Page 2 of Something Worth Keeping
“You can’t leave that there.”
The shadows rippled as if surprised or confused.
Julian stepped closer, setting his cardboard box on a relatively clean section of a loading dock. “The garbage truck comes at 5 a.m. on this route. Tuesdays and Fridays, without fail. They’ve had the same schedule since the city restructured waste management in 2021.” He gestured at the overflowing dumpster. “And that’s already over the weight limit. The collectors won’t take it. They’ll report it, and then the property owner gets fined, and eventually someone will review the security footage at the end of the alley todetermine who’s been filling the dumpster.”
The thing - whatever it was - appeared to morph into…something. The shadows pulled tighter, condensing into something more human-shaped. The being was still tall, but Julian imagined that it was the being’s natural state, and now it was dressed in a very expensive suit. The face resolved into sharp cheekbones and an equally sharp jaw. Only the eyes in that face - just two of them this time - looked out of place. They were completely black, leaving Julian with the impression he was looking into a void.
“You are not screaming.” The voice emerged low, resonant, with an odd formality that suggested English wasn’t its first language. Or maybe language itself was a recent acquisition.
“Why would I scream?” Julian frowned, studying the corpse. “He’s already dead. Screaming won’t change that.” He crouched, careful not to let his khakis touch the grimy pavement, and examined the visible skin on the victim’s forearm. “I don’t usually like to speak ill of people, but based on that tattoo, he probably deserved it.”
The shadow-man moved closer, silent as smoke. “You recognize the marking.”
“It’s the symbol of the Vane Syndicate.” Julian pointed at the stylized V wrapped around a coiled serpent, done in black ink that had faded to blue-green. “They control most of the drug trafficking on the east side, and there have been indications in the past two years of them moving into human trafficking. At least according to the police reports I archived last month. Well,not ‘archived’ officially, since those records are technically still active investigations, but I processed the paperwork.”
He straightened, brushing his hands together even though he hadn’t touched anything. “So, statistically speaking, this man was involved in activities that caused measurable harm to the community. Your intervention likely prevented future damage.”
Silence stretched between them. The creature stared at him with an intensity that should have been uncomfortable, but instead felt oddly...focused. Julian wondered if that was how a bug felt being seen through a microscope.
“You are helping me.” It wasn’t a question.
“I’m preventing you from making a logistical error.” Julian checked his watch. It was 10:47 PM. “The bluedumpster three streets over, behind the old Morrison building, has a broken lock and doesn’t get collected until Saturday. That gives you sixty-three hours before anyone checks it. Though honestly, you should probably dismember the body first. Doing that would reduce the volume and make it easier to conceal under other refuse.”
The shadow-man tilted his head, and something that might have been fascination rippled across those impossible features. “You are remarkable.”
“I’m efficient.” Julian picked up his box again. “There’s a difference. Now, are you going to move the body, or should I go around?”
Those black eyes tracked his every movement, unblinking. “I will relocate the remains.”
“Good.” Julian started to step past, then paused. “Also, you’re leakingshadows onto the pavement. I don’t know if that’s trace evidence or not, but it seems inefficient.”
The darkness immediately contracted, pulled tight against the man’s form until he looked almost human. Almost.
“Better,” Julian said. He made it five steps before curiosity - his sister called it his “fatal flaw” - made him turn back. “Do you do this often? The killing?”
“I remove problems.” The creature lifted the corpse with one hand, effortlessly, as if the dead man weighed nothing. “I have done so for a very long time.”
“Hmm.” Julian adjusted his glasses, thinking. “Well, if you’re going to continue, you should invest in a disposal method that doesn’t rely on municipal waste services. Statistically, that’s where most criminals get caught, in the cleanup,rather than the act itself.” He shifted the box to his other hip. “But you sound as if you’ve had plenty of experience, so it’s just a thought.”
He walked away, footsteps echoing in the alley.
Behind him, something that might have been a laugh rippled through the darkness - low and rusty, as if the being had never laughed before.
Julian didn’t look back. He had seven more blocks to walk, his fingers were still numb, and his succulent was definitely dying. The body disposal advice had taken three minutes and forty-five seconds, which meant he’d lost some of the advantage the route had initially offered. But it was still close enough to being on schedule to make the deviation from his regular route worth it.
As he walked, Julian analyzed his own physiology. His heart seemed overly active for a regular walk, and heappeared to have had an adrenaline spike for some reason.It’s likely a normal physiological response to an abnormal situation -pure chemistry, in other words. Julian was sure his bodily reaction had nothing to do with the way those black eyes had focused on him as if he were someone worth listening to. Nothing at all.
Chapter Two
Cillian stood frozen in the alley, the corpse dangling from his hand like a crumpled grocery bag, and watched the small human walk away.
Remarkable.
The word tasted inadequate. Insufficient. Like calling the sun “bright” or the void “dark.”
His shadows writhed against his skin, straining toward the retreating figure with an eagerness that sent alarm bells through Cillian’s ancient consciousness. They’d never done that before. In four millennia of existence, his darkness had served as a weapon, shield, sustenance, but never this. Neveryearning.
The human turned the corner and disappeared from view.
