The Third Eye Initiative (9 page)

“
You’re at least
half
giant. You gotta be.”

Doctor Tyrier Sydarin stared down at the little red haired boy, and made a face.

“There are no giants, kid. Do you really need to make jokes about my height every single time you come in for a checkup? They’re not very funny, you know.”

The boy chuckled, and Tyrier sighed. The boy was a regular patient, and his father brought him in monthly for a checkup. Tyrier ran a small clinic. It consisted of two rooms, and a waiting area. One room had two beds and was used to treat the more serious patients, the other was the room where he performed tests and non-surgery procedures. The room was simple and furnished with a chair and desk in the center, as well as a stool and a table with an assortment of instruments that he used for his trade.

He conducted a few standard tests on the young boy, found him to be fit and healthy and sent him and his father on their way. He cleaned off his instruments meticulously, and then sat down at his desk. He wasn’t expecting any more work for the night. His intensive care room was empty, and it was getting dark. He opened a compartment in his desk, and pulled out a tankard and an ale skin. He filled his tankard, lit his pipe and settled in for some well-deserved relaxation.

His pipe still lit and hanging in the corner of his mouth, Tyrier began to fall asleep. He was vaguely aware of the fire hazard, but w
as unconcerned. His eyes closed and he saw the beginning of a dream form on the blackness of his eyelids. Then the door of the clinic slammed open.

Tyrier jumped, and his pipe fell from his mouth. He cursed, and stomped out the embers that had fallen to the floor. He heard the door to the intensive treatment room open as well, loud and aggressively. Somebody was yelling his name.

Tyrier rushed out into the waiting room, and through the open door of the intensive treatment room. It was dark inside, the hearth and candles had been extinguished. He heard the sound of somebody moving around, and the creak of weight being lowered onto one of the beds.

“
What the hell is going on?” Tyrier barked.

“
Tyrier! Bring some light! Quickly,” a voice shouted from the darkness.

Tyrier rushed back into the checkup room and grabbed a candle off of his desk. He ran back into the treatment room. As fast as he could manage, he lit the braziers and the hearth. He looked towards the bed. A man stood over a small form that was laying still in one of the beds. He recognized them both.

“Oh, no.” He whispered sharply. He ran to an equipment desk, and filled a bag with an assortment of instruments and medicines. He rushed to the bed. He was not prepared for what he saw.

Tyrier was sure the boy must be de
ad. His right eye was destroyed and the eyelid was gone, burned away from the looks of it. The socket was empty and oozing. Blood streamed from the boys mouth, and right ear. His white hair was stained red from a wound on his head. His clothes were torn and there were signs of blunt force trauma and cuts all over his torso. His left arm was clearly broken, with sharp bone piercing the flesh below the elbow.

He checked for a heartbeat. The boy was alive. Tyrier could scarcely believe it. He hesitated for a moment, unsure of where to start. There were so many injuries, most of them very bad. The eye would have to wait, he decided. It had been burned out, so most of the wound had been cauterized and it wasn’t bleeding heavily. He began to work on the still open wounds. The boy was losing too much blood. He started with the arm.

“Is he going to die?” the man asked.

Tyrier didn’t even look at him.
“I don’t know, Elias. I don’t know a damn thing. Either keep your mouth shut, or go wait outside.”

Elias was a medium sized man, with short, cropped black hair and a neatly trimmed beard. He was not yet middle aged, and looked to be in good physical shape. He wore a dark blue hooded smock, and dark grey trousers. A short sword hung at his left hip.

Tyrier could hear Elias pacing, but decided to ignore it. He worked for hours on the boy. He managed to stop the bleeding, and set the boy’s broken arm. The boy had several broken ribs as well, but there was little Tyrier could do about that. He hoped there wasn’t any bleeding inside. He stitched up the many lacerations on the boy’s body. Somebody had decided it would be fun to slash at the boy with a very poorly maintained knife. He had spent a whole hour picking out shards of rust from the cuts. Every wound was infected, and he was fairly certain that many of these wounds had been inflicted after the eye had been burned out. He gritted his teeth to control his rage.

Tyrier was exhausted, but continued his work. When he finally had the bleeding under control, and the serious wounds closed up he began to examine the eye. Large blisters lined the entire eye socket. He would have to drain them first. He began lancing them, and puss squirt
ed out in small geysers. For a moment the boy awakened and began screaming. He thrashed around, kicking out at the Doctor, flailing his limbs erratically. Tyrier only just managed to get the needle out of the way before the boy could impale his empty eye socket on it. Afraid that the boy would do more damage to his already vicious wounds, Tyrier yelled over to Elias, who ran to the side of the bed and helped the big man hold him down until he lost consciousness again.

The episode gave him hope that the boy had a chance, and he began working on the wound with renewed determination, his weariness fading away. There were no traces of the actual eye in the socket. He determined that it must have melted and stuck to whatever was used to burn it out in the first place.

The sun was coming up when he finally finished with the eye. Elias was still pacing. The boy was unconscious, but some color was returning to his pale skin. His breathing was measured, and Tyrier was fairly certain that he had contained the infections. The work on the eye was patchwork at best. If the boy lived, he would spend at least a month operating on it. If the boy lives, he’ll wish he had died when the real work begins, Tyrier thought bleakly.

“
Well?” Elias asked.

“
Hard to say, at this point. He definitely has a chance. I wouldn’t have thought it was possible, but I guess I’m even better than I thought I was.” He could tell from Elias’ glare that his attempt at a tension-breaking joke was not appreciated.

“
Come on. We’ll let the boy rest, and go have a drink.” Tyrier said.

Tyrier led Elias into the examination room. Elias pulled the stool up to the front of
the desk and Tyrier poured them each a tankard of ale.

“
So, are you going to tell me what happened?”

“
Had word that he might have been taken by Pyron’s guild. Searched his territory and found the boy lying in an alley. Looks like it had all happened before word had even reached me that he was missing. There was no chance to stop this.” Elias looked calm, but Tyrier could recognize the rage burning below the surface.

“
So Pyron did this to him?” Tyrier asked.

Elias nodded.
“Looks that way.”

“
Why?”

“
The boy has been stealing a lot lately. Had to save him and his whore from a few of them in an alley. Seems Pyron decided that Tsaeris needed to go.”

“
Would he do that? He knows the rules. He knows what would happen to him.” Tyrier refilled the tankards.

“
He must have thought he could get away with it. Who would notice a missing street kid from another district?” Elias clenched his fists, but made no other sign of emotion.

Tyrier recognized the look in Elias’ face.
“Alright. When do we leave?” He asked.

“
You’re going to stay here and look after the boy,” Elias said.

“
The boy will be fine for a few hours. We’ll place a guard while we go. I’ve done all I can for him right now. At this point he’ll either live or die, and until we know which there’s nothing more for me to do.”

Elias seemed to consider for a moment, then nodded.
“Alright. We leave now.”

The men drained their tankards and
prepared.

***

Elias knew where Pyron’s guild house was. He had been there several times before. A small warehouse had been converted into Pyron’s safe house and mansion. It looked worn and shoddy on the outside. It looked like every warehouse Elias had ever seen. Inconspicuous. The perfect secret base, even if it was a bit cliché, Elias thought.

He walked past the front of the building and turned into the connecting alleyway, with Tyrier keeping stride beside him. He stopped before a narrow but thick wooden door. Tyrier stepped forward and pounded on the door with a meaty fist. There was no response.

“They’re not answering. Is there a secret word or something?” Tyrier asked.

“
Yes. I’m not in the secret word kind of mood right now, though. Kick the bloody thing in.”

Tyrier shrugged, and took a few steps back. He rushed forward and his large foot slammed against the door. Under the immense strength of the big man, the door might as well have been made
of dried twigs. It crashed inward, and a few voices yelled in surprise as the two men stepped through the opening.

Elias and Tyrier entered a hallway. Three men stood before them, weapons drawn. After a moment, a rat-faced man seemed to recognize the two and ordered the other men to lower their weapons.

“What’s this about?” Rat Face asked.

“
Where’s Pyron?” Elias demanded.

“
He’s busy,” Rat Face replied.

Elias snorted
derisively, and he and Tyrier walked right through the men, as Rat Face followed behind. They entered a large room that was built like a tavern, complete with a bar, tables and drinking men. Several men stood up when they saw the two men, but Rat Face motioned them to sit.

“
Master Pyron must not be disturbed. We can send word to you when he is ready to receive you.” Rat Face sounded desperate.

Elias and Tyrier walked across the tavern room, neither one of them acknowledging the rat-faced man. Elias
led the way through hallways, and up flights of stairs. It was clear that he knew where he was going. The men and their escort stopped before a door at the top of a staircase.

“
The door’s locked. Let me open it and announce you to Master Pyron,” Rat face said.

Tyrier turned and smiled at the man.

“No need. I have a key.” Tyrier spun around and kicked the door down. A man cursed in shock, and a woman screamed.

Pyron lay naked in his large, opulent bed with an equally naked woman beside him. Elias and Tyrier stepped forward.

Elias looked at the woman.

“
Get out,” Elias ordered.

“
What the hell is this?” Pyron ordered, his voice full of anger.

Elias fixed his gaze on the woman. She squirmed for a moment, then ran to her pile of clothes on the floor, and hurried out of the room.

“Who the hell do you think you...” Pyron stopped mid-sentence. “Oh, Elias. I didn’t...”

“
Get dressed, Pyron,” Elias said flatly.

Pyron got out of the bed, and wrapped himself in a robe. He pulled two chairs up to his desk, and sat heavily in his own chair.

“Please, gentlemen. Have a seat.”

Elias and Tyrier sat down.

“So, what can I do for the Third Eye Initiative today?” Pyron asked.

“
There was a kid, Pyron. White hair. I found him in an alley in your territory. Know anything about it?”

Pyron’s face was expressionless.

“No. We don’t kill kids. We know the rules.”

“
I didn’t say he was dead, or even injured. You would think that a Master Thief would be a better liar,” Elias said coldly.

“
Well, I just assumed that when you said you found him in an alley, that he was dead.”

Elias looked at
Tyrier. “Break his arm. The left one.”

Tyrier nodded, and his long arm shot across the desk like a viper. Pyron cried out in surprise, and Tyrier gave the forearm a sharp twist. Pyron’s elbow
snapped under the pressure and he began to scream.

Several men rushed into the room. Elias stared at them and they stopped in their tracks.

“What are you doing!? Help me!” Pyron screamed to his men. The men glanced at Pyron, then at Elias and Tyrier. They nodded to Elias, and backed out of the room.

“
I think we understand each other now, Pyron. You know who we are. Are you really stupid enough to lie to
us
?” Elias stood up from the desk, and Tyrier followed.

Elias walked to the other side, and slammed Pyron across the jaw with his right fist. Pyron fell from his chair. Elias nodded to Tyrier, and Tyrier forced Pyron to his knees and held him in place with a meaty hand on his shoulder.