Rise

Downfall

"David." Rowan sighed.

I ignored him for the eighth time, tapping on the microphone embedded in the bulletproof glass. If they thought that this cell could hold me, they were wrong. I was here only because I wanted to. All that money on my head wasn't for nothing. My name had been first on the list for years, and the price on my head had only grown. Till, of course, I got caught.

By no one else but my sworn enemy, Rowan, who was a part of the awfully corrupt government. Ew.

He was merely calling out my name. There was nothing that I would say to him, until he actually offered some information.

"I'm here on behalf of the government to make a deal."

I raised an eyebrow curiously. "Speak."

I could almost hear his teeth gritting together. It was rather simple to make people uncomfortable, especially if they thought they had power. "You will be executed next week if you do not agree."

"Stop threatening me and start telling me about the deal."

"If you assist us in our mission to capture all of the magical creatures, we will simply sentence you to life imprisonment. There aren't many left, are there? It should be a rather simple task."

Mentally, I visualised throwing him off the building. Such a horrific goal! Capturing them was akin to exterminating them! I knew what he did with them, I knew about the tests that had been done, I knew about the suffering so many generations of them had been put through... No way I was dooming more of them to this fate!

What about the demons? A little voice asked. But they were dead, weren't they? I had taken care of them a long while ago... Those seven demons were just as cruel as this man before me, but at least they didn't try to hide it behind the ill-fitting name of scientific discovery.

My blood was beginning to boil as I recalled what had happened to Ian. That darling, poor child... Dying all alone in a prison deep underground... Because he refused to be weaponized. The poor child! Though some heavily disliked him because of his tendency to turn to death for solutions, Ian was a really kind person once he was dissuaded from ending someone. Oh, but he was gone... All because of this... this atrocious disgrace to humanity!

Still, it was boring if I just said no. He might offer me more information if I pretended that I was actually considering it.

"Death, or an eternity spent languishing in a cell? Think of something better." I yawned. "Even the Guild pays better than you do."

Of course I was well-paid. No one else was quite as willing to handle dangerous chemicals all day long.

"But they're not here to save you, are they?" He countered.

I shrugged. "You never know."

"You betrayed them. They would never help you now."

Yeah, maybe I did... but it was for the Guild's sake. The Guild Master would understand. The loss of a valued member for the safety of all others... of course it was worth it. That was water under the bridge by now, I didn't have to trouble myself with those memories. All I needed to remember was that only the Master would come to my aid, because he still cared.

Till this day, I wasn't sure why he didn't dislike me like how the rest of the members did. Perhaps he remembered how I was when I was younger. Perhaps he knew that he was the only who had saved me, and was the only one who could save me now. I really should find some way to repay him, but he never seemed to need any help.

There was a small receptor hidden behind the wall by the bed, and I could get a message to him through it if I was in trouble. Ahh, he was such a kind soul to not ask me for payment...