Shards

Chapter 8 - Mission

The doors opened and a man walked in.

"You're back," exclaimed a female voice. "Where have you been?"

"Working."

"Really?" the elderly Healer asked shrewdly.

"Yeah, really," Ghost grinned at Xian who was like a mother to him. She nagged like one too.

The young Shard shrugged as he loosened the black scarf around his neck. Seriously, the Healer was too sharp, but then she too was a Shard. A very sharp level six Shard. She kept him on his toes.

"Late enough," she countered. She was not fooled. The boy was up to something. Well, whatever he was up to, he'd better not get caught. There was only so much she could do when Old Wolf inquired about his whereabouts.

Ghost was recruited at nine years old. At that time, Old Wolf was just a new level Six recruiter. Helping Old Wolf care for him, the Healer had formed an unlikely attachment to the boy. But then, the boy was special. Old Wolf must have seen something in him too or the Shard would not have insisted on taking in such a small child. A very small, skinny and useless child he named Ghost.

The Dark Sect allowed it only because it would not cost them anything. Old Wolf swore that he would personally subsidized his young charge until he could prove his worth. He had to undertake more missions but he kept his word. He paid the Sect for allowing Ghost to live there. Nothing was free in the world. The Sect had no use for those who could not contribute to it for they saw no potential in him. It was a gamble but Old Wolf was seldom wrong.

Old Wolf wouldn't tell her what it was or how he had found Ghost. The child exhibited catatonic behaviour, hardly speaking or moving at all when he first arrived. Whatever trauma the Six had saved him from was only shared with the former Leader.

After three long silent years, Ghost begun to open up under Old Wolf's patient coaxing and watchful care. No one knew what they whispered about or what had scared him so much. It remained a mystery as the young boy wouldn't talk about it ether. It was a secret between the two.

With Old Wolf's constant reassurance and encouragement, the boy relaxed enough to began training. After that, he gave his all to please Old Wolf. He proved to be resilient, managing to overcome and suppress his terrible past. He excelled in both physical and mental challenges. After such a traumatic childhood, it seemed that nothing could shock him, not even when they trained him to steal and kill.

Once he came out of his shell, Ghost leveled up quickly from a One to a Two. When he became a Three, he regressed a bit when one of his mentors was punished by the Sect. The punishment was executed publicly in front of everyone as a lesson to those who betrayed the Sect. It left a deep impression on him. That was only that one time that he had expressed a wish for a different life.

"One day I will leave the Dark Sect and be free." His words spoken with full conviction all those years ago still gave her nightmares.

Xian hope Ghost did not still entertain his wild dream of leaving the Dark Sect. Unfortunately, she had made the mistake of reacting vehemently to his statement at that time. Since then, he had played it down, never mentioning it again even when she goaded him. She regretted that day, she should have tried harder to dissuade him of his dangerous ideas and nip it in the bud instead of simply shutting him down.

Now he changed the subject every time she tried to broach it. In fact, he became suspiciously cheerful and extremely hardworking, jumping at any job to keep busy. Too cheerful and busy. She was not totally convinced he had abandoned the dangerous idea. Her lingering doubts made her keep a close eye on him. She did not want him to die needlessly.