The Skin Thief

Chapter 65

As we make our way to Marcus' office, my stomach churns. I don't want to watch the footage of me taking someone's life. I don't want to see the pictures of the aftermath.

As we get to security, I go through the motions of being searched and handing over my electronic devices. It doesn't take long, and soon, we are walking into his office.

I take a seat and wipe my clammy hands on my skirt. Dread nestles in the pits of my stomach, making it churn uncomfortably. Marcus sits down and starts typing on his computer.

"I'll warn you; this isn't going to be pleasant," he tells me.

"Got it," I reply with a sigh. "What exactly am I about to watch?"

He gestures for me to stand and come around to his side of the desk. I do as I'm told. When I get there, I see a picture of my target on the computer screen. Immediately, I feel a cold sweat break out across my body.

"Who's that?" I ask.

"The dead man," Marcus replies, his jaw clenched. "This man wasn't supposed to exist. We did everything to keep his identity a secret and keep him safe from harm." Marcus rubs his temples and lets out a long sigh. "But they found him anyway. It's hardly a surprise really. With the state of our politicians at the moment, it was only a matter of time until one of them let something slip to the wrong person and spoke carelessly about classified information."

When he says that, I think back the Mr. Salt at the restaurant and how I found out about the weapon maker thanks to the listening device I planted.

"It is just another example of the incompetence of our leaders," Marcus continues. "Now, they're scrambling to figure out who is to blame for this slip in security instead of actually focusing on catching the assassin and putting in measures to make sure this sort of oversite doesn't happen again."

"Assassin?" I ask.

"Yes, a Second Realm assassin," Marcus replies, shaking his head. He leans back in his chair, staring at the image of my target. Then, he looks at me.

"They're winning, Ivy," he tells me, his voice scarily calm.

"Winning what, exactly?" I ask, frowning. "Because all I know about the Second Realm is what is told to be on the news about them mobilising tropes and weaponry around the portal. Now, I'm not saying I don't believe that is the case, but I'm not sure I completely trust what our media is telling us. Especially if it's coming from the mouths of the very politicians who are too busy bickering and making a fortune instead of helping protect their nation."

Marcus lets out a sound that is a mixture between a scoff and a laugh.

"It's propaganda all right," he says and looks me in the eyes. "It's no secret that our realm is in trouble. Pollution and overconsumption are destroying us. The problem is, because people can't see it in their day-to-day lives, they don't believe it. So, getting funding to build equipment to help this problem, as well as asking the everyday person to change their ways to lessen their impact in this realm is near impossible. Add to the mix politicians who only care about their pockets and power..." he trails off shaking his head. I think back to the conversation I overheard with Mr Salt and Owen discussing a company that works on building technology that will help with the climate crisis.

I can't even remember the name of the company. I haven't seen it anywhere. There's nothing in the news or any adverts. There have certainly been no conversations about it with my colleagues.

That how irrelevant this company and their aim of fixing the environmental problems are to these people.

"The Second Realm has the resources we need," he says, his lips pulling into a tight line.