The Return of the Architect

The echo of the gunshot still rang through the chamber. Dust swirled in the candlelight, disturbed by the impact of the bullet against ancient stone. Jessica’s breath came slow and even, her gun steady in her hands. She had been in ambushes before. She had felt the weight of a scope aimed between her shoulder blades.

This was different. This wasn’t an execution. This was containment. They weren’t here to kill her. They were here to take her.

Leanna pressed against the pillar, eyes scanning the darkness. “Three at least. Maybe more.”

Jessica nodded. “We need to move.”

The keeper remained motionless by the altar, watching her. He had known this would happen. He had known that the moment she remembered, the moment she chose to break the cycle, the ones who buried the truth would come for her.

Another gunshot cracked through the air. Jessica ducked, pivoting toward the doorway. They couldn’t stay here. This wasn’t a battlefield. It was a trap.

She moved fast. One, two steps across the chamber, the old stone shifting beneath her boots. A figure emerged from the shadows, rifle raised. Jessica didn’t hesitate. She fired once, a clean shot to the center mass.

The man staggered, crumpling to the ground, but before his body hit the floor, two more figures moved from the darkness.

Jessica barely had time to react before the first one lunged. She pivoted, twisting her body at the last second, the attacker’s momentum carrying him forward. She slammed her elbow into his ribs, felt the breath leave his lungs in a sharp grunt.

Almost immediately, the second attacker there. Jessica spun too slow. The impact struck her hard, her back hitting the cold stone wall. Pain flared down her spine, but she had already learned to move through pain, to function even as her body screamed against it. The attacker grabbed her wrist, twisting the gun from her hand. Jessica snarled, using the leverage to drive her knee into his gut.

His grip faltered, just enough. She caught the handle of her knife, drew fast. A blur of movement. A sharp exhale. The blade pressed against his throat. The fight ended.

The man went still, his breath shallow. Jessica held him for a second longer, her pulse steady, the cold fire of survival humming beneath her skin. Then, she released him. The man collapsed.

She turned to Leanna and Olivia., “We need to go. Now.”

* * *

The moment they reached the upper corridor, Jessica smelled the smoke. Not from the candles. From fire.

“They’re burning it,” Olivia murmured, the realization dawning. “They’re covering their tracks.”

Jessica gritted her teeth. Of course. If she wouldn’t erase herself, they’d erase everything around her. Destroy the evidence. Destroy the keepers. Destroy the past.

Jessica took the stairs three at a time, adrenaline keeping her upright. The exit loomed ahead, the open archway barely visible through the thickening smoke.

Then, movement. Another figure, stepping into the light.

Jessica froze. Not a soldier. Not a nameless assassin. Mr. Black.

Jessica’s breath stopped. He was supposed to be dead. She had killed him.

But he had returned. Here he was watching her with the same infuriating patience he always did.

His voice was quiet. “I told you not to remember.”

Jessica’s fingers twitched toward her gun. “You should be dead.”

Mr. Black exhaled, tilting his head. “Should be, yes.”

Jessica’s grip tightened. “You lied to me.”

A faint smile. “Not once.”

Jessica’s blood burned. He had always been in control. Always a step ahead. But not this time. She raised her gun. And fired. The bullet tore through the space where he had been. But Mr. Black wasn’t there anymore. He moved way too fast.

Jessica barely had time to register before he was beside her, his grip closing around her wrist, twisting the gun away with practiced efficiency.

She didn’t hesitate. She threw her weight forward, using his own leverage against him. For a fraction of a second she had the advantage. Then nothing but pain.

A sharp, electric pressure against the base of her skull. Her vision blurred. Her body locked. Jessica’s breath hitched.

“Not this time,” Mr. Black murmured, his voice almost gentle.

The last thing Jessica saw was the monastery burning. Then darkness.