Lisa felt like her head was spinning as she was travelling with Yaroslav en route to the rendezvous point. She had just put her phone away, having finished a conversation with Solomon. She felt increasingly better about not having brought her along, but at the same time, her powers definitely could have helped… “Nah, wouldn’t want her to do that just because Shaquia told her to.”
She exhaled deeply, looking ahead at the road, feeling the alcohol working in her system. Of all days for the Lightborn to decide to come back and attempt to take another Bright One, it just had to be the one where she’s exactly in the right, or perhaps wrong, place to go and retrieve him. She couldn’t help but think about what would have been if Yaroslav didn’t live so relatively close to Siberia already.
“Y’know…” Lisa said softly, feeling tired. “I thought about givin’ that ticket to Thali or someone. Am I glad I didn’t. It’s bad enough that we have to be involved.”
“You should rest, friend.” The bear replied, eyes on the road. “It’s going to be a long night. Don’t want you to fall asleep in the middle of a fight.”
“Ha ha.” She said unenthusiastically. “As if.”
“No, really.” He glanced at her, serious. “If we bump into them, we have to fight. Just go and sleep. The trip is about two hours long, enough to get some shut eye.”
“Yeah, yeah…” Lisa tilted her head, resting it on her hand, and closed her eyes. She didn’t say anything for what felt like twenty minutes and just let her mind wander. Filled to the brim with vindictiveness, she thought about how much she wanted to get it over with. Three on two if everything goes well. She couldn’t wait to take her anger out on something she couldn’t care less about, really the best part of being sent out to stop the Lightborn, other than the possible reward of course. And then, two weeks she can spend working on something she just might like more. With Solomon and Milo no less? If she had to cut down a couple of lunatics for that, so be it.
As much as she tried to keep focus on the task, her thoughts always went back to Solomon. Even so late in life, she felt like she was truly in love for the first time. For all Lisa’s years, she never put anyone else before herself, she always made sure she was happy, that she could afford the things she wanted, that she was her number one priority. Looking back, she couldn’t help but find it selfish. It all changed with Solomon. She was all she had always wanted: a feline with pretty, soft fur whose purring would make her heart melt, someone to cuddle on dark nights Lisa would have spent alone otherwise, and above all, someone who loved her back. She couldn’t believe that she of all people could finally have just the person for her, someone so cute, honest, and loving. By all means…
“We’re here.” Yaroslav’s voice woke a confused Lisa.
“How? We just…” She looked ahead and saw the hotel where Alexander was no doubt waiting for them. “Oh. I guess I did sleep a bit, yeah…”
The bear chuckled and got out of the car, followed by her. Lisa felt that it got colder, likely due to the time of day and them getting even closer to Siberia.
The building itself was an older type, in a charming way that Lisa liked. Not the modern, vibrantly painted hotels that were nothing but an eyesore in her opinion. Just a faded, brick hotel made not to be ostentatious, but to serve its purpose. Humble.
The two entered the building. The inside was much like the outside, except for the light brown colour that the walls were painted. There were hardly any people there, a rather ordinary-looking wolf talking to the bear receptionist, a family of three more bears quietly conversing at the far end of the waiting room, and lastly, the person Lisa and Yaroslav were sent for: a shorter foxhound sitting hunched over in one of the seats, clad in a long, thick, dark brown coat with matching trousers, shoes, gloves and a brimmed hat. Lisa had to admit that she quite liked his style. She nodded to Yaroslav and they walked up to him.
The foxhound lifted his head and gave them a long look as they approached him. “You must be the ones Shaqie sent.” He said concisely, a tired, gruff expression on his face.
“That’s right.” Said Lisa, her friend nodded along.
“Then let’s go.” He stood up without hesitation. “Gotta give you some credit, you didn’t keep me waiting. Arrived ten to fifteen minutes ago, got some good timing.” He spoke with a noticeable New York dialect.
“Not big on greetings, I see.” Yaroslav remarked as the three of them headed outside.
“We’ll have plenty of time for that during the ride there.” The foxhound shrugged. “Besides, Shaqie wants us to get there sooner, rather than later.”
They got into the bear’s car, Lisa sitting in the passenger seat. She may not have spoken her mind about it, but working with such a stranger so abruptly left her slightly uncomfortable.
“So, you were the best they had all the way out here, Alex?” Lisa asked in a tone that ended up being way harsher than she had meant.
“We have enough people for Europe, but not nearly enough to reach out to damn near Siberia.” Alexander put a cigarette in his mouth. “Mind if I smoke?”
“I would mind it, yes.” Yaroslav said, frowning at him through the rear-view mirror as he got the car on the road. Alexander then put it right back in a pack, a hint of disappointment in his expression.
“You’re their vanguard or somethin’?” Lisa said in more of a joke.
“Not quite. Ludwig wanted me far away from him.” He explained. “The fewer Metal Ones he had around that could combine with wind, the happier he was. Not a lot to do, but still plenty of pay.”
“So you’re a Metal One?” The bear asked.
“In part.” He took off one glove to show off his markings: silver mixed with streaks of orange on his hands. “Shaqie told me to expect frost and electric. Not sure how much that’ll help, but at least you won’t suffer a painful death at a bat’s touch.”
“Sounds like the start to a plan.” Said Lisa. “You deal with Nosferatu, we’ll keep his sister off your arse.”
“Fine by me.” He scoffed. “But that’s easier said than done. Haemon’s the only Sanguine One I’ve ever seen personally.”
“Oh come on, he was a total push-over!” Lisa exclaimed. “One little shock and he’s down. Easy as that.”
“If only.” He sighed deeply and leaned back in his seat, staring out the window.
Lisa glanced at Yaroslav, who at least didn’t visibly appear sleepy. She took out her phone and checked the name of the settlement where the Bright One was last located.
“Alright, how long until we arrive at this… Uhm…” She struggled to read the name.
“Lenovyatka.” Yaroslav helped her out. “It’s a few hours away. It’ll be well into the night when we get there. But if it really is that urgent, what can you do?”
“Thanks, Yaro.” She put her phone away, truly just wanting the whole thing to be over. She then looked over to Alexander. “Don’t plan on working together after this, but who exactly are ya?”
“Name’s Alexander Wheeler, if you must know.” He said, still looking outside. “Ex-member of a now defunct agency. Anything else Shaqie told you about our Bright One?” He glanced at her, side-eyed.
Lisa scoffed. “Not really. We know that his name is Alexei, he’s a hyena, and that he was in that village at one point, right at the border. Why would people live in such a cold place anyway?”
“Lots of natural resources.” Yaroslav chimed in. “But where we’re going, only people with thick fur and thin wallets live, my friend.”
“Or Frost Ones.” Alex guessed.
“That’s a hiding place for ya.” Lisa gently elbowed Yaroslav.
“I don’t like that we have to go there.” The bear stated, earning a curious look from Lisa. “That general area is cursed, every time I went there with the boys, something bad happened.”
“So you’ve been there before? And you just mention it now?” Lisa complained.
“All sorts of weird things happened, our machines stopped working, that’s where we got most of our injuries, and so, so many cancelled contracts. One time we were on our way to the building when boss told us to stop.” Yaroslav recalled.
“You’ve told me about that before!” Lisa said energetically. “We’re heading there?”
“After I put it in the GPS, I remembered.” He shrugged.
“All that sounds like it was because of the cold.” Alex rationalised.
“On warm Summer days?” The bear retorted. “Even near Siberia, it isn’t cold all the time. Boss eventually stopped accepting contracts from those towns and villages because the maintenance costs ended up being so high.”
“That’s a little more than just superstition. Splendid.” Lisa remarked. “How big is this Leno-place, Yaro?”
“Just a small village, but it has a population.” Said the bear. “I think we’ll find our little bats there, I can’t imagine they found one person so fast.”
“You sure about that?” Alex said in a questioning tone. “How many hyenas like the cold weather?”
Yaroslav didn’t seem so convinced about his guess anymore. “True.”
“I heard they can still grow out a Winter coat.” Said Lisa. “Maybe there’s more than just him? What do we even do if we can’t find him or the bats?”
“We pray that they die on the way back to Luxor.” Alexander said with a frown.
“Lovely. Just beautiful.” Lisa tried her best to relax in her seat and absentmindedly turned on the radio for the rest of the trip.
As the group was discussing the possible weaknesses of the Lightborn bats, the small village finally became visible on the dark horizon.
“Looks like we’re here.” Alex said as he munched on a sandwich he had brought with him.
“Alright, time for some action.” Lisa said more to herself as they passed a wooden sign before the village that read its name. Then again, to her, it might as well have said anything. The village itself was more like one long road with old, single-story houses on each side, most were in decent condition considering the weather, but some were definitely more dreary. Some homeowners even decided to put some personality into the fencing with carved wild wooden animals and lanterns Lisa couldn’t begin to imagine how they would light up on some nights. Naturally, no one was on the streets and almost all houses had their lights off.
“So, what now?” Yaroslav asked.
“We’ll just ask around.” Alexander said matter-of-factly. “Would have been better if a store was open, but we can work with this.”
“At this time of day? Are you insane? No one’s gonna open the door for us!” Lisa complained.
“A Bright One’s more important than some guy’s sleep.” Said the foxhound.
As they went down the single road, there was one house where the light of a TV shone through the window; someone was watching a football match.
“Stop.” Alexander ordered, resulting in the car coming to a halt by the house. “We’ll start here.”
Lisa really wanted to voice her concerns, but she had to admit that she didn’t have any better ideas. If they failed to find the Bright One, it was likely that the bats didn’t get to him either.
“Whatever you say, mate.” She said and opened the car door. The cold night air hit her so hard that her first instinct was to close it.
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“A little chilly, eh?” Yaroslav chuckled as Lisa felt like she could shiver, even through all the fur and clothes.
“It’s fuckin’ May! Come on!” She voiced her complaints as Alexander got out of the car with a sigh, soon followed by the other two.
“Make it snappy.” Alexander urged and lit a cigarette using his finger. “The weather ain’t much better for me either.”
“Alright Yaro, you do the talking.” Lisa suggested, having walked up to Alexander.
“Why not you?” Said the foxhound. “People trust women more easily.”
“But… I don’t speak Russian?” Lisa said with a hint of offence in her voice, Alexander looked at her with sheer disbelief as a result.
“Shaqie sent someone who doesn't speak Russian?” He furrowed his brows.
“Did she fail to mention the part where I wasn’t planning on doing this in the first place?” Said the wolf.
Yaroslav shook his head, walked right up the door, and knocked on it.
After exchanging nods, Lisa and Alexander got beside him. No reaction, not until he knocked on the door two more times, resulting in a visibly upset brown bear opening it. He spoke with Yaroslav, but Lisa had no idea what either bear was saying, the latter of whom, she guessed, was explaining their situation. “I’m really just here to look pretty, ain’t I?”
One short and evidently disgruntled conversation later, the homeowner shut the door. His voice could still be heard after, likely complaining about his interrupted night.
“Didn’t have much faith in the one, his first words were “who the hell are you people?” Alexander turned back to the car, hands in his pockets.
“Honestly, what did you expect?” Lisa retorted. “Did he at least say anything useful?”
“He knows Alexei.” Said Yaroslav. “Most people in Lenovyatka do.”
Lisa almost felt excited at the news. “That should make it easier, yeah?”
“Thing is, he ain’t the local celebrity by the sounds of it.” Alexander remarked as they got back to the car. “More like a petty thief.”
“Absolutely brilliant.” Lisa complained and after she got in, she took a picture of the long road illuminated by the headlights. It looked way worse in the photo, but she decided to send it to Solomon for posterity’s sake along with the text “creepy fucking village”.
“Let’s see if anyone else’s up.” Alexander suggested as they drove on. “If not, we’ll have to start waking people.”
The next house that happened to have the lights on belonged to another bear. The house itself was well-kept and looked pretty clean. The owner wasn’t exactly of much use, however, she shut the door before them the moment they brought up Alexei.
One more conversation with yet another bear, another exchange Lisa couldn’t understand. In all fairness, she felt completely useless for the case so far. That only made her angrier at Shaquia for sending her in the first place.
But then she saw Yaroslav’s expression change as he was conversing: excitement. She glanced at Alexander, who had a satisfied grin. She couldn’t wait to be let in on the news!
Waving them goodbye, the owner of a house that definitely had seen better days closed the door.
“Okay, what’d he say?” Lisa inquired, looking more excited that she would have liked to admit.
“He told us to check out the girl living at 179.” Alexander said smugly. “She knows him well. Also said that he’s nothing but a thief, and a bad one at that.”
“Guess that ain’t just a rumour.” Lisa remarked before they took one more, short trip to the house in question: a simple house belonging to a wolf named Tatiana. There was no light coming from inside.
“So we’ll just…” Yaroslav began to say as Alexander pressed the doorbell more than a few times.
“Yeah. We’ll just.” Lisa took a step back from the door when she started hearing footsteps, just in case Tatiana didn’t react well to being woken up.
The door slowly swung open and its owner looked out with sleepy eyes, wearing a thick, warm coat with her pyjamas under it. She looked just as confused as the other people they asked did.
Having very little to properly listen to, as well as being cold, Lisa kept her eyes on Tatiana. She was a slightly younger wolf with light grey fur. She had grown out the fur on the back of her head and had it in a ponytail. Not Lisa’s style at all, but she did find her pretty.
Tatiana exhaled, annoyed at bringing up Alexei’s name. She seemed much more upset with him than the others, which made Lisa all the more curious. The conversation finally ended with the sleepy wolf closing the door while seemingly trying her best to maintain a smile. Lisa simply waited for a translation.
“Now we know where he lives.” Said Yaroslav, although less excited than before. “And that Tatiana really hates shoplifters.”
“Oh, this is too easy.” Lisa smirked, but was met with disappointed looks, causing her smile to fade.
“We know where he lived before he disappeared.” Alexander said as they got back to the car. “I just had to open my bloody mouth, didn’t I?”
“You can’t be serious! The bats… What if they beat us to it?” Lisa said in desperation.
“We’ll just have to go through his house either way.” The foxhound said casually, seemingly unbothered.
“We’re breakin’ in?!” Lisa raised her voice, and was shushed with a finger.
“Better than them finding a Bright One. If they didn’t already.” He shrugged as they went for a short drive one last time.
Alexei’s house stuck out like a sore thumb at the very end of the village; it was a modern, newly-built, large house with an entire floor more than the rest of the houses. By all means, it didn’t look like it even belonged in the village. It also didn’t look like it was recently broken into, particularly by two Mystic bats, which Lisa found to be a great relief.
“So this is it then.” Lisa and her partners got out, taking one good look at the outside of the house. It was sort of a yellowish colour with a red tile roof, as far as she could tell in the dark anyway.
“Yeah, let’s get to work.” Said Alexander, Yaroslav was already pressing the doorbell. They waited and waited, and even after ringing it more, there was no response.
“A house this big, and he lives alone?” Yaroslav said in disbelief.
“Guess it’s time to kick down the door, eh, guv?” Lisa said jokingly, glancing at Alexander.
“That’d be very unprofessional.” He then removed one glove and stuck out an index finger. “That’s where I come in.”
Lisa wasn’t exactly surprised when Alexander’s finger started glowing like hot iron, it made sense for his fire magic, but then she saw it flatten more and more until it was thin enough to fit in the keyhole. “Alright, better be quick…” With one motion, he slid his incandescent finger inside and seemed to concentrate greatly on his hand. After a few seconds and a couple of failed attempts at opening the door, he rotated his hand to the left and the lock opened with an audible click.
“Neat trick.” Lisa remarked, secretly impressed. Alexander then pulled out his finger, now in a shape that resembled a key, glowing orange. It then slowly shifted back to its original shape and cooled down.
“The power of fire and metal. Used it all the time back in the day.” Alexander then casually opened the door and, followed by the other two, went inside.
The house was still pretty impressive on the inside, despite very little for decoration, not quite lavish, but it had quality furniture. If it wasn’t for the location, Lisa certainly wouldn’t have minded living in it, especially after a couple touch-ups.
“A house this big for one person?” Yaroslav basically repeated himself. “Alex, if we broke into the wrong house…”
“Trust me, this is the one.” He reassured him after sniffing the air.
Lisa then took one good sniff as well and immediately noticed it. She and the foxhound exchanged glances and nodded. “Bats.”
Yaroslav tried his best to remain quiet after hearing them say that.
“It’s faint, but they were definitely here at one point.” Lisa said as the bear opened another door, which led to a kitchen. “Can’t even tell where they were.”
“Lots of hyena as well.” Said Alexander. “Or at least similar. Canine for sure.”
Lisa took a turn and saw a set of stairs leading to the first floor. “I’ll go check upstairs, you take a look at the rest, yeah?”
“Fine by me.” Said the foxhound, not a tinge of concern in his voice.
“Be careful, Lisa.” She heard Yaroslav say quietly. She held onto her cane firmly, just in case. The sword in it was fully charged too, which made her feel that much safer.
Slowly taking one step at a time, she followed her nose upstairs and could smell hyena scent coming from every room in the corridor except one. There were five rooms in total: two on each side and one at the very end. She opened the first one on the right, which turned out to be a room that had no furniture inside. The hyena scent wasn’t present there either. “Prob’ly didn’t have time to furbish this one yet.”
The next room was an upstairs bathroom, totally clean and spotless. No one inside.
Lisa then opened the door at the end of the corridor, and was left quite puzzled. It was packed with shelves, and upon them, an assortment of the most random items she’d seen. Everything from simple utensils, plates, and other items one would find in a kitchen, to three calculators, jagged metal pieces, a deflated tire, a toolbox full of pristine tools that never once saw use, both glass and plastic bottles, mugs, a cheap-looking nasal spray, five identical towels, a fire poker by a few pieces of firewood (despite not having seen a fireplace in the house), even one half of a door handle. They all had Russian labels below on the shelves.
“What?” Lisa took one good look at all the items, and it made no sense to her. Sure, he was a thief, so she could understand him taking some of the things, but others, not so much. She decided that if he wants to, Alexander can go through all that in search of clues.
She closed the door to the overall strange room and went on to the next: one cosy and clean bedroom. A bed for two, covered with a fancy sheet reaching all the way to the floor, covering the sides. One nightstand on each side made from some kind of darker wood, two wardrobes from the same type of wood, a drawer with a TV on top and a decently large window to boot.
But none of that really caught Lisa’s eyes, or nose. In that room, the hyena scent was strongest. There was a chance it was only because that’s where Alexei slept, but she decided to take a good look. She walked up to a wardrobe, opened it, and found nothing but piles of clothes.
She prepared her cane in case of a confrontation and went to the next one. She pulled open the wardrobe door and another pile of clothes fell out, startling her thoroughly. She gasped and took a step back before taking a long breath and calming down. “Bloody hell…” She muttered quietly and turned around.
She then heard a sound, something very specific, a soft exhale through the nose. She perked her ears, keeping quiet, and sure enough, after about half a minute of waiting, she heard it again. It sounded like someone trying their best to hold their breath, all ruined by having to exhale eventually. Moreover, it sounded like it came from under the bed.
Lisa readied herself, her claws, cane and magic alike, and stood next to the side of the bed. She bent down and with one swift motion, she lifted the sheet and took a look under.
Immediately, she heard breathing. Not the sort an attacker would make, rather someone distressed, panicked, more like whimpering. She saw a figure, struggling against whatever held them in a bind. Strong hyena scent.
Lisa then took one look around so as not to get jumped, and then spoke. “Oi, calm down, I ain’t here to hurt ya.”
In response, the person made a “Hmm?” sound. Lisa reached in and, albeit a bit tougher than she had wanted, pulled them out.
The person was a female hyena, hands, feet, and snout all tied with rope. Just so she didn’t frighten her more, Lisa used her claws to cut her binds. The hyena then sat down on the bed, rubbing her wrists, and looked on at Lisa.
“Spasiba…” She finally said, and wiped a tear from her eyes.
“Ah great, gonna have to call Yaro again.” Lisa said to herself while thinking about how she could get the hyena to stay in the room while she called up her partners.
“You speak English?” She heard the resident speak, and the words brought her more joy than she could have imagined.
“Oh, finally, someone who speaks bloody English!” She said excitedly. “Okay, straight to the point, then you tell us who tied ya up. Me and my colleagues are looking for one Alexei Vasi…” She paused. “God I suck at this language, sorry.” She covered her face with her hands, blushing slightly.
“Alexei Vasilyev!” Said the hyena, looking relieved. “My boyfriend!”
“Girl, you’re exactly who we need then!” Lisa briefly went to the door and advised the other two, a little more loudly, that they should come upstairs. It was met with an “Alright” and a “Coming”, along with the sound of footsteps.
“Anyway, long story short…” Lisa turned back towards the hyena. “Where is he? We really need to find him.”
Alexei’s girlfriend seemed much more concerned all of a sudden. “You too?” She asked, downright fearful.
Right then, Alexander and Yaroslav made it upstairs and to the bedroom.
“Was it two bats?” Lisa asked. “Did they tie ya up?”
That only made the hyena more afraid. “Who are you?” She recoiled. “Are you with them?”
“Not even close, mate.” Lisa smiled.
“Now then, where’s Alexei Vasilyev?” Alexander asked.
“I told them too, it’s… Hopeless. He’s gone.” The hyena said solemnly.
“Well, maybe tell us what happened, yeah?” Lisa offered and sat down next to her on the bed. “Let’s just say that it’s best that those two don’t get to him.”
The hyena’s eyes shot open. “Why? What will they do to him?!” She demanded.
“Okay, let’s just hurry this along.” Alexander chimed in. “The longer we wait, the more likely that they do get to him, and then we came here for nothing.”
Yaroslav then said something to the hyena in their native tongue. Whatever it was, it made her calm down enough to finally talk.
“Alexei made stupid mistakes, but he is a good person! He bought us the house, but… I learned where he got the money from.” She paused, likely to collect herself.
“Do go on.” Said Alexander.
Lisa frowned at him and shot the hyena a more sympathetic glance. “What happened to him?”
“The gang at the mill.” She finally said. “They gave him a… A…” She then said a word in Russian.
“A loan.” Said Yaroslav.
“Spasiba.” The hyena went on. “I didn’t know… One day, he said to me that we’re buying a house! I was so happy, it was good, good life… But then they came.” She sniffled and squeezed the fabric of her shirt, shaken by the events. “They took him! They took him to the mill, I know it! I… I’m so scared for him, but more scared to go after him…”
“Whoa whoa whoa, what about the police?” Lisa asked.
The hyena looked almost insulted by the suggestion. “The police are afraid too. Small village, big gang, no chance.”
“The mill?” Yaroslav stepped forward. “Is it a steel mill?”
“Yes! Yes!” The hyena nodded vigorously. “There isn’t any hope left for him… I waited months, maybe he’s dead…”
“We’ll go and get him back.” Alexander said, much to the surprise of the other two. “You seem to know a thing or two about this steel mill anyway.” He said to the bear.
“They said they would get him too. The bats. They left hours ago, they aren’t back.” She shook her head, looking down at the floor.
“Sorry to say, mate, but they ain’t bringin’ him back if they find him.” Lisa informed the hyena, which only made her more devastated. “Either we go get him ourselves and you may get to see him alive, or you just don’t see him ever again if I had to guess.”
“How… How do I know I can trust you?” She asked, afraid.
“We ain’t tied ya up yet.” Lisa smirked.
“And we won’t.” Said Alexander. “Now then, how do we get to this steel mill?”