D'Yavol.
Russian for "The Devil."
A name Cinder Alley gave him.
It had started as a curse. It stopped being one when people realized it fit.
It was so common now that it was like a last name. His real name already long forgotten.
Kai kept his face neutral as he sat on the chair in front of Vetle's ridiculously large desk, Bella beside him. He knew she was brimming with questions. But he was more thankful that she was not indulging in actually asking them.
Vetle gestured to one of the workers who had come in.
"Is she a gifted too?" Bella leaned in and whispered.
Kai shook his head, "Denire." He whispered back.
Gifted.
That was what they used to call them. Those born with man, gifted by god.
Until the government decided them unfit for living. 'Coexistence' was probably the word that was used, when the General Chancellor of Dosier had addressed the citizens.
And so began the purge. Suppression where possible, annihilation where necessary.
They are now known by many different names- Arcanes, irregulars, doom-bringers, the list just goes on.
The gifted are divided into three classes- Mages, Alchemists and Conjurers and further into disciplines like elementals and Arcanes.
They once used to be the saviors around here. Healing and protecting the nation. Until one day one of the three prominent families decided to pass a point of no return.
'The birth of an unethical conduit.'
Something that twisted mana beyond nature. That led to the extermination of the three families in just a matter of one year.
And the hatred towards mages all over the world grew.
And the Denires, the non magic people, triumphed in their absence.
"Is this your sister?" Vetle leaned back in her chair.
"Yes. I believe you haven't met." He said, glancing at Bella.
Bella removed her hood. "Belladonna." She said.
"Odessa Vetle." Vetle smiled almost warmly.
"She's the head of the golden lions. It's a crew in the entertainment district that specializes in brokering information." Kai explained.
Bella blinked before nodding.
"So," Vetle nodded at the worker who came in with tea. He placed the cups right in front of Kai and Bella.
His hands were trembling, Kai noticed. He glanced at his face, which made the guy inhale sharply and shuffle away after pouring his drink.
He'd forgotten this reaction.
"What do you want?" Vetle continued, unfazed by the reaction.
Kai exhaled. "I need you to find some people." He took a parchment from the table and raised his hands. Vetle passed him a quill. He noted down three names, Bella leaning in slightly out of curiosity.
Benjamin Asher.
Vivian Lance.
Shion Zandros.
Vetle glanced at the paper. "Payment?"
Kai's gaze darted to her, cold. She swallowed, but did not show the tremor outside. Of course he wasn't going to ask her to do a job without a payment. But asking him upfront without any guise- Was he always this slack with her?
He jotted down additional information. "Send your men here. Trusted and loyal ones. " He slid the paper to her side. "But be advised. It's tricky terrain."
"Send two horses, four men. Two to stay there until additional back up arrives. One of them should be an abjurator. You will need to seal off the place."
"What is it though?" Vetle looked at the address.
Kai smiled. "A golden goose?" He leaned back.
"It's a mine. As for what's inside…" His eyes flickered. "You'll know soon enough."
"And I think this will cover the later expenses as well." He crossed his legs.
"Draw up a contract." He added. "I take seventy percent. Information fees separate."
"Seventy?!" Vetle raised her brows. "Are you conning me right now?"
Kai huffed a laugh. "Of course not. It's not exactly a place you would like to own. Trust me. "
Odessa may be money hungry, but above all she values her crew. She will never do anything that leads her or any of them into the spotlight. Especially to the ASA.
"You cannot draw it up in your name. Use this name." He tapped on Shion's name.
Sorry Shion. I swear I will make it up to you.
He shrugged. "Apart from the thirty percent, you will be getting complete access to the selling of whatever is-" he paused, searching for the right word. "...produced there. I will give you a sweet commission, as well."
Vetle looked at the parchment for a moment.
Kai threw in the last bait. "You can make the decision after you see for yourself."
Vetle's brow shot up. "You mean you're giving this information for free right now?"
It was dangerous, Yes. Very much. If it backfired it was almost like giving a vault out for free. But if it didn't, he would gain money, leverage and information-all at once.
It was a wager. One that his life depended on.
Kai tilted his head. "Why else would I give you the information before I said my conditions?"
Vetle looked at him, surprised. "What if I decide to take it all?"
Ahh.
He felt heat around him and realized Bella was upright in her seat, eye cold and narrowed. Mana filled every essence of his being.
The edges of her hair began to lift as the cups on the table trembled.
Kai smiled softly as he placed his non-metallic arm on her wrist. Bella snapped to him with wide eyes, the mana falling down as rapidly as it had risen.
A bead of sweat traced down Vetle's temple. She had felt it too.
"You could try." He shrugged with a smile. "I would actually be curious to see how far you could go."
He leaned in, just enough to invade her face and make her flinch. "But you wouldn't be asking if you could."
Vetle swallowed.
Kai leaned back uninterested. "Don't make me reconsider who I protect, Vetle."
Vetle paused for a moment before exhaling. "I will send men at dawn tomorrow."
Kai clapped his hands together. "Excellent. I can expect your reply soon, yes?"
Vetle nodded.
"Oh." Kai's smile thinned. "By the way. Why were there ASA down there?"
Vetle blinked. "You didn't hear?"
Kai's brows knitted. "Hear what?"
Vetle paused. "Two days ago an official from ASA came to meet me. Said he wanted my help to find you."
Find me?
Did this happen in the initial timeline?
"And what did you say?"
Vetle laughed. "What anyone would've said. That I would've been dead already if I'd known the Devil."
"But I assumed you knew." Her gaze flicked to him. "Considering you beat them up."
His fingers tapped the armrest once.
"And what did he look like? The official."
"He was wearing a hood, so I couldn't really see his face. But he was tall." She tried to remember. "And he had a sword with the black cord. Something that you don't usually see with the guards, much less the officials."
Kai stilled.
Sword with black cord.
Of course.
There's still two years since the jail break. He would still be an official right now then.
But had he looked for him in the initial timeline too?
Kai stood up from the chair and left after talking with Vetle for a while, trying to familiarize himself with any more useful information.
"What's in the mine? And how did you know about it?" Bella asked as they walked out of the gambling house.
"Armenium" He replied, ignoring her second question. He couldn't tell her that it was the mine he had accidentally discovered three years from now when he had gone to Sanch Navarre.
Bella's mouth fell open. "Arm- Are you insane?!" She shouted in Russian.
"Stop yelling," Kai replied in Russian.
"You- you're going to sell the thing that can potentially kill us?!" She lowered her voice.
"Don't be dramatic. It's just a negation artifact. We won't die from it."
Armenium was an ore that produced white lead. Lead that was used in the firearms used by ASA. It negated mana, incapacitating the gifted from using magic, making it easier to capture them.
"Getting ripped off mana is as good as dying in this world, Sir Malakai."
"So is having no money, Belladonna."
Bella's face scrunched up. "You're insane."
"White leads have very minimal negation effect, Bella. It wouldn't affect you or I."
"But they will affect countless others who are weak."
Kai paused as he took a turn at the valley and entered the market, happy that the smell of perfume was long gone.
"I am busy trying to survive Bella. I can't look after everyone's asses."
Bella paused before scoffing.
At least not yet.
"The gifted in prison will curse you to death." She hissed.
They certainly will.
Until I break them all out in two years.
Along with the one that will kill you.
ARCANE CODEX
1. Alchemist
Class: Alchemist
2. Abjurator: Protection, sealing, warding
Class: Mage
Discipline: Arcane