Chapter 12
There’s something within Flesh, and I want to find its underlying cause. There’s someone called “Old Wolf” who pulls the strings. The unknown elemny is the ringleader. Someone who works hard yet remains faceless.
“Old Wolf” can be a play on words, or the “old” part might be a metaphor for the one at the top of the food chain. So, if I’m hunting them, the elemny I pursue will have experience in the field.
But where does this woman come into it? Leaning against the wall, I overlook a home with a fire and earth elemny cooking in the kitchen.
Young adults gather at the table. To the outside world—and many, including some of my knights—they’re hosting their son’s friends while he lies in bed, resting before awakening.
To me, though, I find it odd.
The information Alad sent me is like searching for a four-leaf clover in a clover field. There’s information about the water elemny with them—the Caucasian girl from a cultist family that has disowned her because she’s with an elemny of colour…
I thought we were done with this “human phase”.
The female with brown skin is as safe as all the others, considering I’ve delved into her family history, right down to the illnesses in her family.
But this fucking dark-haired woman has nothing.
At first, Alad’s lack of information irritated me, assuming he didn’t care for her because the others had more colourful pasts.
Like the fire elemny man. His family worked with the king before leaving after the battle with the ice elemny across the sea.
Mr Clark’s visa is about to expire. We’ve given him a few years, but his involvement is lacking, and the king no longer cares for his assistance.
I scroll down to Mrs Clark and grimace. A soldier, once like Mr Clark, stopped aiding the king after the war against the Kingdom of Crystal. Why? What did they see? What didn’t they like? What made them revoke their rights as soldiers? Why are they heading to one of the free cities?
Sure, they might have their reasons. Maybe they disapproved of the killing of children. I can understand that. The killing of innocent kids isn’t for everyone, and from the info Mrs Clark provided me, Alad mentioned she usually works with the kids at Flesh’s orphanage.
My phone vibrates. Turning away from the house, I walk down the path to the nearest taxi service. “Reen,” Astin says, “Ri and Alek are back from their honeymoon. Do you need them for anything before they head off to Flesh?”
I raise my hand and wave a taxi over. Stepping inside, the driver doesn’t say a word.
Already knowing where I want to go, he drives me towards the castle.
As I watch elemny going about their day, high on life, I ponder Astin’s question for a moment.
“Yeah,” I finally reply. A stir comes from the other end.
“Tell them to head to Oceanview Harbour.”
“Why, sir?” says Astin.
“I need them to gather as much information about someone called Old Wolf.”
“Old Wolf?” Astin clears his throat. When I don’t answer, he asks, “Is there anything else?”
“Yes. I’d like them to find out about a woman called Pandora.”
“Last name?”
“Pretend she doesn’t have one,” I say.
“Sir, there are many women called Pandora. It will be a tedious search.”
“She’s not awakened yet. That’s all the information I know about her.”
“What type of elemny?”
“Pretend you don’t know. I’ll send you a picture of what was on the academy records.”
Astin clears his throat. I sense a hint of nervousness I’m not used to. Astin usually bites back at everything I say. His awkwardness and questioning of my authority irritate me, but not enough to hang up the phone.
“What?” I demand.
The taxi driver glances my way. When he sees me watching him, he quickly averts his gaze and tightens his grip on the wheel to keep himself grounded. It’s amusing and annoyingly straightforward how squeamish everyone gets around me. The way they talk behind my back, treating me like a mutt.
“Alad briefed me about you calling him for information regarding an elemny girl,” Astin says. “Don’t you think this is because you are bored and you need some entertainment?”
“There’s a chance,” I admit. After saying that, my thoughts drift back to how uncomfortable the woman became when I questioned Toma about Kaneko’s death. Also, her reaction when I bumped into her, compared to when she hugged her boyfriend, felt…fake.
Dishonest?
Some elemny put on a face to please those they fancy, but that facade is hard to maintain without early training or development.
“But I will take the chance,” I finish.
After leaving Astin to pass on the info to the other knights, I lean back when I notice Walkyer making his way down the path. I sit forward and tell the taxi driver to stop, and he pulls over near my brother.
Walkyer dresses casually, wearing a blue tank top beneath his open black blouse. He puts his hands in the pockets of his dark blue denim jeans, and his bright blue eyes narrow when he notices me heading towards him.
Walkyer hates me. It’s obvious when he bows his head, and his icy blue fringe escapes his braided ponytail. At least Emmerton can meet my gaze when we talk or briefly pass each other. Walkyer usually ignores me.
It doesn’t bother me, considering I enjoy irritating him. But it’s disappointing to know my flesh and blood may think I can harm him. Yet again, I would sink my fist into Emmerton’s chest if he pushed me far enough off the edge.
Double-edged sword.
“What are you doing on this side of town?” Walkyer asks. “Surely you aren’t here to annoy me.”
“Sometimes,” I muse, earning a leering look from Walkyer. “But no, I was heading to the castle and thought you would love my company.”
Walkyer examines me, trying to act casual, but he fails. He’s curious about what game I’m playing, especially since everyone knows I enjoy games. However, he is not as skilled as I am. He can’t hide his true feelings. He looks at me with disdain and disgust.
I used to wonder if it was because I’m from a different ethnic background. However, when he speaks to Mother, there’s only adoration and respect in his words and a sincere love for a mother, clear in his wavering blue eyes.
No. Walkyer dislikes me because I’m not an heir to the king but a knight.
He would love for me to have the crown so he could search for his true love.
Instead, he runs errands, listens to a mad king, and learns everything he needs to know before becoming one.
It’s a tiring task, especially for an elemny who wants nothing more than a family to settle down with and lead a calm, boring life.
Walkyer is a walking water elemny stigma.
“Did you have any luck finding love?” I ask, more to grate on his nerves.
Walkyer presses his lips inward before admitting, “There are plenty of beautiful women in the Kingdom of Flesh. However, by saying this, they clearly want me because of my status, or their personalities just don’t suit me.”
“Why don’t you date online?”
“Because many lie. You need to see them first and talk to them in living flesh to pass judgment. After one meeting, a girl can say everything I want to hear online and have a different personality or opinions when we meet.”
I grunt. He’s right. I’ve had many elemny lie to me over the phone.
It’s also more challenging to catch them in the act until I see them in person while they talk to me on the phone.
Walkyer must be experiencing something similar.
He meets plenty of women, but after the third date, their true personalities come out, and he realises it’s all a performance.
“Everyone’s fake, Walkyer. You need to stop searching for your true love and settle for average.”
“No,” Walkyer says with a hint of childish stubbornness. “There’s someone out there for me. She’s a nice, kind woman who, when needed, has a fiery side. Someone who won’t fall for Emmerton’s cheap tricks. An elemny who sees me as hers, just as I’ll see her as mine. I want love like in the movies.”
“It doesn’t exist.”
“Not to you.” Walkyer’s icy blue eyes narrow. “You look at elemny like playthings you can toy with. There’s even a passing joke in Flesh that claims you rip out girls’ hearts more often than you actually fall for them.”
“Having a lover, tethered one—whatever you want to call it—will bring nothing but trouble. They’re a weakness, and I enjoy exploiting that weakness when I work.
If you’re tethered, I can easily use them to my advantage to get to you.
So, if you ever fall for an elemny, it’s my duty to think like that so I can keep you and your woman safe from enemies who think like me. ”
Walkyer strains a smile. “Do you ever have a life outside of your job?”
“Do you have a life outside of the Crimson Hotel?” I ask. “Does Emmerton have a life outside of fucking every elemny he sees? Does the king have a life outside of ruling in madness? Does Mother have a life outside the chambers she locks herself in?”
“You are irritating to be around,” Walkyer says.
A smirk settles across my lips. “I often hear that from elemny who ask idiotic questions.”
He throws me a dagger look and clenches his hands into fists.
Satisfied, I leave Walkyer and head down the alleyway.
Being around my brother cleared my head, but I still could not stop thinking about the woman.
I want to kill her, but I need a motive.
Ri and Alek will visit her home to gather more information and search through her belongings.
For now, I’ll keep a low profile. I don’t want to frighten her away if she’s in touch with the Old Wolf.
Until then, I’ll keep myself busy dealing with thieves and cutthroats in another part of the kingdom. I’ll wait until more information turns up. I expect to gain knowledge within the week, and I trust my knights to stay inconspicuous.
How long has the woman been here?
I look at her passport again and grimace. She will leave late on Sunday night. Pressing the phone to my ear, I listen to the dial tone before they pick up. “Hey, Reen. What’s up?” Ri speaks.
“How long will it take you to get to Oceanview Harbour?”
“A day. Astin gave us the, uh…lacking information, and—”
“I’ll send you the address of the academy she goes to. Try gathering as much information as possible before four o’clock Sunday afternoon.”
“But—”
“Thank you,” I say and hang up.
I’ll let the woman go without a worry if Ri returns empty-handed. But if she returns with something, I’ll follow the woman onto the ship and watch her closely.
I want there to be a reason. The lack of hunts I’ve had lately sends a shiver down my spine, and my fingertips itch.
This could be my most exciting hunt in a long time.