Ahndrian Archives

The Victims

“The largest part of the killings occurred during our time at NYU. Of course, I’m sure you remember that. Everything was different then. The rules and tension around us on campus made everything feel heavier.” Eclipse said.

“I remember. All of Manhattan was on alert. Everyone wondering if they would be next.” I replied as I poured myself a shot of Whisky.

“Back then, I never put things together. There was so much panic surrounding the victims that I never paid attention to the where.”

“The where?” I asked between sips.

Eclipse reached into her coat and pulled out a small leather journal. It was clear that the journal had seen a fair amount of use. The pages were yellowed, and the binding was barely holding together. She placed it on the desk and undid the strap holding it closed. She picked up the pages near a bookmark placed towards the center and flipped it to a page with a chart drawn out.

“I wrote down every place the murders occurred. It was after I wrote it down that I realized why there seemed to be a pattern where formerly, there was none. It was because every place was uniquely familiar to me. However, they were only familiar because they were familiar to both of us.”

“Please, tell me how these murder locations should mean anything to me.”

“Columbus? Third Avenue bridge? Patsy’s? Radio City? You mean to tell me that you don’t remember any of those places?” Eclipse asked.

I shrugged my shoulders and downed the last of the Whisky in my glass. I opened the bottle and poured myself another.

“I suppose I should be hurt that you don’t remember. All of those places, along with multiple other spots around Manhattan where murders occurred, were places that you chose for our dates. Every single one, was a spot you selected while we were together. Outside of your parents, not a single murder occurred in a place that we didn’t go.”

I let out a low, discordant laugh. “You must be kidding me? We were in Manhattan, New York. There are thousands upon thousands of people roaming the streets and going into every place you just mentioned daily. I can imagine I am not the only one who went to these places.”

“Sure, but you’re the only one who had a connection to every other piece of the case.”

“That’s because you didn’t look anywhere else, did you? Between my parents and my abilities, you had your target and all that was left was to fire.” I poured another glass, this time filling it nearly to the brim.

“I did everything I could to find someone else that fit the pieces of the puzzle. You’re right, I am biased. You’re absolutely right to say I knew who you were. The fact of the matter is, I don’t know anymore, do I?” Eclipse asked.

“So, in your eyes I became a monster without you. Without the bright and shining Eclipse,” I said mockingly.

“I never said that. This isn’t about me. This is about you. I don’t know who you are anymore. I’m not sure if I ever did. All of this anger. All of this hatred. I knew you had things that haunted you, but we are far beyond that now. You’re not the person I loved back then. I don’t know if he ever existed.” She replied.

“Love? You have the audacity to speak to me about love?” I shot up from my chair and threw my glass across the room.

It shattered against the wall, but she did not move. She did not even flinch. She stared at me with a hauntingly empty gaze. I slammed my hands on the desk and leaned in as close as I could get.

“I was the only one who loved in our entire relationship. You let me believe I mattered to you until you were done with me. You let me open up to you and then you threw me away like I was nothing. You left me for that woman like I never even mattered. I trusted you and you played me.” My chest rose and fell far faster than I could control.

“I left because you gave me no other choice. You were wonderful to me. Before I got married to her, you were the happiest memories I ever had in my life. I had been through so many terrible, horrible things. You knew all of that and you never once used it against me. Even now, I can see it in your eyes that you couldn’t hurt me.”

“You had a choice. You always have a choice. You chose to walk away.”

“You’re right. I made my choice. I wasn’t going to sit there and watch you destroy yourself. I told you this earlier, but you don’t want to believe me. That’s not on me. I did love you, Harry. I always will, but had I known what I know now, I would never have let things get this bad.” She stated with a softness in her voice that brought me back to our days in college.

“And what is it that you know now? If you thought I was Azrael for so long, why come now? Why wait, hmm?” I asked.

She grabbed the journal and turned to the next page. There was a name scrawled across the page. I dropped back into my chair and stared at the page in disbelief. It was a name they had not reported in the news, but I knew all too well what happened to him. I could picture that crooked nose and shark toothed grin clearly in my mind.

“Jeremiah Rogers. Your boss. Rather, your former boss.” She stated with her finger pressed on the page. “I’ve been keeping tabs on you. You went to work for his consulting firm after the lab. Two days ago, he went missing and nobody has seen him since. Then today a jogger discovered his body by Bow Bridge. The place where we said goodbye.”

“Where you said goodbye.” I whispered as I stared off into nothingness. “He was a horrible man. Anyone could have taken him out. They would have been justified.”

“I know. Like I said, I’ve been watching. Yet, he was killed just like every other victim. Azrael had been dormant for years, then suddenly, he kills again. Another body connected to you and to a place connected to us. I couldn’t live in denial after that. I brought what I knew to the council.”

“And they ordered my execution. Without so much as a question I bet.” I tossed my head back and stared up at the ceiling.

“It’s over, Harry.” I could hear her chair slide across the floor as she got to her feet.

I looked at her with hollow eyes. Her clothes were shifting right before my eyes. Her once normal attire shrouded in shadows. They danced around her endlessly until she stood before me with a cloak so dark it seemed to absorb the light around it. She held her hand in out and the shadows swirled once more. This time they took on the colors I knew her shadows to make. They collapsed into each other until she was holding a dagger in my face. I knew it was made from her shadows, but her unique ability allowed her to paint is as though it were just a normal weapon.

“So that’s your scythe, huh? What happened to your twin Sigs?” I looked over the large dagger.

“Yes, this is it. I once thought the scythe was meant to resemble what you wanted. However, my father taught me that it actually takes on the form of something that means a lot to you, or the person you love most. That’s why his was the same as his mentor’s.”

As she talked, my eyes never left the blade. The pointed silver pommel connected to the curved hilt by the marble like, cylindrical handle. The wide bottom of the blade was so evenly slanted to the sharp tip that it almost seemed like an arrow pointing directly at my soul. there was an inscription carved into the side of the blade that I could just barely make out.

“To live and die for balance.” I laughed after reading it out loud. “What do you or the council know of balance. You play judge, jury, and executioner with no remorse. Worse, you do it publicly. Well I got news for you. I refuse to let you make a spectacle of me. I am not the monster you accuse me of being.”

“Harry, just stop!” She interjected.

“I told you not to call me that!”

“This is hard enough. Just come with me peacefully. If you do not, I have orders to kill you now. You’ve been deemed too dangerous to risk escaping.”

“And yet, you talked. You sat down with me and told me your tale.”

“I suppose you were right. I needed to see the look in your eyes while I told you everything. I needed to see it for myself. You tried to make a scene of it. You did everything you could to pretend to be angry and surprised, but even now I can read what’s behind your eyes. The truth is there.”

“Do you believe anything I told you today?” I asked.

She disappeared in a puff of shadows and reappeared behind me with the point of the dagger pressed against the back of my neck. “I believe you really did love me. I really believe that I hurt you. For that, I am sorry, but none of that matters now. In the name of the council, as the Grim I-,” She began her chant.

“You are not going to kill me.” I sighed.

“This is over, Harrison.”

I looked down at my watch once more. Ten o’clock. Lovely.

“you’re absolutely right. So, be a dear and stow your scythe, would you?” I ordered.

“I will no-,” With a puff of shadows and a gasp from Eclipse, the sharpness in the back of my neck dissipated. “What the hell?”

“Now, be quiet and sit back down in your chair.”

Despite the protest in her eyes, she marched over to the other side of the desk and dropped into the chair. She struggled against the order, but she could not stand. She could not speak. I pushed my chair back and walked over to the drawer I pulled the envelope from. I reached in and pulled out a wooden box with a glass lid. Inside were a set of small knives. Some missing, but many still resting in their own place. I placed the box in front of Eclipse and sat on the desk next to her.

She grunted and struggled, but she still could not form any words or lift herself from the chair. I laughed as I watched her fight against my orders. It was a futile thing, but there was still so much fire in her eyes.

“Fine, you may speak.” I said.

“What the hell did you do to me!” She screamed.

I smiled wide and looked up at the vent in the corner of the room. She followed my gaze and looked confusedly back at me.

“I knew you’d be arriving here. I’m not the fool you likely thought I was. The air conditioner had a special something added to it today. I have to say, this whole Grim thing makes it very difficult to have it take effect. I mean I had to stall for a full three hours! Wow! You are resilient.” I clapped and smiled as shock overtook her features.

“I was right after all. The gas and these knives are the same ones found at every scene. You really are Azrael.”

“Oh, I hate that name. You’re absolutely right. That is not the right name at all. See, I don’t do what I do for sport. Did you look into all of their lives? They were all horrible, ugly people. I helped them. I gave them a chance to be carried off to the other side.” I hopped off the desk and pulled the paper from beneath the envelope. I turned it around until the crescent was facing her and the circle was above it. “You see, it’s all about perspective.”

“You know your gas won’t kill me. So, what are you going to do now? Even if you kill me, there will be another Grim and they will hunt you down.” She stated, still struggling against the chair.

“Unfortunately, that pertains to another thing you were right about.” I leaned against the desk and sighed. “I can’t hurt you. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. It has always been you.”

“Who are you? It’s like you’re an entirely different person. The way you speak. The way you move. Harry, what happened to you?”

“Harry, huh? Looks like the toxin is already getting a bit weaker. I’d better get out of here. Sorry to cut things short, but I must be off.” I pushed off the desk and grabbed the box of knives.

“This isn’t over, Harry! I will find you again.” Eclipse called back,

“Right again! This is far from over. These poor souls can’t cross over on their own, can they?” I laughed and sauntered towards the door.

I grabbed my coat from the rack and swung it over my shoulders as I whistled a tune.

Row, row, row your boat. Gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.

-The End?-