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Exactly thirty minutes later, Kentaris stepped out of the taxi in front of the cafe. Getting the right clothes was a bitch. She didn\u2019t have anything that fit the description at such short notice. She just threw on her most practical outfit and backpack, and tossed on her robe over them. With the hood down she could blend in almost anywhere. The one concession she made to street fashion was her boots. Waterproof steel-toed boots.<\/p>\n
Wandering into the cafe, she searched for the Voidguard. Three men sat with their backs to her at the counter; none of them could be him. The booth next to her was occupied by a hassled mother trying to get her three children to settle down for dinner. At the far end, an intense young man in a short black coat trained ice blue eyes on her. Beringer.<\/p>\n
They exchanged a curt nod. She took the seat opposite him. A subtle heat radiated from him; he was loaded down with quintessence. This close to him, it seemed there was no light in his bright blue eyes. They were open so wide it was if they were swallowing in the light. Those touched by the Void bore stigmata, some obvious, some not, and this was Beringer\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cGlad you could make it,\u201d he said. \u201cDo you want anything?\u201d<\/p>\n
He gestured at the menu. A cup of stale coffee rested on the table, barely touched.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo thanks,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Her guts grumbled.<\/p>\n
He raised an eyebrow. She shook her head. \u201cI don\u2019t like eating before a job.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInterferes with ambrosia uptake?\u201d<\/p>\n
She frowned. Almost. But his face was frank and open, and he nodded at the drinking tube poking from under the folds of fabric. He was asking about tradecraft, from one pro to another.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. It slows me down. Can\u2019t afford that if I need magic on the fly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFair enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not having anything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am.\u201d He signaled a waitress over and ordered a pork souvlaki pita.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have a lead, then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. Our friend is likely somewhere in the slums. I can show you,\u201d he said, patting his pocket. When she nodded, he placed his telecrystal on the table and projected a street map. Thick red lines demarcated the area. It swallowed up almost half the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s…not helping much,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBetter than scouring the entire city by ourselves. Besides, this is the worst case scenario. Our friend likes areas of corruption with easy access to prey, and he knows he has to stay low. I\u2019ve correlated missing persons reports, population density studies, neighborhood crime rates, social network analysis and anomalous sighting reports.\u201d He played with the screen. Red pins descended on the neighborhood, marking out a fistful of locations. \u201cHe\u2019s likely to be found here, among the housing projects.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s still a fair way to walk,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n
He tapped at a pin. \u201cThis one is the closest to us. Also, the likeliest spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know that?\u201d<\/p>\n
White circles grew on the screen. Black pins sprouted in the spaces between the circles. \u201cThe areas in white are places covered by paling-stones. Our friend cannot cross the paling. Even if he has more friends with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow reliable is that information?\u201d she interjected.<\/p>\n
\u201cComes from an informant with a flawless record.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou mean one of the Fallen. One of your Greater Demons.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beringer smiled, said nothing more.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought trafficking with Voidspawn was proscribed.\u201d<\/p>\n
He shrugged. \u201cWe take precautions. Besides, the Void is not a monolithic entity. It is to the advantage of the Church if we can use their rivalries and disputes against them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTheology rationalizes everything, huh.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re a fine one to talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
She glared at him. \u201cWe could go on about this all day. Let\u2019s get on with this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course. As I was saying, our friend is deathly allergic to palings. He can only take routes where there are no palings. The black pins indicate incidents that can be attributed to him or his fellows. If we map routes from incidents to the suspect locations, we find this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Black lines grew from the crime scenes, converging on the red pin he had indicated.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the closest site to all of the incidents,\u201d Kentaris said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. And Voidspawn can be just as lazy as humans.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we\u2019re going to check it out?\u201d<\/p>\n
The waitress returned, setting down a plate with a large pita. Kentaris\u2019 mouth watered, and she swallowed down the saliva. He took a moment to thank her, then regarded Kentaris. All the color seemed to drain from his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou first,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cExcuse me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI see you\u2019ve summoned some of your buddies. They can make a fly-by, see what\u2019s what first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can see the connections?\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled faintly, raising an eyebrow.<\/p>\n
\u201cNever mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kentaris closed her eyes, focusing on the thread that connected her to Telariel. Through the line she pulsed her thoughts:\u00a0I have found a possible location. Please concentrate your efforts here. Encoded in her thoughts was an image of the map, drawn from her memory.<\/em><\/p>\n Okay! We\u2019ll be there shortly!<\/em><\/p>\n With a knife and fork, Beringer tore the pita open, revealing a string of pork cubes nestled in a bed of vegetables, and ripped through the meat and greens with astonishing speed.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re not having the pita?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n He swallowed. \u201cIt absorbed all the grease in the pork. Can\u2019t have that in me. Also, the pita is made of wheat. Can\u2019t have that either.\u201d<\/p>\n She smiled. \u201cGluten intolerant?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAren\u2019t we all?\u201d<\/p>\n As he crunched down the last of his vegetables, Teraliel returned.<\/p>\n Take a look at this!<\/em><\/p>\n She closed her eyes. A full-color image flooded her mind. She saw a five-story apartment block, crumbling around the edges. Foul black mist leaked from boarded-over windows, a sure sign of the Fallen.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we have him,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you see?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cVoid energies.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s it? Any sign of the target?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cStand by.\u201d<\/p>\n Teraliel, can you get closer? I need to see if the Fallen is inside.<\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019ll try…<\/em><\/p>\n The fairy approached the target. The building loomed large in her vision. She inspected the windows, looking for a way in. She pulled up to a promising window, one that had been shattered long ago. She checked for tripwires and wards. Satisfied, she closed in and\u2014<\/p>\n A black shadow appeared at the window.<\/p>\n \u201cHi!\u201d<\/p>\n Teraliel went flying, spinning round and round and round. Kentaris bit down, preventing herself from yelling out loud. The faery smacked against a wall, dropped down. But before she hit the ground she recovered, pulling herself back up.<\/p>\n Teraliel! Are you okay?<\/em><\/p>\n Ow…head hurts. Can\u2019t…think.<\/em><\/p>\n You\u2019ve done enough. Thanks for your help. Go home and rest.<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018Kay…<\/em><\/p>\n The thread cut.<\/p>\n \u201cSaw something?\u201d Beringer asked.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. She tried to get in, but someone…something<\/em>…kicked her out. He\u2019s there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDid you see our friend?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen we have to see for ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat? What the\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHey, put yourself in my shoes, okay? I work for a bureaucracy, and I am not officially working with you. When this is over I might have to discuss the operation with an Inquisitor. I have to be able to tell him, in all honesty, that I had eyes on the subject, or at least one of his buddies.\u201d<\/p>\n She sighed. \u201cDammit. Let\u2019s go before I change my mind.”<\/p>\n He got up, leaving some money on the table and recovering his telecrystal. As they left the cafe, he reached into an inner pocket and stuck a earpiece into his left ear.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got an anomalous energy reader in my pocket. I\u2019ve tuned it to pick up the presence of a Greater Demon, and it\u2019s got the range of a city block. If he\u2019s there, this will pick it up. Oh, and stay on my left.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cStay on my left.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo you won\u2019t interfere with my draw.\u201d<\/p>\n She shook her head. \u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re armed, right?\u201d<\/p>\n She raised an eyebrow. \u201cWhat do you think?\u201d<\/p>\n At the same time, she felt under her cloak, checking that her revolver was still there.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a yes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n She kept silent.<\/p>\n \u201cKeep your weapon close,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n \u201cIt won\u2019t be my first choice of weapons.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ll never know.\u201d<\/p>\n The Voidguard led the way, and she stayed at his side. He kept his head on a swivel, his hands in his pockets, guiding his feet by whatever it was he heard in his ear.<\/p>\n Amarantopolis called itself the Heart of the Church, but vice lurked in the shadow of the cathedrals. A trio of women displaying too much makeup and skin leaned against a graffiti-coated wall, while a shifty-eyed man prowled nearby. In a dark alleyway, a man squatted against the wall, a bundle of unmarked goods laid out on a blanket. A mangy dog licked itself on the street, pausing every so often to steer clear of humans. As the night set in, streetlamps flashed on, bathing the world in dim amber.<\/p>\n Beringer halted on the street opposite the destination. The apartment block was exactly as Teraliel had seen it. But in the glow of the street lighting the windows appeared to sprout eyeballs and teeth, while tongues of mold and peeling paint crawled down the sides.<\/p>\n As he surveyed the building, Kentaris allowed herself a sip of ambrosia. It charged her, soothing the gnawing in her stomach. She augmented her vision, seeing the world as it truly was. The building was smothered in black mist. A Fellbeast was present. No. Fellbeasts.<\/p>\n The world crawled to a stop, fading to black and white. She blinked, or tried, but her eyelids seemed to droop in slow motion. A black mass warped in, solidifying in front of Beringer, transforming into a tall thin man dressed entirely in black.<\/p>\n Simon.<\/p>\n The Fallen was warping time; the only reason she was aware of it was the ambrosia in her. She burned it all, accelerating herself to match the Fallen\u2019s pace in space-time.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, well, well,\u201d Simon said. \u201cThe Voidguard and the hexe. I was wondering when you\u2019d show up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTo the Void with you,\u201d Beringer said.<\/p>\n His words sped up, melting into a blur. Kentaris sucked down more ambrosia, and coherency returned.<\/p>\n The Fallen shrugged. \u201cSure, as with all things. But until then, let\u2019s play a little game.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat game?\u201d Kentaris asked.<\/p>\n Simon grinned, holding up a palm. A portal appeared. Through it she saw a group of naked girls, bound together with oozing black tentacles. They squirmed, eyes wide open. They tried to scream, but their mouths were covered in plugs of black filth. The camera rotated, showing a collection of human-shaped clouds.<\/p>\n Fellmen. What the Voidguard called Defiled.<\/p>\n \u201cI have brought some special guests for dinner,\u201d he said. \u201cWell, dinner for my kin, that is. Let\u2019s see if you can rescue them before my kin get\u00a0too<\/em>\u00a0hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHostages?\u201d Kentaris asked. \u201cThat\u2019s below you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am of the Fallen. What\u00a0isn\u2019t<\/em>\u00a0below me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe can talk about this,\u201d Beringer said evenly. \u201cYou want us, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n Simon wagged a finger. \u201cAh, ah, ah! I know what you\u2019re thinking. You just want to buy time until your friends get here. Sorry, no. If you walk away, my kin eats them. If you call your men, my kin eats them. If you dally with me, my kin eats them. If you go in now, well,\u00a0maybe<\/em>my kin eats them. Or not, it\u2019s up to you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d swear at you, but it\u2019d be a compliment,\u201d Beringer said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to save them,\u201d Kentaris said.<\/p>\n \u201cAgreed.\u201d Beringer removed his hands from his pockets. \u201cWe accept your challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWonderful!\u201d He clapped. \u201cWe look forward to having you for dinner, too.\u201d<\/p>\n The demon warped out, and time resumed.<\/p>\n \u201cShit,\u201d Kentaris said.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. Ready to back me, hexe?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAre you ready, Voidguard?\u201d<\/p>\n Beringer flashed his teeth. \u201cAlways. Let\u2019s do this.\u201d<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Previous parts:\u00a01<\/a>,\u00a02<\/a>,\u00a03<\/a>,\u00a04<\/a>,\u00a05<\/a>,\u00a06<\/a><\/p>\n If this story looks familiar, it’s the original concept of my Covenant Chronicles series. To see how it really turned out, check out my latest novel\u00a0HAMMER OF THE WITCHES<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Cheah](\"https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/0x0\/https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmcSX4MiYdPvqUChc7eBRiaSvNLAb2vT71wFubG75cArg8\/Cheah%20Git%20San%20Red.jpg\")
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