Chapter Twenty-Five
Colter
My decision not to disturb Lilith when I left came with a heavy heart.
Part of me wanted to wake her up and dive straight into another round of shenanigans, but I couldn’t.
I have told her to leave this place, and I need her to do it.
I’d be tempting fate by staying too close to her after our emotions boiled over and ended the way they did last night.
The only way I can be sure she’s safe is if I stay far away from her.
I went down to the Veil’s catacombs early this morning. Many of the resident scribes were fast asleep when I entered, but some were hard at work, doing whatever they were tasked with. We didn’t speak, and I was happy about that. I have no interest in dealing with lesser Veil affairs at the moment.
Not while I await the Head’s arrival.
We meet in his chambers at ten thirty on the dot. He’s wearing a suit and tie, rather than his customary robes. He must be planning to head into the city once we’re done here.
His chamber is terribly dark, save for one lamp on his desk, illuminating his face and whatever he’s reading. It’s odd being in here with no torches lit on the walls, to show off the relics and tomes from the old years.
“Do you know what you’ve done? How dare you be so careless?” The Head is seething.
For good reason, I suppose.
Yesterday, the world had no idea of the Veil’s existence.
Today, my mask is on the front page of every news outlet and being broadcast across the city.
I’ve seen the footage. Someone at the Rusty Hook recorded the assault on Lilith, and I was too involved to stop them.
My actions, however brief the attack was, were caught in crystal clear, high-definition resolution.
Luckily, my back was turned to the recorder when I revealed my face. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
What I find best in this situation is how most of Midnite City, and perhaps even the world, agree that the dickhead who tried to touch Lilith, deserved his fate. What I find worst, is that I couldn’t kill him with her right there in front of me.
But spending a night with her made sparing his life worth it.
“Lilith was in trouble. I chose to help her.” It’s a decision I don’t, and will never, regret. “Had I not intervened, he would have—”
“What? Fucked her?” The Head spits. “Who cares? Have you no foresight? Do you not understand what your actions have done?”
I do not.
I also won’t give him the satisfaction of an answer.
Noticing my unwillingness to respond, the Head continues. “Your infatuation with the girl has blinded you to reason, Ghost.”
From my very first day that I took this title, I understood the trials and tribulations that came with it. That a Ghost, the sword and shield, duty-bound to protect the Veil, cannot form human bonds. He has no family, no lovers, and no prejudice that may hamper his ability to enact swift vengeance.
I broke one of those rules, but I won’t break another.
“No.” My answer causes the Head to look up from his desk, and glare at me with a furious sneer. “I won’t deny, my interest in Lilith has caused problems, but I have never seen things more clearly.”
“Is that so?” He leans back in his seat, waving a hand through the air lazily, but meaninglessly. “Please, do enlighten me.”
“In time, I will. But for now, there are pressing matters I must attend to.”
The Head’s eyes are on me, but not his focus. That seems somewhere far away. He is not looking at me, but rather through me, to somewhere deep in the future where this problem resides.
Taking a pause at my out-of-the-norm response, he sits silently deliberating over my words. He is trying to unravel their meaning, if there is any, and what it means for him.
“I need you to understand the severity of this fuck up, Ghost. To you it may be as simple as saving a helpless girl, but in turn, you’ve put a spotlight on the Veil,” he says, after reaching a conclusion or deciding it’s not worth trying for one.
“I do, which is why I need to tend to it. Salve the wound before it festers,” I say.
“You know there’s only one way to do it, right? She’s seen your face, behind the mask. She’s a liability.”
Every muscle in my body flexes, hearing those words. I said it when we first stepped foot down this road, and I was ignored. Now, because it doesn’t suit him, I must make the sacrifice…
“What would you have me do?” I ask, proving one last time, my dedication to the Veil.
“Kill the mother and the daughter, so we may be rid of this curse,” he says.
I wonder if word of their disappearance has gotten out already.