Rune System: The Crimson Knight

CHAPTER THREE

“Veronica?” Dominic finally managed to get his vocal cords to work. “I thought… I didn’t know you’d come back to New York. I thought you were still in college.”

Standing in a fitted, glittering green dress with her long, light brown hair styled to flow over one shoulder, she gave a small shrug as she looked away. “I was in Canada for a while. I still am, in a way. I only returned briefly because…” Her voice trailed off.

“Because…?” Dominic questioned with a step forward. He didn’t know what drew his eyes to her hands, but the sparkling, diamond-encrusted ring adorning her forefinger was incredibly hard to miss. Dominic frowned at the sight of it, his confused gaze angling back towards her face. “Veronica—”

He never got to start his sentence. A solid blow suddenly landed on the right side of his face, promptly knocking him off balance. As he landed painfully on the steps, his head still spinning, Gregory hovered over him like an angry tower, his green eyes emitting even more hatred than before.

“It wasn’t bad enough that you ruined my lunch,” he spat venomously. “Now you have the nerve to walk up to my fiancée and talk to her as you please? A low-life piece of trash like you?”

He followed up with a powerful kick to Dominic’s abdomen, and even as he hadn’t eaten much all day, it was strong enough to make him throw up his measly breakfast.

“You lousy piece of shit!” Gregory snapped as he took a step back. “You just barfed all over my shoes! Do you have any idea how much these cost?!”

Again and again, he swung his foot repeatedly, connecting it forcefully to Dominic’s curled-up body. Too weak to even stand, Dominic could only grunt in pain as he covered his head with his hands. Eventually, he heard the heavy boots of security personnel thunder down the steps.

But Gregory wasn’t the one they grabbed.

Dominic felt rough hands latch onto his arms and fiercely pull him up to his feet. With a bruised eye and blood trickling down one nostril, he gave a glance around him as his head bobbed. Lucas and Finn remained at the summit of the steps; horrified but unmoving. Veronica had joined them there, but she barely glanced at him as she turned and disappeared past the revolving doors. The resulting pain searing through Dominic’s chest burned more than any physical torture could achieve.

“I’m talking to you, idiot!”

Dominic felt another strike in his abdomen, swung from the surprisingly strong arm of Gregory Embers. Two muscled security guards held him up as he bent over in pain, biting his lip to keep from crying out.

Gregory pushed his hair back as he panted heavily. He took a step closer and grabbed a fistful of Dominic's hair, forcefully holding his head up.

“It’s clear to me that you didn’t learn your lesson back at the restaurant,” he whispered menacingly. “So let me make this perfectly clear. This isn’t where people like you are supposed to be. You belong with the rest of your kind in the poor, pathetic slums, and you really need to stop worming your way into places of privilege just to fit in.”

He threw Dominic’s head to the side and wore a humorless smile. “Matter of fact, I should take that into my own hands, Dominic Heathley. And when I’m done, you’ll wish you never crossed my path.”

He swung his car keys towards Lucas. “You, there! Park this in the lot. And if I find any scratches on it, I’ll have your head on a platter.”

He gave Dominic one last look, then waved dismissively at the guards. “Dump this piece of garbage. He reeks of desperation and poverty.”

With his head hanging limply, Dominic watched his feet drag across the ground until he was thrown in a narrow alley beside the hotel’s gates. It was quickly getting dark, and he knew lingering in that alley long enough would attract the attention of potentially dangerous thugs and desperate homeless people. So, with the very last reserves of strength, he pushed himself up and began stumbling out of the alley.

Over two hours of painful walking later, Dominic finally limped into his apartment building. He was grateful for the darkness, mostly because he didn’t know how to deal with the way people would’ve stared at his battered face. After scaling up the stairs with a grimace, he paused at the door to his cramped apartment, taking a deep breath as he edged the door open.

“Welcome back, Dom.”

In the dim light of the small room, Dominic spotted his sister, Anya, next to the faded couch at the far corner, holding a solved Rubik’s cube in her small hands.

“You’re late,” she continued, tucking her long, dark hair behind her ears.

“I was… occupied,” lied Dominic.

“Were you?” She rolled her wheelchair closer and angled her head upwards to observe her older brother’s face. “Well, I guess you were. What happened to you?”

“That’s not important,” Dominic answered firmly. He sank onto the couch with a groan and heard something pop when he tried to straighten his legs.

“That sounds pretty important to me.”

Dominic scoffed. “Stop talking, Anya. Where’s Mom?”

“Where else would she be? She’s been bedridden for weeks now, have you forgotten?”

“Don’t sound like that. She’ll be fine. I just need to get her the medical treatment she needs.”

“Of course. How’s that coming up?”

Dominic opened his eyes and stared at his sister, trying to decide if she was being sarcastic or not. Just before he could reply, however, something pounded ferociously at the door.

“What the hell is that?” Dominic demanded, rising painfully to his feet.

Anya’s usually calm eyes held a twinge of apprehension when she looked at her brother.

“That should be the landlord, Mr. Croft,” she explained quietly with a faint shiver. “He’d threatened to throw us out earlier today over those outstanding debts if we didn’t pay up soon. And I think he’s come to do that now.”