A firm shake on his shoulder forced Kael's eyes to flutter.
"Wake up, Kael. We're leaving."
"Mhh. Did I fall asleep? Wait. Where are we going?" Yawning, Kael tapped Riccardo's blistered forearm. The cold of the sewer wall clung to his back, numbing his muscles.
The shaking stopped as Riccardo straightened. His frown deepened, and the inflamed skin on his forehead stretched painfully. "Authority always mattered more than anything to Marek. Recovering for a few hours is fine. More and he'll reorganise the facility enough to remember us. I've talked with Tonio. He's—"
Tonio squatted in front of Riccardo, his gaze sinking into Kael's. "Marek, traitor. Kael, traitor. One chance. Be friend. Ok?"
"O-Ok." Kael rubbed his eyes. He paused mid-movement, already on his feet as the torpor of sleep vanished.
Instantly, he grabbed the supply bag from the table, the canteens clanging as he rushed to the metallic bars of the entrance. "What are you waiting for? Tell me the rest on the way."
"I wouldn't have warned you at the last minute, lad." Riccardo picked up the torch and joined him with a chuckle, then stepped into the tunnel. "We indeed have things to discuss on the way. About Tonio, sigh, you heard him. All I could get from that mule head is a chance. Treat him well, and he should recognise you. Food won't burden you; he eats the rats he hunts. For the rest, why don't you try scratching him behind the ears when he becomes more comfortable with you? He really loves it."
Kael slowed to match Riccardo's pace, missing the trail of corrupted blood following his path. For a moment, he glanced at Riccardo, then at Tonio, who glared at him warily, and back at Riccardo. "Scratches, really? Could you remind me of his age, please?"
"Forty-four... We're forty-four..."
The sound of their steps echoed in the silent tunnel. The stench of sludge mixed with industrial waste burned Kael's nose, but it was Riccardo's strangled voice that made him lower his face.
After a minute, he spread his palms. "Scratches. Noted. What Tonio said earlier about Marek being a traitor. Did you know him before? I mean, before the experiments."
"Marek, bad! With Garrick!" With a growl, Tonio crossed his furry arms over his chest.
"We called him brother a long time ago. Found him in the junkyard, a child as skinny as you are. As dirty, too, but I guess the sewers didn't help with that. Orphan or abandoned, he doesn't know himself, so we took him into our haven. Reading and mathematics were no challenge to him, and I witnessed his faith in Kraghor. He quickly earned our trust, and we tasked him to help Giovanni engineer new buildings. He always loved being looked at by those who praised him."
Kael passed a hand over his face. Twenty years ago or now, the slums were always the same backstabbing shit hole.
"You guessed it." Riccardo shrugged. "When we planned our revolt against Garrick, all the information mysteriously reached his desk. He crushed us before we even moved, while Marek became the quartermaster in his experimental facility. Must have been sheer luck, right?"
"No luck. Traitor!" Tonio spat on the stale water beside them.
"That's what I meant." Riccardo patted Tonio's head as he smiled at Kael. "That's why I didn't mind you not swearing on Kraghor's name, even though I taught his words to our community. Marek did. He still sold us out for better authority."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Don't be. Faith blinded me, while Giovanni loved the brat's mind. But it's Tonio who had it worse. He counted Marek as one of us. Perhaps he saw a successor in him, someone who would have maintained his haven after we left for Kraghor's divine realm. I believe... I believe he didn't fight losing his mind as much as he could have. Forgetting hurts less."
Kael observed Tonio as they walked deeper in the tunnel. The rat-man glared back with his red eyes as if Riccardo spoke about someone else, as if he had branded Marek a traitor long ago but didn't remember why. It was sad, pitiful, but also familiar enough for his chest to tighten.
Betrayal tasted worse than sewer water.
"Why do you trust that I'll keep my promise?" Kael asked without turning toward Riccardo, and the man sighed.
"I trust you as much as you trust me, which is clearly not much. What I trust is the rage with which you squeezed my wrist even as diseases ravaged you when I talked about Garrick. You want revenge, a dangerous one. Let me ask you a question: can you defeat the organisation of a man who has been studying truths for over twenty years?"
"Not as I am. I'll need years—"
"You'll need enough people to match his acolytes. Whether you succeed in mutating Tonio's truth or help him grow stronger, he can be one of them."
Kael nodded slowly. "I don't know. If I'm honest, I want to help him, but things have the terrible habit of going against my wishes."
"I know, Kael. Trust me. I know. You're not us. I don't expect you to sacrifice yourself for Tonio, so do your best." Riccardo's lips curved into a smile as he halted.
Kael stopped, too. Distant lights flickered on his quivering lips, and he pressed them tight to hide it. Why? Why did the world deny people like him peace? Even the three brothers couldn't achieve it for more than a few years before Garrick turned it into a graveyard. Giovanni sacrificed himself already. And now...
"Do you really want to... No, come with us. We'll figure out how to mutate truths. Don't risk it..." His voice cracked, and a tear trailed down his cheek.
Riccardo patted his shoulders, but Kael only felt worse. "How long will my anchor last? A week? A month? Then what? I'll turn into a monster like Giovanni and kill the two of you?"
"But—"
"No, Kael. This is my last chance to help, and I'm not wasting it because you feel guilty. Say, did you get the thing Garrick used to hide his facility?" Riccardo extended his palm.
Kael lowered his head so his hair could hide his tears. Hand trembling, he handed the dark-framed glasses.
In the silence, Riccardo studied them. "They look like any other pair of glasses. Tonio, come here for a second."
Once Tonio approached, Riccardo put the glasses on the rat-man.
"Take off. Bad."
From the frame, a veil of fog filtered to conceal Tonio's face. Not obscuring it as hood would, but something that made Kael blink. The sensation was strange. He knew Tonio stood in front of him, but his eyes couldn't make out his whiskers or round ears. Even his red eyes were different, altered into something he couldn't remember clearly the moment Riccardo removed the glasses.
"Mhh. They're good, very good." Riccardo shredded his ragged shirt, then tied it around Tonio's head with infinite gentleness. "You need to hide until Kael brings you to your new home. Can you listen to him for me?"
"One chance. Riccardo later with us," Tonio answered with an innocent grin that made Kael turn.
"Later." Riccardo scratched Tonio behind the ears, his soft voice cracking as he put the glasses back. "You get out first. Don't remove them until you're home."
As Tonio nodded, Riccardo turned toward Kael. "One last thing. You've seen the eight-legged nightmare and the cells. Garrick's onto something huge. I don't know what, but you stay safe, understand?"
"You know my truth: I persist."
"I hope it'll be enough..." Riccardo muttered, then shook his head. "The Sump Dogs keep the entrance of the sewers. I'll go in first to do what I must. If I fail to mutate my truth, you'll have all the distraction you need to slip out."
Kael pinched the bridge of his nose. There was no turning back, especially when Riccardo was right. He just felt closer after learning about his story. Or maybe he was never cold enough to profit from another man's misery.
"Don't break it violently. Do you want us to think about your definition?"
"I've been at it since we returned. It's so cracked that it'll collapse at the slightest nudge. Hahaha. At worst, I'll join Giovanni if my new vow's shit. Good luck, brothers."
A light brighter than a brazier burned in Riccardo's sunken eyes for the first time in two decades. His torch held high, he charged to the end of the tunnel. "Didn't you want to explore what's at the edge of the sewers, garbage collectors? I'll tell you!"
Lights flickered in the distance before someone shouted. "Intruder! Gather our guys!"
Boots echoed on cracked stones, and from his position, Kael saw a dozen shadows dance in the distance.
"It's the monster guarding the sewer. Watch for the other two!"
Riccardo interrupted the man. "I'm the last one, and I'm tired. Bring me in. Now, if you don't want me to change my mind."
The thugs didn't answer for a moment. Then a voice cut through the silence, heavy in its calm. "Surround him, blades at his neck. Strike if he tries anything. I'll hear him out."