The deck fully restocked itself.

  The small opening they pushed through barely put all the wasps behind them. But that wasn’t enough to escape.

  “They hate intruders getting close to nests—keep flying and they’ll retreat!” Her hand stung, but the cut was shallow. The threat to their lives kept her from being furious, but she was still hurt by how he did it with no hesitation.

  She saw his feet land on the Levalynk, ready to throw the cards again.

  “Above you!” he shouted.

  A Scorpion Hornet descended with its stinger and struck Cetika’s wing.

  Her yelp was brutal. Blood sprouted as she lost control. Its mandibles clamped around her neck, and faught her resistance. Hezekiah, careful with his aim, killed it with a portal card.

  A swarm of hornets chased after her as she fell. “Cetika!” he bellowed.

  After he chucked several more portal cards at the hornets closest to him, he drew a few cards that pulsed with pink edges. Until last night, he never knew what they did, and he didn’t want to recklessly use them. It was a good thing Irva was familiar with Cevine’s Huska Tool.

  He dove down to catch up to her, slicing hornets with red cards at their weak points. But no matter how many he killed or maimed, they kept getting closer.

  The Levalynk would occasionally jitter or shift the moment he stopped focusing on it, sometimes causing him to miss. It was more difficult to handle than he thought, but he was adjusting quickly.

  She’s a lost cause. If I use the pink cards now, she’ll likely get caught up in it.

  He could always shave their numbers with his flames, but that would bring more questions than he would like. And secondly, there was no reason to expose that for her—even if she died.

  After briefly deciding, he cast high-numbered pink cards at the most distant insects chasing her.

  They met their mark and formed a pink ball of energy that grew in size. A great suction force pulled everything toward them. Most of the swarm was dragged in, smacking into each other as they fought against the force.

  The effect even reached to the both of them, but being farther away made it easier to resist. Cetika, with her injured wing, was pulled faster toward the hornets. Her panic manifested as she oriented herself, desperately struggling against the pain.

  She got within range of a stinger and the hornet made its move immediately, but Hezekiah sliced the tail off in time and seized Cetika. Its screech was ungodly, losing strength as it fought against the vacuum.

  The Levalynk was pushed into overdrive, warring against the gravitational pull. Their pursuers struggled to keep up, exerting more energy not to be sucked in.

  Good. They’re exhausted.

  As he continued to create distance, the spheres shrank until they were no more.

  By the time the hornets were free, the intruders were outside their territory. Succeeding in defending their nest, they dug back into their holes.

  Cetika’s eyes were closed, panting as sweat stuck to her cheeks. Her blood was foul, like a zombie’s—unpleasant to inhale. But as he carried her in his arms, an uncertain sensation arose. It was hard to put his finger on it.

  Her eyes flickered open, wincing each time her wing twitched. “We… escaped?” she whispered, soothing her neck with her hand. Red bite marks printed her skin.

  If that were me, it would be a body retrieval at that point. He thought, somewhat envious.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “You’re welcome. And stay up, would you? Don’t want to be left explaining your screw-up.”

  A smile slipped. “Right, my bad. That wasn’t cool of me…” She softly tugged his jacket, fingers unsteady. “Thank you for not ditching me back there.” She held up her hand, all five fingers spread.

  He kept silent, pondering why he did what he did. The logical solution was to let her die. That’s what he always did when he could end up a casualty himself. The only other person who could make him risk it all was his sister.

  And even that was pointless.

  She means nothing, so why did I bother? Was it to avoid potential backlash? Confidence in my ability?

  Death is all he knows. It’s what his field required. Even the Rule of Suffering desires him to write death warrants for the innocent.

  Before being granted this power, he restrained his hands from those who kept themselves pure. Those who fooled with dirty money or shady organizations were fit for the bucket, like himself.

  But now his hands were tainted with both the rotten and the clean.

  Her eased smile and genuine gratitude were different from what he usually received throughout the years. A bit overwhelming than he would like to admit, but oddly comforting in its own right.

  “Are you delusional? Why high-five you when you nearly killed me?”

  Cetika’s smile softened. “Lame. Insydious said you had a soft spot,” she muttered.

  The Air Patrol saw them approaching, beckoning toward each other as they saw Cetika bleeding and wounded. Even Zizi was among them, her black eyes burst open, and rushed faster than anyone else.

  Her grip was firm on the crossbow, eyes scrutinizing Hezekiah. “I pray you didn’t betray my Lady’s trust.”

  Tempted to shoot a sarcastic remark, he held back.

  True to his word, Cetika explained what happened and took responsibility for endangering their Overseer’s guest.

  “That’s reckless!” Zizi reprimanded. She stripped her from Hezekiah, yet was careful not to harm her. “Can’t you stop acting like this…” Her voice trailed off, lips turning as if hesitant to continue.

  “Out of curiosity, is there a reason why none of you saw us fighting for our lives?” Hezekiah suddenly spoke.

  Zizi and a few others faltered, but continued to pay no attention to him. She handed Cetika to another humanoid creature. “Get the servants to prepare the healing baths, and make sure they pay extra close attention to her.”

  The desire to push wasn’t worth it. Traces of gazes lingered on him, but they weren’t the concerned kind.

  He turned away and flew back to the terrace, studying their expressions. Though minor, their subtle shifts left him uneasy. It was similar to how he could tell a Black Flower held a grudge against him just by exchanging glances. Or if one was withholding something, but lacked the discipline to control the expressions.

  This wasn’t an accident, but what’s the harm in telling me?

  It was pointless to ask, but a part of him wanted a reason to relax a little.

  Irva was seen through the window after he stepped off the Levalynk, chatting with a servant much older than her.

  It could be nothing, but keeping her in the dark could backfire.

  ***

  Elaine suddenly found herself in a void of white. Red clouds drifted above the endless landscape. One moment she had been secured by a girl after cornering Hezekiah—now she was chained by cords of light.

  The cords stretched as far as the eye could see, piercing the clouds above, while the white ocean housed the ones beneath.

  Did I perish? she wondered, dazed by the sudden change of scenery.

  “That would be a waste of intel. Burning treasure is for dim-witted monkeys.”

  A fissure in space rippled above the ocean until a woman stepped through. “Hope you like the view—it’s a small project, you see.”

  Elaine clenched her teeth when she discovered she was still paralyzed. “Of course. The witch who cheated death.”

  “Cheated?” Falina laughed. “Now that would be nice, but I promise that you’re far more exquisite than I am. A human capable of performing supernatural acts without Abna Energy? I’m dying to dissect your existence.”

  Elaine’s eyes twitched, her veins burning. How did she end up captive by the woman she was hunting? Her Master knew none of this. Not even the Nurse in Yellow warned her.

  Her revenge was simple—easier than killing a fly—but being corrupted by the Rule of Suffering didn’t teach her everything.

  “Torture? You believe such methods have any weight against me?”

  “Aughh, that kills the fun in it. The mystery is only as good if you play fair.” She crossed her legs on her lap, resting her chin on her hand. “But… as one of the Four Pillars of the Unity Council, silly games can be unproductive, you see.”

  Golden threads pierced out of the white ocean, tiny spikes protruded from their sides.

  Elaine carefully followed their paths as they danced and looped through each other. “What are you beings? Are you like me—no longer your sense of self?”

  A thread shot forth and penetrated her pregnant stomach. Elaine moaned in agony, blood slithered out her lips.

  Its potent scent several times stronger than normal—enough to make a vampire gag. “Why are you—”

  The threads looped around and spiked through her mouth, erupting the skin from behind her neck. Elaine gurgled as hee eye vessels ruptured.

  “Don’t mind this. You see, I played along a bit with my brother present. But gosh, you toying with him just couldn’t leave my mind.”

  More threads spiked through her legs, abdomen, neck— even her orifices weren’t safe. Her essence dyed the ocean like a rose, Falina inhaled deeply.

  “I guess the organization rubbed off on me. How embarrassing,” she giggled, her smile twisted. Elaine’s eyes nearly bulged out, struggling to speak.

  “It’s hard to play our interrogation game with the way I am now. So allow your scent of torment to be my incense for a bit—I heard they’re great for calming the mind.”