"It doesn't look good," the senior Zaatsu said as he sat down once again at the Chai-ki-dukan with his siblings. "We're all caught in a zugzwang and Renekom has dived into this head over heels."
Camille and Neil, sitting across the table, had worried looks on their faces. They leaned ahead. "What do you mean?" Neil asked.
"I just found an old friend who gave me some information about these wizards collecting charms and artifacts in the black markets. It turns out they've been acquiring weapons and planning for a while now. He thinks the Devil's Hearth has been slowly developing ever since the Ambris Ferrer episode."
"Who did you meet?"
"Perhaps one of the last men who has an actual eye on the world – a coordinator… an Outsider."
Neil looked at his sister then back at Hugo. He placed his wrists on the table and moved closer. "An Outsider?" he asked, wide-eyed. "What do you mean, old friend? An Outsider?"
Hugo sighed. He buried his face in his hands, then wiped down slowly, exhaling hard. "Look…" He pushed his chair forward. "Yes. An Outsider."
"What?!"
The young Zaatsu was louder than he should have been. A few heads turned. Hugo did not enjoy it either. He placed his hands on the table and then stared into his stepbrother's eyes.
"Shut up and just listen to me!" he said, grinding his teeth, speaking in a hushed voice. "The Outsiders were framed. It's about time you understood the truth, young man. They were the ones who brought down Ambris Ferrer and the Serpents, they were the ones who kept the Order in check, and they were punished for it all."
As Neil leaned back, Hugo continued. "The Eye and the Parliament are under heavy political influence. Placing the blame on the Outsiders gave them a reason to shut their political opponents down. These people are guided by their own desires and the lust for power and wealth. They framed the Outsiders so that this system could remain as is. Ambris Ferrer was their fault. Under their eyes he was mentored by people well established at high-ranking posts."
Neil stared with a narrowed gaze, finding it hard to believe. "What?" he whispered. Then he shook his head once, almost instinctively. His eyes moved from Hugo to Camille, searching for some sign that this was an exaggeration, some old grudge dressed up as truth.
"No… that can't be right," he added. "If any of this were true, someone would have said something."
"Yes," Hugo said with a bitter smile. "Like they said something about the Cults, like they said something about the Keepers, like they said something about me… and like they're saying things about Zeta Squad now, and they'll say things about you."
He paused and slowly nodded. "Ambris was mentored by Orianthi Webb… of all people. She was a Cultist from the time of the Cult Wars and infiltrated the ranks of the Eye. She became part of the political unrest within the institution and used it to her advantage. Ambris himself belonged to a Cult which was wiped out by the Eye in the early '70s. She leveraged this to make him go rogue and attack the Eye."
Camille had heard all this before, in far more painful detail, on a quiet evening at home. The words still hurt, but the shock had passed. For Neil, this was fresh.
She leaned in. "But the Outsiders were demolished," she said, in a whisper. "How can they still be active?"
"There's not much left of them." Hugo nodded at her then looked down. "After Warren, I was chosen to lead them, but I was among the few people, including Faris, who saw that the Eye hadn't fallen to the other side; it hadn't gone evil. It was just being run by a bunch of impudent imbeciles serving their own desires!"
He chuckled and shook his head. "So, we decided to remain connected to them in whatever way we could and find a way to lead the people back into the light. From the thousands we once boasted, less than a hundred operatives remain accounted for."
"It doesn't make any sense!" Neil leaned back ahead. "Why didn't you tell us this before?"
Hugo looked back up. "You are a hothead, she is too kind-hearted. Had you guys known, you would have tried to tell others, and that would have gotten you killed. I didn't want that. And I'm telling you now because of our current predicament."
"What current predicament?"
He took a deep breath. "The Devil's Hearth," he said as he exhaled slowly. "The Outsiders think they've been operating for years now, preparing and gathering weapons and power. And from what I've gathered till now, they have one clear agenda and one unclear one…"
"Infiltrating the black markets?" asked Camille.
"That too. But they want all of us to come out in the open and reveal ourselves. But there's more…" He waited, looked away, and then sighed. "But I can't put my finger on it yet…"
"What do you mean, bro?"
"Ah…" Hugo shook his head. "All you have to know is that this thing is about to blow up. And when it does, you need to be careful. Our spiritual establishment has more politics in it than you could ever imagine." Leaning back, he added, "Don't trust anyone… that's the only wise policy. Now let's get out of here."
The trio then got up to leave. But before they could move further, Hugo stopped. "Hang on a minute," he said. "Were you guys able to find anything?"
"Not really." Neil shook his head. "I looked everywhere and even asked some people around, but I couldn't find any Argus Spencer."
"I met that Samir Haddad," Camille said, nodding.
Hugo looked at her and quickly asked, "What did he say?"
"He said, 'They are where the dead lay alive'…"
Elsewhere in Athens, the Seear and his group had run into another dead end. The Ki signature they were looking for was nowhere to be found. Mystics of the group – Dustin Flores, Amara Becker, Jessy Cardoso, and Rafael Reid – used powerful time-bending spells to confirm that the Ki signature was indeed there until an hour before they got to the city, but it was no longer there. And there was simply no way of tracking it anymore.
"That damned trickster!" Obadiah was frustrated, just as everyone else was. He kicked the dirt and turned away.
"Perhaps they were right," Michael said. "Perhaps you can't find him the same way twice." He looked at the Seear. "We should devise a new strategy, Renekom."
Obadiah turned around and looked at the senior man. "But do we have the time for that, Master?" he asked. "It took us more than a year to find him before." After a pause, he added, "We should try to predict his next target. That's how Hugo was able to get him the last time."
"Do you have one in mind?" Renekom asked.
The Primarch grunted and shook his head. "Maybe he went into the Amazon…"
Silence fell upon the Martial Artists. They looked around anxiously then gazed at the Seear and his senior Zaatsu.
Renekom sighed. "There's no way to tell, Obadiah… no way to tell at all."
Michael looked at Amara. She was staring wide-eyed at her Seeker's Scroll. "What is it, Amara?" he asked.
She looked up. "A message."
"From?"
"Ravens…"
"The European Cult?"
"Yes."
Renekom stepped closer. "What does it say?"
She swallowed. "Cults in Europe are preparing for war…"