The stars glittered. A moon pulled itself through the partly cloudy sky, and the street lamps flickered on. The roads were empty, or should have been.
With the child following closely behind her, Yidhra shifted her head as she continued forward.
"I'm warning you for the last time, kid. Go home."
Jared snapped back. "What are you going to do about it? Attack me? Lay a finger on me, and I'll scream."
"Ughh!" In a burst of speed, Yidhra spun and grabbed him by the collar. "Give me one reason, just one, for why you're so glued to me."
Shocked for only a moment, Jared hardened his nerves and replied. "Those guys attacked my family only moments ago; you think they wouldn't jump at the chance to kidnap me too?"
Jared's eyes drifted to her hand, watching as Yidhra's grip softened. He looked back at her, calming his tone. "Face it; My best chance of getting home at all tonight is hovering over you like a fly."
Sucking her teeth, she let go of his collar, walking off. "Just don't blow my cover."
Yidhra's eyes snapped to the side as they approached the street corner. Flicking into a tight alley and yanking Jared along, the voices swelled close.
"You sure you're leading us to the spot?"
"Just shut it and keep moving. We need to get as many people in here before the barrier gets back on line."
Eyes peeked from the corner as another group of seven walked the streets without hurry.
'The barrier huh… if that's the one Mel told me about then I wonder how long it's been down for?'
"Who's carrying the supplies?"
"Me, Nimue, and Birgitta. It was a lot, but we're carrying the requirements. If we want real artillery, then we're going to need more security than this to avoid the Anti-Arms Agreement."
'What the hell?! An artillery. What type of weapons are they creating in Black Treasury? Something like that sounds like you'll need a person from a construction family, maybe even Molecular. '
"Alright keep it pushing. We're wasting moonlight."
'None of this makes sense. The disparity between their goal and equipment just doesn't line up. I thought their goal was to steal some communication concepts for the next Seasonal Shift, but it sounds like they're gearing for all out war. Their plan was doomed to fail anyway, the Insight Elders won't let that happen, but if Mel stops playing… then it would be a bloodbath.'
Yidhra reached down for her knife, which was safely tucked by the side of her leg. Pressing it down on her finger, a drop of blood slid onto the blade as the small group walked past without a glance. With a quiet and clean slice, the droplet splashed on their backs. The group continued to walk, till neither of them could be seen.
"Alright"
Yidhra dropped to one knee as Ore popped out of a hole in the ground. Jared peeked over her shoulder.
"A P.E.T?"
Yidhra rubbed a little bit of the blood on Ore's nose till the scent of her blood could be identified.
"So you know what these are?" shaking her head, Yidhra disregarded her own words. "P.E.T. stands for Portable Equipment, Treasury, and Storage. They are not like the animals you just feed and watch at your home."
"I know what a P.E.T. is. I… I've just never seen one in use before."
"Of course you haven't, you're just a kid. But here you are, clearly showing symptoms of a mental disease by claiming you want to become a journalist."
"I-"
"And I don't care. Save your comeback for someone else. And keep me out of your idiotic fever dream."
Yidhra rubbed Ore's head and sent her off. "Time to check the scene of the crime, and see what we're dealing with."
Moonlight shone through the stained glass panes. Broken pews and ash lay on the floor. Lifeless breeze filled the chapel as a soft light rained from the center of the room. The center door creaked, breaking the floor underneath it as it opened. She walked in. Jared followed, pressing close behind her.
'So this is what happened to the place after the fight broke out-'
Yidhra slid her hand across one of the benches, feeling the dried up blood.
' Brutal… I guess that's how they finished the other two distraction squads so quickly. Maybe it would have been better if I talked to them earlier.'
Sniff sniff
Lifting her nose to the air, Yidhra closed her eyes, walking around the room.
'I'm not sure but… It still smells like gunpowder in here.'
Her eyes opened. Jared was moving past her. A burst of white-cyan light flared in his eyes, then vanished.
"You good, kid?"
No response.
' Alright, something weird is about to happen again isn't it.'
Water crept across the floor, pulling away from the altar. Yidhra looked up as Jared continued forward. She glanced around while keeping her eyes on the kid who seemed to be possessed.
' There were burn marks everywhere. It should still smell more like fried oak since the fight only happened a couple hours ago. Still being able to smell gunpowder is odd.'
Stopping at the front of the bookshelf, Jared stared into the distance. The lady stood beside him and glanced at the bookshelf as well.
'Is there something he's looking for?'
She glanced at him. Nothing in his expression.
'Alright, if this is a puzzle, there has to be a key to it… Yeah, this is way over my head.'
Calmly digging into her cloak, taking out a string tied pouch, Yidhra grabbed two orbs. They seemed clear, but within, the wind appeared to be moving.
'It's times like these you can just brute force it.'
With the flick of her fingers and the impact of the orbs to the bookshelf, every book blew from the rack leaving a single book embedded into the shelf.
"Oh there we go. It's probably a manual lever if this thing stopped working."
With a single pull, the shelf opened with a rusted groan, as if it hadn't moved in years. Burnt and soaked books littered the floor. At the center lay one, a white-spined encyclopedia. One corner bled solid blue with flecks of green, and it was still producing water.
Jared walked forward, his eyes flickering rapidly. Water gradually moved away from his every step, kneeling to pick the book up from the floor. In an instant, a flash of light, there and gone, fast as a blink.
"Are you good now, kid?" Yidhra asked.
"Yeah… I think so."
He walked to her and held it out.
"Hmh, a history book. From the looks of it-"
Yidhra looked at the pages.
"…it's very dense," she said, eyes still on the book in Jared's hand.
' No wonder this kid's Core Awakening was freaking out. This is a hundred times more complex than what a kid his age should be able to handle. What happened earlier must have been his body whiplashing.'
"Guess I should open it-"
Yidhra slammed his hand down, closing the book.
"Ouch! What was that about?"
"There is a time and place for everything. First take this."
The lady swiftly took out her Journal, removing all the book markers placed between her pages. With quick, deliberate movements, she slid them all into his pages. With a deep breath, she relaxed her shoulders. With one hand over her face, she sighed.
'It was already bad enough that B.T. is gearing for war…. But now there's a kid with Grandpa's mark.'
"UUUUHGGGGH!"
'Damn! I guess leaving in those inhibitors must have done more harm than good.'
"What, What happened?" Jared asked. "I thought the book markers were cool. Do they have some type of special ability to it?"
"It's not worth it. This is really not worth it."
Steps echoed throughout the empty room. Sensing the danger late, her hand snapped up, pivoting to the side as blood dripped from the back of her palm.
"Yeah, I don't think it was worth making enemies with us either." -???