Chương 6: Reyna Vargriev(3)

AN: This chapter is—well, saying it's just a bit heavy feels like an understatement. Because of that, I'll release chap 7 sometime soon too. Like, right after this. And! And it isn't chapter 7 that things get super heavy this time. That counts for something, right? Um, content warning? Seeking isn't for everyone, and that's okay. — — — Thirty minutes later, I knocked on my handler's private booth hidden away inside the Ghostfire Club.

"It's me."

"Come in." A low, gravely voice rumbled through the door. A light on the door flicked green, and it slid open automatically. A man sat at a table covered in documents. He had a massive frame that couldn't be hidden by the sharp suit he wore. His eyes glowed a deep, ominous red as he scanned me from head to toe, and his scowl was sharp enough it could cut glass. Half of his head was shaved, which revealed rune-etched metal that glowed in the soft lighting of the private room.

Cerberus, the Hades Syndicate Executor that usually dealt with me, scowled even deeper at the sight of me.

"You're late." No I'm not. I bit back the remark before I could make it. It wasn't worth arguing over.

"Sorry."

"Good girl," he called sarcastically and set down a piece of paper. He slid it into a folder, and snapped it closed.

"I take it your little adventure went well?"

"It was all in the report." I spent several hours last night while bundled up with Sylvie typing it out. I had to double and triple check. If there was even a misspelled word, it'd be grounds for punishment. He snorted, and crossed his arms.

"I skimmed it. It was adequate, though we really need to work on your penmanship."

"…" I stared blankly at him, and continued to stand at the head of the table. It was a typed report… He sighed in disappointment and waved a hand to the other side of the booth like I was a useless waste.

"Well? Take a seat, Barghest." I didn't say anything, and simply sat down. He acted like I was stupid for not sitting, but then if I sat without permission he'd use it as an excuse to punish me. I'd fallen for his dumb little game way too many times already.

"Did the enchantment work better?" He got down to business surprisingly quickly this time. I expected a war of nerves for the next several minutes.

"I think so." He was referring to the armor. It was usually enchanted to make my tail just invisible, but they'd changed it to block all perception that the wearer had a tail. The best way to hide who I was, was to hide the extremely obvious physical cue.

"You didn't even test it? This is why we don't give you nice things. Seriously, you can't even take care of that?" His displeased expression returned in full force, and the enchanted plate on the side of his head pulsed dimly.

"The convoy got back, so at least you weren't a total fuck-up this time around." I flinched, and looked down toward the table.

"S-sorry."

"If you were sorry, we wouldn't be having this conversation again." He sighed in annoyance and pulled a separate file out marked with my report.

"I…" My head dipped lower.

"Still, you did a good job." My ears shot upright at the praise, and my tail gave a traitorous twitch.

"The convoy brought back enough supply to keep operations up for a long time."

"Thank—""'Course, you still magically fucked it up somehow." Cerberus eyed me with his usual blend of disdain and disgust.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're actively trying to get your sister killed with your terrible performance."

"That's not fair!" My head shot up, and I glared at the broad man. The glare instantly faded, though my anger didn't.

"What was I supposed to do?! It was an overlap!"

"Now you're talking back to your betters?" His eyebrow arched up, and he leaned forward onto his elbows. The amusement in his eyes told me all I needed to—I'd fallen for another of his stupid word games.

"Do you want to go back to the kennel?" I immediately backed down. I couldn't go back there. Never again. I might actually break if I was sent back.

"N-no, sir."

"As for the Checkpoint, so what?" So he did read the report. The man slammed the table with a heavy hand.

"You think I care about that? Your little voyage into an Overlap delayed the shipment by thirty minutes!"

"I…" I bit my tongue. My sharp, serrated teeth cut into the flesh just enough to draw blood. I was a retrieval specialist, not a combat one. Why the hell did they even send me on an escort mission instead of an executor?

"If you weren't so good at finding things, we would've long kicked an idiotic mutt like you to the curb. How long would you even last without our inhibitors?" He took a breath, and smiled at me.

"Barghest, I'm just worried you'll take what we give you for granted."

"Never." My response was instantaneous, and the wind left my sails. It wasn't just the inhibitors. Back when they took me in, I'd been in a rough state.

"I… thank you."

"Good." He smirked, and tapped the table to get my drifting attention back on him.

"I do wonder how you'd turn out, though. I've heard Psykers' physical mutations are based on their mind. What would you turn into?" A shiver went down my spine. The scientists back at the lab used to wonder the same thing. Usually, it was while I was strapped to a table and begging for my next dose of Inhibitor. I clutched at my tail, and ripped out a black strand of fur as if to soothe the raging memories. Was it really so bad that I didn't want to become a monster?

Seemingly satisfied with my shaking figure, the man tossed a box onto the table and leaned back into his seat.

"A gift. Director Roose wanted me to give it to you." This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Under his watchful glare, I shakily pried open the box and revealed two things. One was a stuffed animal neatly sitting neatly on top. It was, unsurprisingly, a black wolf plushie.

"This—""Is the mutt not happy with her new chew toy?" The gloating in his voice was unmistakable.

"What should you say?"

"Thank you, sir." I grabbed the plushie with and gently pulled it out of the box. The familiar feeling of the soft fur brushed against my hand. It looked just like the last one Director Roose sent me. I pulled out a comfy looking black jacket next. Red streaks ran down the arms, and up the hood. The hood itself had two floppy wolf ears attached to it that would rest on the wearer's head when the hood was up. It was stupid. I already had ears.

"Wear it at work. It's a signal that you're with us." He waved a hand to it.

"Someone important'll be at Silverport's Harbor HQ soon."

"Sir." I tossed the jacket over myself. Stupid. So freaking stupid. What game were they playing at? If they needed a signal, just say I'm a Silver Wolf Apex. There were, like, five of us in the city total. We were far from any of my Totem's packs.

"Director Roose himself picked that out, you know." The man eyed my new jacket like he wanted to take it away from me. My hands clenched in the sleeves.

"It's good quality. Does it fit okay?"

"Yes, sir." It was a bit baggy, but it had a comfortable weight to it that draped over my shoulders. Almost like a hug? It was so, so warm too. A chill had spread across me from being out in the cool mist all day, but that was slowly fading away.

"I figured. We've still got all your measurements back at the lab." He laughed heartily, and once more threw memories back in my face.

"Not like you've changed much since then. Still the same mangy pup as always." My head lowered, and I looked away from the man's mocking gaze. My canines grit together silently.

"Is that all, sir?" Of course, I wanted to beg for an inhibitor. I knew better, though. The moment I mentioned it, he'd wave it in front of my face and taunt me. He'd make a game of it, just as he always did.

"No, mutt." Cerberus reached into a bag at his side, and pulled out an auto injector. He didn't hand it over, and instead spun it around his hand like he was trying to show off tricks.

"I wonder…"

"…!" The moment it came out, my attention snapped to it. Every fiber in my body wanted to snatch it, even as the whispers cried in sorrow about what was about to happen to them. Cerberus put on a gentle voice for the first time since I entered the room. Instead of calming me like it was probably supposed to, it sent chills down my spine.

"Did you get anything from the anomaly's Overlap?" The fact he was asking instead of using the inhibitor as a bargaining chip to force me to hand over the Visitor's Pass told me all I needed to know. Gunner hadn't gone back on our deal, and misreported the same as I did.

"Yes." I answered truthfully, though I forced an exceptionally sour expression. It was easy after listening to the whispers for a moment.

"It gave me answers to a question."

"Oh? What question?" The inhibitor paused in his hand, and he set it down just in front of him. I had half a mind to lunge at it. He wasn't just a lackey of Hades though. Grabbing something from under his nose was deceptively difficult.

"I… I asked how to become immune to Psyker corruption." I replied softly. It had just enough embarrassment and unwillingness to make it all the more believable.

"And?"

"It…" I froze, and my ears drooped low enough that they entered my vision.

"it told me three distinct ways to k-kill myself."

"That… that is unfortunate, isn't it?" Cerberus managed to keep a neutral expression for all of three seconds. He broke into crazed, stomach-clenching laughter, and swiped the inhibitor off the table. His laughter continued for an uncomfortably long time, to the point there were actual tears rolling down his cheeks.

"That." he laughed once more and wiped at his eyes.

"That's pure gold, though. The others will get a kick out that."

"…" I pulled my tail into my lap, and plucked another black strand of fur out. The sharp sting helped draw my attention away from the suicidal whispers demanding I rip his heart out. I pulled another… oh, that was a silver one.

"Heh… so fucking funny." He lifted the inhibitor into the light, and drew my attention back to him.

"I still have to punish you, though."

"Why—?" I bit my lip, and cut myself off. It didn't matter why. He would find a reason, any reason, no matter how believable.

"Well, since you asked." He tapped the inhibitor against the table.

"You delayed a shipment by thirty minutes, and single handedly managed to kill three of the syndicate's valuable assets."

"That wasn't my fault!" They… they killed themselves—no, the entity killed them. Checkpoint Alpha-Omega was to blame.

"You were in command, so their deaths fell on you. We take life extremely seriously." He told his bold-faced lie with a surprisingly straight face.

"I don't want to do this, but I have to or you won't learn." He lifted the inhibitor up, and pressed the auto injector's button. The mechanisms shifted, and a flow of dark purple liquid poured out of the injector. He didn't just pour it out, though, no. He knew better. He stopped doing that after I tried to lap it off the table a year back. Instead, he lifted a hand. The plate along the side of his head pulsed, and an incredibly hot flame churned to life.

The moment the inhibitor touched it, it evaporated into the air.

"You're losing a fifth of this for every person killed yesterday." Dread welled up as I watched my live-saving medicine go up in literal flames. Two fifths of a normal dose… would that even last me five days? How the hell was I supposed to operate on that?! Just as I thought he'd stop at three-fifths, he pressed in the button once more and poured out another fifth.

"Gunner tragically got hit by a bus on the way back. Truly a tragedy." My heart dropped into my stomach. A fifth. They were giving me a fifth of an inhibitor… three days. That was three days at the very maximum. It would barely be enough to stop the voices.

"If you do good coming up, we might reward you. Otherwise—" He tossed the auto injector to the side like it was trash and not life-saving medicine. I lunged out of the booth for the Inhibitor, and snatched it out of the air just before it could hit the ground. I didn't waste a single moment, and rolled up my sleeve to slam the injector into the crook of my elbow. The auto-injector pumped the drug into me one sweet pulse at a time.

The nearly constant, incomprehensible whispers I'd been hearing all day abruptly cut out. For the first time since I last fell asleep, there was blessed silence. Warmth surged through me, and the heavy, oppressive feeling on my shoulders abruptly lifted. Sheer comfort radiated through my brain in nearly overwhelming pulses. Cerberus tossed the cardboard box at me. It harmlessly bounced off my head.

"You were just given that, and now you're already rolling around and tearing it up. We really can't give you anything nice, can we?" I sat up with a much more centered mind. The inhibitor was already doing wonders on my psyche. I carefully dusted the jacket off, and checked it for marks. It was still in pristine condition. I didn't say anything, though, and slowly stood back up. At my lack of reaction, the man just seemed to get all the more annoyed.

"New orders, Barghest." Oh, he was calling something other than mutt. Must be something actually important.

"Sir?"

"Hades is in need of new material." His eyes twisted in disgust.

"Grab calamitous remains, anomalies, and anything you can get your hands on." Stealing from Harbor was a surefire way to get thrown in jail. Horizon watched that place like a hawk.

"Sir, doing that—""You want more of that or not?" He pointed at the autoinjector and glared at me like I was a piece of trash not worth his time.

"I… I'll try, sir." I didn't even know how I'd manage that. In the worst case scenario, I might have to give up the Visitor's Pass for just two more weeks of life.

"Do more than try." He waved to the door, and picked up a set of documents to start reading through them once more.

"Now get out of my sight before I lose my appetite. We'll contact you." I left the Executor behind, and worked my way back through the Ghostfire Club. It was just about time for me to head in for work, anyway. I didn't want to spend a single millisecond closer to that man than I had to. — — — AN: Um, there are good people in this story. I promise…