by June Leung
If he is going to be mad, then let him.
The elevator arrived and they walked inside. He took out the key card they stole from a waiter last time, swiping it on the panel. Benjamin’s voice came up in Helen’s mind. I already did a basic check. There’s no smell of dark magic around. It should be fine. Just have to check whether the gang is still strong.
You think it is a good idea to walk right in? Her heart skipped a beat. Was he ready to fight if there was someone inside?
There’s no better way to check. The woman posed a threat to the King; she should expect this. I remember you can do something to their system, right?
She nodded. Yes, suppose nothing changed, I can mess with their surveillance cameras. The door opened and she shivered at the bleakness of the basement. It was cold and lifeless. Last time, it didn’t take long before they were ‘captured’ and brought directly to their boss. Maybe this time they had to walk around themselves.
It wasn’t hard to locate the control room again. Helen kicked the door open and prepared her magic, but there was no one inside. They exchanged a glance and walked inside. Last time, there were two inside, though finished off by Benjamin before she could even blink. The screens were turned off, she checked whether the cameras were recording, Benjamin leaned against the wall and stared at the door.
Benjamin frowned. It seems like nothing’s here.
We shall see. It looked like they hadn’t repaired their system yet. Maybe that woman wouldn’t spend the money on the gang. Without their leader, no one else wanted to pay either. Nothing needs to be done. It is not working anyways.
Are you sure?
Very much so. I doubt anyone cares.
OK. Benjamin nodded, and they headed out of the room.
Back on the path, they took random turns. It was dead quiet. Last time, at least there were some low humming sounds of machines. Ben, I don’t feel safe here. It’s too quiet.
You have a guess on why that is?
No. Maybe they moved out?
I wonder. If I were them, I’d stay here. It is unlikely for people to re-search the same place.
Do you mean we are no people? She smirked as he rolled his eyes. The deeper they went through the halls, the more the unsettling that stir in her stomach was.
Soon, they arrived at a larger empty space in the basement that looked like a common room for everyone to gather, the walls were the same blank white. There were at least two other entrances to the space.
She squinted at the side that she figured should be the front of the room. On it was a space that looked cleaner and brighter white than the paint around it. Could there have been something hanging there before? She pointed her discovery to Benjamin. He followed her gaze and soon frowned.
His answer came, I don’t think we were here last time.
You are right. I wonder what that could be.
That spot looks clean though.
I don’t know whether it’s of any significance.
She nodded; he was right. It was probably some Christmas decoration, if a gang would even be interested in that. They moved on, finally arriving by the door of the room they’d been held hostages.
Her heart skipped a beat, the place had been tidied up. She blinked, making sure she wasn’t imagining things. When they left a while ago, there had been blood everywhere from what Adrian and Benjamin did. But now, the carpet seemed to be new, it had the fresh smell of cloth and the lighter shade of red. Someone had to be here after we left. I remember some of them escaping when we were fighting.
She was walking in when Benjamin grabbed her elbow, pulling her back. He shook his head. I doubt it would be a good idea to stay. Clearly, some of them are still around. Maybe we should leave.
You know some of them have to be here. She was going to say something more when Benjamin tensed. Now that she paid more attention, something seemed different in the air, but she couldn’t point a finger on it. He nudged her to leave. She shrugged and followed.
When they finally arrived in the parking lot, she was panting. Benjamin was almost running when they left the basement. After the door of the hotel closed behind them and they were back in the bright daylight, she asked, “What did you see? Why such a hurry?”
“I figure I should trust your instinct a bit more. Inside the room, somewhere, there is a faint scent of dark magic.” He frowned deeply, his hands clenched into a fist.
“From someone after Lia?” Her heart skipped a beat—no wonder he wanted to leave.
“I think so. I am not sure whether it was traces left by her or her people or if it was a trap.”
If Adrian wasn’t confident fighting that woman, it would be smart before they got themselves into trouble. She let out a sigh of relief regardless. The sun and the fresh air outside always calmed her.
“You think they know we were there?”
“Probably not. Holding back my power is the default. The magic inside the room is too weak for any magician to be there. Someone was there before, but not at that moment.”
They took a turn, heading back to Benjamin’s car. There was a low thud, Benjamin spun around. Helen quickly moved to the side as two men dashed at them from an alley. She summoned her vine, catching one of them around the waist. Benjamin had an ice shard in his hand, dashing for the other one.
There was a flame from the hand of the one Helen caught. The fireball soon burned through her vine. She grimaced from the sharp pain in her arm as the vine burned. She blinked, retreating the vine. As that man dropped, there was a glint in the corner of her eyes. She ducked when Benjamin’s ice wall also spawned, something stuck on the wall.
When she blinked and turned back to the fight, the two men were nowhere to be found. “They escaped? Or did you burn them into ashes?”
His face was solemn. He walked to the ice wall and pulled something from it. “They aren’t here to fight. It’s a warning.”
He showed her a white thin metallic card. It was thin enough it could stab into something, maybe her neck. On it was a carving of a dragon.
“What does this mean?” She had seen the tattoo on the gang’s men, but that was a snake and a sword, not a dragon.
“I think this is meant for me, not you.” He turned the card over, but it was empty on the other side. “The dragon’s the sign of the woman after Lia.”
“Oh, is this an origin thing? Does Adrian have a sign?”
“No. It’s just a gimmick for her to feel good.” He shrugged, looking closer at the card.
“Why doesn’t he use one? A gimmick could be fun.” The card seemed normal; at least she didn’t feel any magic on it. Benjamin pulled out his phone and took a photo, then dumped the card into a bin beside the road. She lifted her brows at him.
“It already served its purpose. That woman has a very different goal from the King. She is ready to take on the world, while the King only wants his revenge.” There was a flash of a mischievous glint in his eyes. “A sign, right? Talking about the devil in Zitannas is enough for them to know. There’s no need for a sign.”
“I think he didn’t like to be called a devil?”
“Well…” Benjamin pinched the bridge of his nose. “It depends on who is calling him that. If it was from someone else, outside of his people and his team, he would be fine with it and sometimes even insists for them to call him that. But it wouldn’t end well if we, or in this case, I use it on him. He would be very mad about it.” Benjamin shrugged.
“I guess he doesn’t really see himself as a devil, then. Back to the card. Should I be worried?” she asked.
He leaned against the wall of the building, next to the entrance of a shop. His eyes narrowed as he considered. She could almost hear the gears in his head turning. He shook his head. “Probably not. That woman only cares about the King and his team, which is me. If they were after you, they wouldn’t use the card. It meant nothing for you. It won’t take long for them to realise that the Elements aren’t a threat to her. Not to mention they regard Lia to
be with the King and probably think he is hiding her somewhere.”
“They would’ve chosen to attack you when I wasn’t around?”
“I guess so. They were tasked to deliver the message anyways. While Lia didn’t want to see the King and decided to stay inside the clan, it is better for her. Have you told her about those that were after her?”
She shook her head. “Not yet. Somehow I promised Adrian to keep that a secret as long as Lia wouldn’t step out of the clan. He said he didn’t want to make it looks like he was making up something to force Lia to him.”
“He told me the same. You think that’s a good idea?”
She smirked, tilting her head to the side. “What do you think?”
“I… I admit I’m not the best person when it comes to relationships. But I see why the King prefers that. I don’t know how bad that night was after we cracked The Orbit, he didn’t quite tell. I think you are much better than me with this.”
She tucked her hair behind her ear as a breeze blew. “I am on the same boat. I’m also not sure whether that was a good idea. He had a point though. I’ve been pretending I never met up with him, which for Lia, it should be the case. Given my history with Adrian, Lia would believe that we won’t meet each other.”
“I am worried about the attackers. Would they attack you and Adrian?”
“Some time in the future, obviously. Zitannas is complex, though. If they are new, they may still be finding a footing around here. When they are both strong and are fighting each other, you don’t launch unless you are very confident.”
“They won’t attack the clan?”
“I don’t think it is high on their list. She knows the grudges between William and the King. The least she needs to do to kill the King, the better it will be for her. No point forcing William to work with the King.
“OK…” She nodded faintly. Maybe she would still be careful, just in case. She stared at the road ahead as they walked back to his car. Did the trip with Benjamin paint a target on her back?
Chapter 10
Helen
The next day, Helen stood outside the closed door of the lounge, her heart racing. She resisted the urge to put her ear against it. William had gone in to talk with Lia. It had been only a minute or two, but it was already a bit too quiet to be comfortable.
Everything had been going fine until William called for the team. She and Patrick arrived on time, but there was no sign of Lia, nor did she say anything in the group.
When the door squeaked open, Helen almost jumped. William came out with a blank face. He nodded at her and gestured for them to get going. She hurried to follow, glancing at the lounge. Lia was facing the wall, away from Helen.
Helen and William went to the parking lot, where Patrick was waiting by William’s car. Under the streetlamp, his shadow was long. It was already dark now, not her favorite time of day. Patrick greeted them and the team got into the car.
Helen and Patrick were in the back seat, as always. It made the empty seat by William’s side glaring. If Eric wasn’t with them, Lia would sit there. William was still solemn. She probably wouldn’t like what was on his mind. William started the car and they set off.
Patrick asked, “I thought Lia was coming with us?”
William shook his head. “It would take too long for her to get ready. She said she didn’t feel well.”
“Oh… I guess the three of us can do it then.”
Helen nodded faintly; it felt like a lifetime since they had been called for something strange in the city since the meteorite monsters. Maybe the power of Zitannas was at work once again. When they arrived, as soon as the car door opened, she shivered. It was a February night, but it was colder than she expected. It seemed like someone was watching her.
She got out and squinted into the darkness of Sunrise Bay. The sharp sound of a bird chilled her bones. She squinted just in time to catch the glint of a crow’s feather. The crow had been standing on a very disgusting body.
William said, “It was reported a few hours ago. Some creature was spotted on the beach. There was an evacuation, but I guess this man didn’t make it.”
The clothes on the man were torn and there were bite marks on his body. Half of his arm was chewed off. She quickly looked away before it further upset her. The sand around the body had soaked up some of the blood.
Patrick stretched as William stared into the sea. She asked, “No clues to find what we need?”
William pulled out his phone, the bright light shining on his face as he scrolled the screen. The breeze from the sea made Helen shiver again. The bite mark on the body looked to be from a beast. She put her hand closer to the mark for a brief measurement; it had to be a large dog or some type.
She almost jumped at a shuffling sound getting closer and closer. William and Patrick also turned that side to see. William switched off the screen, there was a pair of glowing green eyes staring at them. She gathered her magic, getting ready to strike.
Whatever that was leapt at them. Helen shot her vine, but it ducked away. She rolled to the side, away from its supposed head. It seemed to be a mess of branches and mud taking the form of a wolf. She frowned at the strange creature. It had everything resembling a wolf, just not the fur. It was huge, the level of the sand where it had been shielded its real height. It almost reached her chest on all fours.
Patrick launched a fire ball at it. It jumped to the side when William slashed down with an ice shard in his hand. The monster squealed in pain, spinning around to William when Helen’s vine caught its waist. She squeezed the vine when the sand under her leg moved. She managed to snap the monster into two when something jumped up from the sand under her; it was another wolf-like creature. Helen jumped to the side a split second before its jaw would take her legs.
She shivered as she turned to face it. The new one was a bit smaller, it also had the mud and branches on its body; maybe this time, Zitannas’ power affected some swamp. She rolled her eyes as she got ready to fight it when there was Patrick’s shout. “What the hell is this thing?”
“Helen, fight yours. Focus.” William’s voice came from behind.
The two of them should be able to handle the first one, so she shot leaf blades against the smaller monster. It jumped towards her, unaffected by the blades.
It took a few tries before she captured its limbs in her vine. She was going to smash it when William shouted, “Helen, stop and just hold it.”
She added another vine to hold the monster’s waist when she finally turned around. There were two monsters on the sand, burning in Patrick’s flame while trapped by William’s ice.
She frowned. “Wasn’t there one large monster?”
William nodded. “It was, until you snapped it into two. Then there were two.”
The monster in her vine growled, its voice hoarse and deep. It was still fighting her vine. William quickly froze it with an ice beam. Helen retreated her vine as the monster froze and dropped on the sand as a large ice block. When she looked back to the two monsters, there were only two piles of ash left.
Now the beach was quiet as before, with only the sound of the waves and wind. Looking around the empty beach, there was nothing else. Helen asked, “So we are done with this?”
William scanned the beach. “I guess so. There doesn’t seem to be anything else around.”
Patrick leaned over to the ash of the monsters. “Agreed, this city really is special.”
“Good for us to be able to use magic in the open without major drawback.” William nodded as he typed on his phone, probably reporting back to whoever commissioned them to get rid of the monsters. Afterwards, he gestured for them to leave.
Before they headed back to the car, Helen looked back at the dead body a few more times. Before William and Patrick could see her, she picked up a branch and lifted the ragged sleeve from the body. On the half-chewed off arm, there was a tattoo: the head of a snake and the butt of a sword, the rest bitten off. Her blood almost froze, she
dropped the branch and hurried back to William’s side before he found out. He may have seen that and it didn’t ring a bell for him.
She followed William with her head down. If she remembered right, that tattoo seemed to be the same one the gang in The Orbit had. But then why was he dead? Did it have anything with him being part of the gang? Or was it just a coincidence that he went to the beach when the monsters were around? She almost bumped onto Patrick when they arrived back at the car. She leaned on it as she emptied the sand from her shoes. Fighting on the beach brought some of them inside. Much better after they were gone.
Inside the car, it was quiet. William played soft instrumental music as they drove back to the clan. Helen leaned on the window, trying to put the pieces together. Why would the gang’s man go to a beach? Or was she thinking a bit too much of it?
Chapter 11
Benjamin
Benjamin rubbed his chin as he stared at the whiteboard in his apartment. On it were some notes and his thoughts on what was happening in the city, especially when it came to The Orbit and Evelyn. From what he found with Helen, someone was using the basement, probably Evelyn herself had been there. It would match up with how the gang went after Lia. Evelyn also admitted sending them after her.
When his phone buzzed, he took it from the desk and glanced at the notification. It was just a useless one about the game he was playing recently, which Helen had forced him to download. He shrugged and checked the messaging app instead. It had been a few days since he reached out to the two in the team, but they still hadn’t said a word. He stared at the sent receipt, they already played the voice message. His finger hovered the call button, his heart hammering in his chest.
He didn’t need to worry. It wasn’t his problem; it was between them and King, but he somehow had to be the middleman. The worst they could do was hang up on him. He put the phone on speaker and dialled, the wait was dreadful.
It sounded like someone had answered, but there was no voice on the other end. “Hello?”
