“Each room is marked with a different symbol, you can’t miss it.” Solomon said to Rime as they went through the door to the conglomerate of training rooms. The first one they passed was the one for Blazing Ones with the orange fire symbol. Even just being in its vicinity, Solomon felt a tinge of fear from Genesis. Marked with a blue lightning symbol, the next one had been named “Electrician’s Closet” by The System’s more amateur Mystic Ones. Solomon was told that it could yield worse results to have Blazing Ones and Frost Ones so close to each other, so they settled for this. She could hear the crackling of electricity as they passed.
“This would be it.” The feline stated, stopping by a door with a light blue snowflake on it, then turned her head upon hearing Rime snap his fingers.
“Thank you…” The icy letters on the fennec’s chest read. “Sorry, what’s your name? I don’t think you said it before.” He put his arms behind his back and flicked his big ears with a friendly smile.
“Roxanne Solomon.” She answered and opened the door to the “Freezer” as they called it. A chill immediately hit her, the cold shock making her recoil slightly.
“See you later, Solomon!” The words on Rime’s back formed as he turned his head to smile at her. He then went inside the considerably less populated training room, only five other people were present there. “So that’s five, plus Rime, Benedict, and the snake… And whoever’s not here right now.”
A snowy owl with hardly visible markings of frost shut the door after the fennec entered, leaving Solomon by herself outside. “Speaking of that snake… I should go see what his deal is. True Frost, after all!”
Solomon left the training area and as she was going towards Shaquia’s office on the ground floor, she heard static from her radio followed by her name being uttered by Benedict.
“Yes?” She spoke, putting the idea of the snake aside for now, having a decent idea on what the raccoon wanted.
“Come to the warehouse, we got the delivery!” He said with great excitement, which paled in comparison to hers and Genesis’.
“On my way.” She put away the radio and practically spun around in the direction of the warehouse entrance, where two more heavily armed guards were stationed. She flashed her markings, gaining entrance.
She had to admit, after the incident, every time she went there, which didn’t really happen all that often, it somehow looked a little bit more organised. She guessed it was Shaquia’s giving Benedict more workers to take care of things, or just the generally improved morale after Ludwig’s demise, or perhaps both.
Solomon simply had to look straight down the first corridor to see that at the end, people were gathered around something about half a metre tall. The closer she got, the more apparent it became what it was: a tub, industrial in terms of appearance. Benedict and his workers were all wearing protective gear; gloves, some just protective glasses, others going as far as putting on gas masks.
“Alright, I’m here.” Solomon announced, which Genesis found ever so slightly insulting. “Correction: we’re here.” She said after a sigh, allowing the scholar to wave to them all using her hand. Looking into the tub, she saw that it was filled about three-quarters with a familiar, transparent liquid.
“This is as much as we could get without drawing too much suspicion.” The raccoon explained, his voice slightly muffled behind the gas mask.
“We did say that it was for industrial reasons.” Said a rodent with light brown fur in a chauffeur’s clothing.
Solomon removed her gloves and stood above the tub, the anticipation from Genesis growing stronger and stronger.
“Thank you all!” She said, speaking for both her and her companion.
“Shouldn’t you put on some protection?” Benedict suggested, gently grabbing her shoulder.
“It wouldn’t make much sense if I was immune to the acid but not its fumes, non?” She argued.
“Didn’t your friend say that it was imperfect?” He retorted, concern palpable in his voice.
The feline took a look at her hands and felt no strong emotion from Genesis, other than a sense of urgency.
“He did. But I trust him.” She stated and lifted her leg above the tub, carefully lowering it down into the liquid. The moment the tip of her foot touched it, that same sensation, it coursed through her body all the same in an instant.
“Solomon, if you die-” The raccoon started to say, but before he could even finish, she was submerged from the neck down, causing the workers to recoil and back away from the tub.
“Such… Power…” Solomon said, experiencing the purest form of relaxation, juxtaposed with incredible strength. She visualised Genesis on a bed of pillows last time, this time, it was more like lying in a field of finest catnip, caressed by the fanciest feathers of whatever devilish angel might have possessed Genesis to make this magic of his. All of that, right before leading a one-feline crusade against the adversaries, the traitors that sentenced him to death by fire for his misunderstood genius.
“Ah.” Solomon’s eyes snapped open. “I see your power is returning, Genesis. Your emotions are most vivid.” Her euphoria was suddenly interrupted by a thought as she felt her hands tingle. If his power is returning…
“Truly.” He wrote into the notebook. Her markings glowed with such intensity, it reminded Solomon of Lumi’s when she was in the presence of True Darkness.
“Well now I’ve seen it all.” The chauffeur remarked, followed by the sound of footsteps.
“Genesis…” Solomon began to say, she could tell that he felt her worry. “Does it mean that you can just force my hands against my will again?”
“I could.” The words send a shiver down her spine at first. “But I will not. There is no need for that. You have been a most wonderful host and a true friend. I will not betray your trust.”
Host… She never quite learned to be comfortable with that word. She had always associated it with the most repulsive of beings, fictional or not. But Genesis… He was neither. He had proved to be neither.
“I trust you not to do that.” She said, the idea still making her just a bit uncomfortable.
“Unless I have to act fast and your life is at stake.” He added, which Solomon found both disturbing and comforting.
“Should we leave her be?” One of the workers suggested.
“Quite possibly.” Said Benedict, signalling for them to gather around him. “Although, I feel like we should leave someone here just in case.”
One worker took a good look at Solomon before turning back to his boss.
“Not me.” He said and moved his hand horizontally. “Oscar, you can look after Possessed Girl.” He pointed at another raccoon.
Solomon felt her hands twitch involuntarily.
“Bon sang, calm it, Genesis.” Solomon complained, surprised by just how fast he was gaining power. It even drew some more attention to her. “I can handle myself, don’t worry.” She assured the ones present.
“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Said one of the workers as he left along with two others.
“Aw, man…” Benedict shook his head.
“I still scare them, don’t I?” Solomon guessed. She saw two more workers lightly nod behind Benedict. Even if she did, she didn’t care much. The people that mattered trusted her, and that was all she needed.
“Hey, if you’re sure, we’ll leave you be.” The raccoon offered. “Just… Get out and seek medical help the moment you start to feel… Off, alright?”
“I’ve worked with similar substances before.” Solomon explained, letting herself be immersed in the feeling of rising power. “This… Is nothing like any of that. This definitely won’t hurt me, I feel the power within me, we both do!”
“I’ll tell Shaquia about it, I’m sure she’ll want to hear it!” Benedict said and took a step in the direction of the exit, taking off his gas mask. “Call me if you need help!”
“Will do!” Solomon closed her eyes and heard the people’s footsteps slowly become more distant.
She and her particularly close friend lay in the tub filled with otherwise deadly acid, taking in the power it inexplicably granted them. She heard people come and go, not paying them any mind.
The things Solomon had always been told during her training when handling such liquids, she couldn’t help but find it funny in her current position. And to an extent, it made her think about how she was brought up. Always stay clean, always stay safe, don’t step out of line, don’t question people. All things that no doubt contributed to her habits as well. If her parents could see what exactly she did after moving to the UK, she wasn’t sure if they’d be proud or disappointed.
After what felt like an hour had passed, she and Genesis very suddenly felt the sensation change. Rather than leaving Genesis, and Solomon by extension, wanting more, they felt immense satisfaction of body and mind. Solomon sat, then stood up in the tub and let the acid roll off of her in seconds. Her markings glowed bright enough to rival the way they did after Genesis learned of his ultimate betrayal. She felt like she could actually, properly do the things he could, if only she followed the teaching she hoped he would give.
She took her radio off the edge of the tub and raised it up to her mouth to speak.
“We’re done, Benedict.” She stepped out from her unusual place of rest.
“Nice! How are you feeling?” He responded almost immediately.
“Oh. I feel alive.” Solomon stated, walking down the long hall of the warehouse.
“Meet me at your earliest convenience.” Shaquia’s voice came through the radio.
“Mind if I take a shower first?” The cat inquired.
“I would suggest that you do.” Said the lynx, Solomon understood her point.
“Roger that.” She walked through the warehouse entrance, nodding to the guards along the way. She then made her way to the nearest bathroom to take a much-needed shower. Genesis was so preoccupied with revelling in this feeling of power that he didn’t even retreat into Solomon’s mind until she turned on the shower. She liked to imagine him passed out, eyes closed as an explanation.
After drying herself and getting dressed, she figured she could send something small, but nice to Lisa. She took a picture of herself standing in front of the mirror, making a peace sign with her right hand and with a wink. She then sent the image with the caption “Not dead yet”.
Genesis “returned” once she was halfway to Shaquia’s office, having given her ample time for a shower.
“Welcome back.” She told him, beelining towards Shaquia’s office. Outside, the snake of True Frost was leaning on the wall, arms crossed, seemingly looking at nothing.
“Hey!” She said to him with a smile.
“Hey.” He slightly lifted his head before lowering it again. “Go in.”
Somewhat concerned for the snake, she nodded, opened the door to Shaquia’s office, and waved. Only after that, did she properly notice the person in the lab coat next to the lynx, holding papers. Still feeling like she’s on top of the world, Solomon sat down on a chair prepared for her.
“We analysed the acids you tested on.” Lab coat began to say, flipping through the pages. “We’ve come to a discovery about your magic and what exactly it draws power from.”
“Which is?” Solomon asked. Even though she didn’t show it too much, she was terribly curious about her power.
“Sulphur.” Shaquia answered. “We’re not sure why that is, however, so we thought we could ask Genesis about it.”
Hearing his name definitely seemed to catch his attention.
“Alright!” Solomon took out her notebook and let him write, although what little he did write didn’t exactly encourage her.
“I do not know why that is.” She read out loud, much to the chagrin of the two System members present.
“Nothing?” Shaquia pushed with a questioning look. “Absolutely nothing? Maybe it’s what you used to make the magic?”
At that, Solomon felt a sensation she hadn’t had the displeasure of going through in the past couple of months to the extent that she did then: hatred.
“How I made the magic is my secret alone.” She read out loud, although in a tone that differed from what Genesis would have liked. “I would not trust even Solomon with that, let alone you. My magic can infuse people, can you even imagine what would happen if someone tried to infuse an acid-infused person?”
“Okay, we get it.” Shaquia tapped the desk with both her hands. “It’s still something new at least.”
“Sulphur…” Solomon wondered, trying to make sense of it without much success.
“We do have some good news regarding the power source.” Lab coat remarked and showed Solomon an image depicting a public pool.
“And this helps… How?” She raised an eyebrow, trying to ignore the ligering hate from Genesis. As far as she knew, he could have just voiced his opinion a little more profoundly there. The mere fact that he didn’t made her trust him just that much more.
“Sulphur springs!” Lab coat announced. “If we could get some of that much more easily acquirable water, we could make testing not only safer, but possibly more pleasant for you.”
“We’ll need to think about that, still.” Shaquia stated, shooting a glance at lab coat. “If it only has trace amounts of sulphur, it may not be as effective.”
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
Solomon certainly didn’t mind the idea of having a nice bath at such a place, too bad she couldn’t just visit normally. Whatever paint she would apply would most likely fade away from the empowered magic. As for wearing gloves, people would just find that weird. Or worse, suspicious.
“That’ll be our next course of action.” Said Shaquia. “Likely after your two weeks are over.”
“Sounds good!” Solomon said with a delighted look and a considerably less angry Genesis.
“For the time being, stay out of trouble.” The lynx suggested with a slight smile. “We’ll get back to you on that later.”
“We’ll try.” Solomon stood up and with one more nod, sulphur fresh on her mind, she left the office wondering how long this “charge” she received would last.
Outside, the snake still waited by the wall. For what, she could not tell.
“You’d think they’d put a bench here, eh?” She remarked, and went to stand next to him, still far enough away not to intrude upon his personal space. He didn’t pay her any mind. “Not one to talk, I see.” She would have left him alone if he were just any other snake, but the fact that he was True Frost, as hypocritical as it may be, made her more curious.
“What’s your name?” She asked. That simple question actually made him turn his head towards her. “I don’t want to be here” was practically written on him.
“Sssamuel.” The snake answered. Solomon hadn’t talked to many snakes before, but she could tell that their signature way of speech was present for him: most times elongated ‘s’ and ‘sh’ sounds, complete with the forked tongue sticking out.
“I’m Solomon.” She said, sensing curiosity from Genesis. She reached out one arm for a handshake.
“Well met, Sssolomon.” He reluctantly shook hands with the feline, she could feel the cold at his touch. She wondered how he took it all, reptiles typically preferred warmer climates rather than the often cool, even chilly weather of the UK. “Maybe he actually likes that more because of the magic?”
“Catherine sssaid that name many timesss.” Samuel stated, putting his hands in his pockets. “Ssshe doesssn’t like you very much.”
“Wait, really? Why?” Solomon took a step back, way more interested in what he had to say all of a sudden. Genesis wasn’t too surprised given their first encounter with the opossum.
“Ssshe didn’t get to dissscover your power. And with you coming from Franccce, ssshe felt that it was owed to her.” He explained, causing Solomon to feel quite indignant at the new info. “You may want to ssstay away from her.”
“Not where I thought this conversation would go, but thanks.” Solomon crossed her arms. “One less reason to like her.”
Shaquia’s voice then came through the radio. “General, report for the arranged occasion.”
“10-4.” Said the deep voice of the lion.
“I would prefer that you used words. Things here are complicated enough as is.” The lynx responded, which was met with a staticky chuckle from the lion.
“Anyway…” Solomon began to say. “What’s your story?”
While still quite dire, Samuel’s lifted mood apparently went right back down at that question. He lowered his head and exhaled softly, his breath visible, a chilly mist.
“Sorry!” The cat apologised immediately after. “I didn’t know it was…”
“No, it’sss fine.” Samuel held out one hand, gesturing to her to stop. “About time I faccced that day again.”
Solomon felt guilty just for asking, but her companion seemed interested. He may have influenced her there a little, but she couldn’t deny that she wanted to hear what he had to say. After all… She had a lot to say just a couple months ago. With a nod, she let him continue.
“All of my family hasss green ssscalesss. I came out from the egg with thisss blue colour, you can imagine the reactionsss.” He rolled up his right sleeve, as if to show Solomon more of his pale blue tint. “I lived in a sssmall town, away from people. My parentsss loved me all the sssame, but I could tell they didn’t want people to sssee me.” As he spoke, more of the chilly mist left his mouth, seemingly against his will. “And the worssst, ssschool.”
“Kids can definitely be cruel…” Solomon remarked, pitying the snake. Rather than any sympathetic emotion, Genesis felt bored by his complaints. “Seriously?”
“You have no idea.” Samuel went on. “But one day, it all ended. I wasss fifteen, fressshly out from classss. I wasss ready to leave, go home, not deal with people anymore, you know?” He turned his head to properly face Solomon for the first time in his retelling, lowering it back down soon after. “Thisss one guy… He jussst couldn’t keep hisss mouth ssshut.”
Solomon felt a creeping chill, but not because of any emotion, she started getting physically cold. She chose not to mention it and let him go on.
“That bassstard dog… He implied that my mother cheated and that’sss why I was thisss weird ssshade of blue!” He continued, his voice getting ever so slightly louder.
Solomon put her arms around herself and took a step back. Samuel picked up on that immediately.
“Sssorry…” Right as he said that, the cold was gone.
“It’s alright, I’m listening.” She put on a smile and stepped right back next to him.
“Ssso…” He cleared his throat. “I couldn’t help it. I went for it and punched him right in the faccce and he sssmashed into the railing!” He curled his fingers into a fist. “After all that time and ridicule… It felt ssso… Cathartic, you know? But then I looked around and…” He paused and rubbed his eyes with one hand. “They were ssshivering. Everyone around me were ssso visssibly cold.” He explained with great remorse in his voice. “And him… He fell to the floor and wasssn’t moving. I went to check if he wasss okay, and when I turned him around… Oh God…” He covered his face with his hands and sniffled.
Solomon wasn’t sure what to say in order to make him feel even a little better, if there was even something she could have. This was no time for words, but for something more universal. She put one hand on his shoulder, both to comfort him and as if to tell him that she’s not afraid of him. He moved his hands down and was met with an understanding smile of the feline, trying to tell him that it was okay.
“Hisss faccce…” He continued after collecting himself. “Have you ever ssseen sssomeone hit the head of a ssstatue with a sssledgehammer?”
Solomon recoiled slightly, but kept close to him out of solidarity.
“The policcce, ambulanccce, firemen… They were all called. Not that they could do much to sssave him. I… I hated him, but I didn’t want to kill him!”
Solomon let go and stepped back. She then spread her arms and beckoned him for a hug, which she was sure he needed. Her intuition proved correct, as Samuel reluctantly embraced her, tightening the embrace as he grew more comfortable. His frost magic didn’t help his lack of body heat, he felt downright freezing to the touch, even through all the clothing. Despite that, she didn’t let go and let him enjoy some much-needed contact with another person, even if it was growing slightly painful. While Genesis was a little touched by the story in the end, he was practically yelling at her to stop, for her sake.
After a couple more seconds, he finally let go, leaving hoarfrost-like ice on her dress.
“Thanksss…” He said with a faint smile. “I… I needed that.”
“They say you could always use more hugs!” She said as she wiped the frost off of her dress. “I’m always here to listen, Samuel. When I’m here, that is!” She winked with a friendly look.
The snake looked terribly grateful just from her little gesture. She understood how he felt all too much.
“Thank you, Sssolomon. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.” He sighed and got ready to finish up his story. “The night the policcce took me, thessse people arrived. They promisssed me sssafety and much more, a bit hazy on the detailsss… But I went with them. For five yearsss, I wasss hidden away from the world on the ordersss of your previousss leader.”
“Alright everyone, I’m ready for the meeting!” Catherine’s voice, this time less grating, came through the radio abruptly.
“Change of plans, General.” Shaquia announced. “Those who it may concern, gather in room 26 on the second floor ASAP.”
“I’ll tell you the ressst later.” Samuel said after the announcement.
“Sounds good!” Solomon smiled. Right after that, Shaquia’s office door opened.
“Alright, at least you two are close by.” The lynx remarked. “Let’s go.”
Solomon and Samuel obliged and followed her. In the elevator, Solomon checked her phone to see a message from Lisa: an image of her, Yaroslav, and a female bear in an old-fashioned home, all looking quite happy. The text along with it read “Same”.
The three of them were first to arrive at the room. There was a large round table in the middle surrounded by chairs, which reminded Solomon of Bird’s Eye a little too much for her liking. In the far end of the room were half a dozen screens, all turned off. Below them, a control panel.
“I guess ASAP has lost its meaning nowadays…” Shaquia remarked and sat down at one of the chairs, Solomon to her right, Samuel to the cat’s.
“But it’sss jussst passst 5?” Said Samuel.
Not a minute later, Benedict, carrying a mug, and Andreas stepped through the doorway, followed by Sheila.
“See, complaining helps!” Solomon exclaimed, Genesis didn’t seem to like it. “What’s with you today?”
“That’s precisely why Catherine’s in the position she’s in.” The lynx retorted.
“So we’re just waiting for Cath now, right?” The raccoon asked, taking a seat along with the rest.
“Looks like it.” Sheila shrugged.
“You left the newcomers alone in the training hall, Sheila?” Shaquia shot an accusatory glance at the lioness.
“No.” She frowned. “They’re with General.”
The lynx sighed deeply and buried her face in her palms.
“What? I know him well, they’re in good hands!” Sheila argued.
Solomon and Samuel briefly exchanged glances at the scene. “I mean… I guess Sheila’s right?”
Then, the sound of someone’s voice came through Shaquia’s radio. “Incoming message from Grayson.” The feminine voice said, one which Solomon had heard before, but couldn’t quite pinpoint.
“Right before the meeting. Your timing is still impeccable, Grayson.” Shaquia remarked, seemingly relieved. She stood up and went to the control panel in the room. “Forward it to room 26.” She flicked a switch and a screen lit up, text on it reading “Standing by.” It then cut to a straight line which shifted to reflect radio frequency. Nothing but static at first.
“Come on…” Grayson’s hardly audibly, staticky voice came through from the audio recording. “...or…age…” His voice wasn’t quite intelligible, but it did sound distressed. Solomon expected nothing good from the message as a result. She glanced at Samuel, who really just looked more confused than anything.
“Can’t make out anything like this, Vanessa.” The lynx complained.
“On it.” Said Vanessa.
The static continued as Shaquia patiently waited in front of the screen, standing with her arms crossed. An edited version came through after Vanessa and the info department did some decrypting magic.
Grayson then spoke, loud and clear.
“Luxor took over a village!” His voice came through, causing Benedict to choke on his drink. That was, however, all he said before it went back to static.
“No… No!” Shaquia uttered, despair palpable in her voice, putting her hands on the edge of the panel to support herself.
“We’re working on the rest, but this…” Vanessa said, sounding much less relaxed. “This couldn’t wait.”
Solomon felt like she could cry, cry a river at the news, as well as Grayson’s mostly failed attempts at communication. She felt her eyes water as Andreas hit Benedict’s back to try and ease his choking. Her hands tingled with Genesis’ panic, but she didn’t want to let him take over just yet.
“...days…wasn’t…called…left…”
Sheila got up and walked up to the lynx, the static steadily continuing. The lioness whispered something to her, only to be shooed away.
“...ved..…people..light….streets…”
The look of horror on Samuel told Solomon that even in France, the members were well informed of the Lightborn and their past actions.
“...bad…he…..left..day!...hurry…”
Shaquia shook her head, staring at the frequency on the screen. She turned around, her expression was that of defeat as she kept her head down.
Crack.
The recording ended. Shaquia played it on a loop, trying to make out what Grayson could possibly have said.
“This can’t be right!” Sheila complained. “How many people live in a village? A few hundred?”
“Too many to just agree with him, sire.” Andreas said calmly, which Solomon envied greatly.
One more, properly patched up recording came though, which Shaquia immediately put on.
“Luxor took over a village!” The goat repeated and took a deep breath. “Three days ago, it was all good, he still wasn’t doing anything. In the morning, he called us all to the hall where he announced that… We need to expand?” He spoke like he questioned what he had heard. “And then we left, just like that, no further explanation other than his insane ramblings!”
That was it. The confirmation that Solomon dreaded to be true. She hoped, prayed, that somehow, it wasn’t, but the chances of that were less than slim.
“We arrived at a village the same day, and he just announced that he was a god, like the people would believe it!” Grayson went on, trying to keep calm and mostly quiet. “Of course, they didn’t. Then he healed an old guy who lost a leg, now THAT got some to be on his side. He then healed every single person who was there and shined… Shone? Whatever! He did that thing he does every day… I hate to admit it, but I blanked out on what happened during it. But after that… They had no reason to doubt him, I guess? They submitted to him, spent all of yesterday cleaning the streets!”
Solomon saw Shaquia’s hands begin to tremble, picking up in intensity with every word he said. She then curled them into fists, causing steam to leak from her upper body.
“And guess what! As if it wasn’t bad enough, there was this one tech-savvy guy visiting relatives or whatever. On Luxor’s request for Bright Ones, he told him that he had a buddy who knew one! Long story short, Haemon and Rufina left and have been on their way to retrieve the person since yesterday!”
Shaquia slammed her fist against the edge of the control panel.
“Thing is…” Grayson chuckled quietly. “I nicked the coordinates! Sending them with this message! Oh, please let it go through… Hurry, they have a day’s head start on us!”
The lynx turned around and rushed to the table before Grayson’s voice came through one last time before the end of the recording.
“I’ve been trying to get a message through since two days ago. They upped their security though, so getting away from them wasn’t easy. P.S.: Sal, if you’re listening, the sunlight receptors on this thing fucking suck!”
Solomon was left speechless at the news. An entire village… She really would have preferred to know how many people the fox ruled over, but given Grayson’s situation, she didn’t blame him for keeping it brief.
She then noticed that Shaquia, who looked like she had aged 20 years in the past few minutes, was looking past everyone in the room.
“Catherine, we need to-” She began to say, only to be cut off by the opossum standing in the doorway.
“Meeting postponed. We’ll deal with this first.” She stated. She clearly wasn’t happy about it, but even she saw how dire the situation had become. Shaquia seemed like she could hardly believe how cooperative the opossum was being.
“Vanessa!” The lynx spoke into the radio. “I need you to look into the location Grayson sent!”
“Way ahead of you.” Vanessa’s voice came through, anticipation rose in the lynx’s eyes as the rest waited for orders.
“You could send me and Andreas!” Sheila suggested, entirely too confident. “We’ll make short work of the little bats! I could use a little excursion.”
Shaquia held up a finger in her direction.
“Juuust a moment.” Vanessa said as Shaquia paced around the table.
“Or you know…” The lioness went on more quietly and looked at Samuel. “This could be some decent field training.”
The snake shrugged with a disinterested look.
“Aaand it’s located!” Vanessa spoke again, causing Shaquia to stop in her tracks.
“So?” The lynx urged her to tell.
“Russia.” She spoke with much less enthusiasm. Solomon was then startled by Shaquia slamming her fist on the table.
“God damnit!” She yelled out as the others present exchanged looks of defeat.
“If I may…” Solomon attempted to speak up.
“Anything specific? Anything else? Are you sure?” Shaquia ignored her, steam steadily rising from her body.
“His name is Alexei Vasilyev and we have his last known location.” Said Vanessa. “Far away from the few people we have in Russia. Closest we have there is Alexander.”
“Maybe… Maybe they haven’t gotten too far yet?” Shaquia guessed, visibly frustrated. “What do they even use to get around? It can’t just be that van!” She said more to herself.
“I’m telling you, send the three of us!” Sheila stood up, eager. “They don’t have fire or frost! We’ll go all out on them, we’ll get that-”
“For the love of God, Sheila, shut up!” Shaquia snapped at the lioness. With a surprised and slightly scared look, she sat back down.
“It would be best if we somehow got to him before they did.” Vanessa raised the point. “But let’s be honest, that’s not happening. Even if Alexander could make it, he’d stand no chance against Rufina.”
“Damnit! Is there nothing we can do?!” The lynx said as she looked around the room.
“We could still try it?” Benedict suggested. “It’s the best we have.”
“I’m not sending Alexander to his death!” Shaquia finally sat back down and rubbed her temples.
Sheila opened her mouth to speak, but didn’t say anything.
“My, I didn’t think you’d accept defeat so fast.” Catherine walked up to the lynx and put her hands on her shoulders.
“Cath, this really isn’t the time.” Shaquia complained.
“I just think there’s an option you aren’t seeing.” The opossum then gently grabbed Shaquia’s head and slowly rotated it, stopping her gaze at Solomon. Genesis immediately didn’t like wherever that was going. “In this line of work, you have to get creative, darling.”
“No!” Shaquia slapped away Catherine’s hands. “I promised I would never…”
“What’s more important? A simple promise or keeping a Bright One safe?” The opossum asked with a deathly serious glance. Shaquia gritted her teeth and made her shaking hands into fists, steam once again rose from her.
“Uhm…” Solomon began to say, starting to agree with Genesis.
“Solomon.” Shaquia said in a calm voice, keeping her head down. She didn’t look at the cat. “I have an enormous favour to ask.”