Invincible (A Centennial City Novel) - By Fionn Jameson Page 0,11

into the sound of the phone ringing shrilly in the darkness.

No point in checking the number. “Yes, Elder Chang.”

“You have not killed him.”

Of course he would know. The Fellowship had eyes everywhere and I am not so naive to think I’m spared of such actions. “No, I did not, Elder Chang.”

I imagined him sitting at his desk, one hand stroking his mustache, eyes faraway and distant. “Might I inquire as to why the boy is still alive?”

Jason seemed a bit too old to be considered a boy, but who knew how old Elder Chang was? I certainly wasn’t going to take guesses. “You did not give me a deadline, Elder Chang. The boy offered me a deal. I will help him with something and he will help me. Everything is under control.”

Elder Chang let out a sigh. “This is about his fiance?”

“Yes.”

I fancied I could hear his long, lacquered nails tapping in the background. “Do not think we were derelict in our promise to the boy. We have done what we could. Unfortunately, it seems the girl is under a great deal of protection than should be warranted for someone so recently turned. We could find very little information as to her whereabouts.”

“I see.” Mika meowed loudly, brushing against my shins and I patted her on the head. She rewarded me with another meow and didn’t bite my fingers. Perhaps we were progressing past general disdain to something quite possibly approaching tolerance. The tiger could change her stripes. “May I ask you a question, Elder Chang?”

“That would depend.” He sounded reluctant, almost cautious. “What is it?”

“Why Jason?”

He didn’t have to ask me to clarify.

Why was Jason chosen?

“Hm,” he began slowly. “That…that is not a question I think I can answer.”

To have expected something different was foolish. “I see.”

Elder Chang harrumphed loudly. “I’ve observed you from the very beginning, Hwang. You have never failed me, never failed the Fellowship. So I will wait. We shall see.”

“Thank you, Elder Chang,” I said, somewhat relieved. Had he told me I was to exterminate Jason immediately, I would have done it, but reluctantly. There was a mystery around the young man, one I found myself want to solve. “I will not let you down.”

“See to it that you don’t. I must admit, I too am curious about this whole affair. When he informed us about his purpose in joining our ranks, I thought it would easy to find his fiance and their child. That we could not was most curious and there was something else…”

His voice trailed away. “Well, never mind. See to it that you keep me updated. I am most curious to see how this plays out.”

“Elder Chang, I don’t--”

The dial tone echoed in my ears and I set the phone down on the receiver, letting my hand linger for a moment on the warm plastic exterior.

How odd. That Elder Chang had gone to such lengths as to hang up on me so he didn’t want to speak to me…I’d never before experienced such avoidance.

There was a mystery to Jason.

I would find it.

And then I would break it.

***

It was still light out when I woke up and I relished the warmth of the early setting sun, as cold as the air was on my bared skin. It was rare to see the sun in all its glory, setting or no, and I took a moment to stand in a beam of light, watching the sky turn shades of indigo and gray before night descended upon Centennial City.

I took a deep breath, drew in that inexplicable scent that was the City, the crisp scent of snow, the barely discernible stench of blood, the stink of sewage.

A faint note of sandalwood tickled my nose and my nostrils twitched.

To the east.

I ended up in a rather influential, rich neighborhood. Here, the brownstones gave way to large family houses, no, mansions with massive front lawns and metal-wrought gates, a few with their own security guard house.

Such a price humans pay for security, for privacy. And yet, all of it seemed simply for appearance. How safe were these people behind their makeshift fortress of technology and brand names? What would happen if one were to simply disable the electricity they so dearly needed? What would happen to their metal fortress?

The smell of sandalwood, warm and spicy, led me to a house at the end of a cul-de-sac at Howards Drive and I looked up at the large metal gate. In the distance, I saw a large building,