Chapter 10
I sit at the only table and chairs available at the Dragonfire Bar and pat the seat beside me.
Kaneko eyes the exit. Elemny outside, gawk with fright…
awe, maybe curiosity. Her wavering fear tantalises my taste buds, but also evokes disappointment at the weaknesses exploitable by me.
Nothing but the desperate need to flee stirs inside everyone in the bar.
They don’t yearn for a fight, which makes the thought of a hunt simmer within me.
I tilt my head to the side and watch Kaneko, wondering if she will take the gamble and run.
They almost always do. It’s disappointing to witness.
And I have done nothing to instil fear in her.
If anything, I’ve been nothing but kind—not even raising my voice.
However, those grappling with guilt often think that dying for freedom is preferable to handing over information.
Indeed, Flesh is a kingdom steeped in fear and death, as shown by the decaying bodies displayed across the walls. Yet today, I felt bored and on the lookout for some amusement.
Kaneko glances at the door once more, but I don’t want to push her to stay. I want her to make the choice herself. Still, I might need to give her a little nudge to sit down and share information.
I glance at the man hiding nearby. I wish I could forget about the three other elemny in this room.
I know they’ll throw each other under the bus if I give them a chance.
Disappointment washes over me as I ponder who would sell their soul first. What elemny working to save others could sacrifice others to protect themselves?
I can’t fathom such actions, which may stem from my upbringing, but I absolutely loathe it when someone surrenders a life for their own gain.
Take responsibility for your actions and accept the consequences instead of blaming someone else.
The man hiding wails manically and rises from his little hide-hole with his hands above his head.
Flames coil like a snake around its prey, and as he burns, my eyes never leave Kaneko’s.
She glances at the door again, and my shoulders relax when her jaw softens.
She sits across from me, not where I placed my hand.
Kaneko seeks distance, which is a sign of hesitation, fear, and caution.
She knows—from the gaping, fiery hole I created—that I’m not here for a stroll.
“Look, I’ll tell you everything. Please don’t kill me,” she says, her focus darting to the other two elemny looking at her with bafflement and betrayal.
They’ve got some code to take to their graves.
Her speaking out sends a prickle of aggravation through me because she seems to lack a sense of integrity.
But this might also be an attempt to steer me in a different direction.
Instead of the ace in the deck, she slips in the joker to drive me onto another path.
“How long have you been smuggling elemny within Flesh for?” I ask.
Kaneko blinks, surprised by my sudden question.
Soon, she’ll realise I’m no guard. The finest had trained me.
She darts a glance at the male elemny behind the bar.
I lean across the table and place my hand over hers, resisting the urge to melt her flesh to the bone.
“If you can give me everything you know, even a list of all the elemny your group has smuggled in, I can let you go without speaking to King Ragan. You can leave Flesh and never return.”
Once more, she looks to the man behind the bar.
“Does he frighten you?” I say. “I can kill him if it makes you more comfortable.”
I raise my hand. Her eyes widen, growing wild with fright and intense fear. “No! Please don’t!” She grabs my arm and holds on tight. “I’ll tell you everything”—another glimpse goes to the man behind the bar—“if you extend the offer to my tether.”
The fire elemny behind the bar rolls his sleeve up to his elbow, revealing his mark.
Kaneko does the same, showing the identical marking that binds them.
What a pitiful sight. They cling to each other, not to save their lives but because they are tethered.
Why did the gods and goddesses give such a curse on elemny?
Sighing, I lean back in the chair and rest my elbows on the armrests. I glare at them when the other man rises from his cowardly position and says, “And me too.”
I snap my fingers, and flames burst from his body. Kaneko barely blinks. She’s likely thinking, “Better him than us.”
“Tell me,” I then say.
We sit there for a while. He proves to be more helpful and resourceful than she is.
Her only duty was to sneak elemny within the walls.
His job was to keep them hidden until a spot opened for them to transition into their new lifestyle.
Interestingly, they’ll go to great lengths to assist someone they’ve hardly known—a silent yet bold commitment.
“And you say there’s more beyond Flesh?” I ask Kaneko after she accidentally reveals the smugglers operating in Oceanview Harbour. I couldn’t care less, as Oceanview Harbour is a Free City. There are no rules holding sway there. Anyone can live there.
“Yeah,” she replies, even knowing her tethered lover tightens his hand on hers. Clearly, he wants other smugglers outside of Flesh kept hidden, but it seems Kaneko is desperate for them to survive, no matter the cost.
It’s…repulsive.
“Any names?”
“They go by the name Old Wolf, and they’re the leader,” Kaneko says. “No one has met them, but they are the ringleader. Old Wolf was the one who gave us the jobs and paid us.”
I grimace.
A ringleader in Oceanview Harbour. Why there? Kaneko doesn’t seem to lie. It’s clear from her tether’s expression. But now I’m intrigued. What’s in Oceanview Harbour? Why is this old wolf working there, of all places?
I pull the paper with the names closer and say, “And are these all the names of the elemny you helped into Flesh?”
“Yes,” they say with a confirming nod of their heads.
I get up from my seat and tuck the paper into my pocket. Kaneko lets out a sigh of relief as her partner drapes his arm around her and grins.
“I have to kill you now,” I say.
Their eyes widen, and the little colour they have drains from their faces. “What! You promised you’d let us go if we told you everything?”
“Did I?” I muse. “Do you recall my making a deal?” I step out of the booth, fold my arms across my chest, and tilt my head to the side as flames curl around my shoulders. “Do you have it in writing? My deals are only concrete in writing—everyone knows that.”
“You fucking dick!” Kaneko spits, raising her hands as she struggles to bring moisture into the air. It’s more or less impossible. Smoke covers Flesh, so no water elemny can weaken us in our lands. “No wonder you aren’t well-liked! Not even your own fucking family likes you!”
“I never said I wanted anyone to like me,” I say candidly. “And I never claimed to care about what my family thinks of me. I do my job, and I do it fucking well. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have got all I needed to know from you two.”
She raises her hand, but when Kaneko realises she can’t conjure a drop of moisture, she seethes, “One day, Prince Reen, someone will give back tenfold for what you do to others, and then you’ll see.”
With a twitch of my brow, I raise my arm and slam my fist into his chest. She gasps, blood spattering out of her mouth. Her lover falls to the ground, clutching at his heart, while Kaneko looks down at the claw of a hand puncturing her chest before settling her gaze of hatred on me.
Hate is always a reaction when someone is in the wrong.
They harbour hatred towards others instead of taking a moment to self-evaluate their own demons and consider where they may have gone wrong in life.
Every elemny I kill has the same look in their eyes before they die—utter hatred.
And you know what? It’s a satisfying sight to see as I rip my hand out of her chest and leave them lying there, dying in each other’s embrace.
I need to speak to Toma. I have to make him aware that he needs to find a water elemny to take over Kaneko’s duties. I’m sure he’ll find someone suitable. He’s the most sociable and well-liked guard in Flesh.
I’m sure it’ll be an exciting conversation. I wonder whether he’ll bring another smuggler on, then vanish within a day, or pretend to be clueless until one day he slips up.
I hope he runs. A good hunt is something I enjoy. Unfortunately, it has to end like this. He’s a good man to chat with, but that’s all, isn’t it? A well-regarded man can be deceitful and break the law. If he runs, I may find out who this old wolf is, which sounds entertaining.
“Oh, hey,” Toma says, his eyes flicking to the young woman and then back as he raises his hand. I shake my head and tell him there’s no need; I just need a moment to confirm my suspicion of him.
I tell him I killed Kaneko because she was smuggling elemny with illegal weapons within Flesh, which is against the law. He looks surprised. His eyes widen, and his jaw drops. He’s a talented actor, but I see his arms stiffen.
Even if your face lies, your body can’t help but show the truth.
Then, from the corner of my eye, I notice a woman in the line clutching her purse at my words. Her blue fingernails dig into the leather, and as I study her face, there’s a sense of her fear and anxiety. So, I shift my attention to Toma before she catches me analysing her.
“Well, that’s a real shame. She was a truly fantastic worker,” Toma remarks, shaking his head in disappointment.
What’s his game? He doesn’t seem like he’s planning to run. Will he stay and avoid taking any action? That might be best for me. I won’t have to look for another fucking guard. Still, I want to go hunting. I’m sick of being stuck inside Flesh. It stinks.
The woman bows her head, casting her gaze down, squirming. Do I make her uncomfortable? Why? She’s not fawning like the flashes from the cameras I can hear on either side of me.
I eye her, then leave, but as I look back, she hands Toma a passport and an envelope.
A letter of acceptance? Yet, a letter of acceptance is usually for elemny with a strike.
A known thief who has done their time. She doesn’t look like a thief as she speaks to him spiritedly, as if she weren’t a nervous, awkward mess a moment before.
I’m curious.
She walks into the hall as I step into the crowd and inadvertently bump into her. “Fucking arsehole,” she hisses venomously, and I doubt she wanted me to hear it.
I watch—suspicious of her behaviour—as she moves with the crowd until she reaches a group of friends. Not only friends. She has a lover, and she clings to him desperately, displaying signs of how she acted when she was chatting with Toma.
There’s a look of concern, a hint of relief in her body language, adoration, and…
lust. Definitely suggestive lust. But underneath that layer, her boyfriend touches the side of her waist and grips her hip tightly.
Her brown eyes waver, and calculating and subtle, the woman shifts out of his grasp until she stands beside him.
Her boyfriend and their two friends leave for the toilets while she uses her phone.
I watch from a distance, hidden in the shadows of the pillars.
When she talks to her mother, I leave, rendering my suspicions of her desperation because I’m itching for a satisfying kill.
But as I walk away, my mind drifts back to when she clutched her purse at the mention of smugglers.
Then again, her attitude versus outward demeanour—and the fucking envelope.
What did she give to Toma, and why did he hide it?
Fuck it. I’ll bite.
Who is this fucking unawakened woman?