XI. Keep your enemies closer. Part 3
695 Words
Suddenly, everything was going in reverse. Vuk rose before Varick and fell back into the air, while the attacked one rose from the ground in a way that would normally be impossible: on his back and with his legs almost straight. Vuk returned to the place where he recovered his consciousness after the tremendous blow he received, and I, without even noticing it, had my right arm on Varick again.
I looked at him, scared. He pushed Bastian away, but he jumped past him, although I wasn't so lucky. He lifted me with one arm in the air.
"You... you did this..." He fumbled for the knife in his belt, but couldn't find it.
"Are you looking for this?" Bastian lay standing near him, grinning wickedly. "It's over, Father." He buried the huge knife diagonally between Varick's ribs so that it reached fully to his heart. "You will no longer kill innocents."
Varick's expression was both astonished and sad. He didn't complain of pain, at any time. The banshee arrived in that instant, triumphant, smiling from ear to ear, almost beautiful.
Varick released me, and I fell backward into the snow. He knelt by his son's side, never taking his eyes off him, and let out one last gasp that was blown away by the wind. He collapsed into the thick snow and stained it red. I looked at Bastian then, as he lay on the ground, dumbfounded.
"I thought... you just wanted to catch him," I told him.
"I suppose the root problem is better settled," Bastian said. Vuk became Vuk again and walked over to us.
"You just killed your father… boy, you're cold as an iceberg," Vuk cleared his throat.
"Thank you," I blurted out, turning to Bastian.
"No problem. Do you trust me now?" He asked.
"Should I?" I consulted Francesca. "He saved Vuk, although he doesn't know it."
"Why didn't the stone work?" I kept staring at him as I stood up.
"I don't know," he replied. "I guess it's a myth, after all."
"Don't trust him, for now," Francesca replied. "There is something about him that I don't like at all."
"I guess so," I replied to Bastian. "You saved my friend and got rid of whoever seeks to assassinate me. I trust you." Bastian smirked.
"Fix your cracks and go about your life normally until the next call, my friend," he said politely. "Remember that you keep trying to stop yourself from coming back. Go away, I'll take care of this mess."
"Let's go, cub." Vuk walked over to me and tugged on my shoulder. "We still have work to do."
"Will we see you again?" I asked Bastian.
"We are astral. The only ones left. It's very likely that we'll never see each other again." He laughed.
"Goodbye, then," I said from a distance without much apathy. "Was a pleasure."
"Same here," he answered and called his Vormund immediately.
We withdrew, leaving them hesitant. Bastian scratched the back of his neck and the banshee spread her arms as if to ignore the next step.
"Leave it, boy," said Vuk. "It's an astral and it's its c***k. He has all the time in the world."
"We should keep an eye on him," I commented.
"Why, boy?" Said Vuk, astonished. "Did you notice something strange?"
"Francesca thinks we shouldn't trust him. And I agree with her."
"Cub, the legends don't explain why Garpur didn't want to save him, but so far all he's done is kill one of the most powerful Jäger in existence, not to mention that he saved that boy's life. I think he deserves a chance." He cleared his throat. "He's just as cute as Vuk in his youth."
"And I think he was just trying to gain my trust," I then heard Francesca's thunderous laugh inside my head, at Vuk's comment comparing himself to Bastian.
"Don't freak out about it anymore, boy. You still have cracks to resolve," said Vuk, still with his self-esteem through the roof.
"Speaking of which..." I smiled, still looking down the winding path to the lobby. "It happened again, but this time, the vision wasn't so tragic to say."
- Writer
