Jevan broke the silence as he waved his hand:
"Inspector...! What brings you here? Has your little vacation co to an end? Or did you miss ?"
How did he know? The mission I had been sent on was highly classified. I turned my head toward Lionel. I saw him swallow hard as he tried to avoid my eyes, and at that mont I understood who had told him.
I turned my gaze back to Jevan:
"What happened while I was away?"
He pointed a finger at Lionel:
"Why don’t you ask him? He was there before , and he escaped before ."
I turned once more to Lionel, who was still avoiding my eyes, and said:
"Is what he’s saying true?"
Lionel nodded:
"True."
I sighed, then turned and left without uttering a word.
***
[Jevan Prospactive]
I watched Edward Graves leave. His cowardly assistant followed, closing the tal cell door behind him. They just left that easily?
That was unexpected.
Wasn’t he supposed to help get out? Even though I don’t want to leave. Or at least interrogate ? Maybe he plans to question his assistant? I don’t know.
We worked together for months. We were colleagues, technically at least. You’d think he’d show so kind of moral support. In any case, it doesn’t matter. I didn’t really want to leave in the first place.
There’s no point in staying here, but no point in leaving either. All I want now is to organize my thoughts. I’m planning to leave the Lower District.
As for that researcher? I have no intention of chasing him. I don’t have the strength, and the only weapon I once had, they took from .
And besides, I don’t feel sorry for him. I’m fine... I’m fine.
A lie. I’m not fine. Those damned spirits are still circling around , whispering and moaning for release. They don’t give a chance to think. They don’t let my mind rest even a little.
I exhaled:
"How do you expect to grant you release?"
As usual, no one answered.
"If you really want release, then at least explain to how I’m supposed to give it to you!"
Then Raghu appeared beside , the only ghost who actually spoke to without screaming for release every second.
He said:
"You must free them."
"And how in the na of the Creator am I supposed to do that?"
"Kill the doctor."
"Kill a doctor? What are you, a gang of ghosts murdered by a group of doctors, holding an eternal grudge against anyone in a white coat?"
He shook his head:
"No, that’s not what I an. You must eliminate Doctor Valentine Crowe."
"Valentine Crowe? That researcher was a doctor too?"
"The doctor was a researcher?"
"In any case, why do you want him dead?"
"Isn’t he the one responsible for your comrades’ deaths?"
"Yes, he killed my comrades. But what does that have to do with you?"
"We want him dead, and you’ll avenge your comrades. A fair deal, isn’t it?"
"You haven’t answered . What does his death have to do with granting you release?"
"Our souls are still under his control."
"And yet you can communicate with despite that?"
"Even we don’t know how."
"Interesting, but sorry. I have no intention of hunting that man down."
"What?! You would abandon your comrades’ spirits? Leave them wandering without rest? Even the soul of the comrade who sacrificed himself for you?"
"Yes."
"You heartless bastard."
"I know."
Raghu began giving a long moral lecture.
And unfortunately, I couldn’t shut him up.
In that mont, I wished he were like the other spirits. At least then it would be less annoying.
I tried to cut off that stream of preaching by changing the subject:
"You never told how you died?"
He squatted down in front of , then began recounting his life struggle from childhood in his village (though I hadn’t asked) all the way to his teenage years and his dreams of opening a bakery (which I also hadn’t asked about). Finally, he reached the part I had actually asked for. He said he had worked as a guard for a storage house, along with two comrades. On a routine night watch, a man broke in and beat them senseless (he tried to polish this part, but I caught him). Then the man entered the warehouse.
When he got to that point, I cut him off:
"That’s one of the most worthless deaths I’ve ever heard in my life."
"I didn’t finish the story yet. That’s not how I died."
I rested my chin on my fist:
"Go on."
"I fought that man with all my courage. But he used so trick and managed to knock down. Then he went inside the warehouse. And suddenly, a swarm of hands appeared out of nowhere and tore apart."
"You were guarding the warehouse with two comrades, right?"
"Yes, I told you that."
"And the man who hired you, he was a scrap and herb dealer at the market, right?"
"Oh! Yes, the boss! But how did you know?"
I sat up straight:
"You’re giving a moral lecture, and you worked for a human trafficker?"
He didn’t reply. He just vanished, just like that.
I muttered:
"And now you run away?"
I lay back on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. After that, I looked at my hands and my clothes, which were still stained with blood. Raven’s blood... that idiot. I looked at my wrists, bound in tal restraints engraved with small symbols.
Then I looked around. The cells were completely empty.
It seed I had no choice but to wait, and hope Inspector Edward would co and get out of here.
Luckily for , I didn’t have to wait long. The tal cell door opened again, and behind it appeared the inspector’s assistant.
He walked toward , pulled a small key from his pocket, and crouched to unlock my restraints.
The mont the restraints ca off, I struck him suddenly with a blow that knocked him to the ground.
Then I snatched the key from him and shackled him with the sa restraints that had bound my wrists.
He looked at wide-eyed and said:
"What are you doing?!"
I didn’t bother replying. I just smashed my fist into his face, then another, and another. I beat him until his features were unrecognizable, until my hands were dripping with blood, until that arrogant look was gone from his eyes.
Then I sighed. Finally, so peace. I unlocked the shackle from his wrist, leaving his half-collapsed body on the floor. He spat out blood and looked at with one half-shut eye and said:
"Why did you do this, you bastard? I ca here to get you out, and this is how you repay ?!"
I ran my bloodied fingers through my hair:
"Nothing personal, believe . But that annoying spirit wouldn’t stop screaming in my head to do it."
He wiped his face with his hand, then snapped back:
"Spirit? Have you lost your mind? Just a few days in here and you’re already talking about ghosts?!"
"Maybe. Anyway, that girl’s spirit wouldn’t stop demanding I kill you."
"Spirit... girl?"
I nodded:
"Yes. A freckled teenager wearing a straw hat. Did you ever piss off a girl like that before? She really wanted you dead. I barely managed to calm her down."
He said nothing. But his eyes widened, and his grip loosened. Then he bent down, picked up his hat from the ground, dusted it off, put it back on, and left the cell.
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