A Careless Mistake

Reginald Cathburn Jr. entered the dark room cautiously.  The only illumination in the windowless room came from thirteen candles arranged purposefully on the floor.  A shiver ran up the older man’s spine and the hairs on his arms and neck stood on end.  He was a hard man; he worked and lived in close proximity to demons after all, but something in the air made him anxious.

“You were careless, Reginald.”  Cathburn jumped at the unexpected feminine voice from the shadows.  After scanning the dim room, he had assumed he was alone.  Nevertheless, a form stepped into the flickering candlelight.  She wore a dark crimson cloak that concealed her body and brushed along the floor as she stepped forward.  The hood cloaked her face in shadow.  Yet, the publisher knew immediately who she was.

“I took all the precautions I could,” Cathburn began.  “It was only a matter of time before-”

“No, Reggie,” the woman interrupted.  “You were careless.  Your task was to translate and reprint the book for our purposes, nothing more.”  The woman began to walk towards him.  “But, you couldn’t miss an opportunity to make a profit by selling copies of such a valuable book to the general public.”

“Nonsense,” the nervous man backpedaled, beads of perspiration forming on his forehead. “I only wanted to further the goals of our illustrious-”

“Oh, of course, the profit was only an enjoyable consequence of achieving our aims.  Your devotion is touching.”  She reached up a pale white hand and wiped some of the sweat off of his forehead with her index finger.  “So, then, why are you so nervous?”  Cathburn could hear her licking the fluid off of her fingertip as she held it under the shadow of the hood.  “I think that it’s because you know that you are in the wrong.  You’ve made the Council of Draelin suspicious.  You should have known that they would have coming looking for you.”  The woman began walking her fingers up Cathburn’s arm.  “And now, they’ll follow you straight to us.  Of course, that won’t stop us; we’ll just have to accelerate our plans.  But, it was still a careless mistake, Reginald.”  Tears welled up in Cathburn’s eyes.  He knew that there was no hope of escape, no hope of mercy.  “And, Deus Ignegena cannot tolerate careless mistakes.”

The last thing Reginald Cathburn Jr. saw was a pair of glowing red eyes as a dagger slipped between his ribs.