trousers on, he saw his brother standing in the living room. He was holding a communicator and his face was pale as a piece of chalk.
Waynie just looked up to him. "What's up?"
"They are looking for you. There has been an order to bring you to the citadel. I came here right away."
"What?" Waynie rushed to take his clothes on, but dealing with the shards and the ropes was not something that could be done in a few seconds. Likewise he was unable to fully process the new information. Was this about the job Barry had talked about?
"They say you killed some guards. It's.. not good."
Suddenly it clicked in Waynie's brain. "Oh, that…" It was about the guards from the nightmare seed. Had their corpses somehow snitched on him? Or was there another Awakened ability involved?
"I think you should go. Right now."
Waynie stared at the 'Tear of a wistful comrade' dangling quietly in its position. "I don't think I'm in immediate danger, relax." The shard did tell him two things, not just that Ki Song troops weren't closing in on him, but also that Marx hadn't suddenly turned on him. That was something he had been confused about for a moment. He hadn't told his brother the details about what had happened at the Nightmare Seed. So, if he knew now, he had to be telling the truth. And that meant that for whatever reason Ki Song was after him now, wasn't a friendly season. Waynie exhaled and then looked at his brother. "How bad can it really be? They were just a couple of soldiers."
"It's really bad. There's been a full mobilization. The other Awakened are about to show up here. Together with some of the corpses."
"What? Why?"
"They know that you are strong."
"Then I can't leave Anya and the kids here alone."
"No, it's better to draw them away. You should leave the city. Nobody is watching the gates. And you shouldn't return. I'll make sure your wife and kids are fine."
"What do you mean… not return?"
"The watch has been in contact with some intermediaries from Valor. I'm sure they can get you over the border."
"No, that's all way to sudden."
"There isn't any choice. If we linger here too long, I'll be in trouble too. I'll take you to them."
Waynie had finally put on his civilian clothes. His gaze landed on the Ki Song uniform. 'I guess I should take it along, just to be on the save side.'
But was it really ok to leave things unsettled with the corporation? He could still think about this later. For now, he chose to say 'Good Bye' to Anya and the children. It was a fortunate circumstance that he had managed to come home at this time at all. If he had entered the Nightmare it could've been month until he made it back or more likely never at all.
Anya who had just come out of the bathroom in a robe stared at Marx and then nodded to him.
Waynie walked over to her. "Something has come up.", he said flatly.
"Are you coming back?" Anya wasn't stupid. She had either heard their conversation or could put it together.
"I don't know. Maybe not anymore. I…" Waynie didn't find the right words to express his feelings, just looking stomped.
"Are you really going to Valor?"
"I guess. If I make it there, I can always get you."
"Waynes, that's ridiculous. We could never make such a trip. And we can't return to the Walking World either. You know what would happen. We'd all get infected."
"Maybe I should just talk to them. Talk to the queen. Or get in contact with Blood Saint Seishan."
Marx cut in immediately.
"That's a really bad idea."
"How are you so sure?"
"It's been just the traffic on the comm. It sounded like they are planning to lynch you."
"Are you sure it's fine to leave my family here?"
"Yes, I promise. I'll find a way to keep them save."
Waynie took one last look at Anya and the kids. His hands curled into fists before he finally exhaled and nodded. 'I can't believe this is happening.'
"All right, then I'll leave it to you."