Page 5 of Dark Ink

And because there’s no one else around, and the darkness has devoured my village, I follow him. Maybe he will take me to Koschei. Maybe he’s a protector too.

Chapter 3

The children are out. Whoever was innocent is out. Everyone else is dead.

Not by my hand, though. I’m the cleanup guy. The one who makes sure the dead stay dead and that their bodies tell no story. If you want to emerge unscathed from the flames of crime, I’m your guy.

Well, not your guy. Arcana’s guy.

Which is why I’m here today, looking at my screen.

“How long are you going to stare at that iPad? Just blast it already!” Ivo, or The Hanged Man as we all call him, comes out of nowhere. My fingers twitch and I almost explode the whole compound without meaning to.

“Jesus, make some noise when you move, please!” I inhale, hold my breath, then exhale.

Ivo shrugs. He likes to watch the world burn. Literally.

“You sure there’s no one left in there?” My index finger hovers over the detonator button.

“Sure as death.” He grins, displaying a line of perfect white teeth. Those clear aligners have worked wonders on his smile.

I don’t wait for him to urge me again. I don’t really want him here; I prefer to work alone. But I know he won’t go, so I take in another deep breath, and on my exhale, as if I’m purging the evil from this world, I tap the screen and watch the Rad Red Ron orphanage explode.

It’s not like in the movies. It’s a controlled thing, meticulously calculated by yours truly. The explosions are small and many, and the fire, as it spreads, will be big and devastating.

I watch the building light up like a web of orange. Warmth spreads in our direction, so I take two steps back.

Watching the small Arcana army raid this compound twenty minutes ago made my teeth grind.

The Empress wrapped up the job like a neat little present of ‘good deed’ and tied up with a bow of ‘saving children.’

“Now that the hospital formerly known as Hale-Bopp Health is back under control and we’ve made Comet International our enemy, it’s time to make good on our words,” the Empress said. She’d invited Ivo and his crew, me, and Kazuo. If he was there, I assumed whatever mission she had for us next would involve violence and casualties. Why else would she need a military nurse?

“I warned that I don’t want any trace of Comet’s existence on Arcana territory. There were two Comet Pharmacies, which have now been sold to new owners under our direction, and Comet International’s CEO assured me that’s all. He had an apartment near the hospital, which we’ve now raided just in case, and he and his family are indeed gone.

“But imagine my surprise when I delve a bit deeper into Red Rad Ron, a charity connected to Comet Healthcare, and find out their building is within our boundaries?”

At that point, I became massively uncomfortable. Blowing up children is not something I would do, no matter how much I love money. Actually, blowing up people alive of any age. I don’t think my consciousness would be able to take me being a murderer.

So I was happy to be wrong about Kazuo’s involvement. He was here to check on the children and take them away to a safe space before they can be taken to Child Protection Services or wherever they need to go.

As the fire spreads and the smoke starts curling up in black-brown swirls against the night sky, I put my iPad in my backpack.

“Someone will call the cops soon,” I say. “Let’s go.”

I turn to leave, but Ivo stands in place, mesmerized.

“You must love your job. This smell is making my dick hard.”

“That’s too weird, dude. I’m leaving. Don’t get caught.” I shake my head.

“You know this wasn’t just an orphanage. There was a chapel with some weird stuff inside. My bet is on a cult. Semi-orthodox, most likely,” Ivo says, still unmoving. “We did a good thing.”

“Sure,” I reply, not caring to continue the conversation. I don’t have the mental strength right now to deal with people. I want to go to the docks and stare at the sea for a moment. I want the world to be dark and quiet. So I walk away.

I don’t feel particularly involved in anything the Arcana does anyway. I only clean up after them so they don’t get caught. And yeah, I’ve thought about having them all arrested by the police, but I’m not dumb. I know someone else will quickly take their place. They might be worse and might not want my services.

I don’t hate my job. But I don’t love it either. I’m simply good at it. And that’s enough. It ensures I can buy whatever I want, and really, I wanted to work in the field I studied—chemistry. Blowing shit up and/or setting it on fire is as applied as it gets.

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