The Silencer

Chapter 1

The roar of the gun resonated throughout her body and took her breath away. Thea’s eyes closed on their own, bracing for the pain to overwhelm her. For a few moments, her eyes stayed clenched, waiting. Her body tensed, but she didn’t dare move. She didn’t want to draw more attention to herself. Her ears picked up on the gasps and shouts of anger, so she couldn’t have imagined the sound of the gun firing. 

Didn’t Anthony shoot her?

She remembered the look of despair in his eyes as they changed over to resolution. He was going to kill someone, and the gun was pointed directly at her. 

Wasn’t it supposed to hurt by now? She opened her eyes and looked over her body. No blood. No pain. It wasn’t her. Anthony didn’t pull the trigger on her. The relief was immediate but faded almost as quickly when the faces standing before her didn’t change their horrified expressions. 

No, no, no! 

Her head was already shaking in disbelief as she turned back to look at Cobb. A scream ripped from her throat as she stumbled to her feet and ran over to his side. He had slid off his chair and lay on the floor. Her eyes trailed over him, searching for the gunshot wound. Tears overtook her vision when she spotted the blood pouring from his chest. She pressed two shaky hands over the wound, trying to quench the flow, but it continued to pour. The blood coated her hands but she continued to press down. She had to stop the bleeding. She only needed a little bit more time so the doctor and his team could come in and help. 

Her eyes searched around the room, but Cobb’s voice forced her to turn back towards him. 

“Thea.” His voice was soft and calm. How could he be calm right now? She raised her eyes to his and wished that she hadn’t. 

“Shhh. It’s okay, don’t talk. Save your strength.” 

Cobb tried to speak again but got choked instead. He coughed and blood spurted out of his mouth, landing on her shirt. A new stream of warm liquid filled her hands and she dragged her eyes away from his to see more blood gushing from the entry wound. 

She pushed down harder. She needed something to stop the bleeding, but if she pulled her hand away it would do more harm than good. 

He shook his head slightly. “It’s too late.”

Her voice betrayed her. “No, it’s not.” She needed to be strong for him, but his acceptance of his fate was her undoing. It couldn’t be too late. 

“Don’t cry. We were supposed to be celebrating today.” He gave her a smile, but it didn’t hide the fact he was in pain. 

“This was not how I planned our celebration to go.”

“Me either, but you’ve made me so happy by choosing to stay here. I can go in peace now.”

“Don’t talk like that. The doctor is going to be here any second.” She pulled her eyes away and saw the others still standing in front of Anthony. What was going on? Was he still not letting them pass? Why wasn’t Anthony taken down already? 

“Thea.” 

Cobb’s voice dragged her eyes away from the others. Her heart raced at Cobb’s rapid decline. She wasn’t ready to say goodbye to him. Not when they finally turned a corner and she could accept that The Kalila was her future. There was still so much she had to learn, so much that he could teach her. 

“Thea, look out for Sam. He’s going to need you after this.” He raised his hand and touched her arm. “When the time comes, you’ll be ready to make the decisions that need to be made. You were born for this.” 

“Do you ever talk in anything but riddles?” 

He tried to laugh, but it came out in weak gasps of air. Her hands slipped with his jerky movements and she hurriedly covered the wound again. Footsteps rushed behind her, and Sam was at her side. 

“Sentinel.” His voice was thick, and Thea’s eyes filled all over again as Cobb clasped Sam’s hand. 

“Don’t be angry, son. Instead, focus on keeping the Registry safe.” His eyes flickered to Thea’s and back to Sam. “The Kalila couldn’t be in better hands. Work together.” 

“Cobb!” Sam’s voice cut through Thea and she didn’t have to look at Cobb to know that he was gone. Sam’s frantic shouts for help buzzed in her ears as she looked down at her hands. The ragged breaths were no longer moving his chest up and down. 

She jerked her hands away and sat back. Sam asked her what she was doing as he took over her place, trying to stop the blood flow. It was no use. Cobb was already gone.

His life taken by Anthony. 

Tears blurred her eyes as she tried to get to her feet. What was she going to do now? She wanted to curl up and cry, make everything else fade away. All she could focus on was the pounding in her ears as her heart raced. Fury welled up in her as she turned to find Anthony. 

He held the Registry book in his hands. 

But not for long. 

Thea sprinted for him, wanting to knock the book from his hands. His eyes widened in surprise as she slammed into him, knocking him to the floor. She landed a punch to his face. Anger overtook her as she continued to strike him. 

It took her a few more hits to realize that the blood on his face wasn’t his, but was Cobb’s. She raised shaky hands to see they were coated in Cobb’s blood. The sight infuriated her even more and she landed another punch. 

Anthony wasn’t trying to stop her. He didn’t move, didn’t try to fight her off, but instead, let her use him as a punching bag. Tears blinded her but she continued to hit him. 

“Thea, stop!” Matthias’s grief-stricken voice called out to her, but it was Viktor’s arms that pulled her off Anthony. She continued to punch and kick as Viktor carried her away from him. 

“He’s got the book! What are you doing, Viktor?” She cried, trying to break free from his hold.

Viktor ignored her as Matthias raised a hand and spoke calmly while Anthony got to his feet. “Thea is consumed with grief. You have the book. Please let us grieve in peace.” 

Let them grieve in peace? She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Matthias was going to let him go? After he murdered Cobb? What was he thinking? “Matthias! He can’t leave with the book.” 

Anthony rubbed the blood from his face. “I know that you are angry, Thea, and you have every right to be so. I didn’t want this to happen.”

She thrashed against Viktor’s hold, but it was useless. There was no way she could overpower him. “You didn’t want this to happen? You’re the one that pulled the trigger, Anthony. You’re the one who killed him!”

“I told you that I didn’t want this!” Anthony pinched the bridge of his nose as if he was trying to calm himself down. “All I wanted was the book, Thea. That’s all, but my hand was forced.”

“You didn’t have to kill him.” Thea tried to argue with him, but trying to break free from Viktor’s hold had exhausted all of her strength. 

“Well, that’s something that I’m going to have to live with.” 

She raised her eyes to glare into his. “I’m going to make you pay for what you’ve done.”

Anthony’s calm façade broke for a second, revealing a sadness that she never expected to see from him. He reached out as if to comfort her but she backed away. “Be careful, Thea. Promises like that never work out the way we intended.” His voice was full of concern. “People end up bending our justice until we can’t stand the sight of ourselves and what we’ve become.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “Until the man in the mirror no longer recognizes the man staring at him.” 

“Spoken from someone who has done his fair share of dealing out promises in the name of justice.”

“Yes. It’s cost me everything. Hate me all you want, Thea. I’ve earned it and more.” Anthony took a step away from her. “But listen to my words and learn from them. This is a path you don’t want to take. Mourn for Cobb for he was a good man, but once you’re done, step into your destiny. I hope I’m around to see it because you have great things in front of you.”

Oh, how she wished she had half of the strength Viktor had, so she could break free and strangle Anthony. How dare he talk about grieving for Cobb? There wouldn’t be a need for grief if it wasn’t for him. “Like you know anything about my destiny. You’re nothing but a hired killer.” 

“I know that you have two options set before you, and separate they both look amazing. I’m just waiting for you to realize that you’re not meant to choose between them.” Anthony put the book under his arm and waved goodbye. “Think about what I said, Thea.” 

She turned to Matthias. “You’re going to let him walk away?” 

“I have no choice, Thea. He told me he would keep firing. Whose life would you wish to condemn by taking him down right now?”

She looked up at Viktor, who still had a tight grip on her arms. “It’s true. While you were tending to Cobb, he threatened to keep shooting until we surrendered the book.” 

“So we do nothing?” Thea didn’t even try to hide the despair in her voice. 

“I didn’t say we would do nothing.” Matthias sheathed his sword. “As soon as he’s gone and our sight is back, we will make a plan to bring him down.” 

She didn’t even realize the others had lost their vision again. Anthony must have left hers alone, but messed with theirs, showing them whatever he wanted as he got to walk away free. “He’s gone, Viktor. You can release me now.” 

He loosened his hold on her arms and she stepped away from him, rubbing the spots where his hands held her. She would no doubt have bruises tomorrow, but it wasn’t Viktor’s fault. It was hers. If he hadn’t intervened, who would Anthony have taken it out on? Her eyes swept over to the guards, who were now scrambling out the door to get help, and then over to Sam who was still kneeling beside Cobb. 

He stopped trying to suppress the wound. He finally realized the horrific truth. 

Cobb was gone. 

They were alone now. 

Anthony must pay for what he’d done. 

These three statements repeated over and over in her mind as she walked over to Sam and sat beside him. His face was streaked from tears, and the boy that was always so full of hope and positivity was defeated and broken. Thea wanted to wrap her arms around him, but her hands were still stained with Cobb’s blood.

“He’s gone.” Sam didn’t look up at her as he spoke. 

“I know.” 

“I didn’t get to say goodbye. To thank him for everything that he’s done for me.” 

Tears clogged her throat and she had to clear it to speak. “I know. I didn’t either. I was too busy trying to convince him that he would be all right.” 

“But he’s not, is he?” Sam finally lifted his eyes to hers and she had to look away from their intensity. 

“No, he’s not, Sam, but I believe he is at peace.” 

He reached over with his own blood-stained hand and clasped hers. The Registry is gone. The Sentinel is gone. He sniffed and cleared his throat. “You’re all I have left.” 

“I’m not going anywhere.” 

He nodded, squeezed her hand, and stood to his feet. “Where’s Philip?” 

A voice called from the doorway. “I’m here, Sam.” 

“Good. Take Thea to the portal room. She’s leaving.”

“Wait, what?” Thea reached out, grabbing Sam’s arm. “You want me to leave?”

He turned around to look at her and she knew. Gone was the boy from the cafeteria. “The Registry book is gone. I can’t protect you anymore, Thea. You have to leave.”