Chapter 26, Broken Promises

Chapter 26, Broken Promises

He hadnt recognized them at first and he still didnt. Their names and faces didnt ring any bells, but he hadnt expected them to. The girl was younger than the boy, her hair a stunning red while the boy had hair as black as Kreigs own. Going merely by facial structure and mannerisms, Kreig could accept that these two were his siblings.

Seeing them set his heart aflight and alight. After all, there they were! In the flesh! His family, alive and well, and they arent even trying to run!

Of course, had they tried to run without giving an appropriate reason why, he might very well have run after them. They were all he had. Though, if they said they wanted to leave, he would waste no time in opening a hole for them, or any other kind of way of escape. He knew in his heart that he should have been more cautious. Deciding right off the bat that these people were to be trusted, that he would protect them with his life It was foolish. But his faith did dictate the importance of family.

Therefore, he happily forgot all possible questions and devoted himself to these two, in body as in soul. The moment they introduced themselves and the moment he heard their voices, he was happy. Happier than hed been in all too long.

And now Now, something was strange. He wasnt using any skills, although he did have lie-detecting ones, but even then he could tell that something was being withheld from him.

...Though, since it was his family, it was okay! Hed trust their judgement!

An officer. I was a peacekeeper myself, once, Kreig said in reply. His sister. A police officer. To think shed walk in his footsteps Hed almost feel honoured if his memories of being an officer werent so muddled.

Sam perked up at the mention. Huh? You were? Wait-, what? When??

In the Empire. Had a career of 33 years. As much as he hated to admit it, his memories were not only fringed at the edges and stained with hatred, but also coloured in a vague tint of nostalgia. It had felt good, after all, working for the Empire. Ordering around his soldiers, fighting in wars for reasons that went no further than the orders from his lord A simple but luxurious lifestyle.

Huhhh? Dude, seriously? Sams eyes were as wide as a kids. Tch. Guess youve already surpassed m-, wait-, dude, how old are you??

Unable to muster the ability to answer her, Kreig stared at her, hoping his silence would get her a little quiet, too. It worked. Her lips compressed into a pout while her (their) brother stepped closer to the window, opened his mouth to say something, and was cut off when Darius jerked so hard on his shoulder that he flew back and away from it.

Kreig stepped as close to the glass as he could get and bowed down his head so that his eyes were still in frame. The people in there cowered. Do tell.

George was only barely able to rip his eyes from Kreig, and once he did so, the person he looked at was Darius. His eyes spoke for him. Is it alright if I tell him? what happens if I do? So many questions, none that Darius himself could answer. For once, he, too, cowered. His silence urged George to speak. That-, that is I was going to tell you. Someday. Right now didnt feel like the right time, and I didnt want to upset you, so-, Stalling for time. ...You promise you wont get upset? Or-, or do something strange?

Kreig nodded, victory spreading through his mind like a drug. He knew George would crack. Of course.

...Okay. Um. It It happened the same day you disappeared. The same day all the portals first started appearing. The day started out normal. You remember, dont you? Well-, that morning, when you and Sam left for school and I left for college Mum and dad left for work. And and they just didnt return home. Im sorry. I cant imagine how this must-

Except he could. Many years ago, George had heard those very same words himself, and hed taken them in stride. When all was said and done, the one who needed condolences wasnt himself, but his sister. So hed taken his time to attend to her, made sure she knew he wasnt going anywhere like the others were. It relaxed her, made her happy, and it let George focus on anything but his own emotions. Right now, he was watching himself from an outsiders perspective.

Kreig stood in there, his eyes white and snowy as he stared at a fixed point on the wall. It was impossible to tell if his breathing was quickening or slowing down.

He just stood there. That isnt true, he said. It isnt.

Sam bit her lip. Look, Kreig, Im sorry, but-,

Kreig took another step towards them, putting him so close to the window between them that his face and chest was pressed up against it. Then, he took another, causing the three-inch-thick glass to crack and whine as he merely walked through it, the metal Dragonheart walls crumbling before his feet. He simply walked through the wall, as if it hadnt even been there at all. George gave a panicked shriek, a perfectly fitting response, while Sam and Frank prepared for some sort of physical confrontation. Darius wondered whered hed gone wrong and if hed ever see his wife again.

A mere second, and the wall that separated the siblings had been torn down fully. A mere second, and Kreig had broken every promise he had made to them.

He stood in front of them, his overall dusty with glass and metal.