Chapter 3
1044 Words
Eli climbed the narrow staircase that led to Rooftop 13, feeling nervous. Rainwater had trickled down the steps, making his shoes squeak at every step.
The city was loud around him with neon lights flashing, ads flickering nonstop with colors too bright to ignore. Above him, a helicopter passed, almost deafening his ears with a deep mechanical thrum that vibrated through the buildings.
It reminded Eli just how small he was in a place this big. At the top, a door led out to the rooftop. He pushed it open and was hit with a blast of cold wind and rain. The rooftop was wider than he expected and Tower Nine stood off in the distance, rising so high into the clouds as if to hide its top in a fog.
The whole place seemed suspended between the sky and the streets, as if nothing real could happen up here… but somehow, everything real was about to.
Right away, he noticed seven figures. They stood in a half-circle across from him, completely still, and silent, with varieties of masks drawn over their faces. Some were metal, some matte black, all different in shape but somehow still part of the same thing.
Eli frowned. They all appeared like something out of an old ritual, a thing from a time when people still believed in superstitions.
He swallowed hard, feeling the rain soak through his hair. “I’m here,” he called in a loud voice.
The masked figures didn’t react at first. They just stood there while the wind whipped around them and the rain fell harder. But the moment Eli took a step forward, as if on cue, they all tilted their heads at the same time. The movement was so smooth it sent a chill down his back.
Finally, a calm and emotionless voice began. The voice came through the one wearing the smooth silver mask. “You came alone.”
Eli nodded stupidly. “Yeah. I got the letter.” He tried to sound brave, but his fingers twitched slightly where they brushed the edge of his pack.
A second figure stepped forward. This one was cloaked in dark fabric that moved like smoke and wore a mask fully black with narrow slits for eyes.
“You carry the seal,” the figure said. “The crimson tree mark. Not many accept its call. Yet, here you are…”
“Yeah, I still don’t know why you summoned me.” Eli interrupted.
The group went still again but with their focus shifted. All of them turned toward a dark corner of the rooftop behind him. Eli followed their gazes, and watched as a woman stepped out of the dark.
When she stepped into the neon lights, Eli could tell she was in charge. Her mask was detailed, and black with beautiful swirly silver patterns, but she reached up, pulled it off, and let it fall to the wet ground.
It clattered loud against the tiles.
Eli gasped, recognizing her face immediately. Madam Noire. Though this version seemed strong, lined with age and confidence. Her dark eyes locked on his, and for a moment, the rest of the city faded. The wind tugged at her long coat, revealing a deep gray suit underneath and a crimson brooch that sat on her lapel.
He caught the same twisted tree symbol as the wax seal on the envelope.
“You stand on Rooftop 13,” she said in a calm but thick voice. “A place where the whole city lies beneath you. We have chosen this spot for that reason: perspective. You’ll need it.” she paused so he'd take it all in.
Eli’s heart was thudding now, but he didn’t run. “Why me?” he asked. “I don’t know anything about your world. I’m not part of this.”
She took a step forward, eyes steady. “You carry your mother’s blood. That’s all it takes.”
“My mother?” Eli whispered bitterly. “She never told me any of this.”
“She tried,” Noire said. “In her own quiet ways through stories, letters, and things she left hidden. But her time was cut short, and the people she trusted scattered. You were raised outside this life for your own safety. But blood… it always calls back.”
Eli was shaking slightly. No one could tell if it was the cold finally catching up to him, or what Madam Noire just said.
“I didn’t grow up safe,” he said, voice hardening. “I grew up confused and alone. That’s not freedom.”
Noire’s expression softened just a little. “You knew you cared. Your aunt. The people at the café. You had love, even if the truth stayed buried. But now you know who you are. That can’t be undone.”
Eli looked around. The city buzzed below, unaware of anything happening up here. “So what now?” he asked. “You want me to run some criminal empire?”
Noire tilted her head. “The Syndicate is more than crime. We hold the balance beneath the surface. We control money, medicine, food routes, and protection. Your mother believed it could be something better. That belief almost got her killed. Here.” She handed him a folder. It was thick, full of papers, names, maps, ledgers, details about operations he couldn’t even begin to understand. And right there, stamped on half the documents, was the Crimson Tree as she called it.
“These say you belong here,” she said. “You have a choice. Accept this role or walk away and go back to your old life. But you’ll never know the truth.”
Eli took the folder. The pages were heavy in his hands. One after another, they showed pieces of a world he hadn’t seen until now. They were paths his mother had once walked. And now… he must walk those paths…
He looked up, allowing the rain to pour down his face. Just then, lightning split the sky, and the masked figures stood motionless, waiting for his answer.
Eli met Noire’s eyes and nodded. He had decided, but he knew that the second he said yes… there wouldn't be peace.
- Writer
