• This is part 10 of an ongoing interactive fiction piece. To read the rest (and participate), click here.

    Part 10

    I should really start looking into some anti-psychotics, but if I'm not as insane as I think I am, then the Devil himself is sitting on my living room sofa and I've agreed to help him.

    It took a moment for Nathan to find his voice again. "I think I'll stick with you. I've already upset Micah -- Michael... whoever, angel guy. That last thing a need to do is make him think I can't make up my mind."

    Alton laughed from across the room, pushing his glasses up the edge of his nose. "That's a good possibility." He pat the seat next to him. "Come on, Nathan. I promise I don't bite. You have more questions for me, don't you?"

    "Yes, but they can just as easily be answered at this distance." Nathan still wasn't comfortable with the news that Alton was Lucifer, not so much because he believed him, but because Alton might believe himself. It didn't matter if Nathan was skeptical: if the shopkeeper truly thought he was the Devil, then he was going to act accordingly.

    Given the strange things that had happened already, however, odds were good he was telling the truth.

    Alton frowned a little but shrugged, leaning back in his seat. "Very well." He crossed his arms in front of him. "Your questions then?"

    Nathan took a deep breath. "Okay. Questions. Right." He relaxed his death grip on the wall behind him. "Micah said that I'm the Attractor for evils, but what does that mean, exactly? Do I make people turn nasty or something?"

    "Hardly," Alton said, chuckling. "Goodness, Micah did leave you confused, didn't he?"

    "Yes, and I would appreciate it if you just got on with it and told me things straight. This has been dragged out long enough."

    "Alright, alright." The man closed his eyes for a moment, then looked across at Nathan again. "I'll try to explain this as clearly as I can. Micah and I are both on the same mission: we need to find the evils that mankind created. Our goals differ in that he wishes to destroy them outright, and I wish to disperse them..."

    "Wait, so I'm basically helping you unleash evil into the world?" Nathan edged a little towards his front door. "Maybe I should reconsider..."

    But Alton held his hand up, and he frowned with worry. "Please, you must understand! This is the only thing I think Micah is wrong on. Please, at least listen to everything I have to say before you change your mind."

    "Just a moment ago, you said I could change my mind! I am ready to change my mind!"

    "I said I wouldn't be surprised if you did..."

    "You want to unleash evil! How am I supposed to agree to that?"

    "Nathan!"

    Nathan found himself frozen in place, completely unable to speak as Alton stared at him, unblinking. "Mankind created the evils we seek," he said evenly. "They created them by naming them. These evils have manifested themselves by latching onto individuals in Virtue. My goal is to find these individuals and to release the evil from them. If I don't, then they will be changed by them, and then the only thing that can be done is what Micah plans to do from the start: destroy them." He waited a moment for this to sink in. "Nathan, Micah plans on killing these people, regardless of whether or not they have been changed by the evil within them."

    He looked away and Nathan could finally speak, but his mouth simply fell open in shock. Kill? That was what Micah planned to do? "Oh my god..."

    Alton wrinkled his nose, frowning. "Precisely. If things go well, I'll be able to find these individuals before he does."

    Nathan began to move away from the wall and the door, starting slowly back towards the sofa. "And since I'm the Attractor, they'll be drawn towards me?"

    The shopkeeper nodded. "And you to them. "I can sense their presence."

    Nathan made his way back to the couch, sitting down at the opposite end. He rubbed his hand across his face. "If you can sense them, how come you need my help?"

    "Their true nature can only manifest in your presence. I may be able to locate them, but until they show their powers, there's nothing I, nor Micah, can do."

    "Powers?" Nathan shook his head. "I think... I think I'd rather not know about those. Evil powers can't be pleasant."

    "I wouldn't be able to tell you much about them anyway; I don't know what they are."

    This was a lot for Nathan to digest, and for several long, tedious seconds, he just sat there. He wasn't really thinking about anything, just sitting, letting all of this madness settle in. "Okay."

    Alton raised an eyebrow. "Okay?"

    He nodded. "I'll do it. I'll help you. Hell, what have I got to lose? You want my soul as part of this bargain?"

    The shopkeeper laughed. "Goodness, no. What use would I have for it? One of these days we'll have to sit down and talk about all those myths, but for now, I must be getting back to my store." He rose, straightening his shirt. "You've had a long day too, I'm sure. Perhaps you should get some rest."

    "Yeah," Nathan grumbled, rubbing his forehead, still struggling to wrap his mind around all of this. "And some sleeping pills. I don't think I'm going to rest well tonight."

    Alton walked himself to the door. When he reached it, he turned back slightly. "Nathan, you should know that the waiter who followed you -- Avery -- is one of those evils."

    "Wait, what?" Alton was already out the door. Nathan jumped to his feet to try to catch him, but he had vanished. His heart hammered hard in his chest. "Shoot..."

    Avery. He barely knew the waiter but an intense feeling of dread came over him as he realized what this meant.

    If Micah finds him first, he's going to try to kill him. I have to find him and warn him!

    But wait. Alton said that his powers won't manifest unless I'm there, and that neither he nor Micah can do anything until that happens. Maybe I should just avoid him instead...

    But I'm the Attractor; I'm     bound to run into him again by virtue of that alone!

    Maybe I can just call him at the restaurant.

    What should I do?

    To read the rest of Edge of Thorns and vote on Nathan's fate, click here.