Book 3, Chapter 5 - Primeval Weapon (2/2)

“You need cash?”

“Who doesn’t?”

“Well, it just so happens I know a way you could make a bundle. So long as you got the interest and the stones to pull it off.”

“You wouldn’t be thinking of pulling one over on me again, would you?” Cloudhawk lifted the glass and swirled its contents, though he didn’t drink. “Last time, things nearly didn’t work out very well for me.”

Adder shook his head. “This is different. Do this job, they’ll be singing your praises back in Skycloud. I don’t know why you’re here, but I’m willing to bet whatever it is won’t pay as well as I’m offering.”

“Oh yeah? What job is so lucrative, then?”

“Destroying the Dark Atom.”

“Heh. You’re a funny guy.”

“You remember that map you got me three years ago?” Adder’s face was sincere. “I cracked it. It outlines every inch, nook and cranny of the Dark Atom’s headquarters. Not much good to me though – they’re careful, and everyone I send ends up missing or dead. But maybe you have what it takes.”

“Well, that just makes it more confusing.” Cloudhawk wasn’t about to believe anything that came out of this guy’s mouth, at least not at face value. He thought Adder was a snake three years ago, and despite all that’s changed since then that feeling stayed the same. Playing with him was like smacking a viper on the head. If you stopped paying attention for one second, you got bit. “If you know where the Dark Atom headquarters is you should give the information to Skycloud authorities. That by itself will earn you huge respect. Why waste time and resources, only to share the glory anyway with me?”

“I’m not interested in what they think about me in the elysian lands. But there are things in the Dark Atom stronghold that I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on.” Adder paused for a moment. “If you were to get what I’m after and bring it to me, I’d be willing to give you everything in this room.”

This took Cloudhawk by surprise. “What is it?”

“A primeval weapon,” Adder replied. “I saw references to it in ancient books. A weapon that could level an entire city in an instant. Even gods and demons kept their distance. But it’s one-time use only. I need to know if it’s real, and if it is then I want it.”

Cloudhawk was not impressed. How could there be a weapon like that lying around somewhere, much less surviving intact after the destruction of the world? If the Dark Atom had such a weapon why would they be on the back foot? There would be no reason to suffer like they did if they could flatten Skycloud city with a snap of their fingers.

“I don’t care about any ‘prime evil’ weapon and I don’t give a shit about the Dark Atom. Not my bag, convince someone else to do your dirty work.” Cloudhawk tossed back his glass and finished its contents with an air of finality. “Thanks, barkeep. I got shit to do, so I’ll be going.”

Adder regretfully shook his head. “I hope you reconsider.”

But Cloudhawk was uninterested. He didn’t even wait for Adder to open the door, instead slipping through the treasure room’s wall like it wasn’t even there.

Adder watched the showy display with sparkling eyes.

In the end, Cloudhawk, Asha and Adder shared a meal at the bar before he left. As Asha watched him go, eyes bright, she pressed her hands together. “It looks like Cloudhawk is going to be living here. That’s wonderful!”

“Luciasha, do you trust me?”

“Why do you ask? Of course I do.”

“Who do you trust more, me or Cloudhawk?”

“I…”

Asha was taken aback by the question. Both men were indispensable in her life. Admittedly she’d spent a lot less time with Cloudhawk, but she felt she knew him despite his mysteriousness. There was just something about him that made the wastelander trustworthy.

But if Cloudhawk was a clear pond, than her adoptive father was a river. Asha sensed that there was more to Adder than what she saw on the surface. No one knew where he came from or what he’d done in the past. Had he come from the wastelands, or Skycloud? He was as dangerous as he was obscure, too. But over the last three years she knew Adder saw her like his own daughter.

They were both important to her. She had faith in each of them.

“It’s alright, you don’t need to answer.” Adder affectionately ran a hand through her curly hair. His stony face broke into a smile. “After all this time, you should know you’re my girl. Sometimes I may say things you don’t like, but I have to say them as a father.”

“What is it?”

“Asha. I have a bad feeling about that man. You should stay away from him, otherwise you might be wrapped up in something uncomfortable.”

Uncomfortable? What was he talking about?

“For instance, what if you were forced to choose between him and I one day? Who would you pick?” Adder looked into his young charge’s big, pretty eyes and shook his head. “It’s the same question, asked another way. And you don’t have to answer. Just so long as you know in your heart. Don’t let anyone tell you what to do or how to think, but you need to be strong. You live in a cruel world.”

Asha stared up into the sky.

Cloudhawk… Adder… if she was forced to choose, who would she pick? She didn’t have an answer. How could she?