Chapter One - Just Moved In With A Stranger - L.A.

Antares stood at the gates of the kingdom. Impatiently waiting for the guards to finish checking her for weapons. “Are you done now?” She asked. The guards eventually stepped away from her and stood back at their posts. “You may enter!” They shouted.

The sound of a large latch echoed throughout the empty field behind her. Antares looked back across the field, examining the outer rim of the forest. Nothing good comes from beyond there. Everyone knows that. It'll be best for her to keep her identity under wraps. Besides, she wasn’t going to be in L.A. for long. She is only here to complete her job and then return to her boss. That is all.

Antares looked back at the gates in front of her. They creaked as they slowly opened, showcasing the small kingdom that was held within it. It was more lively than the stories she read about it. She walked through the gates watching as children chased each other with miniature kites, she watched the women sitting down in front of the bakery drinking tea and eating scones. Antares noticed that there were a few taverns but one of them seemed more crowded than any other. That’s likely where most of the men were. As well as the guards slacking off from their jobs. She rolled her eyes noticing the sword that laid against the side of the tavern building. That’s just waiting to be stolen.

Antares adjusted her hood, making sure it covered her braided hair. She glanced up at the sky, realizing that it had begun to snow again. Looking around, she spotted a small bookstore. She ran into the bookstore, quickly shutting the door behind her. She looked around, seeing a desk with no person at it. She saw a sign on the wall that said, “Mortem’s Bookstore + Repair.” Well whoever this Mortem is must be busy, and thank god for that. She didn’t want to have to explain herself right now. Newcomers are always on the top of every suspect list. That and the real criminals. Yet since she's both.. It’s best for her to keep a low profile.

Antares walked over to a shelf looking through some of the books. One of the books grabbed her attention. “The Night Wastes..” Antares whispered to herself.

She heard a chuckle from behind her. She turned around to see somebody now standing behind the counter. It was a man? She thought. It was hard to tell since he wore a skull as a mask. He must be hiding something important behind it. Something dangerous.

“I see you like the older editions.” The man stated.

Antares just stared blankly at him. “Older editions? Do you mean there are more of these?”

The man nodded. “Of course there are. It’s been hundreds of years. The Night Wastes Society is a pretty big tourist story around here.” Beside him on the counter were stacks of letters. She wondered if he had a delivery service as well.

“Tourists?” Antares looked back at the book in her hands. “People find this amusing?” Her frown deepened as she stared at the photo on the cover. It was Jilo. Standing in front of his old radio tower with a grin on his face.

The man sighed, “Yes, unfortunately they do. Though I am glad to finally not be the only one who resents that thought.” Antares looked back over at him, now looking him over. The way he dressed.. It was very casual, comfortable even. He didn’t seem like anyone important. Yet she did however notice some expensive items on the counter he stood behind. One was a box that held a hair clip inside of it. Sure, he may have longer hair but she wasn’t sure he would ever use something like that eventually. Perhaps it was a gift?

“So you must be Mortem then, correct?” Antares walked over to the counter setting the book down and pulled out a bag filled with coins.

Mortem took the bag of coins and wrote something down in a small journal. “Yes, that’s me. Are you new around here?”

She hesitated, grabbing the book again. “Something like that.. I was sent here for work.”

Antares noticed part of his hand had black stains on it. At least.. She thought they were black stains. It really looked like veins. But that couldn’t be possible, could it?

“Do you have a home already rented? You may not want to be camping outside. The snow is harsh year-round.” Mortem nodded to the bag sat on the ground by the door.

She frowned. “No, I don’t.. I didn’t have time to look into the weather around here. So I’ll just have to make it work somehow.”

Mortem shook his head. “You can stay here.”

Antares looked up at him in surprise. “Stay here? No offense.. But I truly don’t know anything about you. I can’t trust you. Besides, you don’t know if you could trust me yet either. I am new after all.”

He laughed. “Well the fact that you know about The Night Wastes Society tells me that you are nothing like these other travelers.”

Antares glanced back down at the book she held in her gloved hands. “I really shouldn’t.”

She could feel him watching her. Even if she couldn’t see his eyes. She knew he was watching her, and very carefully at that. Like he was waiting. Did he know? He couldn’t know. She had yet to even think about her mission. He was just so.. Different. For the first time ever, she didn’t want to complete her task. She didn’t want to bring Mortem in at all and she really would like to stay here in this bookshop…

What if he found out? But… What if he didn’t care?

“Alright.. Fine. I’ll take you up on your offer.” Antares spoke warily. Partially wondering if she would regret this decision. Mortem nodded. “Great! But I only have one request- If it’s alright, I do need some help with running this bookshop.”

Antares smiled calmly. “That’s fine by me. I have a lot more down time than you may think.”

Mortem got up from his chair and walked over to the steps before briefly pausing. “Come on, I’ll show you your room.” He turned back to the steps and walked upstairs, Antares hurriedly following from behind.

They walked into what looked like an attic but it was actually pretty clean. It was very bare though. All it had was a desk below the window and a small bed.

Mortem leaned against the base of the door. “I know it’s not very decorated yet, but I am planning on purchasing supplies to build things and put them in here.”

“No, no, no. This is perfect. Honestly, I prefer this to my old home.” Antares stood in the middle of the room, looking around. It seemed so calm. Serene even. She walked over towards the desk, looking out of the window above it.

She stared out to see the snow now covering the fountain outside. “It must be freezing out there.”

Mortem walked over to the window, standing beside her. “It’s always freezing this time of night.. But look up.” He tapped at the top of the window. Antares followed his gaze now looking at the sky.

“It’s pitch black.” Antares whispered.

He nodded. “There’s a story my mother told me when I was younger… That the stars actually came down from the sky to live and grow among us and eventually when they gain enough power, or energy, they’ll return back to the sky.”

Antares held her arms close to her. “That’s a dumb story."

Mortem turned to look at her. “You know it?”

She frowned. “Yes, actually I performed it. In my village, it was one of their favorite performances.”

Both Mortem and Antares took a step back when they felt a rumbling in the ground. They stood there for a moment looking at each other, before the rumbling got louder and the entire house was shaking. A lamp on the desk fell over and shattered when it hit the floor.

The entire room went dark. Mortem ran over towards the stairs but at the bottom of the steps there was a fallen bookshelf in the way of the door. “Damn it!” He yelled. We are stuck up here.

“Just for now.. It’ll be alright.” Antares watched Mortem carefully. He seemed more panicked than she was. Isn’t it just an earthquake? What has this man been through?

Mortem carefully walked back over to Antares, crossing his arms. But it looked more as if he were comforting himself with a small hug.

“It would be better if it weren’t so dark in here..” He said as he walked over to the back of the room and sat on the ground, leaning back against the wall. Antares walked over and sat down beside him quietly. He looked over at her. She seemed strange. He was just testing her by asking her if she would stay with him here. He never expected her to actually agree. Now here they both were, trapped in the attic, during an earthquake. Any normal person would want to leave. Immediately.

Except for her.

Antares sat there silently, her arms wrapped around her legs as she rests her head on her knees. She turned her head to look at Mortem who was already looking at her. She didn’t feel like questioning why he was watching her. She honestly couldn’t care less. Because this is the first time in a very long time that she felt comfortable around someone. She always had to have her guard up. But just this once.. It felt nice. To forget about everything that worried her. To just be in the moment. Everyone else expected something from her.

Except for him.