Talosman

Daedalus saw past the opening and stepped in.

Fluorescent blue lights flickered in rapid patterns along the wall, never leaving the room in absolute darkness. The trail led along the center of the hallway in a line that grew thicker and thinner in shorter and shorter intervals. It matched John Lafferty as he crawled forward, stopping occasionally to regain his strength.

Daedalus scraped at the red line of blood with the tip of his boot. He knew he had to be catching up.

Walking forward, he saw Sunwarden glyphs etched above the frames of the lights. He put his finger into the crevices formed by the words and felt the cold concrete within. The glyphs been made by machines; they were perfectly hewn and at least two inches deep. The corners of the indentations were sharp enough to cut flesh.

The door there was unlocked. After the first door code he’d had to break this one seemed carelessly unprotected, but he realized that most anyone who’d been able to break through the first chamber would have to have been a member. Or otherwise had enough skill that a second lock would have presented little to no problems.

Daedalus opened the door with his left hand; his right hand slid into his coat and grabbed the handle of his San’izer.

The fluorescent lights spilled out into the room as Daedalus entered, illuminating Lafferty’s prone form in the center of the chamber. He was holding a gun of his own, but he looked weak, and he failed to consistently train it on Daedalus’ chest.

“Just some talosman?” John Lafferty asked. “I was expectin’ someone else.” His accent was from the United States; familiar. It reminded Daedalus of his days growing up in Texas.

“Who were you expecting?” Daedalus asked. He didn’t expect an answer. “Who told you to kill her?”

Lafferty’s breath was going slow. It was the poison, seeping into his liver and bloodstream. It reminded Daedalus of the chimera that still lurked outside.

When Lafferty did not answer, Daedalus barked, “What did you expect to find here?” Daedalus was surprised at the static that crept into his voice. He forgot that Madeline had told him not to shout. Daedalus did not realize how confused he really was.

The room was empty, as far as Daedalus could tell. There was a glyph on the far wall that appeared to have been carved out by whatever machine had created the glyphs in the tunnel. It was the only one that Daedalus knew; it was a sun with the left side shaded. John Lafferty coughed and said, “They said I… could save us.”

“Who did?” Daedalus asked. He walked across the room and knelt down before Lafferty, “Save us from what?” Daedalus could smell the necrotizing flesh wafting up from Lafferty’s crippled body.

“What do you care?” Lafferty asked. “I failed. I… I’ll die in a few hours from the poison. Why should I tell you anything?”

Daedalus grabbed him by the shirt collar and lifted him up. He pressed the barrel of the San’izer into the skin of Lafferty’s neck, “I’ll kill you now, if you tell me who told you to kill her. Spare you some suffering.”

Lafferty looked confused for a moment. He looked at Daedalus with eyes that were almost frightened, and then slowly became confident. “Smith. Was supposed to accept her bracelet. I think you scared him off.”

“He told you to kill her?” Daedalus asked. “Smith who?”

“Smith Brightwater,” John Lafferty said. “I don’t know if he has a middle name.”

“Unfortunate,” Daedalus said, pulling the trigger.