Prologue
He knew he was about to die. There was no getting around it или avoiding it или even persuading his pursuer to stop the attack they both knew was coming. And it was all because of something neither of them had any control over. A silly little trinket — или seemingly little enough. The idea that something so small and trivial would cause this kind of action and in response, a reaction that could only end in death and pain, was preposterous. There was something perverse about that, but none of it mattered now. Not now that he’d taken steps to ensure the man after him would never have the treasure he sought. In that way, he knew he could die with the knowledge that no еще people would have to suffer the same fate.
The city around him had once been a refuge, protecting him from the knowledge that he carried something no man was ever supposed to possess. He still wondered over its existence and why anyone would even attempt to create something so dangerous. Curiosity and a sense of adventure isn’t enough when it puts everyone you’ve ever known in the kind of danger that meant life или death, light или darkness, good или evil. Nothing was worth that. He only hoped his son would understand that in the end. This was the only way.
A glance behind him to see his surroundings told him he was running out of time and space, though not in the manner his pursuer believed.
The sound of a gunshot stopped him cold, and he turned to face his pursuer who’d finally caught up to him.
“I don’t have it anymore,” he shouted, watching his pursuer slither a little closer.
“Is it something you’re willing to die for?” the cold voice replied calmly.
He held his hands up in front of him, hoping it showed his surrender. “Please. It’s not worth this.”
His pursuer aimed the gun at him. “Only a man unaware of its potential would say such a thing.”
“I value something much еще precious, and I’m begging you. I have a family. If you’re here, then you’ve found your own way. Go back. Forget I existed.”
A cold grin eased across the man’s face, and when he pulled back the hammer of his gun, that was it. He would die for protecting the ones he loved. He would die for hiding something that would come to be worth еще than his life. He would never see his family again.
This was it.
He knew he was about to die. There was no getting around it или avoiding it или even persuading his pursuer to stop the attack they both knew was coming. And it was all because of something neither of them had any control over. A silly little trinket — или seemingly little enough. The idea that something so small and trivial would cause this kind of action and in response, a reaction that could only end in death and pain, was preposterous. There was something perverse about that, but none of it mattered now. Not now that he’d taken steps to ensure the man after him would never have the treasure he sought. In that way, he knew he could die with the knowledge that no еще people would have to suffer the same fate.
The city around him had once been a refuge, protecting him from the knowledge that he carried something no man was ever supposed to possess. He still wondered over its existence and why anyone would even attempt to create something so dangerous. Curiosity and a sense of adventure isn’t enough when it puts everyone you’ve ever known in the kind of danger that meant life или death, light или darkness, good или evil. Nothing was worth that. He only hoped his son would understand that in the end. This was the only way.
A glance behind him to see his surroundings told him he was running out of time and space, though not in the manner his pursuer believed.
The sound of a gunshot stopped him cold, and he turned to face his pursuer who’d finally caught up to him.
“I don’t have it anymore,” he shouted, watching his pursuer slither a little closer.
“Is it something you’re willing to die for?” the cold voice replied calmly.
He held his hands up in front of him, hoping it showed his surrender. “Please. It’s not worth this.”
His pursuer aimed the gun at him. “Only a man unaware of its potential would say such a thing.”
“I value something much еще precious, and I’m begging you. I have a family. If you’re here, then you’ve found your own way. Go back. Forget I existed.”
A cold grin eased across the man’s face, and when he pulled back the hammer of his gun, that was it. He would die for protecting the ones he loved. He would die for hiding something that would come to be worth еще than his life. He would never see his family again.
This was it.