A man sat in darkness. In the cold emptiness of his cell. Waiting to die.
One memory he couldn’t forget. It was like death itself had swept in like a wave, claiming its victims in droves. Heads separating from bodies. Holes appearing through foreheads before anyone could scream.
In the mayhem and panic, he had gotten separated. They lost all ground gained, the city’s defenders seizing the opportunity to pursue and strike them down in droves.
The sight of his unit falling around him. His squad cut down from behind. He’d been hit by an adventurer’s beam. Weapons clattered to the ground.
Then. A blue-eyed woman with many black tails approached. He knew she was the cause. The way she held herself. Straight-backed and brimming with energy, yet self-controlled. Pure efficiency was built into every movement.
She should have killed him. Instead, eyes pitying, she healed him. Dulled shock went through his body as pain eased and wounds closed. He still didn’t understand. Why?
His brothers-in-arms were cuffed in cells next to him. Soundproof walls. He didn’t know what was happening to any of them. Only that people who came into these jails never came out.
He wondered if Yecna had survived. He doubted it.
Movement up ahead caught his eye. A small gray rat scurried on the floor. He found this curious. Such pests were a common occurrence in his former life, but his wealthy enemy surely would not stand it. It poked its head through the cell bars. Peered up briefly at his face. It waved a small paw on the ground, as if checking for disturbances. Then it wiggled through.
A small cloud of gray smoke surrounded the animal, and a figure rose from the mist like a black-robed ghoul. He had gleaming red eyes, pale white skin, and wings of a bat. The specter raised a hand which had black claws at the end instead of nails, stepping towards the captive.
The prisoner rasped. “Basu.” His voice was a dry croak from lack of use.
He must be tired, to be reverting to the language of his old master’s home.
The creature remained with hand outstretched. A judge pointing at the accused. Blue runic letters were visible on an arm under the folds of the robe, spelling a name of a dark one. The specter spoke in a syllabic accent, enunciating each word like a snake. “Yes. Hakune to the Elarrians. Nocturne to ourselves and the Anima.”
The Nocturne cocked his head, studying the stranger’s features. “You are the one they call Waz. The brother of Yecna.”
“That is the only name I know.”
A flash of understanding crossed the Nocturne’s face.
It was a stupid-sounding name, because it was. Waz meant “pack mule”, also slang for “useless” in the Saukallian language. The Nocturne did not comment despite this.
His gaze wandered from healed skin to a prominent tattoo branded on the prisoner’s right shoulder. A sequence of faded black letters and numbers, sterile and uniform. AI789346. An ID. Waz’s brother had a nearly identical one, except the last number increased by one.
“It’s no use questioning me. We’ve already agreed beforehand. If I’m taken, I’m useless. I’m dead to Yecna now.” The words hurt as they came out of the throat.
“You will assist me, Waz.” The hand dipped down.
The prisoner had seen execution videos. He prepared himself for the end. Imagination filled gaps in his knowledge about whatever process led to the end result. Agony for who knew how long, and then a forced group march to a public square with cameras. An announcement by a ministry official before the final swing of sharp steel. Ironic the last act of mercy he remembered, one of the few of his short life, was from an enemy.
What he didn’t expect was a low click as the restraints around his arms fell off.
The Nocturne moved his hand back, a small key vanishing in his robes, and stepped to the cell entrance, sliding open the door. “Come.”
It was not a request.
“What’s this about?” Waz stood up, rotating his arms to feel the freedom without the cuffs.
The Nocturne turned to gaze into his eyes. “Kavistra, great one be praised, has decided not to abandon you. Though our last partnership was disastrous, your gang will be useful for us.”
A break-in? His thoughts went to the cells around them. “What about the others?”
“I must attend a meeting. We have no time.”
“But the guards—”
“That has been taken care of. For now.” The Nocturne’s voice was sharp and cold.
He cringed and dropped his gaze.
Waz walked with the Nocturne out the cell. The creature took out a small bottle of black liquid. He uncorked it and murmured a chant. The liquid poured as thick mist and formed around the two in a small cloud. Above them, lights on the ceiling flickered out.
The Nocturne grabbed Waz’s shoulder and steered him through the pitch-black room. More lights went out. Everything was eerily silent. Waz couldn’t see a thing as they took twists and turns.
Eventually a door opened. The Nocturne stepped out into the night air and released his grip. The stranger drew a black hood over his head.
“Now. Take me to your leader.”
Waz took his time to reply. “What do you want? Yecna won’t care if you freed me—”
“A negotiation. You will be paid. In exchange, you shall serve the ones I serve. Is that too hard to understand?”
The man tensed as the Nocturne’s impatient eyes fell on him. Waz was reminded how frail his kind was in comparison. The monstrous figure could reach out a clawed hand and snap his neck like a twig. His heart pounded, aware his chest was exposed without armor. Waz broke into a cold sweat, ignoring the biting wind that seeped through his clothes. “I’m not certain where he is. Maybe our last hideout.”
“Go.”
They picked their way through streets in silence. Ravens fluttered past. An owl hooted in the distance. Brown mice darted from random corners. The two came into view of an abandoned warehouse and a shed in disrepair.
The Nocturne halted. His expression became clouded.
Waz glanced back. “A little longer. By the shed. We’re almost there.”
A mouse chittered on the pavement. With a puff of smoke, it transformed into a second Nocturne, this one black-haired with trailing robes of scarlet and black. An angry red character, a symbol in a foreign language, was etched on his arm. He had a necklace with a matching symbol on his neck.
The first Nocturne put his hands together and bowed. “For Kavistra! She who thrives and devours chaos.”
The newcomer flapped his wings and drew himself to his full height. “Greetings, brother. You were not expected.”
“We were delayed. Xivu was attacked on his way to locate gang survivors, so I was chosen in his stead.”
The red-robed one narrowed his eyes. “I see. The kingdom is as conniving as ever. Which church are you from?”
“I am—”
A blur of movement so fast Waz could not catch it. Scuffling sounds as the two collided. Then the first Nocturne from the jail stepped back, holding a bloody rock. The second was lying on the ground, blood seeping from his head and scarlet and black robes.
The Nocturne dropped the rock, distaste on his face. “Gujar of Grishna has trespassed on Kavistra’s domain. Darkness has gained, now blood for blood, may she of chaos be praised.”
He made a gesture with both hands, drawing a symbol of chaos, and bowed to the body. Then he slit the back of hand, turning his wrist and letting out three drops of blood.
Waz watched with bewilderment.
Gujar intoned, “A debt payment. Farewell, brother.”
He fetched the robes and put them on. “And now I have ascended to the priesthood.”
Waz was very still, wondering what was going on with this madman who attacked his fellows. Infighting, he guessed, a power struggle among the crazed worshippers of a fictional chaos demon.
Gujar chuckled, dark and low. He whispered to himself. “What heresy, to utter blasphemies and lay a hand on an anointed one. It must be done. Kavistra will surely punish me for this.”
Then he turned to Waz. “Return to your gang. I will follow you shortly.”
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A familiar voice was groggy, like it had woken from a long nap. “What’d I miss?”
“Remnant!” Enrique chanced a glance down at his sword.
“It seems I’ve regained enough energy to hang around. You guys have been busy, I see.”
Enrique turned his head in the direction of Sven, off to his left. Alicia was running ahead. Probably. He and Sven could make out the teddy bear as it wound its way past closed shops.
“Hey, now that I think about it, wasn’t that your voice in the training flashback you sent me? I know who you are.”
“No, you don’t.” The sword’s bluntness caught him off guard.
He was taken aback. “Aren’t you Aurelius? I swear, you sound exactly like him.”
“Not exactly.”
Enrique was flabbergasted. “But, but I was in his body, in a memory. Having his feelings and thoughts. How else were you able to show me a memory of Aurelius? How are you able to speak? How do you know these things like magic and other people?”
Remnant ignored the questions and posed his own.
“What’s the situation?”
“We found another inanimate object that came to life. It talks. Is it like you?”
Enrique did not expect the upset and fury in Remnant’s voice. “We’re nothing alike! Your sword was created with the utmost care and the most intricate spellwork you could ever imagine. Your weapon was built for a purpose, every detail painstakingly wrought, with the intention of saving lives and honoring the past. That toy is nothing more than an empty puppet thrown around to do its master’s bidding.”
The sword’s owner hissed back. “Okay, my bad, keep your voice down.”
Sven’s voice came through the communicator. “Let’s review what we’re going to do.”
Enrique slowly nodded. “Based on what Vi said, we should capture as many gang members as we can. We’ll use code names to be sure to disguise ourselves.”
“Capture. Because…?”
The mage strained his mind as Sven prompted him. “Because it’s possible killing them’s only going to continue a vicious cycle. We’re missing a piece, like what exactly can stop the gang and why people keep joining it. That’s what my partner’s getting at.”
Sven added, “And we were given intel on the Saukallian race. Which shows they’re related, because the gangs are from Unplaced kingdoms that were raided by the Saukallians.”
“Right. I say we kill Yecna, though. I know Morgan’s out to have revenge on the Dire Wolves, and I like that more than whatever Vi’s reasons are. Then, there’s this bear.” Enrique jammed a finger at the stuffed animal’s direction. “Leading us to the gang and also their arms dealer. We’re going to be joined by someone from the army named Gujar who talked to me on the phone. He mentioned using a prisoner to gain info and then meeting us. Like Gujar said, the arms dealer is a big threat who plans to use a Weapon of Mass Destruction at an anniversary ball event. Gujar’s goal is to prevent that.”
Remnant piped in, more quiet than usual. “Do you mean the Anniversary Ball for the treaty of the Five Kingdoms War? That one comes up very soon. Within the month. Many important figures and civilians from all over the world attend, including the royal family themselves.”
“Yeah, that one.” To Enrique, the sword’s tone was a little sad and wistful. “It’s also where I’m very likely to die. Which is quite motivating.”
“A conventional WMD can destroy multiple cities in an instant,” Sven informed them grimly.
“Aaand our WMD is apparently unconventional, an actual demon of chaos named Kavistra. Argh, why is everything so convoluted!” Enrique could barely keep his voice from rising to a shout and grabbed his hair.
“I’m sure Vi knew we’d be in a complicated situation.” Sven’s voice was mild. He seemed to want to calm Enrique, which annoyed the boy. “You seem like you trust her so I’ll trust she knows what she’s doing.”
“Whatever plan we make, it’s going to be way more complex than it should be. Maybe she knew that, but honestly? Maybe she knew since everything is complicated, we’d have to come up with a simpler plan than whatever she wrote, but, ugh. I don’t know.”
He huffed. “Okay, Kavistra. That’s a demon who some church cultists worship, and I know the cultists previously worked with the Dire Wolves gang. It is really worrying the cult is helping out if their demon is also going to show up at the ball. They’re Nocturne and shapeshifters. Not sure about their relation.”
Enrique fell silent to run faster as the teddy bear made headway. “Other than hitting the gang we need to capture the arms dealer. Is the teddy bear related to either of them?”
Sven was silent, thinking. “Process of elimination. We are using the teddy bear to find the gang, so I would say it’s tied to the weapons dealer.”
“Sounds right to me. Otherwise the gang would’ve used weird toys like this earlier. So, uh, it’s only a vessel, according to Remnant.”
“That’s correct,” Remnant confirmed.
Sven mused aloud, his boots tapping next to Enrique. “The bear must have a caster controlling it, but I don't see anybody. I assume there’s a limited range?”
Remnant’s reply was thoughtful. “Yes. Magic users have limits. Two possibilities spring to mind. One, the caster is indirectly controlling the stuffed animal through a network of nodes, such as mana crystals hidden and spaced apart to extend the caster’s range. This has disadvantages of forcing the bear into fixed routes and leaving the entire network sources vulnerable. It also would leave significant evidence lying around.”
“This bear doesn’t seem too fixed to me,” Enrique pointed out.
“Right, but we can’t rule it out completely. Two, the caster is remote-controlling the teddy bear from afar. This restricts the caster to his or her physical range. This would be the best possibility for us, because it means the caster will be somewhere nearby. For this sort of control, I expect the caster will be seeing through the teddy bear’s eyes, which could explain how he or she hasn’t detected us. The advantage is freedom of movement and less trace of the caster.”
Sven eyed the toy carefully. “Let’s assume the second possibility. I’ll be on the lookout for the real caster. If any of you guys see them, I’ll shoot.”
“Sounds good.” Enrique thought some more. “All right. Gang capture, kill Yecna, find and catch the real dealer. Keep it simple. We’ll be capturing the drugs too. Didn’t Vi mention the drugs are the gang’s major financial source? We take some and we hurt them. And it’ll be bad if drugs get in the kingdom.”
Enrique had one last issue on his mind. It was like a heavy weight in his stomach. He hesitated, however, realizing Alicia must also be listening in silence. Vi had warned him to not say too much, and Alicia was a former enemy. “This might be important. More important than everything else. I remember a mention of someone named Allblades. The only thing we heard is he’s really, really bad and dangerous. The dealer and the attack on the ball is connected to him from what we know. What can we do about him?”
They were all silent.
Remnant’s reply was terse. “Nothing.” The sword’s voice grew sharp. “Allblades is involved? The assassin? Did you not inform everyone of how terrible this situation can become? Allblades is not someone you can fight. My honest advice is you abandon your entire plan right here and now, and get the h*** out of the kingdom.”
Enrique stared down at the weapon in shock. “I…I can’t do that. I’m not an a**.” I’d leave the kingdom to defend itself. I’d abandon Vi to bleed out, and even if she survives, to clean up this whole mess on her own.
Another part of him raged. Who cares? You’re already getting too close for your own good.
“Why don’t you just leave?” Alicia’s voice finally came through the communicator. “We can all leave. I don’t like this.”
“Listen. I’ve had it with you.” Enrique glared, wishing he could at least see Alicia’s face in the darkness. “I don’t trust anyone. I still don’t trust Vi, and I certainly don’t trust any of you. We’re going to run into the Dire Wolves soon. You were a part of them, Alicia. But the three of us need to stick together if we want to survive. Easiest thing in the world for you is to throw us to the gang and use us to escape. Even I can think of that. If you flake and rat us out to them, I’ll never forgive you. Especially after all I went through with Rick. Don’t you go running off again!”
Enrique could practically hear the gears turning in the cat girl’s mind by the sudden silence. It was not helping her case. “Flake? What’s that?”
“Yeah. Walk away, like you tried in the school.” Hot anger rose within Enrique as he thought about how much he and Vi had tried to help the cat girl. Alicia’s only response had been attacking him. I bet she would do it. I bet she’d turn on us. How did I get myself into this mess? “Look, I’ve been in a gang before. Back before I ended up here. With me and my brother Jose. I trusted Jose because he was my brother and took care of our gang. I trusted other gang members in a very specific situation. They were all kids, we lived together, and I was a leader because I was the oldest other than Jose. But here? Things are different here.”
He pointed at Sven and then waved a hand in Alicia’s direction. “I don’t know you guys. Can’t figure out what’s going on in your heads. Sven’s older than me, had a past I don’t, and you, I don’t know what your problem is.”
Sven had noticed too. “Alicia, I don’t mean to pry, but were you ever mistreated or in a bad environment? The way you react to everyone, I kind of get it. Is there anything you’re not telling us?”
Enrique let out a bitter laugh. “Look, if there’s one thing I learned in the Red Dragons, it’s that you need to make absolutely sure that the people you’re around won’t turn and shoot you in the back. Otherwise, you only trust yourself. I don’t care for sap stories, mine or anyone’s, I just want to make clear we need to be all business.”
He charged forwards with newfound energy. “I knew someone. You don’t need to know his name. He and his gang pretended to help mine. Everything turned out to be a trap. My brother was murdered getting us out. One of the worst days of my life. That guy didn’t let up. He called me a loser and went after me and my friends next. Beat me up a couple times, got to a point he was trying to kill me and get the rest of the gang. That’s when I ended up in the kingdom.”
Alicia responded with an edge in her voice. “Why are you so mad—?”
“Because the last time someone betrayed me, I lost the only family member I had left!” Enrique shouted.
Shocked silence filled the air. Alicia even reappeared for a few seconds, her face wearing a slight frown. The three simultaneously took cover behind a building as the teddy bear slowed and looked over its shoulder. It scratched its head. “Hm…I should take a shortcut. Can’t stay in the open.” It hurried again.
Sven murmured quietly. “Enrique, I understand. I’m sticking around. Let’s focus on the task at hand?”
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Enrique was getting out of breath and more than a little embarrassed at Sven and Alicia not breaking a sweat. “Dang, this bear’s got legs. How long is it going to run?”
The teddy bear now neared a vegetable field next to the side of a small barn. In the darkness, Enrique could make out shapes moving between large fence stalls, whinnying and neighing. Upon closer inspection, he could see horses with white bodies and colored manes, golden-yellow like the sun or orange as if made of fire.
The bear muttered to itself. “One of these should work. Drah, no time. Such an inconvenient text. She should have given me a warning!” The toy bent down and seized a nearby rock with both its plushie arms, then hurled it at the barn. A crash filled the air as it broke an opening.
The horses whinnied in surprise, rearing their legs as a the stuffed animal jumped inside and hopped onto the back of one with orange mane. It nearly fell over in its attempt to balance itself on the horse. “Keh keh. Almost forgot. Have to make sure my package is still here.”
Alicia had gained more distance than Enrique. She saw the teddy bear put an arm to its mouth and whistle in its hollow voice. The rune on its chest darkened. After a moment, a small white stuffed rabbit scurried through the opening, a similar pink glyph on its chest. The toy rabbit was covered in dirt and had plush hairs in disarray, clutching a large gray case with a handle and straps like a backpack. It hurled the case to the teddy bear, which caught it. The the bear’s rune lit up again as the runed white rabbit immediately ran off. “Wish I had a good drop point. Stay still, you.” The bear wiggled an arm as it put the case on itself, struggling to stay atop the horse. “And…there.” In the blink of an eye, the case vanished from view. Alicia was taken aback but remained quiet and invisible.
The stuffed animal hit the horse’s neck with an arm, which was the equivalent of a hand bopping it. However, it was enough for the spooked horse to break into a run and smash straight through the stall. Hooves stampeded, trampling pieces of wood. “Go, go, go!”
The bear clung to the horse’s neck for dear life as Enrique and Sven stared. “Forward! To the city!” The horse tore away from the field in a blur. Its mane and tail danced in the wind.
“Shoot. It’ll leave us in the dust at this rate.” Enrique then noticed a light go on in a nearby farmhouse and heard shouting. “Oh, man. That’s the owners, I bet.” He jumped over the damaged stall and swung a leg over one of the remaining horses. He was barely able to get a grip on its yellow mane as it burst forwards. “Whoa!”
Sven slipped through the stall and onto another horse. A third horse took off. Enrique felt bad for the creatures. It must be a bit scary having first a toy and then masked strangers breaking into your sleeping quarters.
Remnant hummed. “Abaquirres. Good mounts, magic, smart.”
“What’s so magic about it?” Enrique hissed as the horse galloped out the barn.
“They’re fast. Don’t get tired much.”
“Now you tell me! Agh!” The horse accelerated like a rocket. Enrique squinted, roads whizzing around him, and spotted a glowing creature up ahead. He tried to point but quickly clung to the horse’s mane as it clip-clopped onto the streets, the wind whipping his face. “Hey! That way! We’re trying to get your friend!”
The horse neighed and pursued the teddy bear’s steed in earnest.
“At least it’s listening. Hey, you need to stay quiet or the bear’s going to take off.” He glanced back and was relieved to see Sven’s horse was catching up to his.
After some riding, the teddy bear abruptly jerked its horse to a halt and hopped off, walking to an alley of shops. Enrique hastily pulled at his horse’s neck and it stopped instantly, nearly bucking him off. He and Sven disembarked, creeping towards the stuffed animal. He wondered if Alicia had caught up, until he saw a third horse wandering in place, which seemed to be waiting for its fellows to turn back and the teddy bear to get out of sight.
“Okay, we’ll have to walk. Everyone good? I already hate riding those things.”
“It wasn’t bad.” Alicia’s voice came through the communicator as the three trailed a short distance from the bear.
----------------------------------------
He ducked behind a grocery shop and peeked his head out.
The teddy bear slowed. It craned its head up to the sky, telling the time, then picked its way to the entrance of a toy shop. Its beady black eyes stared at a glass reflection displaying other stuffed animals for sale. The hollow voice whispered. “Eh heh. We should be starting any minute now. Hiding, are we? Scared strays.”
Enrique and Sven went very still. The teddy bear walked nonchalantly around a corner, disappearing from view. It stood in the shadows under the roof of the shop.
He murmured to his communicator. “Hey, Ali. You there? Can you let us know where it went? Anybody else around?”
The cat girl’s reply was tense. “Shut up. My name is Alicia.”
The three stopped as the tramp of boots came up ahead, near an eerie, abandoned-looking shed.
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Enrique’s heart pounded as he hid in the silent walkway. Ba-bump ba-bump. He was afraid it was loud enough his enemies could hear.
Anxiety spiked through his chest. He didn’t feel prepared. No, he wasn’t prepared. He should have learned from his first mistakes. What do I do? So many things that could go wrong. Could Alicia listen to him?
Too many people moving around, too many spots to attack. Were the bear and the gang onto him? What if they each got isolated? What did he even know about the enemy? Best to eavesdrop for now, but sooner or later they had to go in. He was frozen in place, remembering the bone-breaking pain of his last encounter.
Sven motioned to him with a hand. “I’ll hang back and provide cover. Secure the perimeter. You support Alicia and she can take point.”
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Sven adjusted his rifle strap and surveyed the top of a nearby shop. Finding a vantage point above any fighting, Enrique realized. “Not sure how I’ll get up, but give me a signal and I’ll aim for their leader first.”
“You got it. I—I mean, copy that.”
Enrique’s tongue slipped into a stutter before he could stop himself. I’m losing it. I need to pull myself together. He tried psyching himself up. Come on. This is like old times with Jose. You’ve got a crew. Streets are the streets no matter where you are. Pretend it’s your turf.
“Alicia, I need you to prepare a ton of clones. They don’t have to be strong, but a lot. We go in when we’re ready.” His voice was barely a whisper and there was no acknowledgement.
Sven grunted as he grasped a window ledge of the shop, testing his weight. His voice was cool and professional. “Hey, calm down. One at a time. We’ll hit the key players first. I’ll aim for Yecna. Then you guys search for the dealer. He or she would be another high priority target.”
Alicia hissed out. “Quiet. They’re talking.”
They stopped to listen.
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Gang members stood in the darkness near a closed shop. Their black armor and clothes underneath was dirty, scratched and torn in places. Many had bloodied bandages around their bodies. Their hair was disheveled and their faces were dark and brooding in the shadows.
Yecna’s own face was tired and hard as he faced the other members, scanning faces. “Group B?”
“Gone.” One of the men grunted the word and stared at a wall with haunted eyes.
“C and D? 1E?”
“Dead. Waz and 2E dead.”
Yecna’s hand twitched and his stomach lurched. He only allowed himself a short curse. “S***.”
A limping man beside the first speaker uttered a growl which promised violence. “Why you even ask? Most of us chopped up and shot. I don’t know what the h*** happened, but I saw Grie and his whole squad lyin’ there beheaded. A lot others with holes through their skulls.”
The speaker, Ulsag, was livid, yet Yecna could hear the words tinged with terror. The gangster’s one good eye was fixed on the leader, as if begging for an explanation, and the damaged one under an eye patch would have done the same if it could.
Yecna’s eyes widened and he turned contemplative, talking slower. “Grie was supposed to be plainclothes. Last I heard 1E got into the city—”
“They’re all dead. Every d*** one of the plainclothes. Someone knew.”
The Dire Wolves gang went silent.
Another man near the back spoke. “Thought I saw a black something. D***, I don’t know, might have been the Drifters. Had some last night.”
“I didn’t see. Must’ve took ‘em out in seconds,” the witness said flatly.
Yecna’s voice had gone deathly quiet. “Could be a Hero.”
One of the others murmured, clutching his sword handle tighter. “F***ing Anima and their magic. F***ing mages.”
Ulsag groused, hobbling on his bad leg. “We’re nothing to them. Just cannon fodder. A sea of nameless faces. S***, why’d we even leave the masters?”
“Your whole plan f***ed us up!” another man shouted.
Yecna could sense the pained rage and fear of the men turning on him. Members grabbed weapons and leveled glares. He raised a hand. “I admit it, I made a mistake. A grave one. I thought we’d have a good chance to push through and take the city. I shouldn’t have gathered us in such big numbers.”
A smattering of furious grumbling broke out.
“Gods, those sky bombs were nightmares.”
“Still can’t get what’s left of my unit off me.” The speaker laughed but it came out hollow and bitter.
Another snapped, “What in the red rivers were you thinking? We didn’t get no amulet like you, Yecna!”
Yecna raised his voice over the muttering. “I was overconfident. Thought 2E and F could fool the Anima and infiltrate first. The adventurers were pressured elsewhere, we had the amulet, and the talk about monster movement from our source was accurate—”
“Who, Felice or whatever her real name is? She won’t even show us her face!” a member hollered.
“I know we’re mad! I’m mad!” Yecna growled in his harsh voice. “I lost all team A in a hostage attempt! It won’t happen again—”
“Hostage? Why’d you bother, they’re going to slaughter us anyways!” A man with dark hair slammed his shield on the ground.
“The adventurers would have backed off seeing one of their own in danger—”
A fresh-faced member in front of him sneered, the expression visible even under grime. His relative had been in Group A. “It would be so brilliant if you weren’t so stupid.”
“Yeah, great job, Yecna, you yellow-bellied dog!” a gang member called out, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Roco, the talkative one of the group, his long brown hair a mess over his face.
“Stray mutt!” his friend next to him jeered. His voice was scratchy from an injury that had forced him to bandage half his face and throat.
The other men laughed harshly among themselves. “Yecna! Yecna! Dirty dog!” two of them chanted. The survivors of Groups 1G and 2G, each bleeding with chest and arm injuries.
A weary man next to Yecna snorted. A neighbor in his past life, Dorthon, now with early gray hair in his black grizzled mane. They’d made a habit of trading food and stolen goods with each other, once. “Yecna. Don’t pretend to be a wolf when you’re still a beaten hound.”
Yecna’ face turned ugly and red. He breathed heavily, gripping his own weapon until his knuckles were white. Yecna. That was the name the Saukallians had given him. It meant a cowardly cur. One of the stray, dirty dogs back in the Red Kingdom which barked loudly but ran whenever danger approached. His master had thought it was funny.
He reached under his black cloak and took out a small green vial. Popped open the Drifter and took a swig to blunt out the insults. Soothe his nerves. The calming effects were short nowadays. He was having withdrawals. Getting angrier easier, now. Harder to think straight. But he needed it. Was using five times a day, some days. Today was one of those, assuming nobody tried to wedge a blade in his stomach like last week. Then it was six.
The other members looked at him and each other nervously. Their faces, hidden though they were by shadow, shifted and twisted as they grimaced or chewed their lips. “They’ll send another Hero after us, I bet. Gods.”
“You think they’ll put Saukallians on us?”
The gang tensed. Hearts thudded in rhythmic fear as one.
“Wouldn’t put it past ‘em,” one murmured. “Berserker squads and a Hero.”
“They won’t.” Yecna did his best to sound assured. “We’ve gone over this. The Anima Kingdom has their ‘unification’ policy. They’re putting values on the other races. ‘Freedom, Equality, Unity,’ they called it. King won’t send Saukallian citizens if they’re too hard to control. If the masters, I mean, the Saukallians know they’re fighting us, none of ‘em ‘ll hold back. They’ll get the whips out. It’ll be a bloodbath, yeah. If one goes overboard? If other citizens are hurt on accident? That’ll damage the kingdom’s image in the eyes of any witnesses. The Anima have laws forbidding traditions—”
“Aw, shut it, you s***-covered dog—”
“I am a dog!” Yecna snapped, his voice cutting through the air. He raised a fist and banged it against a wall. The tattoos on his arms flashed in the dim light of the hideout. He bared one, his serial number, for all to see. AI789347. His identification seared into his flesh. The faded letters marked his place of origin. The black digits itemized his self.
The leader yanked off his cloak, thrusting its icon of a black wolf towards his fellows. “Remember why we’re doing this. Where we came from. The Saukallians burned my village. Killed my family. They took my brother and me, the only survivors of Ai, and branded us as slaves. The rest of you have similar stories. We farmed our master’s land. Cleaned their homes. Fought in their battles. All while they beat us, used us, and killed us when they felt like it. They called me a dog, so I am. That was the only life I knew. Most of my memories, and yours, are the lash and the chain.”
Yecna glared at the crowd and pulled his cloak back over himself.
“You want to go back to that s***hole? Maybe the other Unplaced are mad we left them behind. So what? Who cares? At least we’re free. If we take a single city from the Anima, we’ll have rep. People will know us. Fear us. Respect us. The Saukallians will see we earned our kalla. They’ll follow the Code and leave us alone. We’ll be the gang that defeats the Anima Kingdom, when even the Saukallians couldn’t. We’ll be wolves, not dogs.”
Yecna finished his outburst, breathing heavily. The amulet dangling from his neck swayed in the breeze. The men grumbled and shuffled around but put their hands off their weapons. Three looked down at their feet. One member with an eyepatch absentmindedly scratched his back, where long, jagged red scars hadn’t healed.
One of the men suddenly shouted in surprise. “Waz!”
The group turned to see a young black-haired man in tattered clothes walking towards them, uncertainty on his face.
Yecna’s mouth fell open. He began to stride quickly forwards. “Waz? Is that really you?”
Then the leader spotted a robed stranger standing near Waz and drew his sword. “You there! State your business,” he snarled.
The Nocturne stepped away and hissed. “We found your fellow before he could be killed. I wish to make a deal. For Kavistra.”
Yecna didn’t lower his blade. “Away with you freaks. Set up another time. We already have a deal tonight.”
“Yes. My brothers wish to partake of the same. Drifter shipment.”
Yecna tensed as Waz rejoined the crowd of black-armored men, but the Nocturne didn’t move. “Huh. You shifters need to quit being nosy. What’s that got to do with your demon?”
Gujar steepled his fingers, motionless like a red-eyed scarecrow. “The spread of disorder throughout the lands will only strengthen our honored one. It is not your place to know what we want with the material. We understand you cannot afford to act as our guards. Then we shall exchange other services. You do not understand the great one’s rise is inevitable, no matter how many of her church fall. Serve Kavistra now, and you only stand to gain. Do you wish to leave money on the table?”
The leader of the Dire Wolves jammed the sword back in its sheath. “Fine. You stay and watch. See the stash for yourself. Name a price. We got a buyer. She gets first pick. Any funny stuff from you or any other bats, deal’s off, we go after you.”
Waz bit his lip as Yecna roughly shoved past him towards a designated meeting spot.
The leader growled without looking back. “Waz, new unit. You’re with Ulsag, Roco, and Dorthon.”
Waz frowned as the three mentioned gangsters found one another and grouped together, heading to the young man.
Dorthon clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Good to see you. How you make it in one piece?” Sunken eyes glimmered a faint amount as they scanned Waz’s profile with disbelief.
Waz wasn’t sure how to reply. None of them would believe him if he told. ”Got caught in a blast. Knocked out, I guess.”
Hoping to draw attention away from himself, he surveyed the gathered members. Many were missing. “Are we going to pull numbers around other cities?”
“Guess we have to,” Dorthon grunted. The older man stroked his beard. “Be hard for the others not to pass city borders.”
Waz sighed. He put a hand to his face, fatigue and unease setting in. “Remind me. Why we didn’t just legally migrate to their kingdom?”
Ulsag huffed out a bitter laugh, leaning against Roco for support as the other chuckled grimly. “Are you insane? They already have the masters there.”
Roco chimed in, brushing some long, unkempt hair from his forehead. “Waz, dummy, even if Yecna’s wrong and the king has every Saukallian under his thumb, Saukallians can’t ever change. We could find an Anima city and hide there half a year but the moment a master comes by, bam.” He mimed a kick with his boot.
“It’ll be worse if they’re forced to behave. You’ll see the murder in their eyes every time you walk by. We’ll be stringed like beans come night, I’m tellin’ you. At least they were open about it in the Red Kingdom. You hit your head too hard back there.”
Dorthon made a solemn nod. “We need reputation. I’ve seen what happens to galley slaves who can’t row and armorbearers who fail the battle. If we don’t have rep we’re worse than worthless. Waz, mind’s not good when you’re shaken up. Do it by the Code.”
Waz raised his voice, loud enough Yecna could hear as the leader tramped off. “We should try other ways. The king must send officials sometime, right? That’s what a king or queen does after they fight.”
Yecna briefly glanced in their direction, but didn’t comment. He grumbled darkly as he uncovered large boxes of drugs from a brown tarp. “Going to be late. Gods, those priests don’t know when to shut it.”
He reached in his pocket and hurled a small bottle at his younger brother. Waz caught it and popped the lid. To his surprise, it was water, not a drug sample. Hard to come by for the gang these days. “Take a wash. You look like s***.”
----------------------------------------
Yecna surveyed a pile of green and white bottles. He had a green vial in his hand, tapping his boot impatiently. After a moment, he walked over to a shadowy spot.
“Took you long enough.” He could barely keep the venom out of his voice.
A silhouette stood with its back turned, its shadow visible in the dim orange lights of the closed shop. “It’s not my fault you lost, Yecna.” The overly high-pitched, tinny voice spoke his name with a mocking accent. “Shall we proceed with the exchange?”
“Price.”
“The usual. Let’s say, twelve thousand coins? Sixty percent of the hoard. Minus expenses on new enchanted armor, swords and shields, and medical supplies.”
The leader’s short reply was forceful. “Higher weapon grades. We need blasted magic. Real spells.”
The figure did not budge. “Ehhh, tough luck. Shipping a good item isn’t easy, and that’s nothing compared to obtaining it. You’re fighting the kingdom, remember. Ha, why you magicless still try is beyond me. The Anima are famous for picking up advanced tech before the rest of us. Get help from their partners, I hear. They got the best smithing, old-world fusions, enchantments, magi-steel, whatever. Spirit firearms are a no. Knurlkin are an option but the kingdom’s tracing their nation’s moves. Stone Lords in the kingdom need to lie low too.”
Yecna spat out his next words. “I want answers. The item you sent wasn’t enough.”
“Don’t blame me. I’m a distributor. We can arrange for something stronger next time. How about that?”
Yecna took a menacing step forwards, his face smoldering with rage and desperation. He tightened a fist. The muscles on his biceps bulged. “You don’t understand. My crew is counting on you for our livelihoods. If you’re going to talk us down, I can remove you.”
The silhouette remained with its back facing away. “Eh heh heh heh. I wouldn’t do that if I were you. I wonder, are your men in any condition to fight? Who knows what I could do?”
The man gradually relaxed his grip. The expression on his face remained, but was further disfigured by loathing and a hint of fear.
“I’m not scared of you.”
“No, you’re not,” the figure agreed. “But you should. Because you know I have connections. Word travels fast in the night, let’s put it that way. I know someone who would make the Red Kingdom’s Day of Blood look like a cakewalk.”
The leader lowered the vial to the figure.
“Good, good. That’s a sizable pile of drugs. The more the merrier. I’ll see if I can have some amulets crafted.” The figure turned, revealing a small brown teddy bear. Its shadow held out a hand, grasping the vial, and had a malevolent smile on its face.
Other members of the gang prowled the pile, silent, hands resting on sword hilts. They were on guard, scanning the shadows. Yecna waved a hand at the robed, silent Nocturne at the edge of the pile. “Felice is done. You. Name a price and a cut.”
The teddy bear that was called Felice turned its head to the stranger. “Oh? A new player in town?”
The Nocturne spoke without hesitation. “Forty percent. I shall have my clan pay you with medical items and artifacts.”
“Fine. Go over there and take—”
Gang members shouted from the side. “Incoming! We got movement! ”
Yecna, reacting more out of experience than anything, held a shield over his head. He was just in time for a speeding green beam to strike the metal, faster than a bullet. He slammed against the ground. The leader groaned as he felt his already injured side and back flare up in intense pain, but forced his shield to stay up. This turned out to be a good choice, as the next bullet hit where his neck would have been. The shooter immediately adjusted and a beam struck his lower chestplate, denting the armor and knocking the breath out of him.
The Dire Wolves shouted to each other in panic, either thrusting their swords out blindly or doing frantic scans in the darkness to find the attackers.
Curving lines of flame ripped through the ground up ahead. Blue beams whizzed out, knocking down or scattering the members from their positions.
The teddy bear turned its head from side to side. Felice waddled forth to retrieve some boxes from the pile, but violent orange explosions tore up the street. Nearby blasts sent the teddy bear scurrying backwards as they threw more gangsters off their feet and against walls.
“Yee! Unfortunate. We shall reschedule our meeting.” The stuffed animal turned tail and began to run.
Yecna managed to bark out an order. “Units! Form up and get out!”
Waz and the three members of his new unit met eyes and began to head south, in the direction of one of their previous hideouts. The Nocturne stood beside them and followed closely like a shadow.
“Do not leave. I wish to collect my payment.”
“We don’t have time for this. The road’s being blown!” Ulsag with the eye patch barked out, his one good eye going haywire as he searched for a good escape route.
The shapeshifter darted towards the drug pile, morphing first into a bat to dodge the flames and beams, and then grabbed the tarp that had covered the boxes. He ripped off a large piece and scooped boxes in like a makeshift bag, then hurled it towards the four.
“Are you rabid?” Roco shouted. He caught the bag and stumbled back like a drunken man.
The Nocturne flew towards them and shifted to his usual form, carrying another bag. He directed his red eyes at Waz. “I have told you, did I not? You will serve those I serve.”
“Crazy cult basu,” Roco cursed. Waz, however, took the bag from his fellow and nodded.
They were interrupted by a distorted voice. “There is no escape! Lay down your weapons and listen to me!”
Orange and red flames rose higher and whipped around like walls. A figure emerged, flame and thick smoke parting to make way like a curtain.
Waz’s eyes widened. The other members of his unit had stopped in their tracks with similar expressions. The stranger was wreathed in red-orange fire that ignited his robes. Though he was not very tall, a red wave of energy towered above his head, forming the shape of a gaping, monstrous mouth. Heat pulsed from the figure, causing them to sweat despite the cool night air. The stranger, barely visible within the inferno, was dressed in black and had a peculiar red-white mask with cat ears framed by a hood. He held a gun and a sword by his side.
“My men have you surrounded. You are trapped in my flames. I’m not here to fight. I’m here to deal.”
Yecna, summoning his strength, pushed himself to his feet. The amulet around his neck was damaged and useless now. He pointed his blade at the stranger. “Who are you? Explain yourself.”
The bizarre figure met his gaze. Though Yecna was no mage, he could sense through his skin the temperature rise to the searing blaze of a peak summer day. The monstrous apparition hovering above the stranger gnashed its teeth. Underneath the mask, pure hostile rage oozed in waves. “I am the leader of the Black Cat gang. They call me Red Dragon.”
“Never heard of you, Red.” Yecna’s lips curled in a sneer. “I ain’t calling you Dragon, that’s for sure.”
The muffled voice was pure venom. Yet there was a cold calculus to it. “You want to go? Then come at us. I have a sniper with a bead on your forehead. My magic encircling you. Members surrounding you from all sides. A former member of your own crew, in fact, who you foolishly chased away because of rep. Come out, Black Cat.”
A cat girl in black robes stepped out from somewhere behind Red. She had hatred written all over her face, directing the expression first at Red, and then intensifying it as she saw Yecna.
The flames flickered, and the Dire Wolves gang saw with alarm many black shadowy figures standing out of reach of the fire ring. They stood at the ready next to abandoned buildings, in the dark corners of the street, and lined up in rows like they were waiting to go into the kill at the slightest opportunity.
“I didn’t hear a thing. Where did they come from?” Waz whispered to the others, his eyes big.
Yecna’s face remained impassive. “Hmph. I know my crew. That’s the runaway back when Kyaros’s groups got wiped in Helmsgate. Serves her right for stealing and making us look weak.”
The eyes under the mask seemed to bore into the leader. “We caught her and she works for us now. She has a talent. Could make us the best gang in the cities. We might be mages, but we’re against the kingdom like you. I’ve got a vendetta against a certain adventurer. Let’s make a deal. We want those drugs and some of your men. Work with us. We can give you the down-low on what the kingdom’s planning. An attack is coming in a few days, straight at your gang. You messed up and now they’re coming. You need our magic, you need our info, and you need the money and street cred.”
Meanwhile, the teddy bear barreled towards the edge of the flames, heaving a pile of boxes on its head in an impressive display of balance.
Suddenly, Alicia caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head to the side and saw a shadow dart from a storefront into an alleyway.
Enrique held up a hand. “Cat Man, we’re giving them five seconds, and that’s generous. Kill him then—”
Alicia interrupted in a whisper to Sven, her heart beating a little faster. “Movement on my left. I think it’s the caster of the bear.”
“Five.” The masked figure turned to Alicia and muttered. “Not a good time.”
“Can you send your shadows after them?” Sven asked, keeping his rifle’s reticule trained on Yecna.
“Too much energy. This one’s fast.”
“Four.” Enrique put down a finger.
“The caster knows about a weapon of mass destruction!” Alicia reminded them. She had raised her voice to make them pay attention. “I’ll spot whoever it is for you.”
“Three.” I should’ve shot him on sight, Enrique thought. His voice was tight. All this fire was not exactly easy to keep up. The strain on his body was weighing down. He wanted to lie down on the floor. His head ached from concentrating.
“I’ll be quick.” Sven swiveled his rifle in the general direction.
“Two.” Enrique muttered under his breath. “Guys, we’re going off the plan. Stick with me. Stop listening to Alicia. Sven, shoot him, now.”
Alicia slunk away from Enrique, vanishing as she passed through the flames. She broke into a sprint.
Yecna’s response was steady, which annoyed the heck out of the masked stranger. “We’ll trade you the Drifters, but you’re not getting any of our men. We want payment. You should be joining us instead. My gang is spread throughout the borders, Red. A bunch of new faces like yours need to show us what you can do.”
Enrique’s aura intensified. He reached for his gun.
Sven clambered from his rooftop position, searching for the controller of the stuffed animal. “Alicia, where?”
Oh, no. Fear hit Enrique like cold water. He was alone. At that moment, Enrique’s walls of flames flickered and faded.
The teddy bear leaped through a gap in the flames, holding its stack high with two plush arms.
The masked stranger called Red put a hand off his weapon. He was silent as he considered. Inside, however, he was shaking with rage and painful memories as he stared into the eyes of a murderer. “We will take the drugs, let you go, and meet you again in two days to tell you of the kingdom’s plans. I will share some points so you know we tell the truth. They will attack in three days, noon, and are led by an adventurer named Rick Walsh. His Anima is able to boost the stats of surrounding fighters. If you take her out first, then he will be vulnerable as well.”
Enrique was improvising at this point. The three days and assumption about Rick he simply made up on the spot, and it made his stomach drop at the thought he could be building a tower of tottering bricks. Lies ready to collapse at any moment.
Yecna held up a hand and waved it to signal for his men to stand down. “Let’s meet here again, tenth hour, Anima time. We’ll give you forty percent—”
The others shouted, unable to stand the choking smoke and blaze. “Run! Go! Go!” Gang members, skittish and seeing the fire put out, rushed towards the openings.
“D*** you all! Fine. We will meet again.” Yecna sheathed his weapon and ran after them.
“Hey!” The masked figure pointed his gun at the back of Yecna’s head and fired, but the crowd of gangsters rushed to and fro, blocking him from view. The beam sailed through and missed, and just like that the leader had slipped away. Red struggled to maintain control of the flames, mentally steering them to block and corral gang members towards himself.
Waz and his unit of three, like the others, scrambled to find openings as the Nocturne next to them observed the situation. Geysers of fire erupted pell-mell, confusing and disorienting the gangsters who either thought the agreement had finished or were simply fleeing from raw adrenaline. The five rushed to an open area only to find it blocked off by a hot orange-red wall. They turned and found themselves face-to-face with Red, whose orange aura visibly pulsed with fury.
Waz caught a new opening to their left and turned. “Run—”
“We surrender.” The Nocturne held up his hands.
“What? You don’t speak for us—”
The Nocturne chucked a box straight at Waz’s face, who ducked. “Fools! You can’t defeat them.”
Red pointed his gun at the shapeshifter. “Another one of you sickos.”
Then Enrique slowly lowered his pistol. A Nocturne, one of the bad guys, but…he recognized the voice from the phone.
“We will join your gang. Please spare us,” Gujar hissed.
----------------------------------------
Alicia ran after the shadow. She glimpsed what might have been a bright dress, but it was difficult to tell in the darkness. She needed to catch up.
Before Sven, that is.
“Okay, I’m following you now,” the man said. “I definitely saw a flash back there.”
The figure darted through yet another alleyway, to the right. It was very, very fast. Obviously well-versed in running. More so than Alicia thought should be possible. Was the spy an Elarrian? A mage or Anima? Something bothered her, too, with her senses, but she couldn’t pinpoint it immediately.
“I lost sight of it again. You see it?” Sven murmured. He had his rifle out, measuring distance, estimating the stranger’s velocity, and timing where he should aim next.
“It went left.”
As Sven swung his sights left, she swerved right. The lie was enough for her to get within shouting distance of the figure.
“Hey! You, stop!” She reached into her pocket and thrust out her alliance draft.
The figure stooped low and slowed underneath the shadows of what might have been a food stand, with red cloth overhead that normally was to block out any sun. Then it faced Alicia.
The arms supplier was female, pale-skinned, wearing a white and purple lace dress. She had peculiar pink pupils and blue around the edges of her eyes, like some kind of makeup, as well as shiny jewel dots decorating the edges. “Eheh. Got you good, didn’t I?” It was definitely the voice from the teddy bear.
“Alicia!” Sven’s voice cut in from the communicator.
Alicia took the device off and stuck it in her pocket. She thrust out the paper. “Felice, was it? Tell me what my Master’s got for me.”
“Oh, I can’t take that. See?” Felice’s eyes filled with glee and she stretched out a hand. To the cat girl’s surprise, the supplier’s hand went right through the paper. Transparent, like a ghost. “One moment. I’ll join you.” Without any warning whatsoever, the stranger vanished from view.
“You! What’re you doing?” Alicia was getting irritated and she pulled a knife from her robe, thrusting it into thin air. She’d hoped to pin the supplier down if she had to. Then she realized. Her power sense was getting nothing.
Behind her, the teddy bear from before waddled up on its two small legs. “I’ll take that.” It reached out a small arm. Alicia slowly sheathed her knife and handed the alliance draft to the stuffed animal. It stared at her with its blank eyes and out-of-place smile that made it look simply unhinged.
“That was an illusion. A powerful one. It had to be.” Alicia’s own eyes pierced the teddy bear’s.
“See how much your Master’s work means to me? You even get a piece of my identity.”
“You’re the spy. You’re a Fae citizen.” Alicia felt certainty even as the words came out of her mouth. The Fae were known for illusion magic. A mage might have been a possibility, but the way Felice acted was definitely like Fae she’d read about in Master’s studies.
“You know, I’m not that far off now that you’ve seen two of my tricks. You want to find the real me?”
Alicia’s silent, murderous glare was the only answer she offered.
“Okay, let’s talk the Anniversary Ball.” The teddy bear spoke in a business-like tone. “Confirm the plan for me? Part one. It’s in Mirith. Old Elarrian city, but I expect the kingdom will stockpile defenses there. Your Master sends in the WMD, the avatar of Kavistra itself, herself if you’re Nocturne, whatever pronoun you give a demon. What the kingdom doesn’t know, is that she herself is a distraction. Hm, maybe distraction isn't the right word. An alternative path to your goals? I guess your Master wants the king and queen deader than dead. Shaweesh, don’t know what they did to make him that mad. Part two. Your Master sends in a bunch of groupies like the Dire Wolves to make life really, really miserable for the dancers. You and your group come in, take the second WMD, and activate it while their resources are drained away. The more boom kind.”
Alicia nodded once. This was the plan she had reviewed with the other assassins, Marcus and Eileen, what felt like a long time ago. Two major events, and in the upheaval the three of them could slip to the royal family and finish the job.
“Aaand seeing how you performed tonight, you’re quite a weapon yourself, heh? Now my package. I’m giving you the activation code and the, ha, raw material. Your Master said he wanted maximum casualties and maximum opportunity. That means, you say the code when Kavistra is out on her happy rampage. When the party’s filled to the brim, not more or less, you hit the boom-boom button. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Wonderful! Wait a moment.” The teddy bear scurried out of sight. A case opened with a small pop. Then Felice returned carrying something at least thrice the size as itself. A stuffed blue rabbit.
“Now the code is 23FAX.” The teddy bear paused and cocked its head as Alicia reflexively flinched. “What? We got company? I won’t be long.”
“No. No one’s coming yet.” Alicia steeled herself. The trigger word had made her expect something terrible. She recalled another child, screaming and begging, getting his head blown off casually by Master. His name was Torres, she remembered. It was a bomb. All Master needed to do was think and it was so.
The teddy bear held out the rabbit like it was a present. The assassin took the toy in her arms. Its inside was hard and heavy, like it was filled with powder, spherical particles, and electronics.
She had a bomb in her head. Now she was going to do the same thing she dreaded to countless other people.
My life is more important. My freedom is all that matters. Still, she shook on the inside.
Felice pushed the case that had held the rabbit towards her. “See, I’m leaving this real work of art in your hands. You need to speak the code and get out of the blast zone. A hundred and seventy ticks. There’s a timer inside. Mind, the bomb’s limited. It’s got its own power but it’ll suck chaos from Kavistra to get started. You see that’s why you need to time it well.”
The teddy bear glanced down at the alliance draft. “Ooh, spicy. No wonder your Master was worried. King and queen wanted a whole bunch of highborn scanning the ball and other events, doing defense, and that’s not mentioning their trade agreements. Would’ve denied material and locked me out of my package early. Too bad for them.”
“Why are you doing this?” Alicia really wanted to know.
“Why does anyone do anything? Fun and profit.” The teddy bear threw back its head as if doubled over in silent laughter. “After Azurelane killed our prince, I knew the age of the Fae and the empires of nations were over. All the good stuff was going to be in the kingdom now. Doesn’t mean I need to be an upstanding citizen, right? I haven’t had this much fun since that time I helped get a bunch of little kids into the chaos lands.”
Alicia’s blood ran cold. “What…did you say?” It was as if someone had jammed a knife in her gut and twisted it.
“Nothing, nothing. It was ages ago, you wouldn’t know. I did my small part. Upheld the old tales, aha, you understand? We Fae spirit away the forgotten, that’s what myths say. It was more of a coincidence, but still. Got paid good. I’ll be in touch. Ta-ta!”
The teddy bear skipped away, gathering up boxes of drugs and stuffing the paper in the crook of one arm.
Alicia grabbed her communicator and spoke quietly into it. “Sven. Left, on the intersection, you see a red cloth? Three meters from its lower-right corner.”
A distant bang answered her. Alicia watched a green beam flash from the sky and expertly spear through the bear’s head.
“Kuh!” The bear plopped to the ground. Then it got up, hole still through its forehead, and picked up the draft.
“That’s one too many interruptions today. Too bad he didn’t go for the rune. I’m out.” It crawled around a corner and slipped between a narrow gap between the walls of two buildings, disappearing through the shadows.
“Uh, Alicia, that’s not the real one.” Sven’s tone was concerned.
Alicia needed the teddy bear to deliver her results to Master. She didn’t pursue. Likely it was a long hassle, and she could run into more illusions anyway.
“She got away.”
Somehow, the satisfaction of shooting Felice seemed hollow.