“All right. It should be around here somewhere.” The closet was plain as could be. Enrique put a hand on the back wall, tracing the surface. Hard and cold. Nothing stood out to him.
Sven scanned the wall with him. “You said there was a code?”
“Yeah. The note had a bunch of things. There’s some books it said you should read too, on her phone. Code’s 49912X—oh, there we go.”
As Enrique spoke the words, blue light flashed around his hand and a panel on the back wall slid open, revealing a large hidden room.
The trio stepped in. Lights flickered on. Enrique marveled at the vastness of it all, with white walls and weapons placed on stands. Among them were a long, thin rapier, knives, spears, a gently curved halberd, an old golden longsword, and a large collection of black guns. Bins of small round or box-shaped explosives sat nearby. There were also artifacts in transparent glass cases, including a small blue ring, a cross-like pendant, and bottles which reminded him of potions. Beside that were a dizzying amount of outfits and armor hanging behind transparent screens. “Whoa. It’s like a secret lair or something. You think this goes underground?”
“No idea. There’s the supplies.” Sven pointed to a large box placed prominently in the center, directly in front like it was waiting for their arrival.
“Sweet.” Enrique hauled the box up in both arms and set it closer to the entrance, opening it up.
Alicia, meanwhile, had found her damaged bodysuit in a glass case. That’s where it went! She dashed towards it and wrenched at the container. It didn’t budge. Locked. Come on! She raised a fist and summoned her mana, then slammed it down. The floor shook at the force. The reinforced glass cracked slightly but refused to break.
Enrique glanced up, irritated. “Crazy cat. What’re you doing? You want to bring the whole ceiling down on us?”
“That’s my armor. I need it.” She glared through the container at the outfit, seeing her reflection in the pane.
“I’ll make you a new one. We need to disguise ourselves, right?”
“I don’t need a disguise. I’ll use my powers. Idiot.”
“Hmph. Suit yourself.”
Enrique’s annoyance faded as he picked through the box, rattling items in compartments next to a pile of cloth, and held up a black outfit. “Kind of weird. This is like something a villain would wear. I could probably modify it a little. Oh, dang, there’s even masks, I think.”
He set out the other equipment. “Sowing kit, bunch of really dark cloth, um, some type of armor plating. Then these devices. Looks like my communicator but it’s black.”
Sven watched intently as Enrique fiddled around, picking up a needle and unspooling a roll of black thread. “Where did you learn that?”
“My older brother. His name was Jose. He was obsessed with superhero comics. There was this one series, about this luchador fighting vampires, with a mask—a lucha libre wrestler, I mean. That’s a kind of wrestling, if you don’t know. He liked that.”
He threaded some fabric, stumbling over words as he focused on patching up a hood. “Also bull fighters, and foreign animations, and old-time cowboys. Um.” His face reddened.
What am I doing? Who cares about that? “It was a big deal to him ‘cause our parents immigrated. South of the border. We didn’t know s*** about ourselves. Where we came from, you know? He would make me a costume sometimes, like on this one holiday. He started a gang. We lived on our own after our parents died in a fire. I used to get his hand-me-downs.”
Sven nodded. “I see.” He selected a rifle from the gun assortment. It looked like one Vi had earlier, jet-black with a long barrel. “I was an only child. Don’t remember much about my parents. Read a lot. Manhwa. Manga. Those types. Watched anime. Some video games. PVP, shooters.” The man took two sheathed knives and stuck them to the sides under his green cloak, hiding them from view. Then he grabbed two explosives, small green grenades, and fit them in the cloak as well.
Enrique watched Sven glance around, then realized he was looking for ammo. “You can use your mana. That’s how it works for my gun. But I wonder if something else’ll work. I did find this item. Here, try this.” He handed Sven a green cartridge from Vi’s pouch.
Sven loaded it with practiced ease. To both of their surprise, the rifle thrummed as if an invisible wave was going through it, a green arrow-shaped rune appearing on its side.
“What is that?” Alicia interjected, peering at the weapon with suspicion.
Enrique kept a straight face. “It’s for emergencies, I guess. We should save it for the leader when we find him. He’s really strong. I barely survived when I met him.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Based on the vibration, that’s a powerful spell,” Sven deduced mildly. He popped the cartridge out with a click. “Your brother. How is he now?”
“Shot to death. It was another gang. One group called the Black Wolves pretended to be helping us at first, leading us to them. Turns out it was a trap.” His eyes hardened at the memory.
Enrique donned the costume. “Anyways. How’d I look?” He reached over to a set of masks and put it on, studying his reflection in a nearby glass stand. It wasn’t perfect. The outfit covering his body was a large hooded robe, like a cartoon reaper’s, but a large part was like a vest protected by hard plating.
The mask didn’t quite match in terms of style. It was colorful red and white, cheap painted plastic. Like from some kind of festival, but modified. It reminded him of a motorcycle helmet at the front, with a long black visor obscuring his face. It was smart in that it gave him a wider view of surroundings. There were also two small protrusions at the top. Like animal ears. “Hey, isn’t this—?” He shot a glare at Alicia.
Alicia’s deadpan expression made him feel even more awkward than he did already. “You look like an ugly cat.”
“Your face is an ugly cat,” he retorted.
Sven waved his arms. “Okay, enough. We are the Black Cat Gang, after all. You look fine. Both of you.”
The boy grumbled. “I swear if Vi makes it I’m gonna punch her in the face for this.”
“I’ll wear one too.” Sven dug out an identical mask from the box.
“Of course there’s three.” Enrique sighed. His mind turned to logistics. Thinking about the practical danger they were facing. “We’ll definitely be outnumbered. I’m not sure how many gang members are going to show up. Wish I could go invisible like Alicia. Or summon those clones of her.”
“Well, we could—” Sven abruptly cut himself off. He put on an outfit identical to Enrique, over his cloak. The man picked up a black communicator device, which fit snugly around his ear, almost invisible.
Enrique noticed he was a little too focused putting on his mask and then flipping up the hood.
“What?”
“There is a way.” Sven looked from Alicia to Enrique. “Psychic link.”
The fire mage and the cat girl looked at each other and exclaimed in unison:
“H*** no!”
----------------------------------------
“No!” Alicia could barely contain the fury and panic raging inside. Outwardly, her body stayed composed but her green eyes flashed.
Would Master know? She remembered his cold, hard voice. The menace, the anger under its surface. The pressure whenever he spoke in her mind, like her head was about to explode. The way it paralyzed her, made her heart pound. Made her want to run, only there was nowhere she could run, ever.
The last time she had seen him face-to-face, with his glaring red eyes, had been like facing a god. Surrounded by the other children, the only ones she had known as long as she could remember, dead. Like sacrifices at an altar. She had felt sick, then.
But she had felt something else, too. A little less empty. Master had noticed her. He did not think badly of her, so she was safe. He had called her “my arm, my chosen, the darkness riding forth from me”. She almost felt…warm at the thought? She wasn’t sure, exactly, what that feeling was. Only that she never, ever wanted anyone to take that from her.
Master was the center of their lives. He was all that mattered. He was watching. He was waiting. “You’re NOT getting in my head!”
“Whoa.” Enrique backed away as fast as he could to another side of the room. Black aura roared out of the assassin.
“It was only a suggestion. You don’t have to do it.” Sven raised his hands in a placating gesture.
Her partner gazed into her eyes. The man’s normally stoic expression softened. What happened to you, Alicia?
Alicia’s voice was a low growl. Looking at his face, she could practically tell what he was thinking. Master had taught her, show no reaction, no weakness. Otherwise you’d be dead. “Stop looking at me like that.”
Enrique swallowed hard. He wondered if Alicia could hear Sven’s thoughts, the way Vi could read his. Based on her reaction, she couldn’t or didn’t want to. Her response was way stronger than he expected. “Okay. We won’t do it. No one’s going to get in your mind. Sven won’t try to either, right?”
“Right.” Sven still had his hands up. “It’s not even possible in my case. I don’t know how that spell works, myself.”
Huh. Then she can’t read Sven. “Let’s change the subject?”
“Right.” Sven kept his eyes on Alicia. “We’ll have to stay out of range of enemies. I remember, Enrique, you never explained how you learned the spell that let us move faster—”
Vi’s phone rang from her pouch. Enrique took it out. The phone number didn’t show a name. Desperate to bring everyone’s attention elsewhere, he hit to accept the call.
A male voice hissed at a fast clip. “Located enemy spy, linked to WMD plans. Moving to engage and apprehend them. Suspected collaboration with gangs. Need a captive's intel. Expecting heavy resistance. Require backup urgently. Time critical. Provide a prompt response. Over.”
“Sorry, what?”
Silence at the end of the line. The speaker hissed, low and hard-edged. “Who are you? Where’s Vi?”
He fumbled for a response but kept his reply steady. “She was hurt. I’m Vi’s partner. My name’s Enrique.”
“Her partner is Aurelius. He’s been performing covert ops outside the kingdom for many years.” The voice sounded like there was no doubt about this.
“No, really. I’m not sure if she told anyone else—”
“Prove it.”
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
He’s testing me, I think. I don’t think mentioning her profile would be a good excuse. He racked his brains. “She showed me what happened in a vision. With her previous partner. What were you talking about earlier?”
A peculiar curse was sworn. “Grishna’s temple! You’re a greenhorn. This won’t be a job for amateurs. I don’t have time to explain everything.” The voice grumbled. “Civvie.”
Sven seized the phone from Enrique. “Copy that. Three team members ready for deployment. We're currently engaged in a parallel mission targeting criminal gang elements from the Dire Wolves. Advise rendezvous coordinates and task specifics. Over.”
Another short silence over the speaker. Enrique could almost hear the stranger’s surprise in it.
“Someone competent. This, we can work with,” the voice hissed. “I'll be in proximity to the gang, searching for the spy. Link up with me at their designated rendezvous point.”
“Roger.” The man introduced himself. “I’m Sven, a former leader of a special operations squad in an army.”
“Gujar of Grishna’s temple, she who is ruler of darkness. May she be praised.” There was no further elaboration.
Enrique grabbed the phone back. “You’re trying to stop Allblades, right?”
Alicia became very attentive at the name, staring intently at the phone with the others. She forced herself to be still and act normal. This is one of those looking for Master. How does Enrique know about Master too? I need to make a move against everyone soon.
A heartbeat passed over the phone, as if the speaker was debating continuing. “Yes.” The voice became quiet. Hatred and disgust lurked beneath the surface.
“Who’s Allblades?” Alicia asked. Planting false innocence couldn’t hurt.
The stranger who called himself Gujar laughed. It was a humorless cackle. “Who is Allblades? A mass murderer. The world’s most accomplished assassin. Cruel and callous. A monster whose mind is twisted beyond reason. It is he who in times past defied divinity, taking the powers of Osmodeus himself, the demon of destruction.”
“A demon?” Sven raised his eyebrows.
“I was part of a team who was hunting him for many years. He stole fifteen orphans from the kingdom with the assistance of an inside agent. Raising new Shadows, his most dangerous right-hand men. We only found three.”
The voice hissed with bitterness, as if scalded by hot water. “We had to go comms dark the whole time. Vi asked us many times to pull back because she didn’t want pointless deaths. My team went solo and didn't want to trouble her. Allblades was always one step ahead of us. We couldn’t find the others. Until it was too late.”
As Alicia listened, it was like puzzle pieces clicked in place. Memories over the years came flooding back. Master and her fellow assassins had always been moving. Always been running.
They never stayed in one place long. Sometimes it was days. Sometimes less. She and the others had gone from one place to another, from one wild, vicious, monster-infested landscape to the next, or to all kinds of dark, horrible rooms in bizarre labyrinth realms. Always dark.
Master had always said they needed to avoid being watched. In the beginning she thought he meant the masses of chaos creatures. Now she knew otherwise.
One year ago, twelve assassins remained. Now there were three. Three Shadows.
“Unforgivable,” the voice muttered. Enrique wasn’t sure if Gujar meant himself or Allblades. “I scryed with Grishna’s blessing to break into a room. Saw the bodies. They were cut up, blood on the floor, helpless. I will never forget the sight.
I did that. I killed… Alicia couldn’t bear to think further. Didn’t want to remember names or memories of being together. Hunting, sharing meals, talking. She glanced down at her hands.
“I sent the evidence to Vi, and that was that. I sought to recover the bodies, but Allblades is more repulsive than the blood priests of Nara. When I got there, the bodies had been…drained.”
“Drained? What does that mean?” Enrique wondered. He felt sick hearing Gujar recount his experience. Were they going to have to fight someone messed up like that?
“It can only mean one thing. A living WMD.”
“What’s a WMD?”
Sven’s reply to Enrique was grim. “Weapon of Mass Destruction.”
Gujar went on. “Their life force had been sucked out of them when they passed. If my guess is correct, he absorbed the energy into himself. The destruction fed the part of him possessing Osmodeus. Allblades is a fiend, but he uses everything to his advantage. He is not wasteful.”
Alicia had gone very still. That made sense, in a way. It would explain why the twelve of them had been allowed to live for so long. Master had trained them to their limits, then pitted them against each other to see who was worthy. The losers became powerful sacrifices. She wasn’t sure if she should feel horrified or relieved the deaths had not been for nothing.
Sven watched Alicia. He was troubled by her lack of reaction. The way she hid herself reminded him of his own fears. Gujar continued.
“This is of utmost importance. I wished to discuss this with Vi today. My clanmates have heard rumors about our brothers in nearby churches and temples. They chatter of the rise of their patron. The demon of chaos, Kavistra.”
The name sounded vaguely familiar to Enrique. “Some kidnappers I saw earlier were related to that demon.”
“What exactly is terrible about demons?” Sven wanted to know.
A low chuckle. “No mortal can behold a demon’s full self and live. Their mere avatars resist all but the most fearsome magic and can slaughter thousands. They each feed on the essence of an aspect of the world, growing stronger and stronger. The destruction of life, chaos when it rises in the air, the darkness oppressing one’s heart. If the high priests can feel the tremors of chaos, then I suspect Allblades used his strength from the blood sacrifice to free a part of Kavistra. There was good reason she was locked away.”
Sven nodded. “Doesn’t sound good. Is there anything we can do?”
Gujar murmured in a sing-song chant. “Grishna watch over us. Great ruler be praised. May your blackness cover the eyes of our foe, your rival in the lands beyond seeing.”
“Um, if we’re resorting to prayers already we sound pretty doomed,” Enrique muttered.
At this, Gujar protested with a loud noise like a cobra stirred from its slumber. “Grishna sees the Kingdom. It is where her worshippers are now. None can escape her sight. Well, there was that one time Aurelius and Vi stabbed out her eye…” He muttered under his breath like he was cursing. “Even if it was only a partial manifestation, such blasphemy. At least the kingdom became an object of attention after that.”
The voice recovered itself, resuming a brisk tone. “We can only focus on what we can. Stop the gang. Find the spy. He or she is a traitorous citizen of the kingdom and must be brought to justice. Learn any details you can about possible attacks at the Anniversary Ball. We have little time.”
“Got it.” Enrique nodded.
The line cut off with a soft beep.
----------------------------------------
“This has nothing to do with the gang.” Sven peered at Vi’s phone, scrolling through pages of text. His brows were furrowed in concentration.
“Huh? What’s it say?”
“The book’s dense. I can summarize it. It’s about a race of beings called the Saukallians.”
Enrique attempted to pronounce. “Sauw-callee-uns?”
“Known for their strength and war-like culture. Smaller cities around them were often taken over by their coastal raids and invasions. Lots of controversial traditions and rituals. Impressment, a vast labor trade, status-based hierarchy, even this one holiday, translated ‘The Day of Blood’, which the book says ‘terrorized the villages of Ai and Ishnu’. Although, the villages are already in Saukallian territory so I’m not sure what that was about.”
He found a map on the phone and showed it to Enrique. “The Saukallians live in the Red Kingdom which borders the Unplaced kingdoms. They’re very close based on the texts. Historically the Red Kingdom blocked the Unplaced off from the Anima Kingdom and other parts of the world. After the Five Kingdoms War, not so much. But apparently the Anima call lots of places ‘kingdoms’, so that term’s not strictly accurate.”
“The gang is from the Unplaced kingdoms,” Enrique recalled.
“Ah. Tangential, then. There’s also a short book, kind of a classified report.” Sven swiped around to a gray cover on the screen. “It mentions the Dire Wolves as a relatively new gang. Stood out and been gaining traction the last three months. Apparently their numbers grew and they’re migrants from poor places. I’m still not sure about the relation to Saukallians, though.”
Sven made a face of distaste. “Conquering other cities and villages is sickening. When I joined the army, I did it because I had a duty to my country. War is always ugly. From my own experience, I don’t think these Saukallians would engage in destructive invasions unless there’s something deeply wrong at play. Few resources, for example. Or their society has an ideology conflicting with another part of the world.”
“That sounds reasonable.” Enrique peeked over at Alicia. “Any other ideas?” When she didn’t reply, he sighed and kicked against the ground, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I don’t like the Dire Wolves, but I can see where they’re coming from. If they were assaulted by Saukallians, that must have sucked. You know how gangs start?”
Sven shook his head. Alicia made a similar motion. So Enrique informed them, hunching his shoulders. “When it seems like your world is ending, you don’t waste time being nice. People who band into a gang do it because they’re poor or in a bad place. For me, it started with money. My parents died in a fire, so my brother was sinking debt getting him and me in school. I remember I lived in this one-room lot with bugs and bad light with a broken heater in winter. After you sleep like that for awhile, you get harder. You feel me? Stop caring about others and do sketchy work, whatever it takes. You live like dirt, do dirty things for your people, and before you know it you become a dirty person.”
“Ah. Makes sense.” Sven’s eyes were sympathetic. Enrique quickly averted his gaze and grimaced to make it clear he didn’t want to be felt sorry for.
“Any other ideas?”
“Nothing concrete.”
“Hmm. Well, we’ll have to figure that out later.”
Sven paced back and forth in Vi’s room. He tapped buttons on his black communicator and his voice crackled in Enrique’s own speaker. His words came out warped, not only because of static but muffled and distorted under his mask. “Okay, here’s our cover. You and I are traitors to the kingdom. We decided to leave the Anima because of disagreements with your partner. Then we encountered Alicia after she fled the Dire Wolves. We forced her into the gang and now we want drugs to help establish our own territory.”
Enrique nodded along. “So, we need to sell that aspect of hating our partners or we won’t convince them.”
“It’s tricky. I don’t know if they have access to our profiles, but we should play it safe. I can pretend Alicia is a stranger we both encountered, but if they somehow find we’re partners then I simply act as if she doesn’t matter to either of us. At the same time, we don’t want her with the Dire Wolves again because she’s an asset.”
“Sure. Alicia, what do you think?”
Alicia’s mouth tightened but said nothing. She marched towards the kitchen and grabbed another bottle to drown out her unease. This stuff’s getting addictive.
The boy sighed. “Forget it. Hey, Sven, are those grenades you’re carrying around? Is that safe?”
“Sure. I’d worry more about those cubes of C4. These seem like standard frags I’ve used before. Here, want me to teach you? You just pull the pin—”
“Whoa, whoa! Don’t go holding it like that!”
“Aren’t you a fire element?”
“Doesn’t mean I like seeing stuff blow up in my face!” Enrique had backed against Vi’s bed while waving an arm. Sven held up a grenade like it was a common household object, eyebrows raised.
As soon as Alicia judged the other two distracted, she pulled out her phone and sent a text to her mysterious contact. Need to drop my item off early. Will come tonight. Do you have anything for me?
The reply came with surprising swiftness. What’s the rush?
Alicia hesitated. Boss wants me to hurry.
Fine. I’m busy. Same place. Same time of day. Have very sensitive deliveries. Intel and a package.
Okay. How do I know it’s you?
No answer. Don’t be late.
The assassin checked her pocket to ensure the folded alliance draft she had was tucked out of sight.
----------------------------------------
“Are you sure this is going to work?”
Alicia carefully laid the brown stuffed teddy bear face-up at the center of a grassy field. It was deserted save for the three of them. The moon and stars shimmered overhead, faint lights in the dark sky.
“We’ll hide in the bushes. They’re big enough.”
Enrique shuffled behind a hedge of dark green leaves. Sven and Alicia hid in nearby bushes. He spoke through his communication device to the two. It was like a radio. “I’m worried we won’t be able to see when it does something. Whatever it’s supposed to do.”
Sven’s voice came over the speaker. “I’ve got eyes on it.”
The three waited a short time. The night was silent.
Suddenly, the teddy bear jerked its head up. A small pink rune, like a symbol of an ax, appeared in its chest. It wiggled its arms as it lay flat on the grass, testing they worked properly. Then it pushed itself up, unsteadily, on its feet. The teddy bear took a wobbling step and swiveled its head this way and that, checking its surroundings.
It uttered an exclamation in a high, tinny voice. “Kah! Did that Charlotte drop me again?”
“What the heck?” Enrique whispered as he peeked through the leaves.
Sven watched in silence to not give away his position. The teddy bear reminded him of some stories he’d read. He spoke to Enrique very quietly. “Have you heard of golems?”
“Not really.”
“They’re a popular myth from history. You see them in games sometimes. Creatures formed from dust or earth and animated by incantations or a sequence of letters.”
“Orrr it could be a living, breathing teddy bear.”
“That too. But not likely.”
They were interrupted by the teddy bear breaking into a run with its little feet pat-patting the grass. “I’m going to be late. Why did she have to leave me so far away?”
Enrique darted out of the bushes. “Let’s go. Alicia can trail her and Sven and I can follow at a distance.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Sven adjusted the strap holding the rifle at his back, careful to not make a sound.
Alicia activated her invisibility. She kept a steady pace towards the stuffed teddy bear, her own steps completely silent.
The three raced into the night.