22. Disappear!

Instead of cracking the door open to take a look, I opened it widely and hurried upstairs. I nearly lost my balance a few times, but I finally reached the street. I glanced to the left but saw no sign of the medusa’s henchman. The path was clear. Holding Ray tight, I made a run for it.

The streets in the Work-Lair were barely lit, and I was lucky not to trip and fall head over heels on the snow. A restless, pitch-black shadow was faithfully following Ray.

Where should I go? The most reasonable option was going to the Lord Necromancer’s mansion, but it would take long to get there… Then, my sister’s? It wasn’t that far, but I really didn’t want to lie to her again…

I was racking my brains when my eyes caught the glimpse of a shadow at a crossroads. It felt as if it looked at me before dashing in my direction. My level of stress rocketed. A… A Black-Heart? The medusa’s bodyguard? Or the medusa herself?!

Despite my fear, my legs kept running as swiftly as they could with my extra load. But the person behind kept closing the distance. I could hear the footsteps. As I glanced over my shoulder, a red reflection on the head of my pursuer made me fall in despair. It looked like… the medusa was able to catch up with us.

“Bloody witch…”

I stopped and turned around groaning:

“Enough already! What do you…?!”

I fell silent as I saw a red-haired man in old-fashioned clothes slow down as he reached me. At that instant, I would have sworn that my heart had beaten once.

“Ar-Arkill?”

“The Lord suspected something was going on. How’s Ray?”

“I-I don’t know. He’s unconscious…”

“Mm. Louise! Come over here. Can you carry him?”

“Yes, sir!”

Louise came up in a hurry and took Ray from me, seemingly without any trouble.

“Let’s go,” Arkill said.

They broke into a run. I followed in a daze, not knowing what to say. How much did the Lord Necromancer know? Did Louise tell him everything? Also… How was Zeeta doing? My cellphone wasn’t getting any messages from him. After he had lured that guy away the gods know how, he couldn’t possibly have been caught, right? Should I go check on him now that Ray was in good hands?

Damn, too many worries were bad even for the heart of an undead!

Arkill and Louise stopped in an alley and pushed a door. What? Why? Weren’t they heading to the subway station?

“Took you long enough,” a familiar voice said.

My widened eyes discerned inside the small room the shape of a man sat on a crate like it were some throne. The Lord Necromancer stood up and immediately focused his attention on Ray as Louise laid her burden down.

“My son… So it happened again.”

I straightened up at his words. Again?

“It has happened before?” I asked.

The Lord Necromancer frowned, gazed at Ray, then said:

“You three, get out for a moment.”

It was an order. Arkill, Louise, and I left and waited in the alley. Well, at least, it seemed that the Lord Necromancer knew what was happening to Ray.

“Alumen, Akill, why is Ray sleeping?” Louise asked us.

I shook my head.

“No idea.”

“The young master can’t control his power,” Arkill said. Louise and I looked at him so intently that he kept explaining: “Ray’s mother tried different things in order to awake his power, but to no avail, until one day, when Ray was eight years old: both of them attended a Hero party, there was a brawl between some power-holders, Ray got caught in the middle, and ended up activating his power instinctively to protect himself. He lost control and covered with shadows the entire room. Apparently, on that day, he didn’t lose consciousness right away and could clearly see the surrounding people covered in darkness and not moving at all. Short after, he fainted and woke up after a week.”

I was aghast. Ray had been terrified by his own power since he was a kid… I could imagine how traumatic it must have been for an eight-year-old boy to be surrounded by acquaintances he had just unwittingly turned into shadow puppets. I myself wouldn’t ever forget what had happened to Erma and her big sis… No wonder Ray was so afraid of the dark.

“A whole week?” Louise snorted as if it was the most important thing in the story.

I was hurting. Not so much because of that past incident, but rather because of what happened tonight. What kind of fear did Ray have to feel to lose control over his power? That damned red-haired witch… I stood still in the snowy alley, my anger boiling within me.

“Thank you, Arkill. I understand better now.”

“I’m glad.”

Arkill’s words were still pounding on my mind when the Lord Necromancer opened the door.

“Ray’s power has stopped. Louise, carry my son home. Arkill, go with them. Armen…” His eyes glared at me. “Listen.”

I could tell with only a glance that he was mad at me. And I understood perfectly why. I lowered my eyes, distraught.

“Sorry, my Lord. I shouldn’t have let him—”

“But you did.”

There was a silence. After giving me a funny look, Arkill and Louise left. The Lord stepped outside and locked the door. The snow squeaked under his feet. As he stopped at the entrance of the alley, he said:

“You put my son in danger because of your own issues. Are you calling yourself his friend? Preposterous!” He slightly tilted his head. “Know what? Just disappear.”

He walked away from the alley, leaving me behind with that order embedded in my mind.

Disappear.

I had lost track of time when I received a message from Zeeta.

‘Zeeta, 00:47: Safe! Did you guys make it?’

‘Armen, 00:48: Yes. Ray’s dad showed up and took him home. How did you manage to get away?’

‘Zeeta, 00:48: Ray’s dad?? 😨’

‘00:48: Well…’

‘00:49: I’m going home too, I woke up super early this morning, I’m worn out.’

‘00:49: Let’s talk tomorrow! I couldn’t hear anything when you guys were inside. I want to know it all.’

‘Armen, 00:50: Okay. Good dreams, Zeeta.’

‘Zeeta, 00:50: You okay?’

I swallowed. I was about to type “yeah” but something kept me from lying straightforwardly. An order? When did the Lord order me not to lie? No, it wasn’t the Lord. Ray did tell me in the afternoon twice: don’t lie. And it was still effective. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t told a lie once since then. It would appear that I was the honest type…

Still, I avoided telling the truth:

‘Armen, 00:52: Just mentally worn out.’

To the point that my eyes were crying. I wasn’t okay at all. I felt like a child scolded for having done a really bad thing. Worse, I felt like trash. If it weren’t for me, Ray wouldn’t have nearly been strangled by that witch, he wouldn’t have used his power a second time, he wouldn’t have to experience something like that again… Independently of his wishes, I shouldn’t have let him come along. Yeah, friends shared adventures and fought together… but that was when they could protect each other. If it hadn’t been for that strange power of his, right now Ray would have been dead.

That was the reality. That was why the Lord Necromancer was so mad at me. That was why he had ordered me to disappear.

Despite the storm that was raging within me, my heart wasn’t hurting, I wasn’t breathing, I wasn’t shaking… I punched the wall on my right with all my strength. It didn’t hurt. I couldn’t relieve any stress from hurting myself. Then how was I supposed to deal with my frustration?

According to Arkill, if I cried long enough, I would lose consciousness.

But damn, was crying all I could do?

Sally, you damned witch… I’ll pay you back someday for messing with Ray. Definitely.