A Short Story of Greed

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Arallya

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So, I wanted to write something. And I was inspired to write a short story. Now, I am posting it and hoping for some thoughts and feedback, because I'm very poor at judging my own work.
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.. it lies in the hearts of men / for our nature is dark and horrid / in which our demons lurk..

She'd placed her head in her right hand, with her typical pondering gaze. He tilted his head slightly and piqued an eyebrow. It wasn't uncommon for him to see her like this, but this time, he was unsure what was on her mind.

"Avaria?"

She blinked and looked up, her thoughts disrupted. It was an important matter on her mind, and even though she wished she could share it with him, this was something she'd have to deal with on her own. As such, she just nodded and dismissed his concerns with a wave of her hand when he asked. He sighed and walked out, returning to his own work.

And there she sat, left alone to her thoughts once more. Justin was a good friend of hers, but she was faced with what she believed to be the dilemma of her life. Of course, for a twenty-two-year-old woman, that's easy to believe when you have just barely entered adulthood. Yet, in Avaria's world, this was a big deal.

"It wouldn't be the end of the world for him.."

She nodded slowly to herself, blindly looking for a justification for what she was going to do.

Suddenly, heavy steps were heard. Avaria looked up at the familiar sound to see what she expected: the boss. Though his slender posture carried little authority, the fact that he was over a foot taller than her always made her feel like a small mouse to a snake. With a hint of impatience, he asked her if she'd made up her mind. She sighed deeply before finally answering.

"Yes, Draco. I'll do it."

Draco, in return, smiled widely with a nod of approval.

"You won't regret it."

She stood up, with some hesitation, and accompanied Draco to Justin's workplace to tell him the news.

Her mind was flooded with thoughts and images..

It had only been ten days ago that she was suddenly called for by the boss. That had made her heart beat rapidly, until she heard why she had been called - for that made her heart pound in her chest. Draco leaned back in his chair, speaking and looking very calm and relaxed about the matter while smoking one of his cigars. After blowing out the smoke, he spoke.

"I'll cut to the chase, Avaria. How would you like to take Justin's job?"

Her eyes widened and her heart began to pound. Justin was one of her best friends, and he was even the one who had gotten her to work her. She knew that without him, she'd still be out on the streets, living in a gutter. She initially shook her head, then began to stutter.

"I-I.. no.. I mean.. why?"

Draco leaned forward and smiled reassuringly at her.

"Because I think you'd be better at it. But I understand you need to give it some thought."

He leaned back again, placing one arm behind his head as he held the cigar in his other. He peered at her, with his well-known "why are you still here"-gaze. She nodded rapidly and left the room, leaving her with a dilemma.

Though she was aware of how much she owed Justin, and that her taking his job would leave him without an income, she was also tempted by the idea of a higher pay.

"I have been a tramp in a gutter for so very long.."

It was like an eternity to her, but she blinked as they came to Justin, and realised that only mere seconds had passed as she was reliving the events that had preceded that day. But now, it was the darkest hour - the time to inform Justin of the situation. She took a deep breath, and began to speak.

The weather was befitting of the situation as Avaria walked home. The sky was dark and cloudy, and a mild rain poured upon the town. She looked down at her feet, thinking over what she had done. Justin understood her choice, but she couldn't help but think this was feigned, and deep down, he condemned her. Yet, she had no regrets, and kept justifying her choice with a promise of earned wealth and luxury that was to come. She peered around paranoically at the other people on the streets, as if they were all judging her for what she'd done.

Of course, she wasn't looking in front of her and inevitably bumped into someone. She jumped slightly, apologising immediately, looking up at the man with a slight hint of guilt in her eyes. The man was tall, bulky, with a dark coat and even a hood that hid his eyes. Though it was not his image that caused her to gasp; it was his voice, cold and rasping.

"Do not apologise to me, Avaria. Apologise to the man whose life you stole. Justice cometh!"

With a sudden movement, the man extended his arms, revealing a well-made flaming sword in each hand. His hood went down, revealing the features of his face: a perfectly smooth skin and long, white hair. Yet, the most striking of his facial features were his eyes: these were a pure white, with no iris and no pupils.

Avaria yelped at the sudden movement, and horrified by the man's weapons. She turned and attempted to run, but to no avail. The stranger moved his arms with unnatural speed and precision, and delivered a cross-slash with both his blades over her back. She fell to the ground, screaming in agony as the blazing metal caused blood to gush out of her body.

The other people on the streets turned to look at the commotion, and panic arose as everyone saw the blades and the blood. People rushed to the scene; some to see what was going on, others to the helpless woman's aid. Yet all of them were too late, as the assailant had already taken Avaria's life when they arrived. The crowd stood still, too numb to move, having noticed the gore. Yet, there was one man who gathered his courage to yell out.

"Why did you do this?!"

The armed man turned his head to look at the yeller, who in turn backed off in horror. But the attacker sheathed his blades, and only spoke.

"Samael brings justice. REGNUM VENIT!"

In a blinding flash of golden light, massive wings sprouted from the man's back. They flapped, only once, sending him into the night sky, leaving Avaria's lifeless body and a stunned crowd behind.
 
((As always you set the scene and turn events into unexpected happenings! Please write more, you are talented and you should be sharing your creativity. Oh and for the record, Samael is rather awesome!))
 
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I decided to write a short sequel, of sorts.
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... a single light in the dark / cometh the void of sin / where angels fear to tread..

"I want answers, and I want them NOW!"

He slammed his fist onto the table, furiously, gazing into the eyes of the captain of the guard. His heart was pounding in his chest from the anger of his powerless feeling. He didn't know who it was, or why it happened; he only knew that it happened. As did the shocked crowd when he arrived at the scene, and he had foolishly arrived too late. It had been a day, but it still felt like it had happened only two minutes ago.

The love of his life, Avaria, murdered in broad daylight.

The captain glared right back at him, and spoke with such calm that he, in his fury, mistook it for carelessness. His chest heaved as the captain explained that he and his men were "working on it", and "doing all they could".

Useless.

"If you don't find him, I will!"

After spitting out those final words, he turned around and stormed out of the building. How dare they dismiss him with their default answers? He should've known the so-called upholders of the law would be of no use to him. They were crippled by bureaucracy, by the king's laws and by pre-determined procedures.

They were crippled by professionalism.

He took a few deep breaths to calm his thoughts. He knew very well that if he was to find Avaria's murderer, he'd need a clear mind and a keen eye. The best place to start was the hotspot itself. It was close to the guards' barracks, so he strode over there and inspected the scene.

There was still a pool of dried-up blood on the spot where she'd been murdered. Irad shivered at the sight and the very thought of it gushing out of Avaria's body.

"When I find him, I shall paint the walls of his house with his blood.."

His thoughts were disrupted by a tap on his shoulder.

"Excuse me. Are you... are you Irad?"

He turned around and nodded. The man who tapped on his shoulder slowly shook his head and offered his condolences before asking why he'd returned to the grim scene. Irad told him that he intended to find Avaria's killer, no matter the cost. To his surprise, the man shook his head again and tried to talk the idea out of Irad's head.

"Look, I understand you want to avenge your beloved, but... it is impossible. Her killer, he.. he sprouted wings and flew off."

Irad frowned deeply at the man's absurd description. It was impossible for a man to grow wings, for men weren't birds, and only birds could fly.

"I know it sounds crazy, but ask anyone. Everyone saw it just after she was cut down. And his weapons... they were ablaze. Unlike anything I've ever seen."

Irad turned around with a snarl. This madman was obviously a waste of his valuable time. The man left, shaking his head and mumbling to himself as Irad continued his investigation of the scene. There was frustratingly little to be found. Most remarkable to Irad was the distinct lack of bloody footprints. Surely, a murderer with blades would've had to run away with the blood of an innocent on their boots? It made no sense. He grumpily lifted his foot up and hit the street with a thud. His little kick and a gust of wind made something out of the ordinary float upwards, catching Irad's gaze.

A feather.

A feather, pristine and white as snow, as if it had just come off a majestic bird, or a snow-white pigeon that had just flown over. But white pigeons weren't seen much, especially not around this side of the country. He picked it up, gazing at it, wondering where it could've come from. He looked around, inspecting the buildings for any form of roost. But he saw none of such. So he decided to pocket the feather and leave this grim scene. There was no need to remind himself anymore, but that feather was a way to start..

The next logical step was to ask at the last place where she was seen. Her work. At least that was some form of convenience in this entire situation. He entered the large building, and noticed two men talking. He recognised one of them as Justin, which made him frown immediately. Justin was talking to a taller man that Irad did not recognise. They both looked at him when he entered, and Justin turned around, offering Irad his condolences and a handshake. He responded with a brisk nod.

Irad did not like Justin at all.

He was certain that man had been after Avaria for a while, and she'd taken a bit too much of a liking to him for Irad. That sneaky good-for-nothing was probably more glad that she was dead, after she'd decided to take her boss up on the offer to get Justin's position. Justin merely sighed, and turned to the other man again.

"Alright, Draco. I need to make a living too. I'll come back.. I'll forgive you."

Draco opened his mouth to respond, but Irad rudely interrupted.

"I'll cut to the chase. Do you two have any clue about Avaria's murderer?"

His rather rude interruption was met with two irritated glances, but he could not care less. Right now, all that mattered was to find Avaria's killer and bring him to justice. 'The winged man', by lack of a better name. Draco just shook his head and shrugged, almost carelessly. Irad laid his piercing gaze on Justin, who at least took the courtesy to respond with words.

"I wish I knew.. but I had left early since I'd lost my job, so I went to get pigeon food. I didn't see anything."

Irad his eyes widened. Pigeon food...

"You keep pigeons, then?"

With eyes wide open, he gazed intently at Justin, hungry for an answer.

"Just three. Snow white ones, you see. Pretty rare."

That was all he had to hear. Irad lunged forward and grabbed Justin by the shirt. Adrenaline rushed through his body, fuelled by fury, causing all his muscles to tense and his veins to show. He breathed heavily as he glared into Justin's eyes, yet his voice completely contradicted his stance; for it was calm and monotone.

"If I find proof it was you.."

Justin responded with confusion and rejection, denying the allegation. But Irad wasn't susceptible to any such talk. Consumed by his conviction and most of all, his unending anger, he threw Justin backwards and looked upon him, taking a few deep breaths.

Irad was a hothead, but he was no fool. He knew very well that his justice would be short-lived without proof of his allegations. With such, the entire city could see and realise that it was he who had found the killer; it would be he who would deliver justice, not the crippled system; and it would be he who denied the cold-blooded murderer the mercy he would certainly beg for. He ushered his final words before storming out again.

".. you will feel my wrath."
 
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((That guy has a hot temper, it is so awesome. I wonder where it will lead him. Really loving your storyline, are you working on another part?))
 
(( Yes, I do have ideas for another part. I am hoping to get round to working them out. ))
 
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