SIN EATER

Chapter 10. Puberty? The Ultimate Nerf, disguised as the Ulitmate Boon! AND the new but almost impossible quest!

Rats Stars awoke with what at first seemed like a nasty rash on his back.

As he tried to scratch it he discovered an oblong lump sitting on the inward ridge of his back shoulder bone.

But all worries of some sort of cancerous growth subsided when he discovered an inverse but symmetrical one on the other shoulder.

Cancerous lumps are rarely that evenly paired.

Therefore they must be something else.

Rats knew that he obviously was not human and that now he was physically fourteen.

That meant some sort of puberty of his species might happen.

Scanning his almost all-knowing mind for humanoid species that might fit these new facts among not just this universe but the whole multiverse failed narrow things down, at all.

That calculation of possible species that came back was far too large to note in the text of this novel.

Let us just call it a VERY BIG NUMBER!

He also found a very similar itchy almost sore lump on his forehead but that was probably just a boil, zit or pimple!

Of course, the Empire (even though plenty of shapeshifting spells and creatures existed) were primarily looking for a ten or eleven-year-old boy!

So as far as circulated descriptions went, He was now fairly safe!

The last two week has had found a second village and settled in to help out at a local blacksmith.

Just fetching and carrying and doing odd jobs for room and board.

He heard talk of the so-called ‘Satite m******e’ of the last village and cried that night.

But he thought, as everyone has been told, that the m******e has been from a Satite raid.

This would be yet another, as yet, unrevealed weakness of the Sin Eater, that his all-knowing knowledge of the past (for now, until his power grows) stops at the moment he fell to earth!

Although such things had been done before by Colonel Layl, the Sin-Eater would have actively chosen to search his mind for that knowledge when the right situation arose.

In the meantime, he had no current reason to doubt the official account of the Sunite empire as to what happened.

FLASHBACK:

Seven days ago!

Or to put it another way, Seven days after the Rouge families peasant cottage was attacked.

Colonel Layl had been told that he would be rewarded.

The Cardinal said he would be generously be rewarded by the Sunite Empire. 

That the Reward would match the personal difficulty of his task.

He was told that such a reward would be commencement with his experience.

As he stood in the Cardinals office has was hoping to have his retirement re-instated with maybe a nice parcel of land and another identity change.

So his heart sank, what after a brief conversation full of fake pleasantries, yet another identical chest was brought in by the inquisitional monks.

It was a scene that was almost identical to the first one, from last week.

Grimly he opened the chest, fully expecting to see more fake evidence to plant.

Another dark operation to perform.

As the lid past his eye line to reveal its contents his pupils dilated with surprise and his face contorted to an indescribable grimace and several emotions quick ran the gambit of his mind in quick succession.

His face finally decided on settling on a facial expression of shock and awe!

He turned to see the Cardinal kneeling, head bowed in front of him.

Not just bowed but in proper reverence and respect.

This was no mere empty gesture or mere act.

This Cardinal, this man of vast political and practical power, was supplicating himself with true humility before him.   

Layl looked in the chest believed to be hallowed, again.

This internal, unspoken thought washed over him a wave of dread and weight,

“I guess I am not getting to retire then…”

Inside was an imperial Sunite Seal, allocated to him.

I was a seal of the Sunite Imperial Sinister Hand.

He was to become the “Little finger” of that “Sinister Hand”

WORLD INFO SEGWAY!

What is the Imperial hand?

There were only ever twelve Emperial Hand agents at any one time.

Although almost everyone thought there were only ever six at any one time.

Six for the Dextrous hand and six for the Sinister hand.

Each of the five fingers was lead by their leader know as The Palm, of that Hand branch.

The Dextrous wore full uniforms at all times.

Everyone knew who they were.

While the Sinister branch did not.

Almost no one knew that they existed.

Only very special imperial agents, some inquisitional monks, a few select spies’ and those of the rank colonel and above (or the equivalent in other hierarchy spheres) would have clearance to ever know!

To be a member of the “Hands” meant you were the personal instrument of the Empires Will itself.

You could walk up to a room full of generals and take all their resources for your own ends at the slightest whim.

You could act with impunity and your actions would be above all laws of both man and state!

Any Finger only answers to its Palm.

And a Palm only ever answers (purely theoretically) to the Emperor Him or Her self.

Evey fanatical member of the imperil inquisition sworn an oath of loyalty to the Hands of the Sunite Empire (and NOT the Emperor or Empress!) and would happily burn themselves and their entire family alive if one of its Fingers ordered them to do so.

For to do so, in their deluded eyes, meant eternal bliss!

If you were one of the Hand then your voice and that of the Empire itself was the same.

Note! You were the voice of the “Empire itself” and NOT that of the Emperor or Empress!

Layl sighed and reached out for the seal.

So much magic was imbued within this object.

Once touched it would be soul bound to him forever.

It could never be stolen or taken by force or given by choice.

It Layl ever died then the seal would disintegrate.

Although Layl would now be extremely tough to kill, for the seal also came with many spells to protect and enhance its owner!

As a “Sinister” seal, it also came with many stealth and spy spells and abilities.

It also allowed him to change the look of his clothes and appearance to any rank that may serve his purpose!

Layl did not want the seal.

He was not greedy for such power.

He did not feel honoured or grateful, only burdened.

He wanted to retire and attempt to forget the ‘thing’ he was and all the things he had ever done.

But he also did not hesitate as he now started reaching for the seal.

He knew his duty.

He was a man of duty.

Always had been and now until death and beyond, he always would be.

He picked the great artefact up and felt it bind to his very soul.

It was not just physically painful in a conventional sense.

But it was unpleasant in a way that only carving your immortal soul to merge to such a physical object of such immense power could be.

The closest reference you might be able to understand is maybe, four years of 1970’s style chemotherapy to fight your malignant cancer multiplied by a thousand, all felt at once, in a crashing gutting wave, in less than three seconds.

Unknown to Layl, It was a feeling of true damnation!

For now, he unknowingly became the personal possession of the Multiversal Lord of all Evil Chaos!

As this scene played out,

Any watching guardian Angels and deceased relatives above had to avert their eyes, in horror.

Those same Angels and waiting loved ones wept bitter bitter tears for Layl.

No power of this earth could ever save him now!

He turned to the room around him.

“First order of business!” He said, his voice still trembling with effort.

“These mere ‘Rebel peasants’….”

“This filthy dirt, that dared escape our might Imperial will….”

“Will wish they had died at our hands as rightfully ordered!”

“It is Our Will that they are found and made a true example of.”

“Their public deaths will bring nightmares to all that even hear whispers of it.”

“Especially that most grotesque traitor among them, former Captain Mal Wear.”

“It is Our Will” Sinister Hand Layl Tooker stated flatly.

“Then then it shall be done.” Chimed those in the room in full reverence.

“As unalterable and the tides and as inevitable as the movement of the sun,”

“It shall be.”

Meanwhile, the list of the so-called ‘rebels’ was as follows

Jim Phug a boy aged six

Skarlet Rouge a girl aged ten

Krimson Rouge a boy aged ten

Tug Phug a boy aged thirteen

Frank Phug a boy aged fifteen

Mitch Phug a boy aged seventeen

Former Captain Mal Wear a Man Aged Twenty five.

Medical Magic-User, Prof Enow Nil MG Aged sixty-eight.

Grandma Phug a Harmless-looking little old lady of eighty-eight who was the one who taught the Rouge twins mother (now deceased) and all the older Phug boys, how to fight.

VS

The entire Sunite Empire under the direct orders and direction of a member of the Imperial Sinister Hand Layl Tooker and all his endless, bottomless, resources.

The Sunite Empire used the term “rebels” but these so-called “rebels” had NO political agenda other than wanting to live!

They did not want to overthrow the Sunite Empire, they simply just did not want to die!

Although not yet on the imperial ‘hit list’ the so-called ‘rebels’ had the following allies.

Sue Gren a woman aged forty-eight who was a Wika Witch and a coven leader who made extremely nice chicken soup.

Sally Gren aged thirty-eight who was also Wika Witch who was even better at making chicken soup.

And

Vert Gren aged twenty-eight who was not also just a Wika Witch but who was also the best chicken soup maker, by far, out of the three!

After an extensive comparing of notes, among themselves.

The only plan they all had was to try and find Rat Stars the Sin-Eater.

They had no idea why they were looking for him.

But it was the only thing they could presently both think of and agree on!

The Witches detection and searching spells had been ineffective (obviously)!

Unfortunately, they were looking for the child of about ten or eleven years of age that they had each met.

Not the fourteen-year-old that now existed!

If the odds had been a ‘Jenga Tower’, they were so highly stacked against them that it would have been the tallest ‘Jenga Tower’ ever made by any God or Mortal!