Chapter 64
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
PHOENIX
“You should change,” Ri tells Vera the moment we enter her studio.
I glance at Vera, and her outfit. She wears her usual—the three-piece suit. This one is onyx black.
“I don’t think what I wear matters whether we save these kids or not,” Vera says.
Ri grunts. “It may not. But it matters whether or not you survive.”
Vera arches an eyebrow.
“At least wear something to cover your face,” Ri says.
“Where’s this coming from, Ri? Has the old age made you sentimental?” Vera’s voice is playful. She waves Ri off. “I’ll be fine. And if I’m taken or killed, well. You’re in charge, old friend.”
Ri mutters a number of curses under her breath. The only thing I can catch is “youth and arrogance in this one will be the death of me.”
Besides Ri, three of her girls are going with us. Gwen, the one I met the other night, is here, too. Jax wastes no time getting himself comfortable amongst the girls.
Every giggle, every laugh, every flirty twirl of their hair while they bat their eyelashes at him irk me to no end.
He’s such a player. How can they not see it? Or do they simply not care? I could never be with a man who has a wandering e—
“Phoenix, are you alright?” Vera’s voice startles me. I blink and look at her at my side. “You look like you want to murder someone.”
She’s smirking, her steel-colored eyes dancing with amusement as she looks between me and Jax with the girls.
I clear my throat. “I’m good. Peachy. Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Mm-hmm,” she murmurs, clearly not convinced.
Thankfully, Ri’s studio door opens and Vera’s crew enters. Everyone’s here tonight. We have Bart, Hel, Hojo, and Tanaka. The latter looks nervous. I completely understand. I’d be nervous too going into today’s mission if I weren’t a highly trained Decarios.
Actually…even though I am a highly trained Decarios, I still worry.
“Now that we’re all here, we can start,” Vera says. The chatter dies down, everyone’s attention on Vera. “Tonight’s mission is simple and straightforward. We split up and take the carriages to the warehouse in Kozem. Jax secured us a safe passage in and out.”
Vera pauses and looks pointedly at Jax, who grins and nods. I can’t believe Vera trusted him to secure us an entrance in and out of Kozem.
“Once we’re there, I want Bart and Hel scouting the perimeter to see how many Caligos are safeguarding the kids.
Phoenix, we’ll lean on you to help us take them out.
” She looks at me and I nod. “Once Caligos are out, we’ll get the kids into carriages and Ri’s girls will take them to our safe house. Any questions?”
“No, boss,” Bart says, puffing out his chest. “Let’s go get these motherfuckers.”
Vera nods. “Great.”
We split up into pairs and take the carriages to Kozem. I’m with Vera, and Ri takes Jax before he can even suggest going with one of her girls. Literally, she drags him by his pointy ear to her carriage.
I can’t say I don’t enjoy the sight.
Vera’s quiet all the way to the warehouse. Such an enigma. I find myself wishing I could read her emotions just like the rest of the normal folk so I’d know what’s happening in that head.
She looks calm and collected. At peace. But something tells me it’s only a mask.
All of us take different routes to the warehouse to not raise the suspicion. So many carriages riding in a line towards a specific location in Kozem is bound to draw attention.
We arrive first, Ri and Jax’s carriage right after us.
The streets are gloomy and quiet at this time of the night. Air’s crispy. I can see my breath in front of me when I exhale.
“No problem getting in,” Vera says to Jax. “Let’s hope this Madame Mercy is a woman of her word.”
“She is,” Jax assures her.
He also looks calm and confident. But unlike with Vera, I can read his emotions. Deep inside, he’s a ball of anxiety.
At least I’m not alone.
Part of me thinks I’m wasting my time here. What if the invitation to the Trial of Strength arrives while we’re in the middle of this rescue mission? What if something happens to Vera and it sabotages my win?
What if something happens to me?
I roll my shoulders and crack my neck, pushing those thoughts aside.
I may not be the noble ruler Ekios deserves, but I sure as fuck won’t stand by and let Caligos do this to innocent kids. To Wetran kids.
“Here they are!” Ri points at two more carriages arriving.
It’s Bart and Hel, and Hojo and Tanaka. The moment they’re out of the carriages, Bart and Hel go to scout the perimeter of the warehouse.
“What if the kids are not there?” It dawns on me. “What if they brought them to a different location to confuse you?”
Vera looks at the building grimly. “Then we have failed. Nothing we can do but accept it and do better next time.”
Just when Ri’s girls arrive, Bart and Hel return from their scouting mission. Bart doesn’t have to say it, it’s written on his face.
Something’s wrong.
“You said twenty kids?” He looks at Ri. She nods. “There are only ten.”
My heart sinks. Those fucking bastards.
“They split them up,” Vera tells Ri. “An insurance policy. They know we can only ambush one place per night with our resources.”
Ri nods gravely.
“Not all is lost.” Jax looks between the women. “We can torture the location out of one of the Caligos for the second place and then head there after.”
I’m about to open my mouth to agree. My fingers are itching for violence. It would be my pleasure to peel the skin off these bastards inch by inch while they scream and beg for me to spare them.
But Vera says, “No. We’re not prepared, and spread too thin as is. We don’t know what we’d be walking into. And Caligos are trained to withstand torture. What prevents us from knowing if they’re lying?”
“You’re right,” I say with a sigh. “Well, at least we can save these kids.”
“Exactly. So, the plan remains the same,” Vera says. She jerks her chin at Bart. “How many Caligos? Where are they keeping the kids?”
“The kids are in the large cage inside the main area of the warehouse,” Hel says. “We counted ten Caligos lurking around the cage.”
“Shit,” I say at the same time Vera says, “Gods damn it.”
More Caligos than I expected.
“How many of them do you think are Decarios?” I ask Vera.
She shakes her head. “It’s hard to guess. Last time there were none, but this time…Clearly, they’ve come prepared. One Caligos per kid, as far as we know, means they expect us.”
“Sooner or later it would have happened,” Ri says and locks gazes with Vera. “We’re not prepared to face them if they’re expecting us.”
Vera doesn’t back down. “We’re not giving up. Phoenix, how many Caligos can you handle?”
“All of them,” I say without missing a beat. “It will be easier if they’re not Decarios. But even if some are, it’s fine.”
“I can help, too,” Jax chimes in.
Arching an eyebrow, I look at him. “You fight?”
A mischievous half smile stretches across his face. “Absolutely I do.”
I’m not convinced, but before I can argue, Vera nods. “That’s what I like to hear. Let’s get ready to go in.”
“It would be easier if I go in alone,” I say. Vera’s about to protest, so I add, “I know a back entrance that leads to a place where I can have a view of the whole warehouse from above. I can take at least half of the Caligos with my bow.”
Vera pouts. Then says, “Good plan. Okay, you go in through the back. I and Jax will go in through the front and wait for you to strike. Jax can handle men you can’t take out with a bow.”
“Fine,” I say.
Quickly, I check my bow resting on my back and my quiver. Just as I’m about to head to the warehouse, Vera says, “Phoenix, don’t die.”
I smile at her and say, “You, too. As you said, our work is not done yet.”
Navigating my way to the secret back entrance is easy enough. I quickly find the door, ignoring the ache that pounds in my chest at all the memories.
I can’t allow myself to break down right now.
Maybe that’s why Vera keeps herself so busy with her studio, Savage King operations, and being my patron during these trials. When the mind and body are busy, there’s no space to grieve about a broken heart.
The door is unlocked, so I slip inside with ease. It’s dark, and damp. I pause, straining my ears to listen for the enemy. Bart and Hel may have missed Caligos roaming the place outside the main warehouse area. But I hear nothing.
So, I open my senses and reach. Nothing close to me, which may be a good or a bad thing. After all, I can’t sense Decarios.
I don’t falter, though, and push forward.
Navigating my way through the dark warehouse corridors is a bit harder without Daegel. It takes me longer than I hope, but I do eventually find the metal ladder that leads to the area above the pit.
I scale it quickly, and push the door open.
It doesn’t budge at first, so I have to shove my shoulder a bit rougher against it for it to open. I try not to use too much force because if the door slams open with a bang, the Caligos below will be alerted of my presence.
Thankfully, after the third push the door gives.
Carefully, I open it and crawl onto the narrow ledge. The main area of the warehouse has been cleared out from all the gambling tables. And the bar is not there anymore. Only the iron fence stands, and a couple of ropes hanging from the ceiling in the middle.
They haven’t scrubbed the blood from the dirty warehouse floor where ten drugged bodies lie on thin mattresses in a heap. I breathe through the rage that rises.
Use it as fuel. Use it as fuel.
I’m good at it.
A familiar presence chuckles at the very back of my mind.
Oh no.
Please, don’t.
Not right now!
But then it dawns on me. My punishment. The tattoo between my breasts starts to burn.
Ah, have you forgotten so quickly? Lorca purrs. You wound me greatly, Phoenix.
I haven’t, I reply. You’ll claim the souls of these men?
Why of course. My hunger is endless.
Well, at least I’m killing two birds with one stone here.
I slide my bow off my shoulder and grab the first arrow. My eyes scan the area beyond the iron fence. One, two, three…I count eight Caligos hanging around the makeshift fireplace. One’s sleeping in the corner.
But Bart and Hel said there were ten. Where are the other two? Ah, shit.
The heavy double door on the other side of the warehouse slams open and all the Caligos perk up. Even the one snoozing. Two Caligos enter.
The good news is I know where the missing two are now.
The bad news is they’re not alone.
“Look what we found!” one of the Caligos shouts to his comrades and barks a laugh. “The whore leader herself!”
My whole world grows still when I lay my eyes on Vera in that asshole’s grip. He holds her by her braids, one large arm wrapped around her torso.
No, no, no.
Not Vera.