Kire was silent as they prepared to enter the warehouse. Ruli was taking the lead for now, and she let him instruct their companions, especially Bolym, who would perhaps be more likely to take instruction from somebody who wasn’t her. She didn’t need to understand his words to interpret the acidic glares he threw her way. She was glad Ruli told their companions not to fight their way to the death; she was going to say as much to all of them, anyway, though in her case, it was mostly applicable to just everybody else. When Ruli offered his hand, Kire took it, nodding at his reminder and anticipating the push of memory into her mind.
Happiness flooded into her once again, a continuation of the childhood scene she had witness last night, even smelling the aromas of a bakery, tasting the dish Ruli was eating. She would have enjoyed the experience—she hadn’t tasted anything like that before—if not for their present circumstances. Afterwards, just like last night, her confused mind lingered on a different, unintentional jumble of images: she and Ruli, laughing together around a table, with Dara sitting with them, her sweets in front of Kire. The mind is a strange thing, Kire thought, turning to Ruli, blinking the traces of false memory away.
She glared at the silver ring, knowing what it would transform her into, as she slipped it on. She knew it worked, because she could see the look on Ruli’s face. Kire almost smirked back in defiance. His handiwork was too good. She didn’t need to be told not to show any kind of real mirth, or any outburst of emotion, while wearing Akuma’s face. That otherworldly calm still had to be stolen and twisted from somewhere, too; Kire had known to put on a false face before, as Empress. She hated to admit it, but when the situation requires her royal façade, it would be like putting on a glove.
The smell inside the warehouse, though absent of the reek of burning bodies, was no less pleasant. Kire followed Ruli down the hidden stairwell, noting with disgust how a city that already had a system in place for slavers would be perfect for Ikegai’s intentions. When, finally, they had left the long stairwell, she braced herself for what she would find. Empty cages, the smells of inhumane captivity. Save your anger for later. Kire kept going, looking out for danger ahead even as she kept track of Ruli’s signature. Ahead of them, Ruli seemed to have spotted another way right before running into some trouble. Kire stopped, kept her hand on the sword, in case Ruli couldn’t handle this, ready to step in. But the confrontation lasted only a moment, with Kire feeling the flare of his Touch, which he must have used to end the fight before it had even begun. After he had stopped, Ruli had gone on to the other passage. So far so good.
Kire went over to inspect Ruli’s handiwork. The man was practically catatonic while sitting down, and not far from him was an elf woman, most likely drugged. “Can you take her to safety as fast as possible?” she asked Ysaryn. “We’ll stay here.” As Ysaryn Shadow-Walked out with the barely-conscious elf, Kire looked at the man Ruli had Touched and wondered how long the effects would last. She wondered, too, if this was one of the two men she had seen before, or if he was taking her “upstairs” to do the same thing as they had. She almost dared the fates to let him wake up so she could end him.
Once Ysaryn had returned, and trusting that Ruli would hold his own until their paths converged again, Kire directed her companions down the current path. On the other side, more empty cages. Where were the men? After a while of going through them, the current room opened up to other crudely dug out caverns. She could see the faint flickering of torchlight in the distance. The stink of Gemini magic was faint, but nevertheless present. Instinctively, Kire touched her nose; in the presence of a strong ward cast by a full-fledged blood mage, the side effect for this for a Wyvern like her would be a nosebleed—followed by whatever booby trap the blood mage had waiting for her. No blood.
She could hear the sounds of men laboring, the echoes coming from the corridor opposite them, perhaps carrying more contraband for transport. Kire made her way towards it, doing her best to look calm, emotionless, in case some other passageway opened up and they encounter more men. Just as she was about to inspect the corridor, Kire stopped, then turned her head sharply to the left. The Gemini, Kire mouthed. He was somewhere in another chamber, and from his current trajectory she knew he was heading for where Ruli was. Fuck! Ruli’s signature remained steady, so for now he was still alright, though most likely he had drawn the muscle to him. And they had barely gotten what they needed.
With a quiet curse, she proceeded down towards the corridor— and found herself looking down what looked like a shallow, circular arena. There were remains of a rune circle, signs of a ritual. Tables—stained, dirty, with bloody rags on them. Ahead of them, the sounds of weeping, weak cries. An older man—the one she had seen with the half-Kartaian—entered the chamber from which those cries had come and barked at them, before turning to give orders to speed up their work. Men holding soaked rags in gloved hands, others with syringes, went ahead to carry out his orders. Kire hissed softly between her teeth, then stepped out from her vantage point, walking calmly towards them, letting go of the sword hilt. She trusted that Ysaryn and Bolym behind her would heed Ruli’s instructions and follow her lead.
At once, Itallo’s men swarmed them, though upon looking at her face, they kept a healthy distance, wary and confused. “M-milady?” The older man almost tripped over himself as he headed towards her. “Milady…Akuma?”
“Am I not allowed to visit before my wedding?” Kire asked, smiling.
“Er—well—milady, we had thought the Lord Itallo had given orders for the, ah, chosen chattel to be moved to the lord’s mansion grounds. We are in the middle of this, milady, while the others are to be disposed.” The man’s eyes darted to her armor, sword, and then to her armed companions. “Are these--?”
“Security,” Kire replied with a wave of a hand. “Elves have more than one use, it seems. These were hard to procure as they are, so I would rather they not be harmed by your men, unless you want them harmed back.”
“Yes, milady.” She could tell he was still uncertain. “I—suppose now you would like to inspect them?”
Kire gave him a look that told him it had been a foolish question. The man nodded quickly and led them inside.
There were a few elf women, some in cages, others outside, but drugged and bound. “Most of the ones Gavin had found suitable, the ones we haven’t disposed, are already on the way to the lord’s mines. These, I am told, are more suitable for you. Are—are they to your liking, milady?”
Kire could imagine what that meant. A doll still needs sustenance after all. “They will suffice. Worth every coin? We shall see.” It didn’t sound like these people knew who Ikegai was, but this Gemini really was the key to finding him. She bent over one of the drugged elves, holding her by the jaw, turning her head one way and then the other as if looking at the woman’s features. “Unlock the cages, I wish to have a better look at your wares.” Kire didn’t really expect them all to obey this; indeed, even the older man she was talking to was hesitant to echo the order. And the men have begun to eye them more closely, going nearer now. But at least could see which of them carried keys, and for those keys that were missing, Kire had more direct ways of opening them, anyway.
A man ran in just then, alarm in his voice. “Someone got in! Found the blasted warehouse entrance,” he said in between curses; a couple of the men ran towards the direction he had indicated. “Search the other corridors and see if he’s got friends. Come—” The man stopped, seeing Kire and her two ‘bodyguards’. The older man Kire was talking to turned to her, shock in his face, suspicion dawning on his face.
Kire grabbed him by his collar, lifted him, and slammed him down onto the ground. The remaining men rushed at them then, but Kire was already lunging at them. The chamber made it hard for them to take advantage of numbers. Kire slashed at her first two opponents, who had gone down easily. Her Ring flashed blue as she beheaded another, then used his knife to throw at the henchman behind him. They may have the numbers, but they were common thugs, and Kire had a lot of rage to spare on fodder today.
--
When Gavin had arrived at the underground caverns earlier, he had asked that the half-elf man be brought to him. Gavin wasn’t particularly tall, and standing in front of this half-breed made him even smaller. “What do they call him again?” he had asked one of Itallo’s men.
“Rab.”
“Leave us.”
He knew some of these men wondered why some green boy like him was throwing orders around, but others would quickly remind them that he directly answered to Itallo, and that his strange magic, whatever it was, was keeping them secret from prying eyes. The fear that surrounded his presence, helped by the fear of Akuma, Itallo, and whatever horrid fate lay in wait for them, would keep them in check. This, at least, Gavin was thankful for. No more Briars to beat him within an inch of his life. Besides—Akuma never needed to lay a finger on him, not since the day they had ensnared him. Gavin gripped the hunting knife hard as he stared up at Rab.
“Were you the one guarding the passage the day that elf woman got away?” Gavin read his expression and gave only a nod of understanding. “Whether or not it was you, it is really suspicious, you know. People around here, I bet they’d jump at the chance to accuse you of something. They’ve also told me that you were stationed at the warehouse yesterday when something unusual had happened. Soon, they will distrust you completely.” Get it all out, before you lose your nerve. He gripped the hunting knife so hard he thought the dragon etching would dig into his skin. His other hand itched to touch the Gemini brooch, and it took all he could to resist this impulse. “When that happens again, when—when something—someone unusual comes again, you come to me. Nobody else.” He paused, searching Rab’s face for any resistance to the idea. “There will be a reward for you, if you do this.”
Now, that time had come. They're here.
