Page 34 of Reine's Salvation

“I can’t go back to you, Reine. You are useless.”

Tears gathered in Reine’s eyes. His head began to throb.

“How do you expect to protect the humans from the Sins if you can’t even protect your own wife?”

“I try my best,” he said, his voice breaking with every word.

“If that is your best, then it means you’re not good enough. Even now, you’ve lost your friends. You’re alone, Reine. Your wife is dead. Your friends have abandoned you. You are a danger to everyone else.”

“No.”

Fat tears rolled down his cheeks.

“Yes,” Leslie seemed to whisper in his ear. “You don’t deserve to be a Guardian. You are not fit to maintain the balance between good and evil. You are of no use.”

“What will you have me do, Leslie?” He crumpled to the floor, weeping.

“Kill yourself. Join me in the darkness, Reine.”

“Les, I can’t,” he whimpered.

“Coward. You let me die and now you’re too afraid to join me. You said you loved me and all through our marriage you proved the opposite. I meant nothing to you, nothing.”

“No,” Reine cried.

“Then take that sword and plunge it through your chest. Show me you indeed love me as much as you claim you do.”

Fingers trembling, Reine lifted his weapon off the floor. He pointed it at his chest. This was the end. He was worthless. He knew it all along. He glanced at his reflection in the mirror. His eyes widened.

“Do it,” Leslie urged him.

“No! You demon!”

The edge of his sword glimmered in the light as he arched it upwards in a sudden move and sliced through his right arm. He cried out in rage as repeatedly he hacked at his muscles.

“Beast. You are not Leslie. Deceiver, you will die before you get to me.” His head buzzed and dark spots began to dance behind his eyes. The Inferum which had taken the appearance of Leslie chuckled.

“Look again, Guardian. I will see you soon.”

Reine looked at his reflection in the mirror. There was blood splattered everywhere. His arm was gone. Behind him, the demon with Leslie’s appearance smiled. Then, all became dark.

“From what I was told after, my colleagues found me and dragged me out of there. Sometimes I wonder why they did it.”

“Because they cared about you, Reine.”

“Yes, I suppose so.” He shrugged. The therapist had said the same, but he disagreed. They had rescued him out of a sense of responsibility. No man should be left behind. If they had really been concerned for him, they would have gone to see him in the hospital and they wouldn’t have treated him differently afterward.

“Reine, you do realize it wasn’t your fault, right?” Mystique said.

“What do you mean?”

“Accidents happen. Things happen that are out of our control. It was the same with my mother. I had to learn to accept the fact I had nothing to do with her problems. I didn’t set the house on fire. She did. It wasn’t my fault, and in your case, neither was Leslie’s death.”

“Yet—”

“The demon and what he says haunts you.”

“Yes.” Reine squeezed Mystique’s hand. He was surprised she didn’t question him about the demons and the Sins. “You think me crazy, don’t you?”

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