The Third Eye Initiative (19 page)

He approached the bar, and spoke to the man behind it.
“I need to see Elias,” he demanded.

The man nodded.
“Have a seat. I’ll send for him.” Blorick was surprised at how cooperative the man was.

Blorick found an empty table, and sat waiting. Blorick had known Elias for many years, before he had gotten caught up with this group. The two had been friends, and Blorick liked to think that they still were, to an extent.

Blorick didn’t know much about these people, but he knew enough. He knew that they were many and powerful, but they were different than the other underground organizations. They were no assassin or thieves guild. In his dealing with them, he had come to believe that they were trying to help The City.

Their methods were brutal, and Blorick knew that they got at least some of their funding by extorting business for protection money, and by theft. Yet whenever Elias had asked him to look the other way when they
performed some of their larger tasks, Blorick was always glad he did. The conclusion seemed to always benefit the City, whether they were burning down opium dens, or stealing resources from suspected gangsters.

In truth, that was the extent of Blorick’s knowledge, as it was only rarely that Elias would come to him at all. But he knew Elias, and desperately wanted to believe the man when he told him that they were working towards a goal that would mean a better city. Alone in a sea of corruption, Blorick needed to believe in something.

This was different, though. He had never come to Elias before, and wasn’t sure how he would be received. He had been to this tavern only once before under Elias’ invitation. He hoped that coming here hadn’t been a mistake.

Elias finally appeared in the doorway, glanced at Blorick
, then walked to the bar. A moment later he sat at the table, carrying two tankards of ale. He handed one to Blorick.

“
What are you doing here?” Elias asked, not unkindly. He was just a blunt man who liked to get right to the point.

“
Did you kill The Purity Union members?” Blorick could be blunt as well.

“
What do you want, Blorick? You’re not in uniform, so you’re obviously not here on an investigation.”

Blorick didn’t really expect a straight answer.
“I’m sure you know that The Purity Union attacked a number of elves last night. Two of them died.”

“
So I hear.”

“
I just spoke with Dormic. He denied the whole thing, of course.”

“
That sounds about right. Dormic is not about to admit to anything, certainly not to a Captain of the Watch,” Elias replied.

Blorick took a pull of his ale, trying to find the words to convey his real purpose in coming. He decided that it was best to just dive right in, as a man like Elias did not take well to small talk.

“I hear he’s running for City Council,” Blorick felt himself growing nervous. He was not in his element.

“
Yes, I know.”

“
That would be very bad for any non-humans, don’t you think?” Blorick wiped sweat from his brow.

“
Yes, it would. If those bigots get any real power, you can bet that the dwarves and elves will pay a heavy price.” Elias took a long pull of his own ale.

“
Yeah. And I’ll have lost any chance of seeing them brought to justice. Dormic will have a lot more authority in The City than I do,” Blorick said.

“
I know all of this. Get to the point, Blorick.”

Blorick locked his eyes with Elias’.
“The City Watch is really busy these days. I don’t know that we’d have time to investigate if something unfortunate happened to the Purity Union, even if it happened to Dormic himself. We’re short-staffed, and it’s a big district. And if the Council were to demand an investigation, I doubt I’d even be able to find anything. I’ve been so overworked, my senses have been dull of late.”

“
We all have times like that. Every man needs a break. I hope for their sakes that nothing terrible happens to them during your fatigue,” Elias replied, betraying nothing of his thoughts.

Blorick finished his ale.
“Me too. But The City is a dangerous place, so you never know. Take care, Elias.”

“
You too, Blorick.”

Blorick left the tavern feeling slightly ill. He knew that he had just opened the door for mass murder. He hoped he was doing the right thing.

***

Elias sat reflecting on his meeting with Blorick. The dwarf must be really upset and worried to come to him like that. It had never happened before. Even more
surprising, Blorick had more or less asked Elias to destroy the Purity Union.

That the Purity Union was going to be destroyed had already been decided, and Elias had been wondering how he wo
uld hide these activities from The City Watch. He never imagined that the problem would come and solve itself. Things almost never worked out this smoothly. It made him nervous.

He finished his drink, and ordered another. This operation would not be small. The Purity union was made up of many members, and Elias meant to see them all dead. It wasn’t only to avenge his injured
protégé. If the Purity Union were allowed to continue attacking and killing the elves, the newly formed alliance would be in danger. It was very important to the Third Eye Initiative that the alliance remain intact

Elias finished his second drink quickly, then paid and left the tavern. There was work to be done, and it would be hard and bloody. He would see The Purity Union as well as everyone and everything they believed in and held dear torn to the ground around them. War was coming to the Union bigots, and it would come from the shadows.

“
Here, I want you to squeeze this as hard as you can,” Tyrier said, handing Tsaeris a rubber ball. Tsaeris did as he was told, squeezing it with his injured right hand and almost screamed in pain. He hadn’t squeezed it very hard.

“
Well, that’s good news,” Tyrier said. “Better news than I expected.”

“
What are you talking about? I can barely close it, and it hurts like hell.”

“
Yes, but the fact is that you can close it. Means that the damage wasn’t as bad as it looked, and now that the swelling is down I’m not sure it was broken at all. Maybe cracked.”

Tsaeris sat in the clinic, feeling almost whole. His hand still ached horribly, and the carving in his chest was scabbed over and sensitive, but for the most part he felt better. Even the wound in his stomach had closed nicely, and the stitches had been removed earlier that day. He was sure that the attack would have cost him his life
at the time. Instead it cost him about two weeks. His ribs were still tender and would take longer to heal than the rest, but he could still walk and move. All in all, Tsaeris had escaped only slightly damaged.

“
Can I go now?” He asked.

“
I think so. You should even be fine to return to work, though it’ll have to be light duty. But first we have to go see somebody,” Tyrier replied.

“
Who?”

“
The boy who saved your life and his father.”

“
What? Why do we have to see them?” Tsaeris asked.

“
The boy saved your life, you ungrateful little shit. His father too. Don’t you at least want to thank them?” Tyrier seemed unimpressed.

“
Well. I don’t know. I’m not good at that kind of thing. Can’t you just thank them for me?”

“
No.”

“
I don’t want to go,” Tsaeris knew that he sounded whiny, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t in the mood to meet with strangers, despite the fact that they had saved his life.

“
I don’t care. They deserve your thanks, and you’re going to give it to them.”

“
What ever happened to the unsung hero? You know, the deed is the reward, no thanks needed. All that junk.” Tsaeris thought it was a good point, but he could tell by Tyrier’s expression that he didn’t agree.

“
Tsaeris, are you honestly doing this? I know you can be callous, but this is absurd. They saved your life. You would be dead right now, and you can’t even go to them and say thank you?”

“
You think I’m callous?” Tsaeris asked.

“
Don’t change the subject. This is beneath even you. The fact that I have to drag you there is pathetic. You should be ashamed, you little puke.” Tyrier looked angry.

“
Alright, I’ll do it. I’m sorry for being a callous little puke, alright? I was almost killed after all. Cut me some slack.”

“
Get dressed for the outside. It’s cold,” Tyrier turned to get dressed himself.

“
What, now? It’s dark out,” Tsaeris argued.

“
It’s not that late, and I’m sure we’ll be fine. We’re doing this tonight,” Tyrier said, in a tone that brooked no further argument.

Tsaeris sighed, strapped on his short sword, and dressed in his grey woolen coat and wolf fur cloak. He waited a few minutes for Tyrier to finish getting ready. The Doctor reappeared dressed in heavy winter clothes, with a mace at his belt. The two men left the clinic.

Snow had fallen during the day. It was a light dusting, and nothing like the blizzard a week or so ago. It was a comfortable amount of snow, and the cold was bearable, though after a few minutes Tsaeris found that his ribs ached even more in the cold than they had inside.

The two men walked silently, Tyrier obviously unhappy with Tsaeris’ unwillingness to thank his rescuers. Tsaeris knew he had been unreasonable, but he couldn't help it. He was just not a people person, and thanking strangers would not come easily to him.

A light snow fall began, and Tsaeris watched the flakes as they descended and were illuminated in the torchlight of the street lamps. Winter had an eerie beauty to it, even though it cast everything in a white-grey tone. He also found the color familiar, and even a little comfortable.

He supposed that it had something to do with the fact that he was Tundra Elf. He was a smart and deductive person, and he had concluded that his earliest memory of him walking in the snow must have had something to do with his lineage. Maybe he had been born with t
he elves and had been taken to The City. It made sense considering that his first memory was snow and his second was The City.

He shrugged off his contemplation. Tyrier mentioned that they were getting close, and would be there within a few minutes. The close proximity of the boy’s house and the clinic was probably a very large contributing factor to Tsaeris’ survival.

“The boy’s name is Aedrus, and his father is Frank. Their family name is Rangaard,” Tyrier told him.

“
Aedrus and Frank, got it,” Tsaeris replied.

The two continued on their way, but stopped suddenly as a group of five men moved to intercept them. They were all armed with swords in worn leather scabbards.

“What’s this? You taking your pet fairy for a walk?” one of the men asked Tyrier.

“Fairy?” Tsaeris asked, insulted. Is that what these idiots called elves?

“You don’t want to say another word. Just keep walking” the Doctor told the man.

“You don’t get to give
me
orders, fairy lover,” the man said angrily. He pulled his sword and the other men followed suit.

The group as a whole looked middle class, neither poor nor wealthy. Their weapons were plain but functional. They did not appear drunk. Tsaeris figured that they were Purity Union members or sympathizers, out looking to hunt down some non-humans. Elias had told him that the Union had been behind his own attack. These men looked nothing like his attacker, though.

“Are you drawing your weapons on me, pal?” Tyrier asked ominously.

“Aren’t we a brave one?” the man asked with a chuckle. “Tell you what. Just give us the fairy, and you can leave. And be happy we’re offering you that much, race traitor.”

Tyrier removed the mace from his belt. “Why don’t you just come and take him, bigot.”

The man barred his teeth in rage, and he and his men advanced. Tsaeris was happy that he had learned to fight left handed after he had lost his eye, since his right hand was all but useless right now. He drew his own short sword, and entered a crouch.

The men attacked as a group, with three of the five going for Tyrier. He was the larger target, after all. The first of the two men who came for Tsaeris swung his sword wildly, coming at him from his right. Tsaeris easily ducked beneath the blade, and snapped his own sword forward. The other man attacked before Tsaeris’ blade could connect with the first man, and Tsaeris had to abandon his own attack to block the second man’s sword. His hurt ribs were slowing him down, and he barely managed the block before the blade reached him.

He chanced a quick glance at Tyrier, just as the big man’s mace crushed the skull of the man who had done all the talking. Large clumps of bone and brain flew through the air, splattering the other men attacking Tyrier. They paused and Tsaeris saw Tyrier about to press the attack, before he had to return his concentration on his own fight. The men were not quick enough to take advantage of Tsaeris’ one second distraction.

The men attacked Tsaeris quickly and brutally, and Tsaeris could only dodge and parry. With the two men attacking simultaneously, there was no way for him to counter. He knew he couldn’t keep this defensive game up for long. He wasn’t fully recovered yet, and his reflexes were rapidly slowing. He needed to do something fast.

The two men fought with about four feet
of space between them, so as not to accidentally wound each other. Knowing that he would probably suffer a hit or two, Tsaeris dropped suddenly to his hands, and rolled a low tight somersault through the gap between the men. Both of the men's swords slashed across his back, but they were surprised by the sudden move, and were unable to bring much of their strength to bear. Tsaeris’ heavy fur cloak absorbed the feeble strikes. Pain exploded in his ribs, and Tsaeris clamped his jaw tight, trying to ignore the pain.

An instant later, he was behind the men. Before they could spin around to face them, Tsaeris slashed one of them on them in the back of the knee, hamstringing him. The man cried out and fell to the ground. He was on his hands and knees now.

The roll and attack had been executed to perfection, and had happened so fast that Tsaeris was on his feet by the time the other man had turned to face him. His ribs groaned in protest, but Tsaeris ignored them. He blocked the man’s sword and leaped forward and to the side, lining himself up with the head of the man on his hands and knees. With one quick slashed, he cut through the back of the downed man’s neck, causing him to fall onto his face, blood pouring from the wound.

Tsaeris smiled at the other man, and the man attacked with a fury. Tsaeris was on the defensive game again, but he wasn’t concerned. He continued to smile at his attacker.

“How many more can you block, boy?” the man asked as he continued to attack.

“Oh, I don’t know. One or two more should do it.” The man looked confused at the answer, and then his head disappeared in an explosion of blood as Tyrier’s mace crushed his skull from behind.

Tsaeris glanced around at all the dead bodies, and then grinned at Tyrier. “For a healer, you sure kill pretty well.”

“Just keep it under your hat,” Tyrier grinned back. “It’s bad for business.”

Tsaeris and Tyrier took a moment to catch their breath, wiped the blood from their weapons, and then continued on to the Rangaard home. They stopped before the large housing structure, and Tyrier walked up to the front door, beckoning Tsaeris to follow. Tsaeris recognized the alley next to the building. Yep, this was definitely the place. Tyrier led him into the building and up a flight of stairs. They stopped before a wooden door.

“
You knock,” Tyrier said.

“
Seriously?” Tsaeris asked. Tyrier nodded.

Tsaeris sighed and knocked on the door. It swung open as soon as his hand connected. It didn’t seem to have been closed all the way. Tsaeris glanced back at Tyrier, who shrugged. Tsaeris examined the door frame. It was splintered and the middle of the door was cracked. Somebody had broken the door open.

Tsaeris showed Tyrier the damage, and the big man bolted through the door as fast as he could, with Tsaeris following.

When they entered the home Tyrier froze
. A body lay face down in the middle of the living room floor. A dagger lay next to it. Tyrier squared his shoulders and approached the broken form, Tsaeris following close behind. 

Tyrier turned the body over, and Tsaeris could see that it was a bald man with a red beard. His eyes were open and his death mask was locked in pain and terror. His torso was cut wide open vertically, from crotch to neck, and his insides were splayed on the floor in a messy pile
of blood, and red and blue entrails. He had been lying on his gore before Tyrier had turned him over.

“
Oh, Frank. No,” Tyrier said sadly, bending down to examine the corpse of his friend.

Tsaeris stood silently, not sure of how to comfort the big man. He waited,
and then Tyrier snapped his gaze to Tsaeris.

“
Aedrus,” He said.

Tsaeris nodded, and began searching the rooms. He admitted to himself that he was slightly worried about what he might find. The boy had saved his life. He didn’t want to find him dead. Search as he may, however, he found no trace of the boy. Tyrier had begun searching as well, and after a moment Tsaeris heard him call from another room. Tsaeris braced himself for the worst, and entered the room where Tyrier was.

“Did you find him?” Tsaeris asked. They were now in what looked like the boys bedroom.

“
No.” Tyrier replied, shaking his head. “He’s not here, thank the light. The window is open, though.”

Tsaeris walked to the open window. He examined it and saw what might have been small finger prints in the snow on the window sill, and what
were clearly footprints in the alley below. There were only one set, which bode well for the boy. It seemed that he hadn’t been followed. As it was snowing, and the prints were still visible, they must have been very recent.

Tyrier looked at the prints, and came to the same conclusion.
“This must have just happened. He can’t be too far ahead, and it’s dark enough now to be very dangerous for the boy. Let’s go find him.”

Tsaeris was not about to argue with that. He and Tyrier left the house, and began following the tracks in the alley. The boy was clearly running hard, and Tsaeris hoped he wasn’t too far ahead. He also hoped they would find him before some of the street monsters did.

After all these years and all of his training, he still thought of them as street monsters. He knew they were only people; rapists, murders, and worse. He also knew that, not including his one sided fight with the lager cloaked man, he was more than a match for most of them. But he had lived as prey to those monsters for so long that he wondered if he would ever shake that image. He wasn’t willing to bet any money on it.