Chapter 3 : The Architect of Ruin

The air in the flat was thick with a sense of fear. To Elias , perched on the cold iron railing of the fire escape, it was a physical weight - a bitter, metallic tang that made the hunger in his gut claw at his ribs.

Inside, Marcus was screaming. Not in pain, but in that jagged pathetic way men do when they feel their control slipping.

“ Look at me when I’m talking to you!” Marcus roared . He grabbed cat by the upper arm, his fingers digging into the soft flesh.

Elias flinched. The sound of her sharp intake of breath with a thunder clap in his ears. In 1612, he had been a man of logic, a man who measured the world with brass in ink. Now, he was a creature of impulse in shadow. He wanted to shadow the glass. He wanted to reach through the wall and pull Marcus’s spine out through his chest.

But he waited. He had learned the hard way that I direct strike often broke the prize.

“ Marcus, stop, “ Cat gasped, her voice trembling. “ You’re hurting me.”

“ I’ll show you hurting , “ Marcus hissed , raising his hand.

Now .

Elias didn’t break the window. He didn’t need to. He moved with a speed that defied the human eye, a blur of shadow that slipped through the gap in the window frame. He’d jimmied opened minutes ago.

The light in the kitchen flickered. A sudden, unnatural draft swept through the room, smelling of ancient dust and expensive cologne.

Marcus froze. He felt it - the sudden drop in temperature, the predatory stillness that had invaded the room. He turned, still clutching cats’s arm.

Elias was standing by the refrigerator, leaning casually against the door. He looked entirely out of place in the cramped, grimy kitchen. His suit was worth more than the entire apartment block; his presence was worth more than the lives of everyone in it.

“ Who the hell are you? “ Marcus spat , his grip tightening on Cat out of pure reflex.

Elias didn’t look at Marcus. He looked at cat. He saw the way her eyes widened , the way her pupils dilated. She recognized him from the coffee shop. He saw the terror in her face, but beneath it, he saw the faint, flickering ember of Catherine.

“ Let her go “ , Elias said . His voice was a low, melodic grind- the sound of a tomb door sliding open.

“ I asked, who are you mate ?! This is a private residence. Get out before I - “

“ Before you what? “ Elias stepped forward. He didn’t walk ; he glided.

Marcus, fueled by a cocktail of cheap logger and toxic ego, swung at him. It was a clumsy, slow motion arc.

Elias caught Marcus’s fist in mid air. He didn’t even look at it. He squeezed, just a fraction. The sound of the metacarpal’s grinding together filled the room.

Marcus Shrieked , his knees buckling. He let go of Cat, who stumbled back against the counter, her hands over her mouth.

“ You are a very small man, Marcus” Elias whispered, leaning down until his lips were inches from the other man’s ear. “ You think you are a king in this little box. But to me, you are merely an insect in a map. I am tired of looking at.”

“ I’ll kill you!” Marcus sobbed, clutching his crushed hand. “ I’ll get my boys,we’ll - “

Elias’s hand moved faster than a snake. He grabbed Marcus by the throat and lifted him off the floor.

“ You will do nothing, “ Elias growled. His eyes usually a cold hazel began to bleed into a dark, bottomless black. “ You will leave this place . You will go to the police station. You will confess every crime you have ever committed in the last five years. And if you ever speak her name again, even in your prayers, I will find you. And I will make your death a historical event . “

Elias threw him. Marcus hit the front door with a bone -jarring thud , the wood splintering.

“ Go “ , Elias Commanded .

Marcus didn’t look back. He scrambled to his feet, sobbing with terror, and bolted into the hallway. The sound of his frantic footsteps echo down the stairs into the heavy fire door slam shut.

Silence returned to the flat.

Cat was shaking, her back pressed against the sink. Her breathing came in short, jagged hitch. She looked at Elias, her gaze darting from his perfectly tailored suit to the predatory illness of his posture.

“ You … “ she started, her voice cracking.” You followed me.”

“ I did , “ Elias admitted. He stayed by the door, keeping his distance. He knew he was a monster; he knew his aura felt like a cold weight to a mortal .

“ Why? Who are you? “

Elias looked at the bruises already forming on her arm. His jaw tightened. He wanted to go after Marcus and finish it. He wanted to taste the blood of the man who dared to touch her.

“ My name is Elias Thorne,” he said, his voice softening.” And you, Catherine… you’re under my protection now.”

Cat shook her head, a stray tear escaping. “ My name is Cat Just Cat And I don’t need… I don’t know you..”

” You don’t ,” he lied, the weight of 400 years of longing pressing against his chest. “ But I have waited a very long time to find you. London is a dangerous place for a ghost.“

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, leather- bound card. He sat it on the table.

“ There is a car downstairs. It will take you anywhere you want to go. A hotel. A friends. Somewhere Marcus can’t find you.”

“ I can’t afford a car,” she whispered.

“ It is paid for,” Elias said, turning toward the window. “ Sleep , Cat . The maps are being redrawn . You are no longer lost.”

Before she could ask, another question, he was gone. The curtain slaughtered in a sudden gust of wind, and the kitchen was empty once more.

Cat stood in the silence, her arms throbbing. She looked at the card on the table. It was heavy cream - colored Vellum. On it was an embossed crest - a Surveyors transit crossing a sword.

Underneath, an elegant, archaic script, was a single phone number in the words: I am watching over the borders.