Rune System: The Crimson Knight

CHAPTER FOUR

“Mr. Croft. I was just about to come looking for you.”

The bald elderly man, whose face had wrinkled into a permanent scowl, stared up at Dominic with a squint, ignoring his polite tone.

“Seems like someone else got to you, huh?” he pointed out with a shaky finger. “That’s what you get for having unresolved debts all over the place.”

“Oh!” Dominic exclaimed, realizing the old man was referring to the bruises on his face. “No, no. This wasn’t because of a debt. Believe me.”

“And believe me, I couldn’t care less,” the old man said. He gestured to two, large identical men who stood like bodyguards behind him, silent and brooding. “I believe you’ve met my sons, Sonny and Tommy.”

“Not really.” Dominic nodded to them. “Nice to meet you both.”

Either they were instructed to remain quiet entirely, or they hated meeting new people, because all they did was glower at Dominic like they had an eternal beef with his bloodline.

“You reckon?” Croft asked with a twisted smile. “How nice do you think it’ll be to meet the guys who’ll throw you out?”

Dominic ran his eyes over the men, then sighed as he finally shut the door and moved forward. “You’re upset, I know. We’re behind on the rent, I know that too. But all I’m asking for is one more day. One more, and that’s it.”

“One more day?” Croft exposed his yellowed teeth as he laughed mockingly. “You’ve had months to do what you couldn’t. Why should I believe that you can turn it around in a day?”

“Because I don’t want to lose the only roof I have over my mother and sister,” Dominic said. “It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing. And for your patience, I’ll make an additional payment for an extra month.”

Dominic stuck out a hand. “Deal?”

Croft’s cunning eyes studied the outstretched hand like it carried a world-ending virus. Then the corners of his mouth spread into an ugly grin, reminding Dominic of the Grinch.

“Tell you what?” he said, cocking his head. “I’ll accept your offer, but on one condition.”

Dominic was suddenly overcome with a bad, uneasy feeling, but he kept a cool expression as he straightened his posture. “And what’s this condition of yours?”

“There’s this family of three that I’d like to put in this apartment,” Croft explained as he fished inside his jacket for a brief moment, producing a pack of cigarettes from the inner pockets. As he extracted one stick, he continued in a raspy voice, “They’ve got their rent ready—two months in advance, by the way. And they’re willing to move in as soon as tomorrow. So, if you can pay up all you owe by noon, then you and your family can keep the apartment. Else…”

He held the stick up, and Sonny immediately took the hint, flicking a lighter on and burning one end of the cigarette. Croft took a long drag and blew a cloud of acrid smoke in Dominic’s face. Then he wore his hideous smile again.

“Do we have a deal, Heathley?”

Dominic fought the cough that threatened to rip loose from his throat, as well as the rising fear in his chest. He knew that Croft wasn’t bringing up a proposal—he was setting a trap instead. But it was too late to back out now. Dominic nodded as Croft’s bony hand gripped his in a gesture of agreement.

“You have a deal, Mr. Croft.”

“Remember, boy. By noon, not after. Being even one minute late would tell the difference between having a roof over your head and sleeping in the streets.”

As the old man shuffled away with his hulking twins, Dominic slipped back into his apartment, sliding against the door until he sat on the floor with a tired grunt.

“You can’t be serious,” Anya said, staring at him with worry in her hazel eyes. “How’re you going to get all that money before noon tomorrow?”

“Don’t worry about it,” he drawled.

Anya scoffed. “Yeah, that would’ve been easy if I weren’t actually living here. You do realize that we could be homeless by this time tomorrow, right?”

“Well, we won’t.” Dominic’s voice had an edge to it, so he sighed and spoke more softly. “I work three jobs, Anya. All at classy locations within the metropolis, and with decent pay. And, coincidentally or by design, I’ll get my paycheck from all three employers on the same day, which is on the thirteenth.”

“On the thirteenth?” Anya repeated with a frown. “But today’s the eleventh of February. Thirteenth’s on the day after tomorrow. And tomorrow’s when—”

“I know, I know. I just figured that I could ask my bosses for a one-day advance if I explain the situation to them. They’re humans, after all. They’ll understand.”

Anya folded her arms. “And if they don’t?”

“They will, Anya. Jeez. Grow an optimistic bone, would you?”

“Maybe I had one of those,” she replied with a shrug. “Maybe that truck shattered it when it ran me over. I don’t know.”

Dominic’s eyes darkened as the memory of his sister’s accident flashed through his mind. The quickness and severity of the incident had rendered her unable to walk, even at such a young age. It was disheartening to remember, mostly because he was right there when it happened.

“I’m sorry, Anya,” he apologized grimly. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Anya put on a soft smile. “It’s okay, Dom. I was kidding. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

“It’s hard not to. I was there. I saw the whole thing unfold and couldn’t do anything about it.”

“There was nothing you could do,” Anya pressed. “You were on the opposite side of the road, waiting for me in a taxi, remember? I was crossing to you. If I hadn’t stopped to pick up my pencil set that’d fallen from my hand—”

“No. Don’t do that,” Dominic said firmly, frowning up at her. “Don’t make it seem like it was your fault. The bastard wasn’t supposed to go that fast in a school zone. And it wasn’t like you abruptly rushed into the street without warning. He didn’t even stop to check if you were okay afterwards…”

“Dom.” Anya inched her wheelchair closer until she was positioned right next to him. “It’s okay, really. I’ve gotten over it. This is my life now.”

“No, it’s not,” her brother said defiantly, scarcely aware of the tears in his eyes. “After we get proper treatment for Mom, we’re going to make sure you get some medical care as well. Even if it means surgery. I swear you’ll walk again, Anya. I swear it.”

Anya smiled sadly, placing a hand gently on Dominic’s shoulder. “Don’t pressure yourself, Dom. You’re already doing so much to make ends meet. You barely have a life of your own.”

Dominic laughed briskly. “Well, it’s not like I had a life to begin with. Just a series of scarce wins and monumental defeats.”

Anya stayed quiet for a moment, as if trying to choose her next words carefully. Then she took out a silver necklace from underneath the covers on her lap and held it out to him.

“Veronica came by earlier today, cruising in the front seat of a fancy car. And she wanted me to give this to you.”

Dominic stared at the piece of jewelry ruefully, refusing to touch it at all. “That makes sense.”

“What happened between you two? Another fight?”

“No,” Dominic answered with a sigh. “If we’d fought, I would’ve understood it was probably something I did. But she just… moved on. Maybe it had something to do with her being in college and me being a dropout. Maybe it involved me barely being able to afford three square meals a day and her now being engaged to a wealthy guy. Maybe… maybe…”

“Dom,” Anya cut in. “Stop speculating. It wouldn’t do you any good.”

Dominic nodded solemnly. “Maybe. Jeez, I’m hungry as hell, and none of this is helping.”

Anya smiled, appreciating the change of subject as her brother got to his feet. “There’s some leftover in the kitchen you can heat up. But you’ll have to eat it tonight—‘cause it’ll be past tense by tomorrow morning.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll do that after I check in on Mom.”

“Alright, then.”

From the doorway of the tiny bedroom, Dominic could hear the light breathing of his mother. She was fast asleep, and he had no intention of waking her up. So he took his shoes off and quietly crept up to her in his socks, trying to minimize the creaking sounds coming from the old floorboards.

He noticed, for the first time in a while, that she dozed quite peacefully, without her episodes of turning around in discomfort and groaning in her sleep. But she was in really bad shape, Dominic knew. The cancer in her system was getting worse and leaving her in the same way, with her head devoid of hair and her skin and lips losing color. Dominic rubbed her gnarled hands affectionately as his jaws went taut.

“You won’t die like this, Mom,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “Not after everything you’ve been through. You’ll get to see Anya and I excel in all we do, and we’ll take care of you ‘til our dying breath. I promise you that.”