On the way back to the Velvet Rose Sarain finally shared the details of her clan’s destruction with Winston. He was amazed with the tale of her survival, and also found it odd that they left her alive.
“A costly mistake,” Winston called it, stating how Sephor had underestimated her, and how they must have assumed that Sarain wasn’t worth the trouble; after all, she was only one child.
Sarain did not shed a tear during the recount, it no longer tormented her in the way that it once had. She was quiet again after that, and they finished their drive in peace.
Once they reached the Velvet Rose, they were greeted by Alorea, who already had the place looking in order. Winston went to put away the weapons, giving Sarain one last look before leaving the two women alone.
Alorea watched as Winston walked away leaving the room, and then turned to Sarain and said, “You’re a lucky woman. I wished he looked at me that way.”
Sarain gave her a weak smile, it was an expression she wasn’t used to using. She excused herself from Alorea’s presence, and proceeded to go down to her room, where she waited for Winston to return.
Sarain stood alone in the room, and put her hand in her pocket. She pulled out her ankh necklace and examined it. She thought of Kit, and pictured him wearing it. He had been so happy when she gave it to him, but it didn’t do him much good. It didn’t stop Sephor from killing him. She thought about her clan, and realized it didn’t help her that night either. Nor her mother who wore it before her and still wound up dying young. But regardless of its lack of effectiveness, it was still a part of her, so she put it back on her neck, and that was where it would remain.
The door opened, and Sarain turned to see Winston walking in. He smiled at her and in a cheerful tone said, “It looks like now we can truly rest.”
Sarain nodded at him and smiled. His eyes lit up and he remarked, “That’s what I like to see. You have such a beautiful smile.”
He walked over to Sarain and took her in his arms then leaned in for a kiss, when he unexpectedly yelped and jumped back. A scorch mark of an ankh was on his chest, and Sarain realized that her necklace had burned him. He looked down at his chest for a moment and then back at her before realizing what had happened.
He shook his head then responded, “It’s okay, it’s just a scratch. You’ll just have to take that off around me.”
But Sarain did not comply; she just stood there looking at him bewildered.
Winston stared back at her for a second, puzzled, then commented, “I’m alright. Are you?”
Sarain felt like her eyes were just opening, she had almost forgotten what Winston really was. Then she thought about what Sephor had said, about Winston being one of his best. And brought herself to ask him, “How many people have you killed?”
A look of worry came over Winston face, and he answered, “I told you that I don’t like to kill people.”
“But that doesn’t mean that you haven’t,” Sarain observed.
Winston shook his head at her and said, “I don’t want to do this.”
He started to walk away, but Sarain grabbed his arm and said, “Even if you haven’t killed lately, you still lured in people for Sephor to kill. And worse, he made monsters of them!”
“Is that how you see me? A monster?” Winston shouted at her.
But Sarain ignored his question, there was one of her own that was now bothering her, and she had to ask him, “What did you say to Nate the night we met?”
Winston’s eyes went wide, and he didn’t answer. Sarain gripped his arm tighter and pressed on by saying, “Why was he heading to his and Kit’s apartment? What did you tell him to do?”
Tears were welling in Winston’s eyes as he looked at Sarain, he didn’t want to respond. She shoved him back, away from her and yelled, “Tell me!”
The tears ran down Winston’s cheeks and he cried out, “Fine, I’ll tell you! That night, I told Nate to go to Kit and retrieve him. To bring him back to the club so that we could turn him!”
A look of disgust came over Sarain’s face and Winston quickly explained, “But you don’t understand, I had to tell him that! We didn’t know how much his brother knew, we couldn’t risk word getting out, and we couldn’t have any bodies left behind!”
Sarain’s hand went to her mouth; she thought she was going to be sick. Winston moved toward her, but she abruptly moved back, and shouted, “Stay back!”
He was trembling, and looked like a scared child, “Sarain,” he whimpered, “I love you.” Then he looked over at her with fear in his eyes and asked, “Don’t you love me?”
Sarain didn’t answer; she just stared at him, a cold and hateful stare. It was answer enough for Winston; he turned around and left the room slamming the door behind him. Sarain didn’t know where he was going or if he was coming back, but figured that he wouldn’t be back soon.
She sat down on the bed and tried to catch her breath. She wondered if she could forgive Winston for his transgressions. They were before her, and he was trying to make amends. He had fought by her side; he destroyed former colleagues, and had saved her life more than once. It should have been enough for her to forgive him, but all she could think of was the number of vil sangs they had fought together, people he was directly responsible for bringing in. There had been so many, and he had been a key figure in Sephor’s army.
Sarain placed her hands on her forehead, hoping to block out the thoughts, but it didn’t help. She shook her head furiously and got up. She couldn’t stay there, and she wasn’t going to wait for Winston to return. She had to get out, she was now feeling smothered inside, and needed fresh air. She left the room, went down the hall, up the stairs, and into the lobby.
There Alorea was sitting at her desk. She looked up at Sarain as she entered the room and asked with concern, “Is everything okay?”
Sarain did not reply she just headed for the door. She heard Alorea call out from behind her, “Are you coming back?”
Sarain walked out and let the door close behind her. She knew she would not be coming back. There was nothing left there for her. In fact, there was nothing there in town left for her to do. She had already stopped the great evil, and now she needed to move on. She didn’t know which town she would go to next, somewhere far perhaps, and new. It didn’t matter. She just wanted to get on with her mission, and she would be doing it the only way she knew how, alone.
Maybe this time she would find peace, and possibly an answer to why her people had to die; if Sephor couldn’t tell her, then that meant that there was still someone out there who could. And she would find them. Even if it was the last thing she did…
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Thanks!
Jen Golembiewski