Chapter 16: Cal

“Please, I don’t have it. I swear!”

Sweat crawled down the sides of the Higher Realms’ being’s face, matting his orange curls to the sides of his triangular features. His feline-slitted pupils contracted as I took another step closer. Pink flames slithered along the paved road, venturing all the way down a winding path to the cluster of shops and buzzing beings we stepped away from. We stood in one of the most highly populated public shopping districts of The Higher Realms, and yet here, in the hidden cracks of this dimension, death and violence flourished.

My target, Manzliniolo, thought he could escape his fate by fleeing here, but he would learn he could never be so lucky. No one escaped the Council’s orders. No one escaped me.

I nodded to the figure standing two steps behind the target. They took their swinging mace and blew out the backs of Manzliniolo’s legs. His screams bled into the night, soaked up by the chittering of animals and beings alike. The cascade of music lulling in from between the buildings, small and tall enough to compete with the sky’s three moons for space in its inky blanket, drowned out his agony. While surrounded by beings living their eternal lives, here, in the darkness, Manzliniolo was isolated.