The Meaning Of Eternity (TMOE #1)

Chapter 28: Friendly Fire

Lucius glared back at it. Why did the scourge need to keep an eye on him like this? It seemed as though it could already watch him through his mind and he'd figured the blight only stuck around to physically sway him on occasion.

Turning his attention back to the house again he sighed. There was no stealthy way to get in, was there? He supposed he could always burn the house down and hope the man was inside, but it seemed a bit excessive even for him and there was no guarantee it'd work.

Perhaps approaching him by just knocking on his door would be easier, pretending to be someone of interest and being invited in. He was good with first impressions after all and shouldn't be a subject of suspicion if everything went all right, and it'd give him more of a hint at what to expect on the inside.

He chewed on his lip, gaze wandering from the door of the house to the gate he'd just stared at.

The man was a doctor, he reminded himself as he looked at the plaque, and doctors could always use assistants. Even if he didn't it'd still be a way to approach him.

It was as good of a reason as any, and Lucius shrugged to himself as he walked past the gate.

He frowned as he reached the door however.

It was open. Not just unlocked but someone had just left it ajar, and his frown refused to let up. Was something wrong?

Whether or not it was, it gave him yet another reason to just walk into the house to see if everything was all right with the people who lived there.

He grew cold. What if he didn't live there alone? Chances were he was married, or had children. Lucius couldn't kill children so what would he do if that was the case?

"Hello?" he still called out as he opened the door further. Fortunately, his less stealthy approach was better that way. If things took an unexpected turn he could always leave as if nothing had happened.

As no one answered he stepped inside the entrance hall and had a look around. Things were dark. No candles were lit and he couldn't hear any noises from inside. Perhaps he wasn't home.

He cleared his throat and walked through the entrance into a larger hallway with a thin, steep looking staircase to the left.

"Hello?" he called out again and as there was no answer he let go of the tension in his shoulders. What then? Would he wait until the man came home? It was such a tedious bother. He didn't even know the man, and while he probably wouldn't mind killing him the whole waiting and planning process seemed so excessive. He didn't even care if the man died or not.

"Is this scourge game of yours really that important?" he whispered as he quietly opened a door leading further into the house. "Which one are we stealing from in the first place?"

"That would be the scourge of desire."

"Tixbris?" Lucius arched his eyebrows as he stepped into the next room. His knowledge about the scourges wasn't great, but he was pretty sure that was the one.

A pause, and then a revolting, bone-chilling laughter from the scourge. Lucius made a mental note to never make the scourge laugh again.

"The name?" he asked, already guessing what the scourge was so amused by. "What did the old man even—"

He paused, stopping in his tracks as numerous frames on the wall caught his eye and he turned his head to take a better look.

"That's a lot of diplomas," he whispered, mostly to himself as he took a step closer to the wall to read one of them.

The isle of Wypera's institute for species exploration honour the scientific achievement of Dr. Nicholas Carner, for the discovery of the ghastly badgerabbit.