“So, what you’re saying is… you almost got robbed by the townspeople… then you got in a fight with the townspeople… and now you want to help the townspeople?” asked Daphne. Despite her soft demeanor, they could hear the disapproval in her voice.

“A canal of the Cain river dried up with no logical explanation to it. You know what that means. Something is up with that water god.” said Yoel.

Daphne rubbed her face with her hands.

“Now you also want to mess with Cain...” she said exasperated.

After the group reconvened they decided to hide from the afternoon sun in the air conditioned van. While eating their lunches, Yoel reported the situation to his boss. Albert was also quite invested on the case and he would pile in on the persuasion here and there.

“Can’t you do something about it? Isn’t that what Descendants do?” he asked.

“Did.” Daphne corrected. “We worked as the bridge between gods and men because our government branch ordered us to. We don’t do their bidding anymore. We don’t owe them anything. We don’t clean up their mess.”

This last phrase was felt heavily by the group. There’s no way they wouldn’t resent the organizations that threw them away.

“Do you think that’s what happened?” asked Jingo, raising his eyebrows. “The DRA was created out of members of the Faera Divine House, who rebelled after they were forbidden from warning the others, right? Maybe now they don’t have the personnel to deal with this problem.”

“Yes, that is a possibility. There were some people who didn’t join the us, but they didn’t necessarily stay at the house either.” said Daphne sighing.

“Still, what the fuck were we supposed to do? Just work normally as if nothing happened while we got slaughtered left and right? No. We did the right thing.” protested Yoel.

“But the wrong people are paying for it.” stated Albert, grimly. No one contested that either. Valentina was the only one that hadn’t spoken yet, so Daphne turned to her.

“What do you think?”

“I don’t mind checking it out if there’s something we can do. As long as it doesn’t distract us from our priorities.” Valentina answered with a meaningful look towards Daphne. She wanted to track down The Horde, nothing more. But Albert wanted to help the people, and she felt like she owed him at least that.

Daphne thought about it for a few seconds and said:

“Ok. We’ll have a look. But I can’t guarantee anything. Yoel, where do we start?”

“We asked around, and from what we heard, high ranking officials and business man have been meeting in the government water treatment facility, by the river. If somebody knows the current state of affairs, it’s them.” the big man answered.

“But will they even give us the time of day?” asked Valentina abruptly. “Look at us. Three rebels and two foreigners.”

“That’s true. Even if we wanted to help, they wouldn’t exactly welcome us with open arms.” agreed Albert.

“Luckily there’s still an option.” said Jingo, lifting a finger and putting on pretentious airs as he spoke “The great arts of Stealth and Deception.”

He then looked at Daphne, expecting a response. With a sigh, she gave the command:

“Fine. Get our comms ready.”

“Yes ma’am!” he answered with a mocking salute and started fumbling through his bags. Daphne puffed at his phony reverence. Jingo handed each one of them an earpiece and a little sleeve microphone. With those they could hear themselves as if they were talking in each other’s heads.

“This will work within a 1 kilometer radius. Step away from that and things start to get glitchy” he explained to the newbies. Albert and Valentina both nodded their understanding.

After their lunch, the group started driving away from the suburbs and towards the canal. The river ran across the southern part of the city, in the industrial district. Among the metallic jungle of tubes and chimneys, stood a complex of small concrete buildings, surrounding the canal on both sides. The water treatment facility.

After a few minutes, they reached the roads parallel to the canal, allowing them to see the waters as they approached the building.

Or the lack thereof.

With sadness, Daphne looked out the window at the depression of dirt and sand that it had become.

“The Cain river is the closest thing we have to an old acquaintance when it comes to deities. Faera is one of the oldest cities on this planet, meaning this goddess has been dealing with humans since the beginning.” explained Daphne to Albert as they cruised the district. “I wonder what could leave her in that state…”

“There’s something I’ve been curious for a while now.” he said.

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him:

“Ask away.”

“God’s are like… manifestations of nature, right? What defines their gender then?”

“No one really knows. But one thing we learned after all these centuries is that nature has it’s own will. It lives, thinks, expands and contracts however it wants. And if that part of nature wants to be female, who are we to say otherwise?” she answered nonchalantly.

“But, isn’t Cain a male name?”

Daphne laughed gently. That was the first time he heard her laugh. It sounded very melodic in her soft spoken voice.

“I wouldn’t mention that to her, if you two ever meet. The city founders called her Cain before even meeting her, and it stuck. She hates it.” she said chuckling.

The van pulled up a couple of blocks away from the treatment facility and Daphne started laying out the plan.

“We need to find out what has happened to the river, meaning we need to listen in on that ‘important meeting’. Jingo is our infiltration specialist, so he will be going into the building. Ideally, he’ll get one of our camouflaged microphones inside the room, but if it’s impossible, he can listen in and then report back.”

“Me and Valentina will be the backup firepower. If Jingo is ever in danger we can bust him out. Yoel will stay in the van and keep the engine running in case we need to make our escape.” she explained each person’s role while looking at them, to make sure they understood. Nobody contested her orders.

Stolen novel; please report.

“What about me?” asked Albert

“Well, no offense, I saw your skills earlier, going after that kid. You’re good. But you had just joined the Divine House when we found you, right? You’ve never been trained to carry out missions. You’ll sit this one out.” she answered sternly. Albert didn’t look satisfied but he could not dispute her arguments.

Jingo waited until the sidewalk was deserted to jump off the van and walk towards the complex. Xarkan had no tall buildings thanks to the unstable foundation of the desert, so even government facilities and rich enterprises could only be horizontally big. This one was no different. And with a rooftop only 3 stories high, this was no challenge for a Cloud God Descendant.

Making sure nobody was looking, he walked up to the wall of the entrance building and casually jumped up. Or better yet floated. Under his foot shone a light blue light and his body glided up like a leaf blown by the wind. Once he reached the rooftop, Jingo disappeared from their vision.

“All clear. No security up here.” they heard him say on the radio.

“Alright, find an entrance.” said Daphne.

The dusty rooftop was extensive and didn’t have any windows. Still, there were some security cameras spread around, and he had to bypass them. Since they didn’t have the floor plan, he took an educated guess as to where the best entry point was, choosing the highest and most central entrance he could find. That’s where rich and important people like to be… he thought.

Holding his breath, Jingo pushed the bar on the fire door and waited.

“No alarms” he reported in a low voice. Yet… he thought to himself.

On the tip of his toes, he proceeded to walk down the stairs, always watching out for cameras or guards. By taking the first door he could find, Jingo found himself in an empty corridor. One side led to a well light room while the other was shrouded in darkness. He chose the latter, hoping to not come across less people.

Unfortunately, luck did not smile upon him. Right as he was about to turn the corner, Jingo heard steps coming his way. His instincts kicked in, and without a place to hide, he decided to improvise. He waited at the corner for the perfect moment and…

“Oh, sh- I’m sorry sir” said the man after bumping onto Jingo. It was a young looking fella, probably around his twenties, carrying a silver tray with empty glasses. He wore a simple cotton shirt, blue pants, and his shoes, although formal, were a bit rough around the edges. Meanwhile, Jingo had left his extravagant clothes behind, taking up something a bit more discrete. And since he was entering an office, he opted for the black blazer and the suit pants.

In a split second he assessed his mark and took a gamble.

“Watch where you’re going!” he answered aggressively. The young man had acted subservient to him, so he gave him exactly what he expected. Bossiness.

“I’m sorry sir. I did not hear you.”

“Well, clearly.” Jingo pretended to walk past him and stopped, as if he had just remembered something. “Actually, why don’t you make yourself useful and tell me where the meeting room is? I can’t find anything in this bloody maze.”

The man seemed happy to get a chance to redeem himself. He put down the glass cups and said:

“Yes, sir. Follow me.”

This time, instead of hiding, Jingo put on his best arrogant face and walked around like he owned the place. They went back up the corridor and into a room full of empty cubicles. Despite the lights being on, the desks were deserted and the computers shut off. Jingo threw a few curious glances around, not daring to ask something he should already know. After a few meters, the cubicles were replaced with fancy offices with glass doors. Also empty. Up ahead, he heard voices and rustling of feet. Sensing the proximity of his destination, Jingo asked:

“What’s your name?”

“Bran, sir.”

“Is the meeting already happening Bran?” he said, imperiously.

“Yes, it’s started a few minutes ago.”

Jackpot… thought Jingo.

“And who’s present?”

“Hmm. From what I can remember: some executives, the local director, the mayor, his assistants and CEO Rany.”

Back in the van, Daphne raised her eyebrows in surprise and Yoel whistled, impressed. CEO Duke Rany Miranda was one of the richest men in the entire Kingdom, owner of Cone Corp., a huge construction conglomerate.

“I see…” Jingo said, hiding his surprise. “This is far enough, I know my way now.”

“That’s okay, sir. I’ll accompany you. We’re almost there.”

“It’s really not necessar-”

“I was heading there anyway to see if they needed more drinks” Bran said holding up the empty silver tray “It’s no trouble at all.”

“Very well.” said Jingo, defeated. There wasn’t a palpable change in his tone or expression. But a more perceptive onlooker would’ve seen the light shift in his eyes. There was no longer the sharpness of the condescending boss, or the warmth of his usual silly self. Only the coldness of a man on a mission.

Bran turned around to continue on his way, but before he could take a step Jingo took the tray from his hand and smacked it hard on his head. The light-blue glow of the Ruach covered his body like an aura, enhancing his strength. He held Bran’s body before it hit the floor and dragged him into one of the empty offices.

“Sorry my man.” he whispered to the knocked out employee. After hiding his body under the desk, Jingo took some of Bran’s clothes and traded them for his.

“I got this guy’s tray and ID. I think I can bullshit my way in as an intern.” he told the others through the radio.

“All right, be careful. If you make it in, stay there with your mic out.” said Daphne.

“Roger.”

With the tray in hand, Jingo left the office and headed for the corridor where he had heard those voices.

Two security guards were waiting by a big wooden door. A dark skinned one with tattoos up to his neck and a whiter, also gigantic, one. They both looked menacing and more importantly, none of them had employee IDs, meaning they were outsiders. Jingo had no way of knowing whether they had powers or not, and he did not want to find out. Putting his best intimidated face on, he approached them.

“Hi, I came to see if the bosses need anything.” his voice was a bit more high pitched and he did not look the security guards in the eye.

“Did they call for somebody?” said one turning to the other, who just shook his head.

“They asked me to come back later, just in case.” said Jingo, coming up with an excuse on the fly.

The dark skinned one took a glimpse at the security card.

“Bran… yeah, I remember your name. All right, go ahead.” he said opening the door.

I guess brains were not included in the protein package… thought Jingo naughtily. Still, he was glad to avoid this fight.

Inside, 12 people were reunited around an oval table. They were all formally dressed and had serious looks on their faces. However, the one who sat at the corner of the table stood out, if anything, by the way people avoided his gaze and heeded his words. CEO Rany… Jingo thought. Opposite him, on the wall, was a big projector screen showing a woman with a construction helmet.

Jingo slipped into the room and the bodyguards closed the door behind him. Luckily nobody seemed to notice his presence, as everybody payed attention to the screen.

“We are ready to begin operations, Your Grace” she said.

“Very well” responded Duke CEO Rany.

“Before you proceed I must warn you once again, Duke. As a part of the court, you’re well aware of the… threats we received regarding your project.” said a man sitting with his back turned to Jingo. He seemed to have carefully chosen his words as he danced around the subject.

“I do not care for her puny threats.” answered CEO Rany “For years I’ve been trying to get this project off the ground, and now that those foolish environmentalists are out of the way it’s finally passed. I won’t let her stop me.”

“You underestimate her power. You’re planning on using her resources too. What makes you think She’ll stay quiet?” The other people in the room looked astonished, watching someone defy their boss to that extent. Others looked around confused, unsure of what the two man talked about.

“She’s helpless. If drying up this canal is the best she could do, I’m not too worried.” Rany said in a final tone. Turning back to the woman projected on the wall, he said “Joan, you may proceed.”

The woman nodded and turned around issuing a bunch of orders. There was a lot of movement behind her and a large noise erupted from the speakers.

“Turbines operational, all systems OK… The buildings are receiving power.” reported the woman.

A small cheer erupted from the operators on her side of the screen followed by a modest round of applause from the members on the desk.

“Good work everyone. This marks the beginning of grea-” said Rany, before being interrupted by alarm bells coming from the screen.

“What’s going on? Talk to me!” the woman yelled to her operators. They heard a few muffled voices shouting, then Joan reported back to the room “Your Grace, it seems the river levels are decreasing at an alarming rate. We are trying to determine the cause.”

“What the hell is going on? Is she just gonna dry herself to death?” asked Rany angrily. Shortly after, the man who was questioning the Duke before received a phone call. Whatever he heard, alarmed him to the point where he stood up suddenly. Without ceremony, he announced.

“She’s not drying herself Duke. I’ve just received reports that a tsunami like wave is traveling up the canal at our direction.”