Dark Harbour: The Tale of the Soul Searcher by Joseph Kiel Page A

kaleidoscope of rainbow lights and observe how they were trying to escape themselves, the oppressive feelings of self-doubt that were hidden by smiles, and bravado, or by the embrace of another that gave them the affirmations they could not give themselves. All around him were broken people and he could see all their lesions, and that, for the most part, they had no idea how to heal themselves.
    Floating away in these thoughts, Vladimir’s eyes sank solemnly to his feet. A familiar inner voice was kicking in and he did not like where it was leading him. He had to remind himself that broken people only existed because others had hurt them in the first place. People do people harm. He could see that plainly wherever he went. The ever-multiplying degenerates in this world had to understand their crimes and Vladimir knew there was only one way of ensuring that.
    ‘We’re gonna go sit over there,’ Jake said as he handed him a drink. They made their way over to a shadowy spot beneath a staircase.
    Jake and Clint were probably going to get so drunk that they wouldn’t even know what they were doing. No doubt Vladimir would be arranging a taxi for them later. He didn’t mind. It was all part of his role, looking over people. And besides, as an Angel of Karma he had to protect the other servants who worked within that same field.
    They all knew the fatal dangers of working in the Fires, having had a sudden reminder only six months ago. Quade had been an exuberant terrier, not quite as brutal as his fellow Powers Jake and Clint, and with not quite as strong an alcohol tolerance either. But he was spirited, a die-hard soldier always with that What do we do next, boss? look on his face.
    Since Quade’s curiosity had led to his untimely death, Jake and Clint had managed to cope with the extra workload. Even so, promoting someone from the lower ranks to become a Power was something that had been on Vladimir’s mind recently. It would be desirable having three of them again.
    It wasn’t like they would put an advert in the local paper for any old jobseeker to answer. All members of the Halo of Fires organisation were specially selected and took years to climb the ranks. They had to truly devote themselves to the purpose.
    Vladimir swallowed a mouthful of Coke and he could feel the bubbles sparkling in his stomach. He was sure that the universe would bring along new candidates when the time was right. He knew all about the meaningful path-crossing that souls made.

Part 3: Searching
     
    Chapter 3.1
     
    ‘Predictable,’ was the word Devlan muttered to Captain Harp when asked how he felt the search for the Tatterdemalion was going.
    It was the evening of the twelfth day of their project and the two of them stood at the back of their vessel waiting for the three divers to remove their scuba gear. The sparkling carpet of sea stretched out before them, seemingly forever, its mysteries hidden beneath in the glop of sediment on the seabed.
    Devlan had made some logical deductions going by the general tale of the Tatterdemalion . If the vessel had run aground then one had to conclude that it would have occurred close to the shoreline. Having agreed with Floyd on the length of coast in which they were to scour, the first task was to make an initial sweep up the coast, before then working themselves down again. And then going up again, and then down, slowly working their way further and further out to sea.
    The three divers were Archaeological Oceanography students fresh out of a university in Rhode Island. One of them was a native Harbourian whom Harp knew, so he snapped him up, along with his two friends who were both Americans. They were all very geeky and generally kept themselves to themselves, or rather away from Devlan, as none of them knew what to make of the strange, hooded man who directed everything.
    The divers brought a wealth of fledgling expertise along with all their computers and contraptions that seemed ill-fitting in