Solomon follows the three others down the stairs and the group eventually breaks apart. The bird and the canine, likely a dingo now that Solomon gets a better look at him, sit down at one of the tables in the main hall and begin playing with dice. She sees Haemon and Fulmine argue about something at the other side of the hall. Rufina nods at her and walks over to the two of them.
Solomon now notices that even Luxor is busy playing a board game with five others. Someone is sitting close to them to provide live music with a violin. “Alright, that’s kind of…” Before she could find the right word to finish that thought, Wraps brushes past her, not bothering to look at her. This time, she follows the person with her gaze for a few, long moments. “Can’t escape me this time…”
“What’s up, Solomon?” Says Fulmine who has apparently walked up to her from the other side of the hall. She gives the bat a surprised look before looking back at Wraps, who has disappeared. “Damnit.”
“What do you want?” She asks, feeling a little peeved. Genesis feels more than just a little peeved at his presence.
“Any plans for the night?” Fulmine asks bluntly, confident as ever, as he leans against the wall. Solomon wants to let Genesis just have at him at this point. “Maybe I should take Rufina’s advice. Although…” Rufina could help her leave, Fulmine could help her contact her friends. She isn’t making it out of this forest by herself, and if she gets spotted on her way out, it’s over.
“Actually, none.” She responds, crossing her arms and smirking at him. “Not yet anyway.” She can practically see his eyes shine with hope.
“Why I could arrange something for the two of us.” He says, waggling his eyebrows. “How can someone be so bad at this?”
Solomon holds out a hand in response, the bat quickly takes it, without much thinking. She pulls him closer to herself, faking a longing look.
“Maybe you could show me this “Hall of Pleasure” you have.” The statement alone is enough to make the bat extremely excited and Genesis sick.
“And I thought you would be hard to get!” He exclaims. “Feels so good to be wrong.” He reaches for her face and gently caresses it. Solomon wonders if this is even worth it. According to Genesis, it isn’t.
“Meet me here tonight! I’ll show you how magical I can be!” She says, Genesis seems to disapprove of the pun. “Think about the charge you’ll receive, Solomon.”
“Oh, you got it!” The bat then snaps his fingers and walks off, completely oblivious to the fact that his last attempt was entirely unsuccessful. Solomon is certain she can hear him mutter “score” as he’s walking away. “Yeah, there’s not a chance.” She already has ideas on how she’ll avoid anything with him. “Soon, I’ll be free. They’ll think I’m dead, and I can get my friends to help, possibly.”
Pleased with her plan, Solomon spends most of the day at the library. She decides to have a little read into one of the romance novels, where she finds what sources Fulmine likely used to obtain some of his “skills”. She puts it down, not even ten pages in. She tries a short fantasy book instead, barely 150 pages. It has her hooked, but the ending ruins it all for her. “Nobody would let the villain live there.”
She decides to talk to Genesis a little, millenia-old or not, she still finds him more agreeable than Fulmine or Haemon. Although Haemon, she can understand. She did spray him with acid, even if it was in self-defence.
“So, what do you want to do when we get out?” She whispers.
“I will think about that when we are out.” He responds, Solomon takes notice of the awkward feeling coming from him.
“You are not actually going through with… That, right?” He writes, feeling concerned.
“Of course not.” Solomon responds with a slight shudder at the thought. Although, she now has brief thoughts about how Genesis’ presence may affect her personal life in the future. She really wishes that she didn’t have these thoughts, ever. “Don’t worry, I have a plan. And if it doesn’t work, well that’s one less creep who can’t take a hint.” Genesis feels amused by the idea. “If something goes south, I’ll call on you to fix it.”
“Understood.” Genesis writes, feeling a little better.
“I have my eyes on someone else anyway…” Solomon adds, leaning back in the stack of bean bags, really wanting to talk about her feelings to someone. An age-old entity who only she can talk to at the moment feels as good as it gets in her situation, which she finds kind of sad. Genesis picks up on her stirred feelings.
“I can listen.” He writes before Solomon could say anything. “You gave me a voice, I will do my best to keep us both alive and well.”
Solomon smiles as she reads.
“That’s so nice of you…” She looks down at her hands, her spirals no longer mocking, but rather, encouraging. “And to be honest… I just want to be with her. The Electric One who was actually meant for me. Lisa…”
Solomon has been thinking about her more and more lately, especially before sleep. She feels like she lied to Thalia about how she felt about the wolf, but that’s how she felt back then. Just a friend, a very, very close friend. Something about her has grown on her so much after the incident, however, something she can’t quite put a finger on.
She senses a warm awkwardness from Genesis.
“I lived thousands of years before you, I do not think I can comment on that.” He responds, which makes the cat chuckle.
“Yeah, I guess that’s true. Plus, her ex is a powerful Dark One. Until I can leave, I’m sure she’ll take care of her.” She pauses for a moment to collect her thoughts. “I can’t wait to get out of here… I wish I didn’t need that bat for it.” The thought makes her terribly uncomfortable, but she has no real intention of doing anything with him. As long as he doesn’t know that, however, he will play right into her hands.
She waits in the library until nighttime, also having a meal before she could enact her plan. Once the lanterns are off, she prepares herself mentally and heads down to the main hall without seeing anyone on the way. She passes by the room where Luxor first brought her. Against Genesis’ wishes, she takes a peek inside and sees the fox peacefully sleeping, his long legs partially hanging off the end of the bed. She can tell that his eyes are not shining behind his closed eyelids. She quietly shuts the door and leaves.
At the main hall, Fulmine is waiting, sitting on the stairs of the podium.
“Kept me waiting for pretty long.” He teases and stands up, holding out his hand. “So, shall we?” Solomon feels slightly nervous, but not because of him, more because of how he’ll react.
“Actually… Would you mind if we just went outside?” She suggests.
“Oho!” The bat reacts immediately, clearly not opposed to the idea. “How romantic.”
Solomon feels nothing romantic about that, but she’s not here to question him.
They go to the main entrance, Solomon stops in front of it, expecting him to open it for her. It takes him a few seconds, but he picks up on it eventually and opens the door. They go outside, Solomon leads him off to the side of the river. Even the fishermen are asleep inside the castle. “Step one done. But what if he…”
“Nice little clearing you found.” He says, his grin turning to a smirk. “Great choice.”
“Nevermind.” Solomon feels incredulous at his lack of caring for his safety, given that he knows what she can do. The bat is already taking off his shirt when Solomon stops him.
“Hold on now, you’ll need to impress me first.” She remarks, taking a step towards him. “You big, strong, electric bat.” She adds, which he seems to like.
“That should be easy.” He exclaims cockily, powering up his magic. “Watch this.” He aims his hands at a nearby tree. His markings light up, electricity shoots out of his hands. Solomon recoils, fearing that someone either heard or saw that. The tree is mostly unharmed, other than burn marks on the bark. “He could have lit the forest on fire!”
“Anyone with such power could do that.” She remarks, which surprises the bat. “Brute strength is nothing compared to precision.”
“Oh, I could listen to you all night.” Says the bat, Solomon finds what he said amazing in all the wrong ways. “Your accent really adds a lot to your appeal, you know.”
The cat now feels upset with him having taken the conversation in such a different direction. She also feels rather self-conscious about her accent all of a sudden.
“Je t’emmerde.” She says, faking an endearing smile.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Ah, the language of love!” Fulmine exclaims. “Beautiful.”
“You can be precise, can’t you?” She dismisses what he said, somewhat annoyed.
“Oh, you bet! As precise as it gets!” He announces. “Alright. Here goes nothing.”
“Don’t suppose you can…” She pulls out the phone from her pocket. “Charge this?” She feels nervous, hoping that the bat won’t immediately go to rat her out.
Fulmine takes a step back in surprise. Solomon prepares to give Genesis a signal.
“Where’d you get that?” He questions her, then waves dismissively. “Whatever, it’s not like you’ll get any reception here anyway.” He shrugs and takes the phone from her. “No way this is actually working. There’s no way.”
“If you’re looking for skill, you’ve come to the right man.” He holds one finger over the charging port and powers up his magic. Solomon doesn’t like how the electricity is visibly going around the phone as well, but she doesn’t mind as long as it works. After a few seconds, he tries to turn it on. The screen lights up, Solomon feels like she could cry. “It’s working!”
“Would you look at that?” He turns the screen towards the cat. “Five percent already. Impressive, aren’t I?” He says, looking extremely proud of himself.
Solomon nods vigorously.
“Whatever gets you going, kitty.” He goes back to charging the phone, looking into her eyes. If he wasn’t doing this just to have a chance with her, she’d feel bad for what’s coming to him. “Twenty. I’d say that’s good.”
Solomon feels a sense of panic, not just her own but Genesis’ as well, more as a reaction to her panic, she guesses.
She shakes her head.
“Can you do more?” She asks, putting her hands together and blinking twice with a friendly smile.
The bat seems to be getting quite fed up with it.
“I don’t know about that, this feels like a very one-sided deal so far. Hardly a good date if you ask me.” He powers down his magic, which worries Solomon.
“Hey, if you do this for me…” She says as she walks over to the bat and takes his hand. “I’m yours. It is an impressive feat of your magic!”
That seems to do it. Fulmine smiles and goes back to charging. “Not very bright for a Lightborn.”
“I have to say, Solomon…” He says as he sits down on a nearby log. “You are one very nice girl. The best I’ve seen in a while.”
Solomon would feel flattered, but coming from him, she just can’t take it seriously.
“I’m so very happy to have met you, despite our shortcomings.” He smiles. It isn’t a lustful smile, but a genuine, happy smile. “Looking into your eyes, I can see the interest. The willingness. And that’s better than anything.”
Solomon feels conflicted about the things he said. She also wonders how he could possibly see those in her eyes. Even so, it just doesn’t sound like the Fulmine that’s tried, without much success, to get with her during these two days. “Whatever, as long as I get my help, it doesn’t matter what he believes.”
“Really?” She asks, sitting down as well, although a good distance away to not get shocked.
“Yes. Really.” He takes a quick glance at the phone before looking back at her. “You’re different from the others. You see… Most are just interested in my body. But you seem much more interested in my skills. Isn’t that right?”
“So you picked up on it!” She exclaims, glad that he would take away something so convenient from the whole situation. “I can protect myself, but I want a partner who can handle themselves as well.”
She pulls her robe a little tighter around herself.
“Truly an eye for greatness. Just like me!” He puts one hand on his chest, looking proudly at her. “Such discerning ladies… They’re to live for. Only other one I’ve met was the bat you see with us all the time, Rufina.”
Solomon feels terribly awkward from his statement.
“But she’s Haemon’s sister, and he’s my good friend, so I leave her alone.” He adds.
“Uhm… That’s great?” She says in a less than convincing tone.
“Then there’s that lioness…” He continues, Solomon really wishes he didn’t. “She’s great, but eyepatches really aren’t my thing.” He looks over at the cat with dreamy eyes. “And there’s also you! Girl, I’ll make this the best night of your life.” He states matter-of-factly, lovestruck.
Solomon has nothing to say, she accepts the compliment with a smile.
“Fifty-three.” Fulmine inspects the phone and grins at the cat.
“That’ll do it.” She says, standing up. The bat also stands up and hands over her phone, looking terribly pleased with himself. “Truly, a showing of skill. You must have great control over your power.” She pockets the phone and looks around subtly. “Step two done. Now for the final step…”
“Years of practice, Solomon. Now then…” He holds out his arms, expecting a hug. “Between the two of us, I was sort of jealous of Our Lord. He always gets all the affection so easily… For good reason, but still.”
“Wait!” Solomon suddenly exclaims, looking around hurriedly.
“What is it?” He lowers his arms, following her gaze with his.
“Did you hear that?” She steps a little closer to him, acting scared. She gasps and goes to embrace him, hoping that she’s convincing enough.
“What did you hear?” Concerned, he puts one arm around her, petting her head with the other in an attempt to comfort her.
“I heard it from there!” She breaks away from him and points far into the woods. The bat follows her finger with his gaze. “I… I think I see it!”
Fulmine takes a few steps in the direction she points, staring into the woods for several seconds.
“Are you sure, Solomon?” He asks, about to turn around. “I don’t see any-”
Solomon hits him over the head with a rock. He is out cold. She pants, putting the sizable rock down on the ground and waits for a couple seconds, confirming that he is not dead. Genesis is pleased.
She gathers pieces of wood and ties them to him, acting quickly, hoping to be finished before he wakes up. “I had to do it. I can’t risk him telling anyone about the phone.”
With the pieces of wood tied to him, Solomon puts Fulmine into the water, face up. Floating safely, she lets the river take him hopefully far enough away that he won’t cause her any problems with her getting away.
“Adieu.” She whispers as the bat is washed away by the river and disappears into the horizon. She admittedly feels a little bit wrong for doing this, but figures that the end justifies the means.
She then hastily walks back closer to the castle while she considers her options. “Who should I message… It will take them a while to get here. I should just tell them to wait in that nearby town for me! But what if I can’t find a way to leave?” She feels a raindrop hit her head, the slight shock of the cold water momentarily snapping her out of her train of thought. Now, she hears the sound of rain hitting the leaves and ground all around her, quickly growing in intensity. She decides to think about the details later and heads inside the castle, the rain turning into a downpour.
Already drenched, she then rushes through the castle, making sure to keep quiet as she heads higher and higher. The mind-bending architecture of the castle doesn’t help navigation, nor does the wet feel of the map. She’s glad to see that despite its condition, it is still readable. She runs as fast and as silently as her legs can take her. “Don’t let this be for nothing…”
She checks her reception every now and then, only to be more and more disappointed each time by the lack of it. She heads to the highest tower and opens the window. Still nothing. She impulsively makes a daring move and climbs onto the tower’s slanted roof, the rain pouring down on her, almost slipping off as she makes her way up.
At the very top of the castle, she can’t help but laugh as she finally gets reception. It’s quite bad, but it’s enough to inform her friends, which makes her and Genesis feel downright euphoric. He may not completely understand, but she feels like he has a pretty good guess on how it’ll assist them. “I can’t believe it… Soon, I can get out of here, safely, hopefully.”
Lisa lies in bed in a hotel, unable to sleep. The task feels impossible, they have scoured large sections of area around the cathedral, as well as nearby villages today, all for nothing. No one has even seen Solomon. They gave up on trying large cities, guessing that no cult would gather in such places. And that’s their biggest problem, it’s all guesswork. Their one lead, Antonio, is missing. Without him, finding Solomon is like finding a cat-sized needle in a Spain-sized haystack. Truly, the situation seems hopeless.
“Still can’t sleep?” Thalia asks from a bed next to Lisa’s.
“How could I possibly sleep, Thali?” The wolf turns in bed, exasperated.
“I can get through a day with two hours of sleep, you can’t.” The panther remarks. “I’ll try and keep watch, just in case.”
“That really doesn’t help.” Lisa says with a sigh, looking at the ceiling. “I just feel so bloody useless, mate…”
“We’re getting her back, Lisa!” Thalia tries to cheer up the wolf, sitting up, her voice turning sombre. “I can’t let her end up like Alan.”
“What if she does?” Lisa exclaims, louder than Thalia would like. “We’ve got no clues, nothing other than what country she’s in! Come on, we’re supposed to be sodding investigators!”
“Lisa, please.” Says the panther. “We’ll find her! If it’s the last thing I’ll do, I’ll help with it. I can’t let such a thing happen again…”
“We’re just five people.” Lisa states, calming down slightly. “There’s only so much we can do. Who knows what those guys are doing to Rox right now?”
“The poor girl…” Says Thalia. “I can’t even imagine how she must be feeling.”
“Okay, now you’re REALLY not helping.” Lisa turns in bed once again and checks her phone to look at the time. Thalia is about to make a remark when the wolf practically shoots up in bed, tears steadily gathering in her eyes.
“THALI!!!” She says as she rushes over to the mildly confused panther.
Adelar quickly sits up in bed upon hearing quite the commotion just outside his hotel room, as if someone is rushing towards the door.
He gets up and looks around the room, Yaroslav and Durazo are still sleeping. He readies himself, content with setting whoever is after them on fire, especially if Ludwig sent them.
“Wake the FUCK up, mates!” Lisa practically breaks through the door with no regard for other hotel guests, Thalia closely behind her. Everyone else in the room is woken up.
“What is it?” Yaroslav asks groggily, looking annoyed by being woken up this way.
“Solomon just sent me a message!” She exclaims excitedly.
That seems to get his attention way more.
“What?!” Durazo and Yaroslav speak at the same time.
“Not only that, we know where she is!” Thalia adds.
Adelar checks his phone and sure enough, he was messaged as well, very recently.
“But… How?” He asks, entirely too confused. The details, the location, how to get there, everything they need to know is written down in her message.
“I’m givin’ ya about two minutes to get ready before we go get ‘er, got that? Be quick, and we can make it there by the next night!” Lisa orders before running right back to the room where she and Thalia were sleeping, presumably to change into streetwear.
They waste no time getting ready to leave. Finally, Solomon will be saved…