13 Mink Street

Chapter 30: We Are Family

"Your parents. I killed them with my own hands."

Karon had braced himself as soon as Tiz had announced that he would reveal a secret. He had prepared a place for the news in his heart, even as he lay confined to his bed. And yet, he had not expected the old man to simply speak the truth. There was no preamble, nor even a pause for breath. Perhaps, as Karon had once suspected, it was less about the moment and more about finally saying what needed to be said.

“Your parents, like me, were Inquisitors in the Church of Order.” Karon noticed that Tiz chose the word “Inquisitor,” rather than “priest.” Pu’er had explained the church’s official structure using a variety of names, but the sequence of ranks was fixed: Purifier, Divine Servant; Inquirer, Divine Seeker; Contemplator, Divine Shepherd. Following that was Inquisitor. The first three were little more than low-level bureaucrats, while the title of Inquisitor was the first that belonged to a true official. Judging by Tiz’s standing, the position was similar to that of a regional head. Karon’s parents had wielded true authority. The Immers family had produced three Inquisitors, claiming a stance as a respected lineage within the Church of Order, one that none could take lightly.

“They were tainted during a mission to purge demonkin, and their souls became irreversibly corrupted, beyond hope of redemption. At their request, I chose to grant them release.” Karon was not especially surprised by this. Pu’er had mentioned that Tiz cared deeply for his family, and that the only reason he had not killed already Karon himself was because he was the old man’s biological grandson. Karon’s own notebook had a record of Tiz killing Karon’s parents, yet he had always believed Tiz must have had his reasons. While Tiz spoke in an even, measured tone, Karon could imagine the pain that must have consumed him when someone so loyal to his own blood had been forced to end the lives of two loved ones with his own hands.

But what was this irreversible corruption? When Ron had been tainted by that Wellspring of Sin copper coin, he had been purified. Tiz had performed the ritual, and Ron recovered. Karon’s parents, on the other hand, had been beyond saving. The difference was like the difference between food poisoning, which a doctor might treat, and a poison for which there was no antidote.

“At that moment, you became a child without parents, and since then, I have regretted everything. I regret leading your father and mother into the faith. I regret how many members of the Immers family have been lost to the Church of Order across the generations, sacrificed in its name. Nearly every generation has suffered the sudden loss of family. The irony is truly bitter; Our family runs a funeral home, and yet we have never been able to hold a true funeral for our own dead.” Karon recalled Pu’er’s explanation for why the corpse of a priest would always be reclaimed.

“So, I made a decision. Once I am gone, the Immers family will withdraw from the Church of Order. I want Mason, Winnie, their children, I want you, I want all of us, to never again be swept into the darkness that lurks in this world. I want us to live as ordinary people, having ordinary lives. Even if ordinary people must grow old and die, or endure suffering and accidents, it is still better than witnessing the church’s twisted cruelties. It’s better than meeting your end with a soul corrupted beyond peace.”

Here, Tiz gave a short, self-mocking laugh. “In the end, I am a selfish man. My concerns go no further than our own threshold. When I was young, I too chased doctrine. I said that I would give anything for the Light of Order, believing I could bring honor to the Immers family from within the church. Now, all I wish is for my family to be healthy, to be safe. Maybe, if fate allows, even a little happy.”

Tiz’s gaze lingered at the window. Karon understood that his grandfather was not simply sharing a story, but confessing something that he had held in silence for a long time. These were words that he could not share with the others, and so they had remained buried in his chest.

“I, Tiz Immers, am a man without ambition.” It was the truest confession the old man had ever given. “And then you fell ill; gravely ill. I did everything I could to keep you safe, but I failed. You still left us.”

Karon fell silent. This revealed what their relationship had truly been.

“I lied to Mason and Mary,” Tiz continued. “I told them I was taking you to a hospital in Belwyn, one known for treating difficult cases like yours. In reality, you’d already stopped breathing before I even took you away. You were dead. I had already lost my son and daughter-in-law, and you had lost your parents. At that moment, it looked like I was going to lose you as well. For a while, I thought it was punishment from the God of Order, that He’d seen how I’d strayed from the light, and so He’d sent disaster to me, taking you from me as well. While you were being resuscitated, I confessed everything. I even swore an oath: if the God of Order would restore my little Karon, I would give the rest of my life to the church and to shielding its Light. The Immers family would continue on our devotion, serving as the cause’s truest defenders. I would bring you into the fold, passing everything to you so that, at the very least, our sacrifice would have meaning. Still, you died. The God of Order refused me. Perhaps he never even listened.”

Tiz’s words grew fainter, as though losing force. At last, he raised his head and went on in a measured, almost serene voice, “When I stood before your body, I spoke to you and to the sky.”

He paused, hands splayed in a gesture that held the memory, regret, or some trace of satisfaction. He then said, “God of Order, raised by a whore!”

At Tiz’s declaration of blasphemy, the world flickered before Karon’s eyes, light warping against shadow. He knew it was only in his mind. Even in his previous life, where he’d held no beliefs and bowed to no altar, he’d never spoken ill of any gods, never mocking them openly for fear of tempting fate. Yet here, in a world where faith was true substance and the churches wielded real power, an Inquisitor had cursed his own god aloud.

“He let you go, but I refused to accept it,” Tiz continued. “You were just a child, shy and closed off from birth. You’d never been given so much as a chance to start your life. There was so much you hadn’t seen. You shouldn’t have been taken; not from yourself, not from your parents, not from me, not from the Immers family. It wasn’t fair. So I went to see Mr. Hoffen. He’s a retired Shepherd from the Church of Principle, and someone who knows things that most do not. I saved his life once, and I cashed in on that favor. I was shameless, and he eventually agreed. With his help, in an empty factory outside of Belwyn, we performed a high-level divine descent ritual. Karon, when the ritual ended, I didn’t run, even though I knew the commotion could well bring the authorities or the churches. I stayed for many minutes. I pressed my ear to your chest, and I heard your heart beating. The joy of that moment, I wanted to lose myself in it. It wasn’t some mere ‘awakening’ of a dead body, rousing a scrap of life within a cold shell. My grandson’s body had regained a soul. My grandson was alive. My grandson came back to life!”

Karon drew in a slow breath. He knew the truth, that the being who had awoken at that moment had not been the original Karon, but himself. His own soul, lost to a distant accident, had been drawn into Karon’s body. Tiz had not revived his grandson by chance or luck. This had been no accident, but the result of Tiz’s preparations.

For a moment, guilt simmered through Karon’s heart. Because of him, Tiz’s hope to truly bring back his grandson would never be fulfilled.

“I think that’s why Alfred treats you with such great respect,” Tiz went on. “He must guess, holding a suspicion that you are related to that divine descent ritual in Belwyn. Hoffen and Pu’er both helped me prepare it, but I don’t think either ever actually believed that it would work. Maybe they helped just to humor a grieving old man. When we actually succeeded, they did everything they could to persuade me to kill the being who had descended, before it grew strong.”

Karon pursed his lips tightly. He did not fear that Tiz would kill him, not after hearing the whole story. If Tiz had ever truly wished him dead, it would have been done long ago. The old man was not a man to hesitate. Anyone who dared to curse the God of Order to his face was not faint of heart.

Even so, Karon felt compelled to ask, curiosity outweighing his caution, “Grandpa, then why didn’t you kill me?”

He knew the question bordered on insolence, but there was no one else he would dare broach such a question.

Tiz answered without hesitation. “What did you just call me?”

“Grandpa.”

“Then you are my grandson.”

A laugh escaped Karon, sudden and bright. He lay back on his bed, gaze drifting from Tiz to the ceiling. He tried again, “Why?”

Tiz stood over him. “Why what?”

“You know what I mean.”

“Then tell me,” Tiz challenged. “What difference is there between the you now and the you who was in your mother’s womb?”

“There is a great difference,” Karon replied. “A very great difference.”

I am not that Karon. In truth, I am nothing like him. He was withdrawn, timid, afraid. I am the opposite of all that.

Tiz shook his head. “What I am asking is, what difference is there to me?”

“To you...?”

“When my grandson was still unborn, where did my feelings for him come from? Did I know his character? Did I know what kind of person he would become, or what he would believe in? I didn’t even know if the child would be a boy or a girl, and yet I loved him all the same. I was eager for his birth. I pictured him waking, and even crying in the cradle.”

Karon asked, “Then is it the blood connection? The Immers blood in my veins?”

“No.”

“No?”

“I cherished that unborn child because, when that child was born and learned to speak, he would call me ‘grandpa.’”

Karon fell silent. He realized just how badly he had misunderstood Tiz, and for so long. He had projected his own fears and assumptions onto the old man, never comprehending that Tiz saw a different world. Behind that severe exterior lay a gentle heart.

“After the divine descent ritual was done, I put my ear to your chest. When I heard your heart beat once more, it was as if I had returned to those days when your mother carried you. I stood close, outwardly stern, yet overflowing with hope that you would enter this world safely. I believed that, once you awoke, you would call me ‘grandpa.’ Still, I was not entirely sure, and there was anxiety mixed with that hope. That’s why, when I brought you home and you awoke that first time, our family gathered around your bed. You looked at us, confused. Your gaze lingered on each face, and yet you said nothing. I grew nervous, but I could understand. You had only just arrived. Being thrust into such an unfamiliar world, who could blame you for not reaching out to someone right away?”

Only at this moment did Karon remember seeing Tiz’s face that first time, and the mix of relief and weight it had betrayed. Karon had always believed Tiz was trying to decide if he would let him live, yet the truth was different. Tiz had always known that the old Karon was gone. His worry had been that the new one would not consider the old man to be his grandfather.

Suddenly Tiz smiled. “Then, two days later, you began calling for people. You sounded so eager. Your cousins, your uncle, your aunt, your other aunt, and of course, your grandfather. The way you called me by that word, over and over, with such sweet flattery... I almost found it strange at first.”

Karon could not help but laugh. He really had been so helpless at that moment, lost in a world that was not his own, relying solely on his new ‘family’ for any possible protection. He had been like any newborn child entering the world, starting completely anew.

Tiz reached out, tightening the quilt around Karon’s shoulders. “The god above took my grandson from me. I, Tiz, had to reclaim him. From the moment you called me grandpa, it made no difference to me whether you were a true god or something else entirely.”

He leaned down and kissed Karon’s forehead, gentle as a benediction. “I lost a member of my family, but I gained one as well, did I not?”

Karon nodded, and earnestly replied, “Yes, Grandpa.”

I love this family, I really do. There’s Mina and Lent, who are both so thoughtful. Clarice, who’s always gentle. I like Uncle Mason, who’s irreverent but always there when it counts. Aunt Mary, with her sharp tongue and soft heart. Then there’s Aunt Winnie, so stern on the outside, yet quietly warm beneath it all. And then there’s you, Tiz. You don’t see just how remarkable you seemed right now when you spoke against god.

“Rest well, and take care of yourself.” Tiz turned and opened the door to the bedroom.

As the old man stepped out, Karon forced himself upright and called after him, “Grandpa, I promise, from now on, I’ll make sure everyone in our family lives in peace and happiness.”

Tiz did not look back. He just waved a hand, saying, “We don’t need you yet.”

After a pause, he added, “Not while I am still here.”