Savannah's shadow dissolved within the room. One leg inside, one leg outside. She stood at the entrance. One eye marveling at the cat's defensive behavior, one eye monitoring Mr. Hendrickson's position, movements, number of breaths.

He appeared irritated by the feeble light melting into the security of his hideout.

She sniffed the surrounding air, the scent of Jasmine, as dim as the grass in a hot desert. Instilled some explanations.

"Tell him that he can come in."

He surprised her. This sentence confirmed her doubts.

She shifted her focus to the black cat. It crouched in the sunniest spot of the open corridor, refusing to step an inch.

As fast as the liberating breath, the cat found itself in the grasp of Savannah's hands, then one foot inside the room.

A familiar tone echoed within her head: "Don't do this, I am defenseless. He will prey into my heart. He will find all my secrets and use them in inventive ways to torture me."

She whispered into his ear while closing the door. " Who dare bully you when I am here?"

However, in truth, her confidence about Mr. Hendrickson, disfavored, physical, psychological states, was the backbone of her words.

A piece of moist fabric was placed on his forehead and eyes. Two fingers pressed lightly above the base of his nose before they moved lazily, dragging the fabric away from his head.

The pair of eyes that looked to Savannah and the nervous cat behind her feet had a double iris. A hint of weariness dominated his gaze.

Nicolai must have taken the matter of their little chat on the farm to his heart. So close to his heart, desperately close to his heart.

She groaned inwardly. The puff of air parted her lips, unbeknownst, for a moment, that she was also an object of someone else meticulous scrutiny.

This instant of omission built enough doubts into Hendrickson's awareness.

He examined her thoughtfully. Her demeanor, her ability to blend in with locals. Even the overly dark skin and light-colored eyes were skilfully toned down.

He didn't want to rush, forming a quick elation. He waited for her to hold the initiation honor.

On account of the irony of fate, she just had the exact thought.

The black cat never left her side. When she picked through the window curtains, or when she sat on the old smelling sofa. Making herself comfortable at home. On occasion, the cat snatched glimpses of Nicolai while he wasn't paying ample attention. However, the elusive mental link between Savannah and the cat never stopped pulsing orders: "Don't be the first to speak."

"Yeah, yeah, you can stop motioning that."

"Don't avert your eyes. He is already suspecting something."

"How come I keep staring at him purposeless?"

Endless chaos of bickering.

The one outside the stage finally changed the target of his focus.

The black cat pretended to lick his paw, careless about the affairs of the world.

"What's now?" Savannah asked, urging Lord Shiva for a decision.

Under Nicolai's piercing gaze, the black cat ended the licking ritual, crouched next to Savannah's leg, and lowered his head.

Before the time limit, one last interaction passed through the temporary mental link:" Go on."

"You said you have found five locations that matched our description?"

The negotiation had started. Nicolai welcomed the dry, cold tone in Savannah's words with a relieved heart.

A wave of comfort sparsed the vibration of his earlier doubts. A moment ago, he was almost certain that she showed up to cease their initial arrangement.

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The cat moaned, the two of them watched it moving toward the entrance, scratching the door.

Savannah didn't pay it a considerable amount of attention. In contrast, a foreboding sensation rose beneath Nicolai's calm, tired face. Asking the question: Why did Lord Shiva vacate the sitting?

A hollow gap erected in Nicolai's chain of reasoning. In no way Shiva wasn't interested in the outcome of this search?

In no way he will leave his dear Savannah alone?

Answers for those questions, He couldn't figure it out, at least for now.

Worn from thinking, worn of every bad thing he had encountered lately. Defeated. Desperate to get what he wanted. He placed his hand on the knob, opening the door, letting the poor cat escape the suffocating pressure.

A pair of black eyes acknowledged the stern look on Savannah's gaze, embarrassed by it. And finally accepted it. Inky hair slid atop a white skin when he bent over, searching a drawer.

Savannah didn't flit, settled as a watcher. Composed outside, troubled inside. She preferred silence.

She stared at the folded paper offered to her. Then examined the extended arm holding it, inch by inch, till she beheld the profile of his face. Waiting for his consent to take it.

A half nod and the paper was between her fingers. Skilfully playing the unfolding game. With a focused look, she devoured it, impatiently.

It was a simple map of the city. Highlighting the major locations. Pinpointing five different places in red.

When she lifted her head, Nicolai was already resting his back on the chair, one hand covering his eyes. His voice fainted gradually: " I pinpointed the potential locations on this map. Unfortunately, I could only narrow the search to five possibilities."

Savannah's perturbed heart drowned in sympathy, oozed with guilt. Shying her eyes away from the black ghost in front of her. Afraid to talk. Something told her she will screw big if she says anything.

She walked up to the old desk, placing a silver silent whistle and a metallic card. Aware of being watched from the side, she finally thought that it was less suspicious if she says something.

"I didn't believe you were making things simpler than you usually do." Peeping at his face, a cynical tone followed after: "Your first time?"

Witnessing the slightly up bent lips of his, her weighted guilt turned lighter.

"You can encourage me more."

"How?" she asked, unimpressed. Humm, was this the price of simplicity? Was he hinting at the coffin?

"Tell me what you know about my airship." Attentively listening, she pressed her lips appraising the boundaries of her ought frankness, wondering where her gaze hoverer at the ceiling. Would it be beneficial if she told him about the strangers with the Jasmine scent at the moonstone entertainment house?

" The innate restrictions of the land of rivers." She pierced Nicolai with a sharp look, indirectly, gauging his true motive: "I don't think your airship can fly over anything other than obediently using the water flow."

"Did it get permission to step inside?"

"No, all foreign airships are subjected to diligent surveillance. Not just the Kilioz."

"Any other details?"

"It's not hard to guess."

The man's hand fell aside, his sightline set free. Moving his focus between the desk and Savannah unchanged, cool expressions.

The small hint she provided, he understood its significance. The escalating tension between the north and the south reached its summit. Staying any longer here will be dangerous. Getting out of the city also won't be easy. Finding Francis's whereabouts…Has that jerk even entered the city?

The ichor ration he offered him almost ran out.

"Do you know which port the Kilioz is stationed in?"

"The North…" Savannah paused for several seconds before she decided to give more intel. "The Kilioz is stationed in the main military port. Some rumors say that the admiral had met the Viceroy several times."

She tagged the folded map within her clothing and proceeded toward the door. Before getting outside, she turned, seeking Nicolai's hazy silhouette. "One more thing you should know, the one who sent guards after you wasn't Marduk." She paused, articulating her statement, as well as annotating its price. "I noticed that Shiva wasn't able to keep a physical form. Don't bully him more than that."

The door closed with a low clack. Shivers of the spring air wiggled after her departure.

Akin to an inanimate sculpture, with crossed legs, tight shut eyes, he dangled his head into his right palm. A forbidden radiance seeped through as he slumbered in imposing silence, screening the newly received information. Classifying it.

The true parts, the false parts, the parts that meant to confuse him. And how everything was related to each other?

There is a certain insanity in skepticism. Suspicious people always lose themselves in a hellish kind of abyss. What was accurate? What was shrouded in falsehood?

But how can Nicolai be blamed for his caution? Who can be trusted in this world of lies and trickery? Didn't he sink to the bottom for a transient careless moment?

This draining logical process halted at an invisible conviction. What are those lackluster feelings rampaging his thoughts? What was Savannah not telling him, right?

Nicolai, as an authentic reader of aura, didn't detect any abnormality.

Every word she had uttered missed the hesitation of deception, lacked the fetid odor of hypocrisy. Even when she interceded for Shiva's security, she was genuine, sincere, concerned.

She only spoke of truths… Then, where is the problem?

Perturbed by the orange light of sunset sneaking past the ragged curtains. The distinguished statue, at last, showed a sign of vitality. The well-built cane bore the crushing weight of a desperate man. Assisting him along with the short distance to the window. Before his hand reached the target, the sharp sound of a falling object won his attention.

A marble cylinder seal chose the brightest spot in the room to manifest its existence.

Absorbed in its engraved symbols. The revived impression Nicolai had made when he met Rokah in Babel swarmed in. That cold, confident demeanor… The calm reflection…

He should go and meet him, at least for one last time, before he will use the silent whistle to surpass this puppet's intriguing personality.

The orange light burned the fingers that extended to retrieve the cylinder seal. Forced them to retreat. It was a mere moment and the whole room plunged into infinite darkness.