Page 11 of The Light Within

He’d like to see the man try. But Julien also had more important things to be doing. “I came to see if you were who I think you are.”

“Yeah?” said the woman.

Again Julien tried to twist his head to see her, and again he was rewarded with a sharp jab to his neck.

“And who do you think we are?”

“Arcane Purifiers.”

There was a subtle shift in the grip of the man restraining him.

Julien was correct.

“And what business do you have with them?”

Breaking and entering the Institute, for one.

“I need to talk to them. To someone, at least. About… about my sister.”

Julien’s mouth dried as their silent pause stretched. After an age of tension, the man finally spoke. “Let’s take him to L. They might want to see him.”

Abruptly, they dropped their hold on Julien, and he half stumbled forwards before catching himself. He spun around, eager to put faces to the voices, to find them both wearing white cloth masks underneath their dark hoods, only a sliver of a gap for their eyes.

“This way,” the man grunted, moving forward without him. “Hurry.”

AP’s two guard dogs weren’t far at all from the rest of the group, by the jagged crack. It was easily two metres wide, now that he was near enough to assess it properly. Some of the cloaked figures were wrapping up whatever they had been doing—stuffing things back in bags, gathering in groups, gesturing towards the barrier.

Those who noticed Julien’s presence paused to stare.

“L!”

The woman attracted the attention of someone peering down into the depths of the fissure. Thin metal wire dangled from a coil in their hand.

‘L’ set down the wire before turning to them. They too wore the mask—it likely concealed a scowl, if their body language was anything to go by. Crossing their arms, they marched towards Julien and his two new friends.

“What’s going on? Who’s this?” the androgynous voice demanded.

Julien froze, his mind scrambling for words. Why hadn’t he rehearsed his opening lines on the short journey here? This was his one shot at finding out about Béatrice’s involvement in AP. He couldn’t fuck this up.

“I’m not here to cause any trouble,” he began.Please, please, Elliot, don’t come yet.It would certainly reflect poorly on Julien if he suddenly burst into this scene. “I’m Julien Montaigne. I’m here to ask you about my sister, Béatrice.”

Brown, inquisitive eyes appraised him, gaze raking over his blond hair, pale face, and grey irises the exact same shade as Béatrice’s had been. “Leave us,” L commanded, and two pairs of footsteps trailed away behind him.

“I know that she was working with you,” Julien hedged. It was something he didn’t want to believe to be true for many reasons, but denial would get him nowhere.

“And how do you know that?” L asked, voice perfectly light and pleasant.

Without even a flinch, Julien said, “She told me.”

“Liar.”

The gut punch the words caused was unexpected. How did this L person know so much about what Béatrice had and hadn’t shared with him, her own brother? Were she and L close? They must have been.

Closer than you andBéatrice.

Julien bit his nails into his palms to control the tempest gathering speed within him. “Someone fucked with her locket. That’s how she died. I want to know who murdered her, and why.”

Was this new information to L? It was hard to tell. They took a second to absorb his words, tilting their head slightly. “It certainly wasn’t us, if that’s what you think. Béatrice was an extremely valuable asset to our cause.” L’s voice softened to add, “And a good friend of mine.”

---