It takes another...
Morrin did not return home that night, and Aennin wouldn't see him again until early the next morning. He had been sitting at the table, eating breakfast in anxious silence when his father crept through the door. Suddenly, worries about his immediate plans to plead with the headmaster of his school for forgiveness fell out of his mind and gave way to thoughts of confronting his father. But he never got a chance. As soon as Morrin saw Aennin looking at him, the man darted up the stairs and into his bedroom. When Aennin went up there to try the door, he found it locked. Coward!
With no response to his knocking, there was nothing for Aennin to do but ignore his father for now. He returned to the table to finish his breakfast while resuming his contemplation of his most immediate concern. He had to find a way to negotiate his way around what he had done the day before. Worse still, he was going to have to face Samiel and his cronies again. Why was he doing this again?
Aennin shook his head as he stood to leave. This was the time to take a lesson from his mother, a woman who had been so brave before his father whittled away her self-worth. He was a master manipulator who had wormed his way into people's heads and played them all for his own benefit. The failure of the shop was the last straw for not just Aennin, but the entire family. He had a lot to accomplish before he could break away from his father, and he couldn't afford to let the fact that it wasn't going to be easy stop him.
He stepped slowly past the threshold of the apartment with a mind filled with thoughts to numerous to control. With a momentary glance at the ceiling of the cavernous street, he tugged the door shut and began his trek. He had only been walking for a few moments before he found himself distracted by the familiar glow of the lampposts reflected by the polished bronze pillars spaced through the street. He had always loved the look of the street in the darkness of night and early morning. It was at these times that the lights were at their dimmest, lending the whole city a more pleasant atmosphere than they did during than in the middle of the day.
The boy shook his head vigorously in a vain attempt to get his mind back on track. Never mind the lights! Never mind his father! There was something more important in front of him. As he neared the school, he began to tremble with anticipation. But he had not even reached the front gate when something grabbed his shoulder from behind and whirled him around. Just then, he found himself staring into the blood-crazed eyes of Samiel, with his face contorted in what could only be a mixture of rage and glee. For once, he appeared to have been alone.
"I don't know what possessed you to come back here after what you did yesterday! Did trying to destroy a man's balls help you to finally develop a pair of your own?"
Aennin wriggled out of Samiel's grip and jumped back to put some space between them. "Look, I'm sorry about what I did. I was angry about something else that you got involved in without realizing it. Why don't we just try to..."
Aennin trailed off as Samiel approached him with a predatory gait. So, he clearly wasn't interested in talking. The boy backed away hurriedly, but with every step he took, the other moved more quickly. Soon, Aennin was fleeing and Samiel was giving chase through the academy courtyard. He couldn't pretend to be surprised by this turn of events, but Aennin cursed his luck at running into Samiel before he reached the headmaster. There was nothing to do now but seek refuge in the headmaster's office and plead his case without delay.
But something was wrong. Every time he dared to look back, he found Samiel a lot closer than he usually did in their chases. Even worse, he seemed to actually be gaining on him for once. He barely had time to register this before feeling the other boy's hand closing around his collar and yanking him to the ground. Within seconds, Samiel was straddling him, with hands squeezing his throat. Aennin struggled fruitlessly against the stronger elf and was moments away from blacking out when the weight was suddenly lifted. Aennin looked around blearily to find Samiel lying on the ground beside him and a familiar figure standing over them both.
"Nazan?"
The man reached down and grabbed Aennin's hand with a sigh. "What the hell are you doing here, kid? I thought I had you pegged as smarter than the vast majority of the people in this city!"
Aennin shook his head slowly, trying to recover well enough to make sense of what was going on. "What are you doing here?"
Nazan clicked his tongue and knelt over Samiel. "This was supposed to be my last chance to get back the money this kid stole from your father. The little fucker doesn't have it?"
Aennin rolled his eyes weakly. "What? Did you expect him to be walking around with it?"
Nazan stood up and turned toward Aennin with a glare. "You are going to have to make your mind about whether you want to be a smart ass or a complete moron. What are you doing back here? Do you want to die?"
Aennin went ghost white at the thought. "He's never done anything like this before. I must have really angered him, huh?"
Nazan shook his head and kicked Samiel, who remained deathly still. "No. From what I hear, you gave him some cause, but he tried to kill you for another reason."
Aennin looked down at the other boy for the first time, who didn't seem to be moving. "What happened to him?"
The man sighed heavily. "Listen, kid. I like you. You're sharp as hell, but you can be pretty damn naive too."
Aennin merely stared at him in silence, willing him to continue. Finally, Nazan answered. "I don't know why I couldn't see it before today, but this one shows all the signs of a silverdust addict. That must be how he spent your--"
He cut himself off with a gasp, but Aennin shook his head. "I know he and his friends robbed you. I overheard you and my father talking about it. That's why I kicked him yesterday."
Nazan chuckled and said, "Well, you are certainly brave to stand up for the family business in that way, but you couldn't have picked a worse time. I just pieced it together today that he's been getting drugs from Katim. I'd warn you to stay away from him now on, but I don't think he'll be getting up from this."
Aennin glanced at Samiel again and noticed for the first time that he wasn't breathing. "What did you do?"
Nazan scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Don't look at me! Anyone could have survived the blow I gave him. Blame the drugs for thinning his resistance to trauma."
Aennin looked up at the man with a look of shock. "How could you be so calm? You killed him!"
Nazan sighed and shook his head. "This is a violent world, Aennin. I'm not proud of snuffing him out, but I'm relieved that you're the one who gets to survive this."
Aennin shook his head and began to back away.
"Go home," Nazan said firmly. "This city isn't safe for you anymore. Keep your family close and be ready to leave if need be."
Aennin froze, suddenly wondering how he should reply.
"Get out of here!" the man shouted, this time a little angrily. "Honestly, you're going to meet a horrible end someday if you keep standing around like danger isn't a real thing to you!"
Something about Nazan's words seemed to click with Aennin, spurring his legs back into motion. Without taking even another second to argue, he fled home with fresh thoughts of the horror he had just witnessed in his head. That was the first time the boy had come face to face with death, but it was far from his last.
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