Chapter 19

"No...it was just a slither of bread. I earned it."

"Except you didn't eat it," Obsidian added, squeezing his long wooden hook.

"Tell the truth, you stole some food, went outside, maybe as far as Hornet. Took the back route to save some time. Sold it for some Lapis Lazuli, had yourself a party. Said 'Hi' to your psychopathic son. The one with all them bodies. Came back to work on cloud nine. Slipped up, fell right in the water. Stop me if I'm wrong."

"I swear it was nothing, a whisper of food at most."

"At most, huh?"

Coup grabbed him first, and Obsidian pressed his hands deep into the man's jaw. Based on the thinness of his skin, he nearly pinched his tongue. Flailing his arms didn't help, more food fell out his pants. Wet, sealed in small plastic bags. Within seconds, Obsidian forced open the man's mouth. Scarleth reached inside his pocket and took out a small jar. Inside was a translucent insect, three tiny hearts inside. Dozens of hairy arms on both sides, with long, slimy eyes that seem to wrap into each other. Two twists of the top opened it up and released a fecund smell into the ether. The insect must be the queen of its species. Scarleth tapped the bottom of the jar, riling it up. The bug stood on its hind legs, branching out its arms, shifting colors in a defense mechanism. The glass jar slid towards the top, and Scarlet edged the bug into the man's mouth.

"Bet you never seen shit like this," the laughter that followed made the statement more perverse.

Obsidian massaged the man's throat to ensure that the bug had entered his body. Coup let go of him, drying his hands on his shirt. The bluish, pale man sat on the ground holding his stomach. Sympathy tapped my shoulder, but I hid any goodwill I felt. I can't show them that I'm human. I need to be laconic in order to maneuver in this new world.

"We're done here, let's go to my office, get you that sugar water," Scarleth said.

"What's going to happen to the thief? Shouldn't we kill him?" I questioned.

"Never seen a Death Worm before? It's going to feed off him from the inside. He'll be dead within the hour."

"Killing a man without showing any marks on his body is a ceremonial kill in Titan. Especially if you display the body somewhere. Says that the corpse didn't deserve a fair fight. They're lower than dogs. The traitors, rats. Lower than Cretans even," Obsidian stated.

"Somebody will clean him up when the time's right. Make sure he don't roll in the water. We have to keep it unpolluted. No bodies. That's the main rule of Wren, aside from 'No stealing' of course. You'd think that'd be a given. But around here, no one respects the system. Inmates and Cretans alike. That's why the

Nuli gang handles the problems."

While scanning through my mental rolodex, drawing from my ex-enforcer days, I drew a blank when it came to the name Nuli. No articles, insider info, rumors, anything in regards to them. Given the amount of time that Wren has been here, could be safe to say that the Nuli gang was birthed in Titan. Operating only on the inside, outside they had no business at all. Works in my favor, they've had no static with enforcers, my cover still exists.

I also wondered how this place measured up to Ronin. From that map that Grey showed during orientation, it's even bigger than Wren. Hard to imagine, if I play my cards right, I may never have to find out. I must keep up this façade, this false perception of me as a cold killer. Truth is, I was a shitty soldier and a corrupt enforcer. More inclined to back-handed work, conspiracy, bribery, that kind of thing. A weasel who finds a way to get out when the situation turns code red. So far they think I've killed two people. That little girl on Xav doesn't count. When I return to Hornet, I'm going to claim Leif died by my hands. Why fight it? Build your resume, they'll respect you for it.

A sea of glowworms wriggled on Scarleth's office ceiling. Magical in a way, the sapphire radiance coming off them. Suddenly, a very young child, too young for prison, adorned in tattered garbs placed the wooden bowl of sugar water at my feet. A Chinese dragon tattoo circling his ring finger, low slits for eyes, a bucket of unkempt brown hair. I got the feeling he was born here, but how? I let my suspicion go, and leaned back.

Coup, Obsidian, and I were comfortably resting in a section of smooth carved limestone. One long couch, while Scarleth sat across on his own. Hypnotizing movement from the worms seized my attention, I felt child-like, while the sugar water went smoothly down my throat.

"The euphoria you feel about that sugar water is the same thing these Cretans feel about Lapis Lazuli. They're drug slaves. All of them. They work to get high, and the sober ones profit of it all. They say time moves faster when your brain's turned off. Hornet makes the drugs, we make the weapons, deals are made, etcetera etcetera," a small piece of rice paper laid flat in his hand, he sprinkled brown tobacco leaves inside. "We could use a liaison though."

Coup turned his head to stare directly at me. I marveled at the glowworms reflecting off his metal arm.

"The last one we had, well, you shot him four times in the face," I heard Obsidian's voice from behind Coup's broad shoulders.

"His partner was a former Viper named Juda. Since he's been unclaimed, I'm sure he won't last too long wandering around the flatland. That old man, the one we put the worm inside, his son takes perverse pride in hunting them, skinning them. Shit, I even heard he's got a mantle full of trophy heads. Calls himself The Collector," Scarleth finished rolling the cigarette and let it dangle in his mouth.

"So you need a drug runner?" I questioned.

"Exactly, plus you'll be claimed by both Nuli and Vipers. With that kind of clout, you'd be in a very privileged position."

"Both?"

"Yep, Viper's will put the Ouroboros tattoo on you, and we'll give you the Nuli circle around your wrist."

"What do I have to do?"

"Well, ...there's an initiation of course. A bare-knuckle fight. More of a test of endurance really. Last just three minutes, standing, and you're in. That's it," the spark from a flicked match put an orange glow on Scarleth's face.

Sounds too good to be true. With this position and help from the Masons, I may live long enough to die of old age. Not shanked, left bleeding out somewhere. Or worst, a severed head on a spike.

The decision was made before I said "Yes." Obsidian chuckled lowly, and a long smile formed on Scarleth's face, milky smoke leaking through his teeth.

An extended silence painted all the pictures of a setup. As if a black cloud entered the room and stopped to hover above me. Even that unkempt little boy who handed me the wooden bowl seemed to be in on it. I prayed that they'd make me fight one of those drug slaves. I'd even fight the kid, but that was me being overly optimistic. The silence remained, no one so much as coughed. Out of fear, I vaulted out my concern.

"Who am I up against?"

"...me," Coup said, stretching his neck, I heard a few pops. My bowels turned watery when I saw my distorted reflection in his metal arm.

Scarleth soaked up the dread written on my face and took a long drag.

"Nothing personal, this is how we treat all ex-enforcers who murder little girls," he said, exhaling a smoke cloud into my face. "Thought we didn't know? Your secret's safe with us, till we need something from you. Welcome to my pocket, Lex Decan. What you call that in enforcer school? Extortion?"

"Blackmail," Obsidian responded.

"Same shit. I love having a man I can depend on. Aint that right, Coup?"

Heaviness in my heart. Breath escaped my lungs, as I slumped deeper into the curved limestone. How did they find me? Does Puck know?

"No one knows but the three in this room."