Gaston gave her a sharp glance, then finally nodded slowly. “Don’t lose control,” he replied. Gesturing to the guards, they headed to the back, where the stairs led downward into the bowels of the building.
The gang leader’s laughter pealed out again, his voice dripping with vulgar amusement. “Interested in us, are you?”
Elania’s gaze was steely as the thugs pressed further into the room, shoving patients and cultists out of their way as they formed a loose crescent around her. There was a lecherous intent and hunger in their eyes.
“I suppose Tessa was right,” she remarked coolly. “The people in this city are morons. I should eat the lot of you.”
“Don’t worry, once you’re done taking care of all of us, we know how to treat a lady,” the leader replied.
Onder of the underlings had a hint of caution in his eyes, whispered loud enough to be heard, “She’s a demon, boss. Be careful.”
Elania’s lips curled into a smile. “You should listen to your minion.”
His face twisted into a snarl. “Grab her,” he ordered.
Memories of her confrontation with the ranger Marcus flashed through her mind, but these thugs didn’t feel as intimidating or spike her survival sense. They were overconfident and unaware of just how outmatched they truly were.
Elania held out her palm and activated her [Demonic Aura] and amplified it with a dose of [Power]. She kept it tight and close, only loosing it far enough to engulf the closest ring of thugs. “Kneel,” she ordered.
All the men fell to the ground at once, almost as if she’d given the command physical force.
The others halted in their tracks, their expressions shifting from aggression to fear. Elania stepped forward, stepping over the prone bodies with deliberate contempt, her boot coming down on one man’s back hard enough to draw out a pained grunt.
“Who wants to be eaten first?” she taunted.
The men that weren’t pinned to the floor began to back away. She took a step backward and slid her boot under the prone man, then lifted him into the air and kicked him like a soccer ball toward the leader. They crashed together in a lump; the force carrying the two backwards several meters into the front door, smashing them wide open.
“All of you. Get out of here,” Elania said.
All the men scrambled to their feet and fled, tripping over each other in their haste to escape her wrath.
The cultists and wounded they had been tending to watch in a mix of shock and awe. The moans of the sick filled the space as their caretakers tried to calm them.
The leader of the gang escaped with his men, but the thug she’d kicked lay groaning on the floor. Two of the cultists ran over to him and turned him over.
“Cracked ribs, maybe broken,” one muttered as they placed him on a stretcher and carried him to a bedroll.
Elania watched them work, but did not interfere. The matron who was in charge had backed off into a corner, speaking in hushed tones to some of her workers. That was fine too. They weren’t here to interfere with the clinic.
The heavy tread of boots announced the return of Gaston and the other guards from their search of the building. Elania’s heart sank as more of them returned. Their empty hands and grim expressions told her all she needed to know.
Anger simmered within her, warring with panic that scratched at the edges of her composure.
“No sign of them,” Gaston reported. The words were like a blow. The men coming back down the stairs similarly shook their heads negatively.
Rather than thin out at the evidence of violence, the crowd outside had begun to thicken. At least twenty men were looking inside from now busted doors, a growing angry murmur hinting at the prospect of more violence.
Before they could determine the next course of action, four burly men in black robes holding large clubs pushed inside, making way for Darius to enter the building.
Elania recognized him immediately. “Darius,” she hissed, taking a single step forward to confront him, that was only aborted by Gaston’s hand on her shoulder.
Darius held up his hands in a gesture of peace. “We have nothing to do with the kidnappings,” he declared, his eyes locking with Elania’s.
Skepticism etched itself onto her face. “The ones who took them were wearing cultists robes.”
Darius raised his chin. “It’s easy enough to dye a white robe black. The Lightbringers have been harassing our members. Attacking them, even. I wouldn’t be surprised if they moved on to kidnapping.”
Elania stared at him, then looked around the clinic. Defeat stuck its icy fingers into her. They’d failed.
“They took Yolani because of Eziel…” Elania muttered.
“They hold you two responsible for the loss of their artifact. I suspect they took her as the easier target. They might believe you have some way to return the sword,” Darius replied.
Gaston grunted, two fingers going to his temple. “We need to get out of here. The men outside are fleeing. There’s a crowd forming.”
Shouts filtered through the walls, the angry cry of ‘City Watch Bastards!’ igniting the tense situation. Several people stood at the door trying to keep the gathering cluster of people from entering, but it rapidly turned into a growing wall of angry people.
Considering the layout of the building, Elania realized they were trapped with a growing incensed mob surrounding them. Well, she could probably escape—the advice to climb onto the roofs and jump from building to build instead of going into a sewer came to mind almost immediately.
But that would mean leaving the City Watch behind, and they were her main allies.
It was Darius who broke the tension. “I can offer you a secret way out,” he said, his voice calm.
Elania’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. Trusting Darius was not something she wanted to consider… except they had been wrong about everything so far.
Gaston looked at her, then back at Darius, seemingly coming to a decision. “Show us,” he commanded. Elania nodded finally. Unless they wanted to fight their way free from the mob, they didn’t have a choice.
“Keep them out and try to defuse the situation,” Darious ordered his escort. They grunted and turned toward the front doors. They were pretty large men, but Elania doubted they’d be able to stop the mob if it tried to breach the building.
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Darius waved them towards the back of the room, straight toward the basement stairs.
Gaston grunted. “It’s down there?” he asked.
“You must have missed something, guardsman,” Darius replied.
Elania could see the flicker of annoyance on Gaston’s face. The steps creaked as the entire group made their way down. The basement was cool and dry, but well kept. It wasn’t lit well, with only a single lantern sitting in a corner, but her eyes quickly adjusted thanks to [Darkvision].
The walls were lined with shelves of medical supplies and fresh linen. Elania watched Darius closely, a flicker of doubt gnawing at her. Gaston stood firm beside her, his hand resting on the hilt of his short-sword. At least she wasn’t alone in her worry.
With a theatrical flourish, Darius reached a large shelf in the back and pushed it sideways. It looked much too heavy for him to move, but it slide like it was on an oiled rail. The wall behind it gave way to a narrow passage.
Elania sent Gaston an accusing glare. “Are you sure your men searched everywhere?” Elania asked, her tone sharp.
Gaston’s jaw clenched. “If they were here, we would have found them,” he replied.
She didn’t miss the frustration in his voice, but she hoped he was right. Either way, she didn’t think they’d be getting another chance to search easily.
“This leads under the street and to another building. There is a back door that leads into an alley,” Darius explained.
The tunnel was barely wide enough for two abreast, the ceiling low enough that even she had to duck to fit. Some of the men had to double over, while the tallest man ended up at the rear, forced to crawl. The tunnel was thick with the scent of mold, and the shuffling through the tunnel drowned out the now distant shouting of the mob behind them.
Darius seemed true to his word as the tunnel ended abruptly in another basement. He gestured toward a rickety-looking staircase that looked like it hadn’t been used in years. “There are some people living in the house. We’ll want to leave quickly before they can cause a fuss.”
“They just enjoy having a secret tunnel to your building?” Gaston asked.
“It’s seldom used and for emergencies. Sometimes people need help and care without being seen. They’re compensated for the intrusions,” Darius said.
Elania caught the man’s arm, her grip firm. “What do you know about the Lightbringers and the kidnapping?” she demanded.
Darius met her gaze unflinchingly. “The Lightbringers have been bringing more and more men into the city. They’ve been filling several Conclave District Inns for weeks now. They’ve had regular meetings with the monks.”
Elania’s thoughts jumped straight to her travels and encounters with the only Conclave monks she knew: Taniel and Joren.
Yeah, they’d probably be the types to work with the Lightbringers, especially if it was to do something about their hatred for demons.
“What does that have to do with the kidnapping?” Elania asked pointedly.
“Don’t tell me you don’t understand the connection: The Lightbringers hold you and your contractor responsible for the loss of one of their seven artifacts. I believe they’re trying to find a way to get it back,” Darius replied.
Elania released his arm, but she didn’t relax. “But it was destroyed! They told the Paladin that!”
“People lie,” Darius said simply.
“There are truth stones!” Elania objected.
“A person might believe something to be wholly the truth, and yet be completely wrong, and the stone will still shine,” Darius countered.
“Enough. We need to get out of here before things get worse,” Gaston interrupted.
Elania glanced at him. Sure enough, the last guard in line had made it through. “We need to learn everything we can.”
Gaston looked at Darius. “He’s coming with us.”
“I think not,” Darius said. “I have no plans to leave the district. I believe several of the Magisters are looking for my head.”
“More reason to bring you with us,” Gaston replied.
Darius raised his chin. “I’ve provided you with an escape. If you want to try to take me, it won’t be without a fight, and my people will redirect the mob on to you.”
Elania’s gaze flickered between the men. It wouldn’t be hard to incapacitate Darius before he could act. Probably. His claim to have a failsafe felt hollow and like a bluff. But was that worth risking having to fight their way out of the district? That would be a bloodbath.
Gaston shook his head. “This won’t be the end of things, Cultist. The Magistry isn’t about to have an organization like yours exist for long.”
“We do nothing but lend aid to the city. Some of our members were tricked into following Relain, but the ones that remain are true to our mission,” Darius stated.
Gaston didn’t answer and pushed past the man and to the staircase. The other guards followed without hesitation. When Elania stepped up, Darius’ hand stalled her.
He spoke in a low tone so that the guards couldn’t hear. “I can help you. But not while you’re working with them. Come back when things have calmed down, and I can—”
She reached out and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the ground and pinning him to the basement wall. He struggled against her, kicking and grabbing her wrist, but she let a thin stream of [Power] flow through her body, turning her into a solid force.
“Are you holding anything back? Gaston might not want to see a massacre, but I don’t care. Tell me where Yolani is, or I’m going to crush your throat,” Elania whispered.
From the top of the stairs, Gaston yelled at her. “Elania! Stop.”
She ignored him. Darius’ frantic attempts to bat her away continued until she finally loosened her grip enough for him to breathe again.
“Tell me,” she ordered.
“—don’t know!” Darius wheezed. “Maybe, in the… conclave… dungeons…”
She tossed him to the floor and turned toward the stairs. Gaston gave her a serious glare, but she ignored him again. The room at the top was filled with several terrified people and the rest of the group.
Gaston grabbed her arm. “Elania. I can’t have you going wild. Our priority right now is to get out of the district without escalating the situation.”
She stood still. “We need more information on how the Lightbringers and the Conclave are working together. We need to go to the Conclave district and demand—”
Gaston released her arm. “Listen to me. We can’t help them if we’re caught in the aftermath of a riot or worse. We need to get back, regroup, and plan our next move.”
The internal struggle, the desire to do something immediately burned. But she knew he was right. She was letting her emotions dictate her actions instead of thinking through things clearly.
He was right. They needed to regroup and reassess. At the very least, she could recruit Magister Bannon and Keswick to assist. She didn’t know much about the Conclave fortress inside the city, even though she’d visited the district there several times. She did her best to avoid the monks.
She nodded to Gaston. “You’re—”
[Contractee Initiated Contract termination.]
[Contract Completed]
[No violations have been assessed.]
[All clauses fulfilled. System-termination of Contract completed.]
She could see him flinch. Her [Divinity] essence was still low from the donation to the Engine, so her eyes had likely changed hue. Her gaze swept the room, and the terrified people living in the room began to scream. The guards stared at her with contained fear…and wariness.
Elania bolted down her thoughts. She wasn’t ready to consider what whatever had happened meant. Not unless she wanted to go on a rampage.
“Let’s go,” she ordered.