Shadow Slave

In the morning, Mordret informed Sebastian that there would be a change of plans. He was supposed to go straight to the office, but instead, he decided to visit Morgan.

”Master and Madam informed me that they would be returning to Mirage City post haste, Young Master. We should be expecting them in a matter of days.”

Mordret smiled.

”Finally, some good news!”

The driver had the car ready by the time he left the manor. The man hurriedly opened an umbrella to escort Mordret to the luxurious vehicle, then pulled open the door and looked down.

Mordret patted him on the shoulder.

”I’ll be spending several hours with Morgan. No need to wait — treat yourself to something warm and delicious on the company bill. Just make sure to come pick me up at noon.”

His driver had been serving the family for more than a decade now, and used to drive Mordret to and from the university. Hearing that he would have some free time today, he smiled.

”Thank you, sir.”

As the car drove toward the distant clinic where Morgan was being treated, Mordret suddenly remembered the detectives from the day before.

They were an amusing pair. The man was of a modest stature and deathly pale, rough around the edges, while the woman was tall with olive skin, soft and maternal despite her flawlessly athletic figure. By all accounts, they were complete opposites — almost like a pair of mismatched partners straight from the pages of the detective stories he once loved to read.

But that was not why Mordret was suddenly reminded of them.

’Snap out of it… was that what Detective Athena said?’

Strange words, not at all suitable for the occasion.

He could almost feel the heat of her touch on his shoulder, still…

A fantastical suspicion entered Mordret’s mind, and a subtle crease appeared on his brow.

Just then, the car drove onto the wide bridge. One escort vehicle was in front of it, while another was behind — the rain was so intense that they could barely be seen, and the headlights of the cars in the oncoming lane fused into a blur.

Mordret was deep in thought, a complicated expression twisting the fine lines of his face.

It was then that something on the periphery of his vision attracted his attention.

Looking up, he just barely had time to notice a ramshackle truck in the oncoming lane taking a sharp turn.

Then, everything happened too fast to react.

The truck caught the rear bumper of the escort vehicle, throwing the car aside in an explosion of debris. Then, it rammed the luxury car behind it at full speed.

Mordret would have been thrown against the wall of the leather-bound interior if not for the airbags that instantly deployed. Still, he received a vicious shaking and was completely disoriented because of the blow. ŗ𝘢𝐍ՕβΕ𝘴

The seat belt dug into his chest, suffocating him.

Dazed, Mordret heard an ear-piercing scratching sound and felt the car moving sideways. Then, there was another impact…

And he could suddenly feel his body growing light.

The car was falling.

’The river…’

Before Mordret could finally realize what was happening, there was a third impact, this one the most violent. The deflated airbags still protected him, but then, he felt water streaming across his legs.

Shaking off his disorientation, Mordret looked around.

It only took him a split second to assess the situation.

The car was severely damaged, its windows broken, and sinking into the swollen river. The water was already inside the cabin, rising swiftly at a steep angle.

He was hopelessly entangled in the seat belt and imprisoned in a soft cage of airbags, moments away from being submerged into the cold darkness.

’Ah…’

Mordret tugged on the seat belt, but instead of releasing him, it seemed completely stuck in place.

Well, of course it was… seat belts were designed to resist sudden jerking motions.

The icy-cold water covered his head, and he suddenly couldn’t breathe.

Remaining calm, Mordret pulled on the seat belt slowly, loosened its grip, then ducked under and freed himself. Then, he disentangled himself from the airbags and looked through the murky water at the broken window on the opposite side of the car’s interior.

His lungs were already starting to burn.

But salvation was so close… all he had to do was climb through the window, then swim to the surface.

Mordret was prepared to do just that when his gaze fell on the unconscious shape in the driver’s seat.

He remained motionless for a moment, then moved in the opposite direction from the broken window and pushed himself through the narrow opening between the passenger compartment and the driver’s cabin.

The car was sinking swiftly, and it was already terribly dark around. The driver’s side had received the most damage in the collision and was completely deformed, as well. Suffering from the lack of oxygen, Mordret felt around for the release of the driver’s seat belt and tried to disengage it. However, no matter how he tried, the bent clasp refused to let go. He was already suffocating by then.

Gritting his teeth, Mordret twisted the clasp and pressed the release button with all his strength. Finally, the set belt slipped from the locking mechanism, allowing him to grab his driver and drag them both to the broken windshield.

’Ah… this… is harder than it looks in movies…’

Mordret followed a relatively rigorous athletic regimen, and he was especially fond of swimming — however, the stylish clothes he was so fond of were now weighing him down like cinderblocks, pulling him deeper into the water. More than that, the weight of his driver’s unconscious body was simply unbearable.

He was already struggling to push his own through the cold mass of dark, restless water — dragging another man along was simply too strenuous, too difficult.

And his lungs were on fire. His lungs begged for oxygen, and a panicked terror was flooding his mind, demanding that he let go of his heavy burden and save himself.

But Mordret refused.

Instead, he fought against the water with all the strength he could muster, even if his vision was already starting to darken.

Then, finally…

His head broke through the surface of the water, and Mordret drew in a feverish breath.

The shore seemed terribly far, but he managed to reach it, somehow, after all.

Dragging himself and the driver onto the ground, Mordret fell down, utterly spent.

He was so cold.

Taking several hoarse breaths, he pushed himself off the ground and bent over the driver.

”Hey… hey, are you…”

Was he dead?

Paralyzed by fear, Mordret lightly slapped the man across the cheek.

To his great relief, the driver groaned, coughed out a mouthful of water, and slowly opened his eyes.

Mordret let out a relieved sigh.

”Thank the gods!”

But then… something about the driver felt off.

His eyes grew strangely glassy, full of something unfamiliar and cold.

In the next moment, the man’s gloved hand closed around Mordret’s neck.

’What…’

Suddenly ferociously... inhumanly... strong, the driver strangled Mordret while pulling him down to the ground and climbing atop of him.

Wide-eyed, Mordret tried to pry the man’s hands off his neck, but it was of no use. It was as if his neck was being squeezed by an iron vice, seconds away from snapping.

Even if his neck somehow survived, he would be strangled to death before too long.

’What is…’

As he struggled desperately, hopelessly, Mordret’s vision started to darken for the second time today. The driver’s eerie, glassy eyes were the only thing he saw.

’N—no...’

It was then that a shadow suddenly covered them, and something cold flashed in the air.

Hot blood splattered across Mordret’s face, and he suddenly could breathe again.

Pushing the driver away, he climbed back and saw a slender figure leaning over the crazed man. A sharp knife flashed again, plunging into the driver’s flesh once more. More blood spilled onto the wet ground.

The figure twisted the knife, then coldly kicked the man in the wounded side, throwing him back into the water.

”W—who…”

The knife-wielding stranger was standing with his back to Mordret, wearing a cheap, ragged raincoat and an unassuming cap. Countered against the gray sky and the dark line of the distant bridge, his tall figure seemed both threatening and strangely familiar.

Finally, the stranger turned around and looked down at Mordret, his cold gaze full of irritation and contempt.

Mordret flinched as he saw the stranger’s face.

…His own face.

As the stranger leaned down, blood still dripping from his hands, Mordret remained frozen in place. His reflection was pale and shocked in the other Mordret’s mirror-like eyes.

The other’s face split into a pleasant smile, and he whispered into Mordret’s ear, his insidious voice full of barely contained hatred:

”Hey, wastrel… can’t you even keep yourself alive? You weak, worthless fool. Do I have to do everything for you?”

The tip of the knife bit vindictively into Mordret’s cheek, leaving a shallow cut on it.

There were shouts and the sound of sirens in the distance.

…By the time he could finally move, the other was already gone, as if he had never existed.

Raising a shaking hand, Mordret touched his cheek.

His hand came down bloody.

Looking at the blood smeared across his fingers...

Mordret suddenly smiled brightly.

”He’s back!”