"Guys, Rygel wants to talk to me alone," Dior said, placing his plate on the counter that he sat on. Rygel had been kind enough to give dinner to them at his shop. "Y'all could go to the beach or library or something." He looked at Halo. "It won't be long."
Halo nodded, promptly standing. "That sounds good—I hope everything is alright."
Kenneth nodded as well.
Rygel appeared out of a walk-in storage closet in the back room, holding a crate of bags full of presumably merchandise. He made eye contact with Dior, and Kenneth wondered how serious their private conversation would be.
Halo snatched Kenneth's wrist, pulling him out of the shop with way too much enthusiasm. "I think we should take this opportunity to explore—of course, without becoming lost," she said once they were outside.
Kenneth rubbed his wrist which Halo had twisted. "Um, sure."
***
Dior watched Kenneth and Halo leave through the blinds on the front window. "What's so important?" he asked, turning to the old man. He pulled his leather jacket off—feeling warm—and placed it on the front counter.
Rygel stood oddly still. "I want to close the store—for good," he said grimly.
Dior stared. "Close it? But you're doing so well," he said. Out of his peripheral vision, a multi-colored pen lay on a display case and he approached, interest piqued. "Honestly," he started, a faint smile forming. "If you need help, just ask me—or maybe Kenneth, 'cause I'm gonna go back to my work soon."
"It's not like that...I'm afraid it won't last long," Rygel said.
Dior observed the multi-colored pen, wondering what he could draw with it. "Why?" he questioned.
Rygel sighed; Dior couldn't understand why he looked so stressed. If Halo were here she could read him—unfortunately Dior was never too good at that. "The Interitus are coming," Rygel said.
The pen fell from Dior's hands, bouncing on the wood flooring and rolling under a shelf. "Why in the universes would you say that?" He stared with narrowed eyes. "We both know the Bishop shelter is being hidden by spells. The Interitus can't find this place, unless..." His voice faltered.
"Unless someone tells them," Rygel finished.
"But how'd you know that? Did another stupid Venenarius join the Interitus?" Dior asked, arms crossing. "Just tell the Venenarius here, they'll fix this before an attack starts."
Rygel stepped forward. "No, Di. You don't understand," he said, placing a pale hand on Dior's shoulder. "I told the Interitus."
***
Halo and Kenneth wandered through the narrow street, in the direction of the beach. Kenneth wouldn't mind heading to the beach but as they approached the passageway, Halo turned down another. Down this new street, a playground was perched in a fenced area—the gate propped open.
"Would you like to swing?" Halo asked, staring at a set of swings in the playground. "You know about swings, right?"
Kenneth nodded. "I guess..." He couldn't draw his focus from Dior and Rygel. "What do you think they're talking about?" he asked.
Halo walked through the gate as she said, "I don't like to speculate about other people's conversations. Dior tells me everything so we'll have to see." She smiled as she plopped down on one of the swings.
Kenneth sat on the one beside her. Halo kicked herself off the ground, swinging back and forth as her eyes fluttered closed. Kenneth stared momentarily—how could someone look so peaceful?
Across from the swingset, two pre-teen boys ran up a ramp to land at the top of a metal slide. The older of the two held out his hands as if doing magic, and although he was too far away to hear, Kenneth could tell by his facial expression that he was making sound effects.
The young boy ducked and threw his palm forward, and the eldest boy playfully fell back. This imaginary magical battle continued; one of the boys ran down the slide, and another jumped over the railing to ambush.
A tear rolled down Kenneth's cheek as he observed from afar. It wasn't fair. His younger brothers weren't any less innocent than these two boys, yet they suffered a tragic fate. No, it wasn't fair at all. Kenneth kicked his swing off the ground, allowing the wind to blow out his welling tears.
***
A million different thoughts ran through Dior's head, but the only emotion he felt was disbelief. "No you didn't," he said, forcing a laugh. "You didn't tell the Interitus, come on."
Rygel frowned. "They paid a sum for me to tell them the coordinates. I have more money in many currencies than I ever have."
Dior's eyebrows lowered. "Money? You ratted out everyone here for money?" His fingers balled into fists, but he still barely believed it. Rygel's supposed to be his companion.
Rygel smiled faintly, but it didn't reach his gray eyes. "I can leave this universe, and live off of this money. It's more than you'd expect." He approached the crate he'd brought in and Dior realized it wasn't merchandise in the bags. "This is only a fraction of what I was paid," Rygel said, bringing a bag over; his fingers pried open the drawstring.
Before Dior, the bag revealed pounds of coins up to the top—more money than he had ever owned or personally witnessed in his life. He gaped, heart pounding as if wanting to reach out to the wealth.
Rygel scooped up a handful of coins. "I can share a portion of this with you—we'll leave right now before your friends get back. Neither of us will ever have to work again, we'll be free and alone."
Dior snapped back into reality. "I don't want to run away!" He pushed past Rygel and the bag. "Halo's family, I can't just leave her." His heart ached, broken like his trust. This is why he hated allowing himself to get personally close to people. This hadn't been the first time someone had betrayed him.
Rygel's eyebrows lowered. "The child isn't your family—don't be emotional. I did this for both of us, I have all this money for both of us to share," he said in a reasonable tone.
"I don't want your money!" Dior seethed, face suddenly reddening. "Actually, you know what? I do—but I'm not a traitor; and I'm not gonna take it. I've got family back home, and Halo's the most important person to me—I'd be a traitor if I go along with your plan."
Rygel stared at Dior as if he somehow still cared, but Dior knew Rygel had betrayed the Venenarius for solely selfish reasons. There was no way he could possibly care anymore. Was this the friend and companion he had known?
"The Interitus will arrive in a day or two, Dior—and you'll be in terrible danger if you stay," Rygel replied.
Dior held up a finger. "Look Rygel, my morals might be messed up in some places—I might even be an alcoholic failure from time to time—but I'm not a traitor," he said, voice firm and forcibly steady—but an underlying edge of anger and frustration still seeped through.
"Then what will you and your friends do?" Rygel asked, his voice now eerily calm, while closing his bag of coins.
Dior hesitated. "I dunno..." he said, carefully. "I'll...talk to them." He bent down; found the multi-colored pen from under the shelf, and set it back on the display.
Rygel's gaze hardened. "You can't tell the Venenarius of this conversation—the Interitus will know and it won't end well for anyone," he warned, his voice suddenly thick with a strange, threatening edge. "Dior—you know that won't end well for anyone, I can promise you that. You can either go with me and have a good portion of money, or leave with your friends. Two choices—up to you."
Dior glared, grinding his teeth as he thought this over. He wanted to punch Rygel in the face—someone who was supposed to have been his friend. He also felt strangely sick to his stomach—perhaps from the repressed denial or grief over what was happening. "Like I said, I'm gonna go talk to my friends," he said, then mumbled quietly, "my real friends, apparently..." He snatched his leather jacket from the counter top where he'd left it, and he strolled up to the front door.
"Dior," Rygel spoke up. "You know, despite all of this... I really wish you the best."
Dior didn't look back, but he replied grimly, "You too, Rygel..." Dior paused, although his words had been sincere, and finally let the anger boil over. "But actually, no—'cause you can go explode in the next universe that gets destroyed. Okay, buddy? Almost hope you do." Dior exited the shop before he could think about his spontaneous, harsh words—and the effect they'd have on his friendship with Rygel. He never thought it'd get to this point, but how people could change...
Still, despite the awful, traitorous thing that Rygel had done—somehow Dior felt a twinge of remorse for his harsh words towards his—former—friend. As if he almost regretted them. Almost, Dior decided. Because friend or not, Rygel was still a traitor—and he'd put all their lives at risk. Dior rushed to find Halo—because no matter what happened, keeping her safe was a priority. It had always been a priority for him.
***
Halo leapt off the swing, smoothing down her skirt as she turned to Kenneth. "I can't imagine their conversation was long, we should head back," she said.
Kenneth planted his feet on the ground. "Also it's getting dark..."
The two of them approached the gate of the, and Halo couldn't pretend she didn't notice Kenneth trailing slowly behind her, glancing over his shoulder. "Is something wrong?" Halo asked, stopping in the gateway.
Kenneth shook his head and he quickly walked over. Halo opened her mouth to speak but Kenneth passed by her. Now did Halo notice what he had been staring at; two young boys played at the playground. Did he think of his brothers? Halo's heart ached for him.
Kenneth and Halo turned down the street of rundown apartments and shops, still a while away from Rygel's store.
A metal banner hung on chains from a roof overhang on a shop. "Loughty's Shop of Things," Halo quoted the words displayed.
"Creative name," Kenneth muttered, eyebrows raised. He peered at the objects displayed in the window and Halo did as well. A colorful book was perched on a stand, basic and overall ridiculous questions in fine print on the cover.
"Hmm." Halo read allowed the silliest yet lighthearted question. "What was your first kiss?"
Kenneth side-eyed her. "I've kissed my dog on the forehead," he replied flatly. "And snout and nose..." he trailed off.
Halo suppressed a laugh. "I expected no more of you." She grinned and Kenneth passed a sarcastic 'I'm insulted' look.
Just then, Dior appeared in the shadows, posture slouched and dark hair hanging—looking as creepy as they come. "Hello!" Halo called as she grinned, quickly approaching.
Dior's gaze met hers, and although he smiled faintly, she immediately knew something was wrong. "What did you and Rygel discuss?" she asked cautiously.
Dior glanced over her head, looking at Kenneth who stood a bit back. "Let's go to the beach and talk there," he said eventually, returning his gaze to Halo.
***
By this time, the world had grown dim—covered in charcoal clouds and becoming nightfall. The ocean's waves appeared bloody from a distance, and Kenneth swore they would swallow him if he approached.
They had only just entered the beach when Dior leaned against the back wall, observing the ground in contemplation. "Rygel's closing his shop and going to a different universe. The—he thinks—the Interitus is coming in a day or two," he hesitantly said eventually, as if choosing his words carefully.
Kenneth's stomach dropped, an uneasy pressure surfacing in his chest.
Halo gaped. "Why would he think that?"
"He knows—I mean, he has a hunch—I dunno..." Dior trailed off, biting his lip; Kenneth knew he held back information.
"A hunch?" Kenneth's eyebrows rose.
Halo hugged herself, appearing as uncomfortable as Kenneth felt. "But I thought...Didn't you tell me last night that the Interitus can't come here? You said the information has to be shared by someone who knows this universe and has been there before—because of a spell..." she said quickly. "Kenneth and I could only teleport here because of you."
The gears turned in Kenneth's head as he connected the lines. Anger coursed in his chest. "A Venenarius betrayed us and told the Interitus," he stated sharply. "Just like what happened in the other shelter."
Halo bit her finger nails. "Well...We should tell the Venenarius," she said to Dior. "You said the Interitus will arrive in a day or two—so we must inform the Venenarius and they can prepare." Her voice held the logical tone she always adopted when explaining her thoughts.
Kenneth rubbed his face with one hand, fingers trembling from the overwhelming anxiety. "But we don't even know for sure if they're coming."
Dior heaved a heavy breath. "I lied, okay? Rygel told the Interitus for some stupid money. He's a traitor and the Interitus are coming."
Kenneth and Halo both froze. "Rygel?" Halo piped.
"Yeah...And if we're not careful it won't end well," Dior said. "I think it's best to just leave—"
"Leave? There's people—kids here! This place is going to be ambushed and you want to leave?" Kenneth couldn't believe this. What a coward!
"We can't stay here—we're teens and ain't none of us gonna survive if we stay," Dior argued. "Look, the Venenarius are plenty able to protect this place when it's attacked. If you let me finish, I'm saying some Interitus are probably already here, and we can't just loudly announce they are coming. It'll probably make them attack sooner."
"So you just wanna leave and not tell the Venenarius at all?" Kenneth asked sharply.
"Can you stop interrupting me?" Dior asked in a low tone.
Halo finally spoke up. "Kenneth, just let Dior explain his thoughts."
"Why? So he can make another stupid suggestion?" Kenneth replied. "He wants to run away like everyone does and leave people to die. He's sounding a lot like the Venenarius—just teleporting to different universes when they find out one will be destroyed and never do anything!" Dior made him upset to such a degree he couldn't even express it enough—he knew he didn't like something about him.
"Kenneth," Dior snapped. "I am thinking of everybody. We can tell the Venenarius, we just have to be careful. And you got the Venenarius all wrong; they've been spending thousands of years helping people and saving them from the Interitus."
At this point, Kenneth couldn't even recall what they were originally arguing about. "Saving them? The Venenarius just grab a few people from universes and leave the rest to die. None of them even bothered with my universes. If it wasn't for—"
Halo cut him off. "Kenneth, I'm a Venenarius." Her eyes welled with tears.
Kenneth stared. "I-I'm not talking about you."
Dior stepped forward, staring as if Kenneth had purposely made Halo cry. "You didn't say that at first—you can't just say Venenarius if you're not talking about all of them."
Kenneth inhaled sharply. "It's not like you didn't know what I meant. I'm just saying, the stupid group of Venenarius hardly help. The Interitus have been attacking for how long? And the Venenarius haven't even figured out how the Interitus destroy universes?"
"I don't even care how the Venenarius save people, at least they try to do something," Dior replied, rolling his eyes.
"Well, of course you don't care, because you're so selfish," Kenneth spat. Oh how punchable Dior's face looked, he thought.
Dior's brow furrowed. "What? Honestly, you ain't making sense at this point," he said as he rolled his eyes again.
"Keep rolling your eyes, maybe you'll find a brain up there." Kenneth's fist trembled at his side. "Your friend betrayed the Venenarius and you lied about it at first, and now you're defending the Venenarius who can't even bother to stop the Interitus," Kenneth said. "Figure out whose side you're on."
"Stop acting like you know everything. A month ago you were still in your stupid little universe, totally oblivious in your happy life," Dior said, voice thick and rough with a gravely accent never noticed before.
Dior just crossed every line imaginable. Kenneth stared, eyes narrowing as a million hateful thoughts spired through his head. He strongly considered punching Dior straight in the nose.
Halo clenched Dior's wrist. "Apologize, Dior," she said firmly.
Dior looked at Halo and his expression softened as if feeling guilty. Good for him, Kenneth thought.
Dior stepped forward, his entire demeanor shifted. "Look, man, I'm sorry. That was uncalled for...Why don't we calmly discuss what to do about the Interitus?"
Kenneth's scowled, eyes stinging. "No, because I'm guessing you still have your universe and family, and you can't even comprehend what me or Halo have gone through," he spat. "Honestly, I would've thought after being friends with her for four years that you'd be a little more sympathetic."
"Kenneth, I—" Dior started.
"Shut up! I don't want to hear whatever you have to say. You're ignorant and insensitive, and honestly, I don't give a crap what you do with your meaningless life." Kenneth trembled where he stood. He wanted to say so much more and truly hurt Dior back, but his throat tensed and his face grew hot with unshed tears. The dam he'd built only crumbled the more he stayed here, and how vulnerable he'd be if he ever allowed himself to cry in front of people.
Kenneth turned on his heel and left the beach, now shadowed by night. Emotion pooled through his whole being, and any thoughts of ever surviving his grief and the Interitus diminished. And to think he had made friends to help him through it...