The next morning is dark and gloomy, ominous clouds obscuring the city. A perfect match for my mood as I ride into the city. I wake to the succubi telling me that there’s been a response to the declaration of war. I hardly see Kierra as she makes her own preparations for the large fight ahead and I want to spare Alana whatever sight the guilds have concocted to scare us. For those reasons, I’m alone with Geneva as she drives my personal carriage.
[We’ve arrived.]
I step off the carriage and look around, taking in the small, tightly packed residences and the crowd on the opposite street. A crowded area but the kind of place where a few suspicious people coming and going wouldn’t draw much attention. I sniff the air, following the scent of blood into a rundown building with an ajar door. “How did you discover this?” I ask Geneva as she falls in-step beside me.
“As you ordered, we searched the city thoroughly in the night. Bell saw a contingent of hunters entering the neighborhood and shadowed them. The women were already dead so she didn’t engage.”
“Did she follow them to their base?”
“She did but found no evidence of any other hostages. The guilds must have kept them all separate.”
“That didn’t stop you.” There is no doubt in my statement and I’ll be very annoyed if I’ve proven wrong.
Lucky, for her, Geneva doesn’t disappoint. “Of course not. I have the location of both Talia, Yulia, and the two surviving Stars. However, they are heavily guarded and I could smell at least one mental caster at each location. They also have multiple safeguards in place to keep out strangers, including passwords and tokens that need to be exchanged with the guards on the door to gain entrance.”
“Can you get in or not?”
“This is another thing I cannot give you a guarantee on. Perhaps I can, perhaps I can’t. The question is, are you ready to accept the price of failure?”
Said price being the death of whoever she tries to rescue. “What is your best estimate of success?”
“If the measures I’ve seen is the extent of their preparations? Sixty percent. If there is more waiting in store, and there most likely is, I wouldn’t dare estimate my chances anything above twenty.”
“Then forget it.” Right now, Talia and Yulia were valuable bargaining chips. I just had to change what they were used to bargain for.
The inside of the building was musky, with a thick layer of dust over the bare floors and fireplace. So thick I can see the footprints of the hunters that came through, as well as drag marks. Slumped against the far wall are two bodies. Women dressed in nothing but their underclothes, similar wounds in their chest. From the looks of it, they died quickly but they didn’t have an easy time before then. I turn away from the sorry sight and wave Geneva forward.
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“Hm~ The guilds aren’t very hospitable to their enemies. Signs of multiple beatings, the locations of the bruises suggesting it was meant to hurt, not to cripple. A few signs of, hm, enhanced interrogation techniques. No evidence of sexual assault.”
I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.
“Each of them died to a simple stab wound through the heart. They barely would have had time to feel the pain. And there’s a note. It says that unless you publicly apologize to the city for the damage you’ve caused and provide reparations, then your lover will be the next body we find.”
They mean Talia. I knew I was putting her at risk by going against the guilds but imagining walking into another crummy building like this and finding my flower slumped against a dirty wall causes my stomach to turn. They won’t release her, but I have to delay them. Make them think twice about taking that final step.
And the only thing that can give them pause is consequences they can’t ignore. Something so personal and devastating, it shatters what they think they now about me and what I’m willing to do.
“How far?” Geneva asks. Her tone summons the image of a tense hunting dog, its leash tight as it waited to be let loose.
“…five for each of them. Make it hurt. And get rid of the bodies.”
I leave the building to the heat of her fire magic and her amused chuckles, holding my breath to avoid the disgustingly appetizing smell of cooking meat. My eyes narrow as I notice two people lingering near my carriage, an older man leaning against the door while a young woman pets one of the horses rented by Geneva.
Judging from their mismatched leather armor, the weapons at their waists, and their general hostility, they’re hunters. The man straightens up as I approach but the woman stays put, turning her head to watch us from the corner of her eye.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Lady Tome,” the man says without a hint of compassion. “It’s a shame—"
Whatever else he’s going to say is cut off by my hand closing around his throat. Both of his hands grab my wrist and his legs kick me as I haul him into the air.
“You dare show your face after what you’ve done?” I speak, my tone reflecting the numbness in my chest. “Is this a joke? Do you think I’m a joke?” My head snaps to the woman as she puts a hand on the hilt of the dagger at her waist. I stare into her eyes as I snap his neck and toss aside his corpse. Oh, she’s trembling. This really feels like a joke. What did they think would happen if they confronted me after I witnessed that? “You have three seconds to say something relevant or you go right after him.”
“I-I-I…” She swallows heavily, her eyes moving to the man and then back to me.
Sigh. “Why are you here?”
“W-we were supposed to deliver a message a-a-and report your reaction.”
“…then deliver it,” I demand, annoyance making my tone harsh as she wastes time. It’s too late for fear.
My mood worsens when she refuses to talk. She flinches as I approach, legs shaking so bad that her knees knock together. I grab her by the front of her shirt when it looks like she’s going to fall. “What part of war don’t you people understand? Did you think you could waltz in front of me without consequences?” My expression twists with disgust as the front of her pants becomes damp and I breathe in the smell of her piss. “Don’t make me rip the message out of you.”
“T-they s-s-said that your l-lover won’t die so—"
I let her go and punch her full force in the face, caving in her head and throwing her to the ground. There’s a scream and the street becomes busy as those in the vicinity hurry to get away from the crazed murderer that just bludgeoned a woman in broad daylight. I close my eyes and strain my ears, straining the sense to find any hunters that might be hiding. But there’s no one, the only voices I can hear belonging to the scared pedestrians cursing me as they run. Did they really send two random people to die?
“Is there a problem, my summoner?” Geneva’s voice interrupts my focus. I open my eyes to see her exiting the building.
“No. Take me to the estate.”
“As you wish,” she says as I climb back onto the carriage.