Chapter 1: The brothel

He walks into the brothel. His ankle long coat flowed around his tall but light frame, his heavy black boots stomped upon the wooden floorboards, the sound of which would have gone unnoticed if only everyone within the bar would have carried on with their business, unfortunately the man was not that lucky tonight.

Everyone in the bar room looked directly at him, their eyes filled with superstitions of him. “What the hell are you getting yourself into now, Indium?” He silently whispered to himself. Indium looked up, and stared across the room, his startling, electric blue eyes rested strait at the barman, whose face carried a look of interest and a sliver of fear. “Hmm. Good, I can play upon that fear, use it to get what I want.”

Indium paced directly towards the barman anyone, consumer and girl alike, moved out of his way. With every step Indium took, the more fearful the people in the brothel became, until he finally reached the bar. Indium placed his black gloved hands on to the bar, looked into the man’s eyes and haled his gaze within his. It was only after around a minute before Indium spoke a word, but when he did, it sent an ice-cold shiver down the barman’s spine

“I want to speak to one of your girls.”

“W…WH…which o…o…one?”

“The one that goes by the name of Opium”

The barman takes a hard gulp, he then breaks his gaze with Indium and looks towards a door on the second floor of the brothel. “She’s up there” the barman’s voice now reeked of fear. He noted the door that the barman had signalled to him, as Indium made his way towards the staircase, the people of the brothel, just like before, moved out of his way. When he reached the door, he saw that the faint light of a single candle creped out from under the room’s closed door. Indium’s eyes narrowed as he tightened his fists around the hilts of a pair of well hidden knifes. This is beginning to feel like a trap.

Indium knows that the girl dealt with the higher Archie of the underworld, but now he was beginning to think that they were very high members of the underworld, and that he is getting himself into a very tight situation. He could look back at the barman, to see what kind of face he had on (and weather-or-not, he was planning a trap for Indium). However, if he done that it would show that he was not the “tough guy” they all think he was, and Indium had the feeling that he would have to come back here again. He whispers a curse under his breath and with a sigh, he opened the door.

Just as he thought a single candle, the only source of light, stands in the centre of a large wooden table. The table was the only furniture in the room, and rightly so, because the room was so small the table almost filled it. The only exit, other than the door, Indium could see was a window in the opposite wall to the door. He creped around the table and to the window. He examined the it, were its locks where and how thick the glass was. Indium clicked the locks, slid the window open and leaned forward. The window faces out to another building’s brick wall that stood a good two-three meters away. Nevertheless, the alleyway that laid in-between them is what Indium was interested in. Just as he saw before entering the brothel, there were three baggage carts that nearly filled the narrow alleyway. The first two were filled with wooden creates and ale barrels. The last one on the other hand was filled of hay. In addition, just by chance it was just under the window Indium was looked down from. “Well isn’t my luck changing tonight? And about bloody time too”

The sound of footsteps approached the door of the room. Indium quickly turned to face the door, and with his left hand silently pulled the window down, stopping it just before it closed fully.

Indium closed his eyes and concentrated on the sound of the footsteps. It sounded like only two people, one male one female. A smile crossed his face, “sometimes it’s good to be me” Indium muttered to him self.

He snapped his eyes open; the two people were almost at the door now. He sighed, “Here goes.”

The doorknob slowly turned and with a click, the door swung open. Indium was right for two figures stood within the door way was a female the other male. He would had smiled at the mastery of his skills, however there were people present, people that he had to appear to be a member of the infamous Underworld clans. A task easier said then done. Mainly due to the fact that Opium knows the Underworld, still Indium hopes she does not suspect a thing and only think that she thinks that he new to the Underworld’s clans and that she just haven’t seen him before.

“well it’s not every day you meet a new face in this line of work.” her voice, it was so sweet, so seductive that even Indium had fallen under a trance like state, as through nothing else mattered but her.

However, this spell, that she put him under, he had already experienced many times before. Therefore, in no time at all he regained his composer. “Now I know why you are called Opium” a smile crossed his face, this was a lie of course, he already knew why she possesses such a name.

A look of alarm struck the faces both the man and Opium.

“Who are you?”

Indium just continued to stand still with that somewhat sadistic smile upon his face.

“Da lady ask’d you ah question”

The voice that spoke was gravelly, deep and did not carry the elegant feyness of Opium’s voice. Indium turned his attention to the man, who was obviously Opium’s bodyguard.

“Answer da bloody question!” The bodyguard’s voice rose, as did his anger.

Indium eyes suddenly turned cold, hard and soulless.

Opium’s mind raced “where have I seen a look like that….” she thinks to her self “oh my lord! No, no he can’t be. The last I heard of him, he was dead?” “but who else can look that lifeless and cold” a voice inside her head, the voice that had always kept her out of harms way, spoke out to her, sending a ice cold shiver over every inch of her being. “remember he did say that he had died twice before, maybe he was telling the truth, maybe he did and is able to do the things he said he could.” the mere thought of this made her heart tremble as well as making her go weak at the knees. Her mouth just barely had time to open, let-to-no say to the guard to stand down.

“You arh really go’n tow regret pissin’ meh off” The bodyguard reached into his long coat. However, before he had the chance revealing what he had under there, Indium had already drawn a knife and had it at the bodyguard’s throat.

“You were saying?” Indium’s would had sounded playful and sarcastic, but it he was still stuck in that cold, heartless mind frame.

Opium was now dead certain of who this stranger was. Although this did not bring her any comfort what so ever.

………………………………............................................................................................................................

Opium ordered the bodyguard to leave the room; she and Indium watched him until he closed the door behind himself.

“So who are you?” Opium asked him again.

“The name is Indium”

“Taking a guess that’s not your real name though.”

She was right to assume this, but Indium does not really mind, he has used so many different names over the years it was not the first time someone has found out about this, nor will it be the last.

“I find that names are not so important now days.”

“Well maybe not to you.”…..“What do you want?”Again, with the questions, maybe she knows that I am not one of the underworlds. Oh, shame I really liked acting the tough guy, well that’s life isn’t it.

“Well?” “What do you want?”

“I’m looking for someone?”

“So …oh, you want me to help you look for them” “I’ll send a team out for them in the mor-”

“No no, I already found her, I just need you to send her a message.”

“What kind of message? And to who?”

“Give this to the girl who once was called Aria” he hands her a folded piece of parchment. As she reached to retrieve it from him, her hand graced his, a startling sensation of a cold numbness surged through her fingers, her hand, her arm and into the very core of her being. She shivers at this strange feeling, quickly snap her hand back and starts to rub it warmer. Hmm, that’s never happen before, Indium silently thought to himself, oh well shouldn’t be anything to worry about.

Indium moved towards the door, but he stopped just before and turned around to face Opium. “I know you know her, or at least you knew her. Please don’t fail to give her this message, it means more than you can imaging. Not just to me, but to us all.”

And with those words still echoing though her mind, he left her in the small and cramped room. He left her in the brothel. He left her in the darkness of the Underworld with nothing but a message written upon apiece of old parchment.