ANNALISE LANGLEY
JUST OUTSIDE OF OMINAR
Their car hurtles down the dark road towards Ominar and Annalise watches the silhouettes of trees flicker by through the rain. She feels uneasy. No, worse. Dread curls in the pit of her stomach like smoke. It's never been this bad before. She wants to say something to her mother but when she opens her mouth to speak no sound comes out (because it didn't then). The car comes to a abrupt, screeching halt.
Annalise wants to turn to her mother, see her one last time, but she can't (because she didn't then).
She feels the spray of rain as her car door is yanked open before the silhouette of a man looms over her. Wait, that's not- but it's too late, she is swallowed by darkness as she is struck across the temple.
CENTRAL OMINAR
Nel woke with a gasp. That wretched dream, she thought, getting out of bed. It had haunted her for months after her mother's death and it was back, so many years later. There was something different this time. The thought slipped away before she could remember. No matter.
Dressing quickly, Nel left the hotel. She was in Ominar on official business technically, but it hadn't been difficult to convince her guards (minders) to give her the day to explore the city. She would have to be quick and discreet in her task. She didn't know when the opportunity would arise again, the Prae government so rarely gave her permission to leave Priscus. She almost rolled her eyes at the thought, what a kept thing she was.
Outside, the morning sun reflected off great glass towers, warming the air. Here, in the heart of Ominar's wealthiest district where Prae and humans alike rushed to work, Nel could feel that impatience and anxiety lay thick over their heads like a blanket. It took her a moment to realise that it was she, herself, that was projecting this onto them. She stopped to take a breath, calm down, control. The pressure lifted and the rush seemed to slow as people became less frantic in their morning routine. Nel strolled a bit easier with them as she waited for the message which would tell her where he was.
This man, The Deal Broker, had not been straightforward to find. His movement was erratic and unpredictable and due to Nel's minders, she couldn't plan ahead to meet him, she had to find him when she was alone to do so. But it was vital she did. He knew every dark crevice of Ominar, or so she had been told and, more importantly, he would be sympathetic to her story. Nel didn't know why that was the case but it had been made clear to her that if she meant to take revenge on a Licenti, it was the Broker she must go to.
Her source had promised an address by 9am but it was difficult to predict what a human would do after leaving her sight. The effects of her manipulation could last for days but would fade with time. Nel felt a rush of unprecedented excitement and picked up her phone, a moment later it beeped. Thank the Queen, she thought.
Nel hailed a taxi to take her to the address. The clean, busy streets of central Ominar faded into something seedier. Closed shops with broken windows, crude graffiti and grime. As the buildings thinned out to a more industrial estate, a warehouse some distance away from her seemed to project a wave of anger and desperation. She only caught the edges of it, as it lapped against the shore but she could only imagine how strong it must be from inside. It doens't matter, she thought. Nothing did, but her task.
The house she was dropped at was less than respectable. It was unwise for a Prae like her to be here but she was certain nothing would happen to her. Nel called forward her Anima to Manifest. As every time, she felt the markings along her body hum and pulse before her "wings" appeared, falling like smoke around her. As she stepped through the open doorway they bent and warped themselves to the shape around them. Inside, the house was surprisingly well kept, a stark contrast to it's dilapidated exterior. A young human sat at a table playing cards with himself, seemingly alone in the house.
"Excuse me young man, is there anyone else here?" Nel asked, already certain that this was the source she was meant to seek.
"No, miss." He doesn't stop playing, unfazed by her presence.
"I was wondering if you could help me. I'm looking for someone. The Broker?"
"I don't know what you're talking about miss." The boy said earnestly but his words were rehearsed and tinted yellow with a well worn deceit.
"Now that's not quite true, is it? Please, this is of the utmost importance." Nel smiled, letting her words wrap around the young man's mind like tendrils. Soft, calm, relax, they said, it doesn't matter if you tell her.
His eyes were hooded then, calm and sleepy, and his words were a soft, friendly pink, "I'll take you to one of his Bunkers. Someone can contact him from there."
"Thank you, so much."
