The Third Eye Initiative (22 page)

The large cloaked figure took one slow step into the street, then suddenly turned around and walked back into the alley. The darkness enveloped the man, and he was gone. Tsaeris was confused as to why the man had just left, until he heard the telltale sounds of armored boot on cobblestone,
signaling the approach of a City Watch patrol. A group of six watchmen approached Tsaeris.

“
You there. Elf,” one of the watchmen said.

“
Yeah?” Tsaeris replied.

“
You should get off the streets. It’s dangerous for your kind right now.”

“
Yeah, I think I’ll take your advice,” Tsaeris said.

“
Would you like an escort?” The man offered.

“
I’m alright, thanks. I don’t have far to go.”

The patrol continued on, and Tsaeris headed back towards the tavern. His anger was muted now, and he began to berate himself silently. That was stupid. Now that his head had cooled, he realized that he would almost certainly be dead right now had that patrol not come along. What was he thinking, challenging that man like that? His stupid anger had almost gotten him killed. It was rare for his emotions to so thoroughly overwhelm his survival instincts like that.

He walked faster, afraid that the big man might still be nearby waiting to kill him. He didn’t want to be caught by him again. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief when he saw the hanging sign with a picture of a rusted tankard illuminated in torch light. He jogged the last short distance, and entered the tavern.

Only a few agents occupied the tables. It was a slow night. He scanned the room, and saw Elias and Tyrier sitting at a table. Tyrier was cleaning a wound in Elias’ shoulder. Tsaeris went to the bar and ordered a drink, then went to join the two men.

“What the hell happened to you?” Tsaeris asked.

“
Where the hell have you been?” Elias asked, glaring at him.

“
I spent most of the day at the safe house, and then went to see Cyra.”

“
You’re a novice, Tsaeris. You need to be where I can find you at all times, do you understand?” Elias said angrily.

“
I was at the safe house,” Tsaeris said again, taking a long pull of his ale.

“
You never go to the safe house.”

“
Well, today I did. What’s the big deal? Was there something I needed to do? I haven’t gone with you on a mission in a while. Figured I was safe.” Why was everyone being so unreasonable tonight?

“
Don’t push me tonight, boy,” Elias threatened.

“
I’m not pushing anything, Elias. You’re the one who’s being pissy. I just came to have a drink. It’s clear that you got the shit kicked out of you, but don’t take that out on me.”

Elias began to stand up, looking like he was about to punch Tsaeris in the face, but was forced back into his seat by the big Doctor.

“I think you two need to calm down. Tempers are high, I get it. But there’s no need to start throwing words or fists around,” Tyrier said.

“
I just wanted to join you two for a drink,” Tsaeris said again. “If I’m not welcome, I’ll leave.”

“
You’re not welcome. Find another table, but don’t leave the tavern,” Elias said.

Tsaeris looked to Tyrier, who just shrugged. Tsaeris stood up and grabbed his ale.

“Fine,” He said, and headed to an empty table.

Tsaeris sat alone at a table feeling both angry and confused. It seemed like everyone he tried to spend time with tonight would jump down his throat for no reason. What was their problem? A ray of hope appeared before long in the form of Niivi, who came down the stairs into the common room. She made her way to Tsaeris’ table and sat down opposite him.

“Long time no see, Tsaeris. I heard what happened to you,” Niivi said.

“
Let’s go for a walk, Niivi. I need some air,” Tsaeris said.

“
Alright. Let me get my cloak.” Niivi disappeared for a few minutes, and then returned wearing a heavy brown cloak.

Tsaeris stood up and Niivi and he headed towards the door.

“I told you not to leave the tavern,” Elias said loudly from his table.

“
Piss off,” Tsaeris called back to him, and then pushed his way angrily through the door.

Tsaeris knew he was taking a risk going back into the streets after his encounter with the large cloaked man, but he just couldn’t handle being around Elias right now. He didn’t plan to go very far anyway.

“What was that about?” Niivi asked, hooking her arm around his as they walked.

“
Elias is being an ass. Didn’t feel like putting up with it,” Tsaeris said.

“
He’s your mentor, Tsaeris. And beyond that, he’s
Elias
. You could get in serious trouble talking to him that way.”

“
I don’t even care right now. Can we talk about something other than Elias?” Tsaeris asked.

“
Sure. What do you want to talk about?”

“
I don’t know,” Tsaeris said.

They walked for an hour or so, exchanging small talk here and there, but mostly in silence. Niivi seemed to sense his mood, and was content to just walk quietly beside him.

He wasn’t sure how if it had been a conscious decision, but somehow their walk had landed them near the brothel where Cyra worked. Deep down he knew that what he was doing was wrong, but for the most part he didn’t care.

“
Let’s stop in here for a drink.” Tsaeris said.

“
Sure, if you want to.” Niivi replied.

The two entered the brothel and Tsaeris ordered them a drink. They sat at a table, and talked for a while. Tsaeris kept scanning the room for Cyra. She must be in her room. He wanted her to appear. He wanted to show her what it was like seeing someone you cared about with another person.

It wasn’t long, however, before he began to wonder what he was doing. This was stupid. This little stunt could open an insurmountable rift between him and Cyra. He wasn’t sure what he wanted with his relationship with the girl, but he knew he didn’t want to destroy all possibilities. He began to become anxious. He had to get out of there.

Tsaeris finished his drink, and waited for Niivi to finish hers. It seemed to take her an agonizing amount of time before she drained her tankard. Tsaeris and Niivi walked to the bar and Tsaeris paid. As he was about to turn to leave, he heard her voice.

“Tsaeris?” Cyra asked.

Tsaeris turned around and saw Cyra standing there in her sleeping gown. Their eyes met, and then she looked at Niivi. Tsaeris felt his heart
sink. “Who’s your friend, Tsaeris?” Niivi asked. He silently willed her to shut up. Niivi walked towards Cyra, extending a hand.

“
Hi. I’m Niivi.”

Tsaeris was expecting Cyra to yell, or cry. Maybe he expected her to hit him, or even Niivi. What he didn’t expect was for her to just turn around and walk away wordlessly. He wished she had yelled. This seemed worse somehow.

“Well, that was fun,” Niivi said, giving Tsaeris a wide grin.

Tsaeris stared for a long time at spot where Cyra had stood. What the hell did he just do? Did he just ruin things with Cyra? How did he let his temper get the best of him like that?

“Looks like we made the little whore sad,” Niivi said in a mocking voice with a fake pout. “Let’s go, Tsaeris.”

“
You bitch,” Tsaeris accused, his eyes ablaze with renewed fire. It was clear that Niivi had deduced their purpose in coming here, and had reveled in it.

“
What did you just call me?” Niivi asked him with an obvious edge to her voice.

“
I called you a bitch,” Tsaeris replied through gritted teeth.

“
You’re the one who brought me here to make your little whore jealous. And now you’re angry at me? Grow up.”

“
I made a mistake. I tried to leave, and you just went ahead and introduced yourself. Are you going to tell me you had no idea what was going on?”

“
Of course I knew. That’s what made it so fun. Especially since you clearly didn’t want to go through with it,” Niivi smiled at him.

“
Why? If you knew I had a change of heart?” Tsaeris was shaking his head in stunned anger.

“
Why not? You brought me here to play your little boy game of ‘make the whore jealous’. I figured what the hell? Might as well run with it.” Niivi was still smiling.

“
You ruined everything...” Tsaeris accused, his hands balled into angry fists at his sides.

“
No, love. You ruined it. Who cares? We can still have fun, and we both know I’m a lot less dirty than the whore. This way we can have fun, and you don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

Tsaeris wanted to strike her. He knew he had himself to blame, but the fact that Niivi was enjoying Cyra’s misery so much filled him with contempt. He had to make this right, but how?

“Get out of here,” Tsaeris said.

“
Stop being such a child. Let’s go back to the tavern, and I’ll make you forget about her.” She ran a finger seductively down his chest.

“
No. Never again.”

“
I don’t see what the issue is. She has sex with people all the time. Why is it such a big deal if you do too?” Niivi asked.

Tsaeris remembered making that same argument to Cyra himself. He didn’t know why, but for some reason it did seem different. What he was doing seemed wrong. But why should it? Just because it’s her job, does that make it right?

Without another word to Niivi, Tsaeris headed towards the stairs. Niivi called for him to come back, and when he ignored her she laughed mockingly. He assumed she left after that.

He made his way down the hallway, ignoring the moans and lustful screams coming from some of the occupied rooms. When he finally stopped in front of Cyra’s room he hesitated. What could he say to her? He decided not to over think it, and knocked on her door.

“What?” a voice from inside the room asked sharply.

“
It’s Tsaeris.”

“
Go away,” Cyra yelled.

“
We need to talk, Cy. We’ve needed to talk for a long time.”

“
I have nothing to say to you,” She said angrily

“
Listen. Just let me in and hear me out. When I’m done, I’ll leave.”

Tsaeris stood in front of the door, waiting silently for a response. After a few moments the door swung open. He entered and closed the door. Cyra walked to the bed and sat down, her tear streaked face looking at him accusingly.

“Can I sit?” Tsaeris asked.

“
No,” Cyra snapped.

“
Fair enough,” Tsaeris replied. “Listen. I’m an ass. I know it. But this isn’t entirely my fault, Cyra. Something like this was bound to happen.”

“
Not your fault?” She said with exasperation. “So it’s my fault?”

“
No. It’s both our faults. Cyra, I know it’s your job. But did you really think that would make it easier for me to accept you having sex with other people? Honestly, just consider that for a second.” Tsaeris met her gaze, hoping she would actually look at this objectively.

“
You knew this was my job right from the start,” Cyra replied.

“
I know. And I thought I could handle that. But, as me bringing that bitch here proves, I couldn’t. I know what I did hurt you, and I suppose that was why I did it. I wanted you to know what it was like. Of course, I wasn’t smart enough to actually talk to you about it first. When I become stupid, I commit to it hard.”

“
So what? I should just forgive you? Is that what you’re saying?”

“
Yes. I have to forgive you every day for having sex with other people .Yes, it’s your job. But I’m not a whore, Cyra. I can’t relate to that. To me, it’s still someone I like having sex with other people, job or no job.” For the first time all day, Tsaeris felt he was approaching something with tact.

“
I do this so I can eat and have somewhere to live, Tsaeris. Am I supposed to go homeless and hungry because you don’t like what I do?” Cyra asked.

“
No. I’m not saying that. I’m saying that you should look at this from my perspective for once. How you felt today when you found out about Niivi? That’s how I feel every day.” He knew that he was laying it on a bit thick. He’s wasn’t sure that her having sex with other people actually hurt him. Maybe it was a territorial thing. Either way, it still bugged him.

“
Alright. I get it. That doesn’t change anything, Tsaeris. All it proves is how impossible this relationship is. I can’t stop working, and I can’t accept you being with other people. If that makes me unreasonable, then so be it. It’s how I feel.”

             
“What if I could find you other work? Non-whore work?” Tsaeris asked.

             
“You think I haven’t tried to find other work?” she asked with a derisive snort.

“
But what if I could?” Tsaeris repeated.

“
I don’t know. I’m not sure you could,” Cyra replied, doubtfully.

“
Can I at least try?” he pleaded.

Cyra was silent for a long time, considering. He was surprised at how easily he had seemingly gotten through to her. It was her nature, he supposed. Easily moved from one extreme to the other. He hoped this wasn’t going to be a big mistake.

“Fine. You can try, but I make no promises.” Cyra said finally.

“
That’s good enough for me.”

“
Alright. Now I want to be alone, Tsaeris. Please leave.”

Tsaeris left, feeling both good about how things had worked out, and concerned. But he had a plan now, and he was going to see it through.

***

Back at the Tarnished Tankard, Tsaeris found Elias alone at a table. He sat down opposite him, sliding a tankard of ale to Elias.

“Hey, Boss. I need a favor. You know that girl Cyra? Well...” Tsaeris began, but stopped when he saw how dangerously Elias was glaring at him. What was his problem? Then Tsaeris remembered his last encounter with Elias. When he disobeyed the order and told him to piss off. He wondered if it was too late to get up and walk away from the table.

“
You need a favor?” Elias asked quietly.

“
It can wait until later. Actually, I’m pretty tired. Might just get some sleep,” Tsaeris began to stand up.

“
Sit down,” Elias said. Tsaeris cringed, and did as he was told.

“
You disrespected and disobeyed your mentor, Tsaeris. I am well within my rights to kill you right now.” Elias stared hard at Tsaeris, letting those words sink in.

“
Elias...I’m sorry, alright. I had a bad day, and you obviously did too.” Tsaeris was scared that the man would make good on his threat.

“
That’s no excuse, Tsaeris.”

“
I just wanted to sit with you and Tyrier, who I thought were my friends. You made me feel like shit about it, and told me to go sit somewhere else. I know I was out of line, but you can’t really blame me.”

Elias stared at him. Tsaeris braced himself, wondering if he was about to have to fight for his life. He hoped not. He didn’t like his chances in that fight.

“You’re right. I was rude, and I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you,” Elias said, to Tsaeris’ utter shock. Tsaeris was on fire tonight. He seemed to be able to reason with everybody all of a sudden.

“
But,” Elias began, and Tsaeris flinched, “there are other people in The Third Eye Initiative who would have killed you on the spot for that kind of behavior. Regardless of your excuse. I’m being lenient. But I assure you, if this kind of news made its way to the boss, there would be no helping you?”

“
The boss? Aren’t you the boss?” Tsaeris said.

“
Don’t be an idiot, Tsaeris. I’m going to give you a pass this time, but consider this a onetime gesture. And I only extend it to you because I was being an ass myself.”

“
I appreciate it, Elias. I won’t let it happen again,” Tsaeris felt like he was finally able to breathe.

“
What happened to you today anyway?” Elias asked.

Tsaeris took a few minutes to fill Elias in on the details of his day. He told him of his fight with Cyra, and his encounter with the big Purity Union man who had almost killed Tsaeris before.

“Wait a second. You ran into him again? And he looked like he was going to attack you?” Elias asked.

“
Yeah. Good thing the watch showed up, or my idiot mouth would have gotten me killed.”

“
The same man came for you twice?” Elias asked.

“
Looks that way.”

“
What are the odds of that happening, in a place this big?” Elias asked, frowning. “If that man is attacking random elves, there’s no way he would come for you twice. Maybe you’re being targeted by the Union for some reason.”

“
Why the hell would they target me?” Tsaeris asked. “You know what I think? I think it started as a random attack, but now he’s targeting me because I didn’t die. Maybe he doesn’t like failure. It doesn’t mean the Purity Union itself is targeting me.”

“
That’s a good point. You’re just an elf, with no political standing. There’s no real advantage for the Union to kill you specifically. You would be nothing more than just another dead elf.” Elias took another pull of his ale.

“
Even so. That guy is dangerous. I don’t much like the thought of him hunting me,” Tsaeris said.

“
We’ll figure something out. For now, just try not to wander the streets alone. And we’ll have to be careful when we go out on missions. It will be risky, but we’ll be careful. We can’t stop your training just because of this idiot.”

“
Makes sense to me. So, Elias. About that favor?” Tsaeris asked changing the subject.

“
What is it?”

“
That girl, Cyra. What are the odds of getting her a job at one of the other Third Eye owned businesses? So that she won’t have to whore any more. Not as a member of The Initiative, obviously. Just a normal employee.”

“
Listen. We have more important things to worry about than finding a job for your whore girlfriend,” Elias retorted.

“
I know,” Tsaeris said softly, knowing better than to push the issue too hard. Especially after the day they both had. He figured he would try again later.

“
Tell you what,” Elias said, sighing. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“
Remember when you said the same thing about getting me information on Ambassador Bel?” Tsaeris reminded him.

“
Yes. And I did see what I could do. It was nothing.”

“
I see,” Tsaeris said. Then decided another change of subject was in order. “So what’s going on with the Purity Union thing? We going to take them out?”

“
No. We’re not going to leave them alone. We’re not going to touch them again,” Elias replied.

“
You have got to be kidding me. Why the hell are we backing off?” Tsaeris asked, sharper than he had intended.

“
Because I said so,” Elias said, glaring. “The Union is not our problem anymore.”

“
Then whose problem are they?” Tsaeris asked.

“
Forget it, Tsaeris,” Elias said in a tone decisively ending the discussion.