Embracing the Shadows Read Free Page A

on the screen.
"Back on Valentine's Day, I got -"
    "Perhaps some other time, Skin," Viggo said,
looming over us. "Mr. Beck and I need to move along before night
ends. We are coming into yet another season of long days, and we
shouldn't waste the precious little time available. Enjoy the discs
- I believe they will suffice."
    I got up and stood next to Viggo while he
wished everyone a good evening. We left the chamber the same way as
how we came in. I didn't look down as we walked across the grate
flooring with the pack of whatever the hell they were down below
us. The metal door at the far end opened into a rough tunnel lit by
a hanging bare bulb. The short tunnel ended at another door, which
opened to the metal stairs where Brute attacked me. It was morbid,
but I had to look at my own bloodstains on the cave wall.
    I followed Viggo into the long, curving
hemo-built tunnel. Halfway through, he stopped and said we would
void-walk back to my new place. Void-walking . . . Call me crazy,
but I was getting used to it.

    DETAILS
    "I imagine you have a number of questions,"
Viggo said as he sat back in an upstairs lounge chair. He had
allowed me time to go mix a strong drink beforehand; I sat across
from him and nursed it. "However, I should also meet with the
fledgling Mr. Horn, who is currently my guest."
    "Yes sir, I figured as much," I said, and
then took a drink. That first gulp of Jack and Coke calmed any of
the residual jitters that still lingered.
    "I will summarize information for now, and we
can speak more in depth soon. Now, to begin . . . this city's
faction of Deviants are quite eclectic, no? As you may have
guessed, my scion Clara's mind did not fare too well during the
infliction, but it is probable that she was unstable when she was
human. After being brought into the night, her mind truly
splintered. Vivian is an aspect of her own psyche; she is the
conduit of Clara's visions, whispering secrets and rarely coming to
the fore.
    "The one named Neva does not or cannot speak.
She stays underground, and does not concern herself with the
machinations of the world above. The main reason for this is
because of the rare trait in her blood that we refer to as the
'taint of horror'. I'm sure you sensed it. The taint prohibits her
from most social interactions, although we fellow Deviants accept
her regardless. As a form of gratitude, she regales us with music
that stirs the soul.
    "Roach, as you've unfortunately found out,"
Viggo continued with a deeper pitch to his voice, "has difficulty
concealing his emotions. He is a bitter, cynical type, although he
contributes generously to the faction coffers. Roach is a
businessman of sorts, and does not stray from his tight circle of
employees and contacts. Nor does he stray much from our
Deviant-made catacombs, infrequently venturing out to see the
stars. He is normally difficult to pity, although I sometimes
do."
    So far, what he'd told me about his fellow
Deviants troubled me. I mean, they were all a far cry from stable,
and then add the fact that they were all immortals with
supernatural abilities. That kind of power in shaky hands was like
throwing shit in a room full of fans.
    "Lastly," Viggo concluded, "was Mr.
O'Shaughnessy. I enjoyed seeing him again; he and I converse mostly
by electronic means. He doesn't travel underground often, so I took
the opportunity to talk with him at length while you slept. You
might say that Skin is in the extortion trade, but he most often
targets those who are already corrupt in some fashion. Because of
the nature of his 'craft', as he calls it, he is also a font of
information. And, if nothing else, he is entertaining."
    "Yeah, I got that feeling when I met him,
sir," I said, stalling until I could politely form the question
that came to mind. "I, uh - I was wondering, sir . . . Well, a
while back, when I was kidnapped and kept in that museum, remember?
Anyway, there was this Adept minion named Sarah who thought there
were only five or six, uh,