The Price of Life

by T. M. Nienaber

  “Sir, there’s only three of us out there today. With me and Angie gone, sir, this would take weeks for one person to do. Besides, without the money coming in from Lucian’s resurrections we don’t have any money to make the budgets with.”

  “I said the end of the day. Make it happen.”

  38. Lucian, Miriel, and William

  “Are you sure you don’t want to join us? I feel awful taking your wife.”

  “Oh no, we can’t have everyone tromping around making a scene. Miriel can only clean up so much.” William was in a better mood than he had been since Mira was born. Just a little while longer and his wife and his brat would be gone for good. Things were ending and then he could finally go back to having the life he wanted. Kristopher and Alexander would be here this time tomorrow. All he had to do was wait.

  “But I could handle one more, darling.” Miriel kissed her husband on the cheek before walking out the door, not pausing to see if he’d changed his mind.

  “Where today?” Mira skipped along, holding her mother’s hand and pausing ever few steps to turn around and make sure Lucian was still close behind.

  “Yes, I’d like to know that too.” Lucian walked up to keep in step with Miriel and Mira jumped in-between the two, grabbing each one’s hand and then continuing to skip. “So tell me, little one, how much experience have you had with games like this?”

  “Umm,” Mira feigned bashfulness and hid her face in her mother’s skirts, still clinging to Lucian’s hand.

  “She helps me. I ask her if things look out of place and how we can fix them. She’s gotten very good at noticing and understanding the details.”

  “And hands on work?”

  “None. William doesn’t think it’s healthy.”

  “William doesn’t think his daughter is healthy. What do you think?”

  “That killing is key to survival. And that she needs to get away from William soon.”

  “He hates her,” Lucian whispered over Mira’s head.

  “How old were you when you made your first kill?”

  “Younger than her.” Lucian squeezed Mira’s hand but she didn’t notice. “My father was worried about me getting killed, we had lots of enemies back then. My mother was slowly going insane. I made the pact before I knew what I was doing, but the spirits were kind to me. They don’t like seeing children’s souls.”

  “Here we are.” Miriel squeezed her daughter’s hand. “This is one of William’s fellow players. He’s starting to sour on the game and we have to take him out before he starts souring the other players.”

  “Mira.” Lucian knelt down to look in the little one’s eyes. “How would you like to play this game for yourself? Your mother and I will be here if you need us.”

  “William said no.” Mira looked at Lucian skeptically.

  “I know. Your mother and I are going to take you away soon. He won’t know.”

  “Really?”

  “I promise.” Lucian kissed her forehead before standing up. Mira grinned and trotted after her mother.

  The good thing about the other men in William’s little club was that they lived alone. This wasn’t the brightest idea on their part, but when you think you’re god you tend not to think rationally. Mira was able to make her way to the upstairs bedroom without much trouble. Most of the houses had similar interiors and she had followed her mother around enough to know where she was going in the dark. This was made even easier by the fact the target had remained a bachelor. Say what you will about wives, but sometimes a woman’s clutter can be your best defense against things that go bump in the night. Not to mention the benefits of constant remodeling and rearranging.

  Even with the lack of traps or obstructions, Lucian was impressed. Mira moved like a miniature expert. She navigated as well in the dark as anyone could have in the middle of the afternoon. Her footsteps were silent and exact, there was no hint of hesitation. Lucian thought she looked remarkably like a miniaturized version of her mother at work.

  “You’ve raised her well,” Lucian whispered.

  Miriel smiled but Mira glared at him for making noise.

  Mira stopped in the doorway of the bedroom and looked up at her mother. She wasn’t hesitating, she just wasn’t sure how to start. Miriel led her quietly over to the bed and deftly pulled the man’s arm from under the sheets. That was another bonus to targets being single, you could usually catch them when no one else was in their bed.

  Carefully Miriel pulled out a syringe. “Now, Mira, what’s in here will make him fall into a deep sleep so he can’t struggle. You won’t always use this though, because sometimes --” Miriel searched for the right words.

  “Sometimes you want it to hurt.” Lucian finished tritely.

  “Like if they’re bad?” Mira looked confused. “But he’s bad. Shouldn’t we hurt him then?”

  “Well,” Lucian struggled to find a way to explain things to a child. “Sometimes certain people need to be taught a lesson.”

  “Like if they’re bad.” Mira nodded but still didn’t understand.

  “Well, yes. But it’s more personal than that.”

  “They do something bad to you?”

  “Sort of.”

  “It’s something you just know, you’ll learn.” Miriel ended the lesson quickly as their mark was groggily opening his eyes. Quickly Miriel stabbed in the syringe and Mira watched his head fall listlessly on his shoulder. “Now what do we do, Mira?”

  Mira looked up at her mother and then over at Lucian before finally resting her gaze on the man in the bed. “We have to make him sleep like this forever?”

  “Good.” Lucian knelt down beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. “How would you like to do that?”

  Mira looked from the target to her mother and her eyes filled with tears. “I’m scared.”

  Lucian tightened his arms around her. “I know, child. Your mother and I are both here to help you. We’ll make sure nothing goes wrong.”

  Mira nodded and hiccupped back a sob. “Scared.”

  Miriel knelt down and wrapped her daughter up in her arms, kissing her forehead gently. “I know you’re scared. I’m here for you, I love you, and nothing bad is going to happen to you. You just have to be tough for me. Can you be your mother’s strong little girl?”

  Mira nodded and buried her face in her mother’s shoulder while Lucian held the child’s hand. It was a strange picture, the little almost family comforting a child around the body of a man who was almost dead. It didn’t occur to any of them this man could easily have had a child of his own to raise in his image. They stayed in their world until Mira finally lifted her head. “I want the knife.”

  “Here you are, child.” Lucian handed Mira his knife before Miriel could reach for her dagger.

  Mira looked at it in amazement. She’d never been able to hold a weapon before. It was like being offered something sacred and forbidden, she wasn’t sure how to take everything in. She knew enough not to hold the knife by the blade but she touched it anyway because she wanted to see if it was really sharp. Miriel didn’t say anything. She wanted to, but sometimes you had to let the child bleed.

  Mira shuffled over to the bed and poked the body with the tip of the knife to see what would happen. The man didn’t wake up, grunt, or even twitch. There was just a small pinprick of blood where the tip had pierced the skin. Something about blood made Mira want to continue. She poked him with the knife again, waiting to make sure blood came out there too. Then she turned to her mother with a proud smile. Miriel and Lucian nodded encouragingly. Next Mira moved the knife to the neck, knowing her mother would sometimes do that to finish a job.

  The knife was sharp but Mira was still just a child, by the time she’d managed to kill the target the room was a mess. Clean up would take them the rest of the day. Miriel was proud and Lucian was impressed. Now Mira was one of them.

  William knew what had happened instantly after he saw his daughter. Coward or not he was still a killer, and he recog
nized that look. He wasn’t upset Mira was looking at Lucian as a father, he was glad for it. He was upset Mira had reached her full potential before he could shape her into what he wanted. It was like losing an expensive investment. You didn’t care about the company, just everything you felt you’d been owed.

  Miriel gave Kristopher a quick kiss as she spirited Mira upstairs. “We have a little more cleanup than expected. We’ll be back soon,” Miriel announced as she walked back from her daughter’s room.

  “I can’t watch her.”

  “Please, William, the sun’s not even out yet. What could you possibly have to do?”

  “I said I’m not watching her.” There was an edge to his voice neither Miriel nor Lucian could trust.

  “I’ll take care of it, Mi,” Lucian muttered. Then he nodded cheerfully to William, hoping to ease his foul mood. “Good sport you have here in your town.”

  “Alliance or not you still belong to me.” William grabbed Miriel’s arm and pushed his face in front of hers. “I saved your life, and that means I own it. You work for me no matter what price he’s offered. If you try to leave I’ll announce to everyone who you really are.” William wasn’t sure why he said it, maybe to see if Miriel would be willing to turn on Lucian and walk out with him and Kristopher. It also might have been that he was scared, worried that without her he wouldn’t be able to live up to the reputation Alexander was painting for him in the other compounds. Without Miriel he was nothing, not worth Kristopher, Alexander, or anyone else’s time. He needed her at his side.

  If it hadn’t been for Lucian’s return and the child sleeping on the floor above Miriel would have just laughed in his face and killed him quick. Motherhood had taught her temperance. She held her tongue, nodded, and went upstairs. Lucian would make sure to get them out, back into the world where death was overt and Miriel wouldn’t have to make allowances for appearances. And Mira, the child would flourish outside the walls. All they had to do was wait for Lucian to arrange everything. Then they would be gone and William would just be another job well done.

  ***

  William had to admit he was impressed. After Alexander had left he fully expected Kristopher to just swan in at some point, but instead he’d sent his secretary to make an appointment. It was so formal and by the book. Lucian hadn’t been so professional. That didn’t matter. Lucian was cleaning up the mess he’d made, the mess Miriel let their daughter get involved in, and Miriel was watching little Mira. Neither one of them imagining William was going to come out the winner in the end. Whatever Kristopher had planned it was going to happen tonight, things were finally falling into place. William was going to have it all, and with Kristopher’s armies to back him up, he’d never need anyone like Miriel again.

  “Ah, William, so good to see you again.” Alexander stood up as soon as William walked through the doors of the gatehouse and shook his hand. “And this is Kristopher, who I’m sure you’ve already heard plenty about.”

  Kristopher stood up and shook William’s hand as Alexander fell back. “We’re so glad you’ve decided to work with us. You won’t be sorry. I can promise you that. No one who votes for Kristopher ever is.” To seal the statement he flashed William one of his campaign winning smiles.

  “Yes, I’m very much looking forward to working with you.” William sat down and the other two followed. “But I would like to know exactly what it is you need from me tonight.”

  “Of course.” Kristopher flashed another smile. “All we really need is your cooperation. We need you to allow us into your home so we have access to Lucian. We also need you to agree not to interfere on behalf of your wife or daughter. Just little things. Really, it’s almost nothing.”

  “Is anything going to happen to them?”

  “Well,” another smile. “I can’t promise you anything. With Lucian being the man he is it may be necessary to use something as a form of persuasion.”

  “So, you’re telling me you’re going to use my family as a bargaining chip?”

  “Well, I wouldn’t exactly --”

  “Yes.” Alexander interrupted.

  “Oh.” William looked off to the side and weighed the decision in his mind, not that it was a very difficult choice to make. Miriel had made it perfectly clear she was done working for him, and keeping her in his new life would lead to fights and unnecessary complications. The child he hadn’t wanted to begin with. “Alright. I can agree to that.”

  “Well good!” Kristopher started to stand up. “Since it’s already starting to get dark we might as well start now. No point wasting time is there?”

  William nodded and led the two men to his home. Miriel and Lucian were outside with the child so he set up Kristopher and Alexander in the parlor. Miriel would be ready to bring Mira inside and get her ready for bed, which would lead all three of them through the parlor and into Kristopher’s lap. The sun was close to setting and the child was trying desperately to brush away sleep. William watched at the doorway until the three started to head towards the house, Mira’s head resting against her mother’s shoulder as she started to close her eyes.

  Kristopher stood up as Miriel entered the room. “Well, it’s been a long time hasn’t it, Elle. Nice to see you’re still in the business. Even if the clientele has changed a bit.” Kristopher gave his best politician’s smile and Miriel clutched her daughter tightly to her chest.

  “He’s made me quite an interesting offer, dear.” William stood up and walked over to Kristopher, patting him on the back like an old friend. “Turns out you’re worth a lot more to Lucian than either of you ever bothered to tell me.” His voice was calm and flowed out like silk. It was the old William again, no fear or cowardice or hidden guilt, just collected and in charge. He’d gone over the edge only to find himself back where he started.

  Lucian took another step forward, pushing Miriel and Mira back towards the door. “This is between you and me, Kris,” Lucian’s tone stayed nonchalant as he tried to cover up the nerve Kristopher had struck. “Are you really so desperate to meet your bargain that you have to hire your old assassin to find you killable people?”

  “Now, now, Lu. We both know you can’t be killed. No reason to worry.”

  Lucian knew he had already lost. Kristopher was too careful not to have everything planned. Even if his cult managed to make it all the way to William’s compound tonight, Miriel was trapped. She wouldn’t be able to escape because Kristopher couldn’t die and he wouldn’t let her go alive.

  “William has agreed to take his family and come work for me. Unfortunately, Miriel’s prior relationship with you make her and the child a threat.”

  “The child is barely three!” Lucian was outraged and Miriel was still in shock, unable to do anything but hold her daughter tighter.

  “And yet she’s already killed.” William made sure Lucian saw his smile. This wasn’t just Kristopher’s power struggle anymore. It was about William’s revenge. Lucian had taken away what belonged to him and now William was doing what he could to take it back. Damaged or not.

  “Any other child I’d be willing to show some compassion for. Mira is far from being a normal child. You and Miriel have seen to that.” Kristopher put his politician smile back on. “Still, they are his family, and as a valued member of my party I’ll honor William’s wishes.”

  “Elle and Mira will come back with me. They will be forced to remain within the boundaries of Kristopher’s headquarters unless under the supervision of myself, Kristopher, and two armed guards. Any attempt to escape into territory controlled by you will lead to their immediate execution. Without a trial.”

  “And you know how strict I am when it comes to loyalty. Even if I have a hint of suspicion they are planning an escape I will kill them. The child the first day and the mother the second. Because as you well know, Lucian,” he sneered the name, his voice overflowing with triumph. “If I buy my soul with theirs you can’t bring them back.”

  “Of course, I’m sure my wife will come around in
time. Once we’re a happy family again she’ll have no reason to try and escape.” William wrapped his arm around Miriel’s waist and kissed the top of Mira’s head. His eyes never left Lucian and the sick but deadly smile never wavered.

  It was now Lucian realized three things. The first was that Kristopher had no intention of keeping Miriel alive and William had been manipulated just like the rest of Kristopher’s constituents. The second that Miriel was getting ready to bolt, which was a bad thing because it meant Kristopher would have an excuse to kill her tomorrow. The third that his cell phone was starting to vibrate which meant his elders had followed his orders and come to the compound after his week-long absence.

  “Now, I’d be more than happy to make a deal with you, Lucian,” Kristopher whispered into his ear and led him further away from William. “You come back on my side and we’ll kill that idiot and you get Mi and Mira for a pretend little family of your own. You’d work for me this time. No partnership, no control. Whatever I want and whatever I say. Think you can handle that?”

  Lucian was too busy thinking of a way out to answer. He’d be able to get out if his cult showed up, but they would have no way of knowing which building he was in.

  “If you’re not convinced yet, let me sweeten the deal. I haven’t had my kill yet for the day. My soul still needs to be bought.” He grinned as he stood behind Miriel, William, and Mira, chuckling as Lucian silently cursed himself for assuming Kristopher hadn’t taken that risk. “Now. Who will it be and tell me quick. A yes from you and William goes. A no, and Miriel’s soul buys me long enough to kill the daughter.”

  The trouble with Kristopher was that he valued only a quick kill, especially after the incident in the woods. Even if Miriel could fight him off all he had to do was pull a trigger.

  “Well.” Lucian sauntered closer to the small cluster, hands behind his back and holding a freshly sharpened knife. “It would seem like I’m running out of options. You always forget how easily I can play with life and death. Or bring people back.” With skill that had taken him centuries to acquire Lucian went from calm to blindingly quick. Before Kristopher could understand what Lucian was trying to do both Miriel and Mira were lifeless on the floor. Kristopher had no choice but to shoot William and save himself.