Humanity 03 - Marksman Law (2 page)

Michael focused on getting away,
pushing the squirming pain aside. If Wayne had taught him one
thing, it was how to ignore pain. He tried to stand again and
finally succeeded, grabbing his mask from the ground and putting it
back on his face. The metal was slick and cold against his skin.
His weapons were still strapped to him, his gun a few feet from
where he’d fallen. He began to walk, skirting past the larger part
of the rubble. A hand stuck out from the pile of charred wood, but
it was still and stiff. Michael knew dead when he saw it. Mirage
had managed to kill five Humanitarians with her home and the
Shades’ help.

Michael walked past them without a
second glance.

Her sixth murder was sprawled across
the ground, her eyes open wide. The blow from the tree had broken
her sapphire mask to where only half of it still remained on her
face. The rain had soaked through Ms. Wanderson’s clothing, making
her a second skin that hid nothing, her perfect corkscrew curls now
twirled wet clumps. Derrick was gone. His father must have helped
him before running with who was left of the Humanitarians. What had
his son, the Monarch-to-be, been? Nothing when faced with the
police and an angry Child of Power. No honor amongst thieves and
murderers.

Michael gave himself a mental
assessment. Was he hurt? Surprisingly, no. There was a lingering
presence in the back of his mind and he could still feel an awful
churning in his stomach, but there were no physical injuries. His
last memory was of the Shades encircling him—of the powerful glow
that hadn’t been Mirage in her eyes.

I hear his blood’s
melody.
What had she meant when she’d said
that? He didn’t understand what had happened.

Michael pulled his phone out and
dialed his father’s cell. Wayne answered it after the fifth ring,
but like usual he didn’t say anything, waiting for Michael to
speak.

“
I survived and I’m
unharmed. Status on the others?”

“
The Dark Child killed
Taylur, his two sons and his wife and Mullins, along with
Wanderson.”

“
Derrick?”

“
The doctors are working
on him now. A cracked skull and his back is badly
injured.”

“
I’m making my way back
home. I have no need of a doctor.”

“
Don’t get caught. The
police are out for blood.” The first time his father’s voice had
had any inflection. Michael could imagine the sadistic smile
twisting his face. “They’ve already called the Marksman Law. It’ll
make your job both easier and harder.”

Michael ducked behind one of the
neighbor’s bushes as the first hospital ambulances made it to the
ruins of Mirage’s home. He knew the police would follow within
minutes. “My job?”

“
Boy, the Dark Child
dishonored you. You
will
be the one to kill her. You don’t have to hide
away in a mask, though. With the Marksman Law on her head, you can
do HUMANITY proud in plain public view.”

Michael grimaced. “The Altruistics
will be all over this.”

“
Let me deal with the
Altruistics. Perhaps it’s time for us to be more open.”

“
What do you—?” Michael
sighed as his father hung up. He put his phone into his soaked
pocket and untangled himself from the bushes. After making sure no
one had seen him, he removed his mask and began to sprint down the
road. His home wasn’t far. If the police didn’t see him, he would
get there without problems.

Everything was such a blur for him. He
could remember something about snow in the fire. Mirage had been
cradling something delicate and innocent. Her mother. Michael
swallowed as he continued his quick pace down the road. It wasn’t
his fault her mother had been Illuminitican. He didn’t like killing
the Day Spawn. They were little more than children in his
eyes.

Mirage’s haunted eyes lingered in his
mind, and he couldn’t get rid of them. Their tortured expression
kept replaying. He remembered the pain that had crumpled into rage.
His eyes still had the after image of the red that had been beyond
scarlet—an impossible hue that he’d never forget.

Michael shook his head, pausing long
enough to catch his breath and to wipe the rain from his eyes. Why
did it bother him so much? He’d come to kill Mirage and he
couldn’t. He’d had the chance and he’d hesitated. God, it made him
sick. Six Humanitarians were dead because he couldn’t pull a
trigger. It was almost like he’d chosen the Dark Child over his own
race.

If Michael had needed any
more proof of how inhuman she was, then the Shades had done it. The
incorporeal monsters were her ancestors, the protectors of her
Tribe. Any creature that had
those
as ancestors couldn’t be less human. He could
still feel their wings brush against him, burning with their raven
flames.

His insides churned a mocking reminder
as he remembered them going inside of him. He was tainted by
Mirage’s power. There was something inside of him. He could feel
it, as if the Shades had never left, and perhaps they hadn’t.
Michael shook his head again, regaining his momentum enough to run.
There was no pacing himself now. He allowed his fear to overtake
him and he ran faster than he’d ever run in his life.

There was nothing to run
from, though. The danger was
inside
him now. He could feel the echoes of power
mocking him. The last words that had been spoken through Mirage had
meant something to him. He knew that she had not said those words;
he’d understood her ancient language like it had been English. Had
the Shades spoken through her?

That didn’t make sense. The Shades had
answered the echoing voice with words of their own. They’d sounded
nothing like Mirage. Their voices had been cold and sardonic. So
who had spoken? Michael didn’t know, and that terrified him. What
had she done to him?

Michael collapsed at his
doorstep, dropping to his knees as his chest heaved. His stomach
churned again and something
moved
.

“
Oh, God,” he whispered.
He knew his mind wasn’t only his anymore. He could feel something
in the back of his conscience. He’d tried to ignore it, but the
loneliness and pain had been what had woken him to begin with.
Michael fished his fingers through his hair and gave a hoarse yell
that was masked by the echoing crack from the sky above. What had
been the last words she’d spoken to him?

Bring peace, Parlinn, and
learn from the past’s echo your sins.

* * * *

Mirage knocked on the door, stealing
furtive glances around the dark homes. It was early in the morning,
the darkest part of the night before the dawn, and the homes around
her lacked signs of conscious life. It was a small blessing for
her. Mirage had had problems finding her way to the address Charity
had provided. The police cars had come out to search for her in
droves. She’d spent her night avoiding the search parties,
suppressing shivers as humans passed eerily close to where she was
hiding. She’d found out that guns glinted beneath a lamp’s light.
The mobs didn’t need torches in this modern world.

News had obviously failed to reach
this part of the community. It was quiet and unresponsive. There
weren’t any lights except the sporadic street lamp. It comforted
Mirage and made her nervous at the same time. There wasn’t anything
she’d like more than to be able to rest. She’d never had to use so
much of her powers in a day in her life. She was drained, wet, cold
and horribly hungry.

Mirage growled and knocked
again.

A light went on in the house, causing
Mirage to blink as the door opened. “Get in before someone sees
you!” A hand gripped her shoulder and pulled her through the
lighted doorway.

“
I…”

“
Hush, Mirage. Hang on and
give your eyes a chance to adjust. Charity just called me. I know
everything that happened.”

The voice was familiar but by the time
her eyes had adjusted to the unnatural light that humans tended to
favor, the man was already gone from the room. Mirage looked
around. She was in a small living room that was encompassed by a
diminutive couch and chair set. The TV was larger, and there were
multiple pictures hanging on the wall. Mirage blinked the water
from her eyes and made her way to the pictures. They revealed
someone she knew immediately.

“
Mister
Kinely?”

“
Hello, Mirage.” She
jumped as he walked into the room and handed her a towel. “You’re
soaked.”

She took it and began to dry her arms
and hair. “You’re an Altruist?”

Kinely smiled and motioned to the
frame that was hung above the others. It bore the Altruistic
healing hands signet. “My family’s been in the Altruistics for as
long as they’ve existed.”

Mirage turned around. “Thank you. I
know this puts you in danger. They’re going to search all the
Altruistics first, after they realize I’m not in the
hospital.”

Kinely gave her a wider smile. “I’m
not in the government’s registrar. There are some of us who are
just considered human sympathizers. They have no reason to look
here. You can stay here for a few days and regain your strength.
After that, we’ll get you out of Paradise.”

“
And then where?” Mirage
hated the frightened voice that escaped her.

Mr. Kinely gave her a sad smile. “I’ll
contact some of my friends. We’ll figure out something,
Mirage.”

“
Daddy?”

Mirage started and turned around to
see the little boy who stood in the hallway that stemmed into other
rooms. He was in worn pajamas, and looked a little older than six.
“Who is the strange lady?”

“
This is daddy’s friend,
Nick. She’s going to be staying with us for a day or
two.”

He smiled. “You look
funny.”

“
Nick…”

Mirage smiled. “That’s okay, Mr.
Kinely. When you think about it from his point of view, he’s
right.” She sighed, looking down at her tattered and soaked
pajamas. It was cold in his air conditioned home. “I hate to ask
this of you, but are there some clothes I can borrow?”

Kinely nodded. “Nick, wake up Tina. I
need to speak to her.” Mirage looked back at the pictures and
realized he had a teenage daughter about her age.

“
No…I don’t wanna
take—”

“
No problem, Mirage,”
Kinely dismissed. “She’ll help get you some dry clothes that’ll
actually fit you. Then you can sit down and tell me more of what
happened.”

“
Dad?” Tina’s voice was
groggy, but her eyes widened immediately. “Jesus,” she whispered.
“They came after you this quickly?” Her expression crumpled
immediately in pity. “Look at you—you’re a mess.” She reached a
hand out and took Mirage’s. “Nick, you stay with Dad, alright?
Mirage and I will be right back.”

“
Does this mean I get to
stay up and watch the morning cartoons?” Nick asked, and his little
voice was excited.

Kinely nodded. “I think you and Tina
will stay home today.”

“
I don’t have to go to
school?” He grinned. “I like when Daddy has weird friends
over.”

Tina led Mirage away. “We’ll have to
keep Nick from blabbing about you until you’re out safe. He’s still
too young to be trusted.” She pulled Mirage through a door and shut
it behind her. A dim lamp was on, lighting the pale blue interior,
but that was all as Tina pulled the drapes shut. Mirage was
thankful for the dim surroundings. She could see better, and she
took the opportunity to study Tina. Her long brown hair was up in a
ponytail, giving Mirage a full glimpse into the beautiful round
shaped face and wide brown eyes. She was as different looking as
her fair haired, blue eyed brother.

“
Your brother took from
your father.”

At first Tina didn’t understand her
comment, but Mirage watched realization dawn on her face. “Oh,
yeah.” She gave a laugh. “He looks just like Dad did when he was
little. I look like our Mom.”

“
Where is she?” Mirage
asked. She still had the towel that Kinely gave her and continued
to dry off with it, trying to sponge through the
clothes.

Tina was going through her closet and
didn’t answer her at first. “She’s with the Altruistics in
California right now. She’ll be back in a few months. You know,
they’re trying to stop the laws that will break your Promised Land
barriers.”

“
It’s the Humanitarians
that are trying so hard. I don’t understand why, but they
actually
want
the
Children of Power to be able to cross human borders.”

Tina cleared her voice. “Who knows
what crosses HUMANITY’s mind? If you ask me, I’d say they’re not
all there in the head.” She walked away from the closet, holding a
pair of jeans and a spaghetti strap shirt. “Here. These look like
they’ll fit and they’re comfortable in this heat. I’ll get you a
hoody to hide your runes when we get ready to get you outta
Paradise.”

Mirage smiled. “I can’t express how
much this means to me.”

Tina returned her smile as she got
into a drawer and got out a pair of underwear and a bra. “I’m glad
we’re just about the same size.” Tina cleared her voice. “I’m gonna
leave you alone so you can have some privacy. I’m sure you need
some time to yourself right about now. I’ll get breakfast started;
Dad will actually get to eat something before he’s gotta go to
work.” She left before Mirage could say anything.