Terror of the Shadow

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Silence and darkness were his only company. Whether it had been hours or days that had passed, he had no way of knowing. Strangely, as time crept on, he felt less and less alone.

"Hey there, kid," Torreck said. Laban was unsure if the voice was truly there, or if he had simply imagined it to compensate for the lack of sensory input. At any rate, it would be nice to have someone to talk to.

"Hey yourself," Laban replied.

"Funny, isn't it?" said Torreck. "Reminds me a bit of a predicament we found ourselves in a while back."

"Yeah... real funny. At least then it was War'acks that captured us. This time it's my own people that put me down here."

"Well, not really your people though."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're not from Ura-chan. You were an outsider. You never really belonged here."

"No... I guess I don't."

"It's not like there's really any place to go, though. Ura-chan is the only oasis for thousands of miles. Trust me. I've seen the Outland. Ain't nothing but dust and some old bones."

"I don't have to take your word for it, Torreck. I've seen the Outland, too, you know. So you can either stop pretending like you're better than me or you can go to hell."

"You know... you've changed, kid."

"Yeah, well, you're not the first person to say that."

"It's true, though. You're not even the same person. You've become more like... well, a lot like me. I'm not sure if I'm proud of it... or... or if I should hate it."

Laban scoffed.

"Seriously? Look at me," he said. "Why would anyone be proud of this? Of what I've become?"

"Alright. Then I'll hate you. Is that what you want, kid?"

Laban shrugged.

"Wouldn't really change much," he said. "Everyone in this town already hates me."

"I wouldn't say that. That guy Kol seems to like you enough. And I think I've heard the old man call you his friend more than once, now."

"That was before. Before I messed up and ruined everything. Don't you understand? I started a war. I didn't just kill War'acks with that stupid ship. I killed Malkuth. Innocent people are going to die because of what I did."

"Don't be silly. These are War'acks, remember? You really think they'll be so nice as to just kill everyone in the city? They'll have some fun with them first."

"You know, surprisingly, that isn't helping."

"I'm sorry. That was out of line, I know."

"I'm a criminal. I'm a traitor and a murderer. No one in all of Malkuth would—or should—ever love a murderer."

"I don't know. Love is a hard thing to kill."

"What, you're some kind of poet now?"

"I'm not... I'm just... I'm trying to help you, kid."

"I don't need your pity."

"Maybe you do."

"And what would you know about what I need?"

"Probably quite a bit. You know that I'm dead, right Laban? I died in a cave more than a year ago. The person you're talking to right now? It's you."