Masayoshi walked up behind him. “Shi, you are ready.” He put his hand on Silas’s shoulder. “You will lead this group of birds, for you are now justly…the three-legged raven.”
His visions ended.
Waking up from his trance, Silas twitched and buckled as the memories of his training shot into his psyche all at once, forcing him to yell out in a bewildering state of shock. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it was enough for him to lose his balance and fall to the ground. Yet, after only a short moment, he pulled himself together and stood up. He walked over to the roof’s ledge and jumped on top, looking out into the snow-capped city sleeping peacefully against the backdrop of a radiant orange dawn.
My name is Shinju, the Three-Legged Raven, and this is my hunting ground.
Later that afternoon, Silas visited Madame Ovary’s Emporium, the brothel located next to the orphanage he’d visited a few days earlier. The door to the penthouse loft opened, and in walked Silas.
“This is the best we have,” Madame Ovary, a woman whose years had been very kind to her, said. “It’s been abandoned for quite some time, but it’s...practical.”
“I see,” Silas said. The penthouse loft was at the uppermost level of the nine-story building. Being abandoned for a few years, it was old and dirty, with multiple cobwebs strewn about, and not to mention above a seedy brothel. Yet it was still impressive, with floor-to-ceiling windows wrapping most of the penthouse’s walls. It was large and spacious and covered the entire floor. “So this whole floor is mine?”
“Nobody else wants it.”
“I’ll take it.” Silas gave her his advance in rent. “I want complete privacy.”
“Oh, we’ll try to keep the noise down,” she replied, rolling her eyes before walking away.
After taking a moment to stare at his new sanctuary, Silas stepped out into the hallway. “This way.” He had hired a few teenage boys from the orphanage in order to haul his massive trunk up the stairs and into his new loft. “Over there, fellows.”
The boys huffed and puffed as they did their best to carry the trunk inside the penthouse. When all was done and over with, the boys fell to their knees, completely exhausted.
“Good work. Here you go. For your troubles.” He gave them a generous sum of money for their help, which made them sport silly grins. “Go on now. I’ll get the rest.”
The boys departed.
Silas went out into the hallway and picked up some other things, along with the package that had arrived for him, the one he’d ordered from the tailor’s shop. He set it on a large table stationed near the middle of the vast loft. Curiously excited, he tore into the package.
First, he took out his new leather overcoat. Dark gray, the coat was long and form-fitting, with black and red trimming along the lining and edges of the coat, stretching from the sleeves to the overly large lapels and all the way down to the bottom. Inside the coat, the tailor had crafted a number of pockets and openings for Silas to place whatever tools he needed to conceal. Included with the coat was an all-leather red and black suit-vest with a number of hidden pockets on its inside as well as its outside.
The second item he grabbed from the package was his top hat. Like the coat, the hat was dark gray with black and red trimmings. On the front of the hat was embroidered a three-legged raven, just as he had described to the tailor from his vision. The hat’s front bill swooped down in order to create a shadowy effect across most of Silas’s forehead and eyebrows. The back bill was configured with a metal lining, and from this lining, a meticulously crafted and thin-bladed razor-sharp edge protruded outwards. He carefully pressed his thumb against its edge. Just right.
Along with the coat and hat, a pair of soft, leather boots and gloves were included inside. The boots were special; they were ankle high with a separation between the big toe and other toes, giving Silas the advantage in climbing and scaling. These I’ll put to good use.
Not wasting any more time, Silas dressed himself in a dark shirt and pants before putting on the rest of his outfit. The coat had extremely large lapels, and when buttoned up near the neck area, it made the collar protrude upward, creating another shadowy effect across Silas’s nose and mouth. Worn with the top hat, and depending on the lighting, it made it seem as if all one could see of Silas were his eyes.
He walked over to his trunk and grabbed his two kama blades. They felt good in his hands.
So, now that most of my memories have come back, how good am I with these things?
Instantly, as if conjuring up a reflex, he heard movement behind him. He jerked around and threw one of his kamas at a wall that sat thirty feet away. He walked over to retrieve his blade, and there in front of him, skewered by the sharp steel, was a dead cockroach stuck to the wall.
No trespassing.
He smiled and grabbed his kama off the wall. He turned and walked up to one of the large windows overlooking the city. Pondering about his next course of action, all he could think about was Belloc, Posy, and, of course, Lucy. Anger filled him up with an unmitigated rage, and he yearned for a sense of justice. “What are you going to do, Silas?” Sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands.
He looked at his hands, strong and healthy. And mine are perfectly capable.
*
IN THE MIDST OF THE WITCHING HOUR, a pair of girls moved within the darkness of the sleeping city, on their way to the B&L Railroad Station, which rested quietly amongst the icy layers of the wintry nighttime snow.
Inside the station, near the train terminals, all the lanterns were put out, enshrouding the massive terminals in a circus of gray shadows and silver moonlight. The workers had gone home to their loved ones, and the station was left barren and cold.
“I can’t see a thing,” seventeen-year-old Frances Dupuys whispered to her good friend. “It’s too dark. I don’t like this at all. You didn’t tell me we were going to leave today, especially at night.”
“Of course it’s dark,” Catherine Haralson replied. “Did you think they were going to leave all the lanterns on for us?”
“I hope you’re right about us leaving. I still think it’s a bad idea.”
“What would you have us do?” Catherine struggled to lug her luggage behind her. “We weren’t safe sitting in our houses, waiting for that monster to come for us.”
“I know, I know. It’s just—I’ve never done anything like this.”
“I know, Frances. I’ve never done anything like this either. None of us have ever done anything like this, but if Claudia were still alive, she would’ve done the same thing.”
“I miss her.” Frances grabbed on to Catherine’s arm. “I miss all of them.”
“I miss them, too, and that’s why we have to leave this place and start anew somewhere else. We’ll do it for them. They would’ve wanted us to.”
“All right. And why are we whispering? There’s no one here.”
Catherine just looked at her for a moment. “Of course there isn’t, but you never know.”
“Why did we have to sneak out in the middle of the night? I don’t know how much of this fright I can stand.”
“It was the only way. We certainly couldn’t have snuck out during the day with all those guards watching us. Trust me—it’s better this way.”
“But there aren’t any trains.”
“Not yet, but we’ll be on the first one out of this place come six in the morning. That’s only a few more hours, Frances. We can handle that.”
“Yes, I guess you’re right.”
“I know I’m right,” Catherine said, lugging her suitcase around with one hand while rubbing her pregnant belly with the other. “We just have to find a nice hiding place until it’s time to go.”
The girls stepped into the main terminal and were awed by its enormity. It had three-story-high ceilings with a chilling architectural design. Rows of columns spiraled upward, while the floor-to-ceiling arched windows made it seem they had just stepped into a gothic cathedral.
“Yes, you’re not kidding. Come on, let’s keep going.”
As they set themselves on top of the marble floor, Catherine’s luggage dragged behind her, making a strange sound.
“Stop that,” Frances said.
“I can’t. I have to move it somehow.”
“Well, I don’t like it. Even if there’s no one here, it still puts my nerves on edge listening to that hideous noise echoing throughout this forsaken place.”
“Well, I can’t carry it.” Catherine stopped to catch her breath.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m just…tired. I need to sit.”
“I don’t see any benches. Just kneel or something.”
“I can’t do that. What if I can’t get back up?”
“Don’t be silly.”
“Fine. But just for a minute.” Catherine sat down in the middle of the floor. “Ah, that’s better.”
“Just take some time to rest.”
“You can sit, too.”
“Then who’s going to help you up?”
“It’s not that bad,” Catherine replied, smirking. “Come on. It feels weird, you standing in front of me.”
“Okay, okay.” Frances sat down next to her.
The moon hid behind a group of clouds, and the place became eerily dark.
“I can’t even see your face.” Frances grabbed for her.
“That’s my nose.”
“Oh, I thought it was your chin.”
“Frances, stop. This is no time to joke around.”
“If we can’t laugh, then what are we going to do? Sit here and sulk, moaning like a pair of ghouls condemned to haunt this place for all of eternity?”
“Ugh, just the thought of that makes me queasy.”
Frances made this horrible ghoulish sound, trying to frighten her friend.
“Enough of that,” Catherine snapped.
The sound echoed throughout the large terminal.
“Wow, that was quite strange.” Frances tried it again, this time a bit louder. The echoes went above her, spreading out to all four corners of the massive space. Yet this time, near the end of the terminal, the sound of the echoes took a turn for the worse, dipping low and menacing.
“That was scary,” Catherine whispered. “Don’t do that again, okay? We don’t need to be hearing those kinds of noises.”
“Yes,” Frances replied, her heart pumping a little faster as she looked down the dark and ominous terminal, scared by the weirdness of her echo. “That was strange. I think I don’t really want to be here anymore.”
“Well, it’s your own fault. Yelling out like an animal doesn’t help our situation.”
“I’m sorry, I won’t do it again.” Frances inched up closer to her friend. “Can I at least talk to you? It puts me at ease.”
“Of course,” Catherine replied, feeling a bit uncomfortable. “You know that you can always talk to me. I’m…your friend.” That last part was somehow difficult for Catherine to say.
“I have to confess. At first, I thought we weren’t going to make it to the station, but I should’ve trusted you. You made it happen.”
“You would’ve been just as capable.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. All I know is that I’m glad you’re here.” Frances rested her head against Catherine’s shoulder. “Say,” Frances perked up. “How did you get us inside, anyway? You would think this whole place would be locked up.”
“I told you already. I know someone that works here. He left the door to terminal three open. We owe a lot to him.”
“But wouldn’t this person get in trouble?”
“No, he wouldn’t. Now just hush. Let’s try to keep quiet for the next few hours.”
Frances ignored her wishes. “But did you make sure your friend could be trusted?”
“What does it matter now?” Catherine fidgeted with her arms. “We’re here, and we can’t do anything about it.”
“Okay, fine. You’re so testy tonight. You’ve never acted this way.”
“Can you blame me? We’re hiding out from someone who wants to kill our babies. What do you expect?”
“I guess you’re right,” Frances replied, stretching and yawning. “Say, why don’t we go wait outside by the terminal, so when the train comes, we’re right there?”
“Because we’re better off inside. Right? If that murderer comes for us, wouldn’t it be better for us to be inside?”
“Yes, but if we’re locked inside, we can’t go outside. Can you imagine if he’s already inside with us?”
A cold chill ran down Catherine’s spine, and her heart skipped a beat. “Why would you say that? We’re already scared as it is. Of course he’s not here. He wouldn’t even know that we’d be here.”
“Not unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Well, it’s possible that our parents might have already noticed us gone, and maybe they alerted...you-know-who.”
“You don’t know that.” Catherine stood up. “You’re crazy to think like that.”
“Why?”
“Just because our parents want to control our lives doesn’t mean they want to actually hurt us. They still love us.”
“Cathy, you’re so naïve,” Frances replied as she stood up as well. “You think it was just a coincidence that all of us are being targeted by some madman, just because, for some strange reason, he wants to take our babies? The only people we know who want us to not have our babies are our parents. The logic is there.”
“No, you’re wrong.”
“We’re going to have to face it soon, Cathy. Our parents might’ve been the ones who gave us to him. We should’ve seen it coming.”
“Don’t say that!”
“Now who’s the one being loud?”
“Just shut up.”
“I’m sorry, Cathy, but it’s the truth, and you know it.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“They’re all tyrants, all of them, all our parents. That’s why we formed the circle, because, deep inside ourselves, we all knew this. But we’re not like them, Cathy. We’re different. We’re good and kind. We can change things. And that’s why we’re leaving here together, to start a new life, a new Valentine Circle.”
Catherine didn’t say anything.
“Cathy?”
“I…” But before she was able to say something, they heard a noise about fifty feet from where they stood.
“What was that?” Frances turned around.
For a moment they waited in silence, making sure there was nothing lurking behind the shadows. Then there was another noise, this one a bit louder than the first.
“Stay here,” Catherine said. “I’ll go look.”
“What? Are you mad?”
“I didn’t say I was going all the way over there. I’m just going to get a few steps closer.”
“I’ll come, then.”
“No, you stay here with our stuff.” Catherine turned to Frances. “Just wait, okay? I’m only going up a few steps.”
“Well, hurry up. You’re giving me a heart attack.”
“Fine, just hush.” Catherine started walking towards the direction of the noise.
“What can you see?”
“Nothing. Just shadow.” She turned to Frances. “I’ll have to go farther.”
“No, you don’t. That’s how people get killed. Come back here now.”
Catherine paid no heed to her good friend and just kept walking ahead until at last she lost herself inside the shadows.
“Cathy? I can’t see you anymore. Cathy, please. Say something.”
All she could hear was the sound of the wind breaking against the terminal’s large windows, and then she heard an awkward sound, something like a mix of a whisper and heavy breathing.
“Cathy, is that you?” Nothing. “Cathy, if you don’t say something soon, I’m going in after you.” Again, nothin
g. “Damn you, Cathy. That’s it.”
All of a sudden, her friend cried out, “Grab your stuff,” as she broke out of the shadows, desperately waddling towards her.
“What’s the matter? Did you see something? What was it?”
“Hush up, and grab your stuff now,” Catherine demanded.
“But why?”
“Come on, let’s go.” Catherine grabbed her luggage.
Frances grabbed hers as well. “Damn it, Cathy, what’s the matter?”
“He’s here.”
“Wha... But you said—how did he know we were here?”
“It doesn’t matter now. We need to hide and stay hidden. Don’t make any more noise, and try to stay calm. Let’s go.”
“I told you he’d show up, but you wouldn’t listen to me.”
“I said we can’t worry about that now.”
The girls began walking away from the center of the terminal.
“How did you know it was him?” Frances whispered.
“I saw him standing around about thirty yards ahead of me. He must have just hopped inside using one of the windows to get in.”
“Oh. But wait. How come we didn’t hear any glass break?”
“I don’t know, Frances, just keep walking.”
“But if he didn’t break the glass, then he must’ve found a way to open it without breaking it, maybe a key or something, and that means that someone must’ve helped him get inside. And it definitely means that someone must’ve told him we were here.”
“It doesn’t matter now, Frances. He’s here, and we need to hide,” Catherine said, concentrating. “Come on, just a few more steps and then to the right.”
“Okay, okay... Wait, how do you know where to go?”
Catherine was caught by surprise. “Um, I’m just guessing.”
“You don’t sound like you’re guessing.”
“Please stop talking, Frances. You’re making this hard for me.”
“Making what hard for you?”
Catherine stopped and slapped her friend across the face. “Do you want to die?”
“No,” Frances replied, completely in shock.
The Valentine Circle Page 33