Chapter 50
CHAPTER FIFTY
PHOENIX
We arrive at the abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Jaakii well after midnight. It’s pitch-black outside.
Vera doesn’t give us any details on why we’re here, or what’s happening. Neither of us speak much on our way here.
My stomach is in knots. I’m so wired, my whole body is taut like a bowstring. Speaking of, Vera told me to leave my bow at her studio. She said I’d be too easily recognized if I had to use it.
I miss the steadying weight of it dearly.
Jax and I stand behind the building while we wait for Vera to come back. She left us not long after we arrived. I watched her disappear behind a large metal door into the warehouse.
Jax is leaning against the wall, inspecting his nails. It bothers me how unbothered he is. Led by curiosity, I open my senses. He’s not faking it. He’s truly relaxed, as if we were on a picnic and not some weird, secretive mission of sorts.
Bristling, I shut my senses off. Motherfucker.
Vera instructed us to remain quiet and hidden, so nobody spots us. I don’t know who on earth could in this shithole, at this time of night.
But I have a bad feeling.
I glance around the corner of the building to check whether anything is happening at the entrance. Vera’s nowhere to be seen, and it’s been over ten minutes. Anxiety claws at my chest.
“Will you relax, for the love of the gods?” Jax’s voice is a whisper. “You’re projecting your anxiety onto me and let me tell you—it’s not pleasant.”
Projecting?
I straighten my back and get a hold of my emotions and shields. It’s so rare that I do this, that I can’t believe it’s happening now. What am I, fourteen again, when my hormones were all over the place and I could barely control my senses and emotions?
“Sorry,” I murmur.
Finally, Vera rounds the corner. Her lips are pressed into a tight line. Immediately, alarm bells ring in my mind.
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s really, really, really good that I brought you both here tonight,” Vera says quietly. She exhales a long breath. “Phoenix, this is very dangerous, and Noire will kill me if he knew I brought you here and I’m about to ask you this, but I don’t have much of a choice.”
“Okay. That’s fine, Vera. What do you need me to do?”
“I’ll need you to use your Decarios abilities to helps us tonight. The emotional manipulation. I don’t think there will be a need for a physical fight. At least, I hope not.”
I’m frozen for a heartbeat. I swallow and nod. “Sure. I’ll do whatever you need me to. I—I need to be in a close proximity to the target for it to work, though. And I’m not that good at it.”
I cringe internally at having to admit that.
Vera hesitates. She glances over her shoulder, a deep frown settled between her perfectly manicured eyebrows. I know that look. She’s scheming, calculating, conjuring a plan.
I’m out of patience. “What is it that we’re doing here, Vera? How’s this going to show me the truth about Daegel?”
Vera refocuses her attention on me and Jax. “Call it a rescue mission.”
Jax and I exchange a glance.
“What can I do, Vera?” Jax asks.
The sound of a carriage arriving reaches my ears. I turn just as the carriage enters through the old gate and rides down the stone road leading towards the warehouse. It doesn’t come all the way to the entrance, though. Instead, it goes off the main path and towards us.
“Finally,” Vera murmurs.
The moment the carriage stops, she strides towards it and peels the door open. A man with a black hood sits on top, holding the reins in his gloved hands. He doesn’t glance in our direction when we approach.
In the doorway, Ri’s head appears. I’m even more confused than before.
Elegantly, she hops out of the carriage and lands on the gravel as if she’s a young gazelle and not an ancient woman. Spirits of the gods, may I age as gracefully as her.
“You’re late,” Vera scolds Ri.
Even in these circumstances I find it funny. Vera’s a child compared to Ri.
“Better late than never,” Ri says. “I see you brought backup. Part of the Ezkai General training?”
They both turn to me.
Vera says, “They insisted. You know it’s good to have more hands. Especially tonight.”
Ri regards Vera with worry. “Why is that?”
“They left more security behind this time around,” Vera says hesitantly. “It was supposed to happen sooner or later. Caligos don’t want to lose anymore precious cargo.”
Ri’s eyes widen a fraction. She glances towards the warehouse and around the place.
“There are no Caligos patrolling the grounds. Just a few inside with the children,” Vera says.
A pit forms deep in my stomach. Something is very wrong here.
I clear my throat. “Children? What fucking children?”
“I’ll explain everything later,” Vera says quickly. “We don’t have time right now.”
Ri looks at me, then back at Vera.
“Vera,” she says. It’s a warning. Ri jerks her chin at me.
“I can’t believe you brought the honorable champion of Val’taz Ezkairin with you tonight.
It would have been beyond reckless and dangerous if there were no Caligos lurking around, but now…
if they see her, and recognize her, our whole operation will be sabotaged because everyone knows your affiliation with her. ”
Ri shakes her head and clicks her tongue. Vera squares her shoulders.
Before Vera can defend her choices, Ri continues scolding her. “And you come in here dressed in your casual suit. You’re already on Caligos’s radar. You want even more trouble? You want them to know who the Savage King is?”
I have so many questions I don’t even know where to begin. It’s like I know nothing about Vera, after all.
Vera purses her lips and lifts her chin.
“I’m very well aware of the risks. You forget yourself—if it were not for me, none of this would have ever happened, and all those kids we saved would still be sold as slaves by Caligos to this day.
So, don’t tell me I’m being reckless or stupid with my choices.
I know exactly what I’m doing, and if you have any problems with it, you can step aside and let me deal with it on my own. ”
“You know I won’t do it, child,” Ri says, a little kinder.
Vera nods. “Then, let’s get moving.” Vera waves at the carriage. “This won’t be enough for all the children.”
“Tanaka, Hojo, Bart, and Hel are on their way. We have three more carriages,” Ri says. “That will be enough, unless your intel about how many children there are was wrong.”
Vera’s words are clipped. “It wasn’t. There are twelve heads total.” Vera turns to us. “Let’s go inside. Be quiet. Jax, I rely on you to help me carry the children out as soon as possible. Phoenix, you’ll need to distract the guards so we can do it.”
I give her a nod. Adrenaline is coursing through my veins.
Vera and Ri make their way around the back of the building, and we follow suit.
We’re pressed close to the walls to blend in as much as possible.
The large glass windows we pass are all barricaded with wood planks, so I can’t peek inside to see what’s going on.
From the sound of it, the warehouse is abandoned, not a single soul inside.
Finally, we round a corner and reach a single metal door that barely holds on by its hinges. Vera pauses only for a second before entering. We follow her inside.
Inside is dark and cold. The air is musty and stuffy; it’s hard to breathe. I bet every crevice and corner of this place is overgrown with mold. There must be at least a couple of dead rats, or even larger animals somewhere, rotting away, stinking up the place.
I have to duck my head low to avoid walking into thick spiderwebs hanging from the ceilings. We walk for what feels like forever, navigating small rooms and narrow corridors. Vera appears to know the way, so we don’t ask any questions.
As we approach the end of the corridor, the sounds of a crackling fire and voices reach my ears.
There is a faint glow coming from the room at the other end of the corridor.
Before going in, Vera turns to us and places a finger over her lips.
Then she goes inside and ducks behind a large wall of wooden crates on the right.
Before I do the same, I catch a glimpse of what’s in the middle of a large room. It must have been the main production hall of this warehouse when it was still open. The blood in my veins chills at the sight.
A dozen half-naked bodies lay on a couple of filthy mattresses scattered over the dirty floor.
At first, they appear to be dead, but…there is a slight movement of their chests, and an occasional twitch of muscles.
One person raises their head just enough to roll over onto their side and empty the contents of their stomach.
I cover my mouth with my hand. It’s absolutely vile.
Four men sit in a circle around a small fireplace. Their bodies are heavily covered in tattoos—two even have tattoos on their faces and bald heads. I recognize that red ink immediately.
They barely pay any attention to the child vomiting behind them.
My muscles tremble as pure rage rises to the surface. I’m ready to burst. How dare they…
Someone catches my wrist and drags me down onto my knees behind the wall of crates. It’s Jax. His eyes are wide, and his grip is stronger than I expect.
You have to be careful. He mouths the words to me.
I blink, and then nod. He’s right. I almost lost myself in my rage. I don’t dare to look at Vera or Ri right now. I sniff the air and frown. The air is heavy, full of smoke…What’s that smell? Opium. Those bodies must be heavily drugged children.
I’m sick to my stomach.
Vera crawls towards me. She places her palms on each side of my face and whispers into my ear, “Make them run away in fear. We need a window long enough to allows us to carry the children away.”
She pulls away to look me in the eye. I hesitate only for a heartbeat before I give her an assuring nod. She nods back at me and lets go. The success of this rescue mission rests on my shoulders. I can’t fail.