Chapter 400
Chapter 400
«You too, Ruslan? But you are not a Clinton…» – Milan said bitterly.
«I used to be… I am still under patriarch Horace’s orders. I am sorry, I didn’t want to do this, but I had no choice… Please, accept my resignation effective today…» – The high-ranking investigator handed in his letter of resignation with tears in his eyes. He had been working for many years to get this position, but an order that came from the top made him lose everything.
{Screw you, Dick…} – The head of the department accepted the letter with a heavy heart. He had lost two 2-nd rank and nine 3-d rank investigators. All of them had brought a letter of resignation at patriarch Horace’s order. It must have been the fat blackmailer’s scheme! Milan started to respect Dick against his will. What trick would he pull next?
…
Kyon received a spatial ring from the trade guild and found a secluded room to examine Andrew’s hefty corpse. It was real! Even a tiniest chance that the patriarch hadn’t killed Andrew would be fatal for Dick Baker. Imperial phasers were too strong. Even a shot from a pulse rifle in the head wouldn’t kill them unless they protect it with pure energy.
A closer examination revealed that Andrew had died from a broken neck. His keys had been removed, which came as no surprise as nine imperial phase keys cost a leg and an arm. It was one-tenth of what Kyon had earned in the forest tournament.
As a matter of fact, it was quite common to remove the keys from the dead. The deceased gave their descendants a chance to get rich, and therefore get stronger. A gesture of generosity. If anyone refused to donate their keys after death, their bodies would stay untouched. However, graves were often desecrated for easy gain.
Kyon remembered something: he could never find any keys in the dead bodies in the tombs even if their shelf life was unlimited. He concluded that the voracious keys of light and darkness gobbled up their owners’ keys after death, as they did with Kyon’s keys of light and darkness back in the tomb.
After Lovr finished examining the body, he made sure that Horace had fulfilled his demand regarding the investigators and returned to the hotel room with complete peace of mind.
«Hi, daddy!» … «What’s up!» – The girls ran up to Zosimos.
«How have you been, my sweet ones?» – Zosimos asked cheerfully.
«Romeo invited me to take a walk around the garden! He had such a cute little puppy in his hands… So sweet! But I restrained myself from petting it…» – Eve said sadly. – «And I didn’t accept his invitation.»
«Good girl. Daddy is so proud of you.» – Kyon wanted to pat his little fairy on the head, but she shyly stepped back, still afraid of contact with the opposite sex.
«Did you bring me a pile of jelly candies?» – Leila demanded, poking his belly with her fingernail.
«Here you are, honey.»
«But it’s only a jar! And it’s half full!!! Is it some kind of joke?» – The little pixie protested, her hands balled into fists.
«You won’t sleep if you eat too much candy, begging for fairy tales all night long.»
Leila pursed her lips and grabbed the jar with candies: «Alright! It will do… But you will give me more tomorrow! You promised to bring me a pile of jelly bears! You should keep your promise.»
«I will.» – Kyon nodded.
«Good. What else do you have for me?» – Leila asked defiantly, raising her delicate eyebrows.
«I can give you a nice spanking.» – Zosimos gave her a sly wink.
«No, not spanking!» – Leila rushed to her room but a second later, she realized the absurdity of the situation and came out, proudly sticking out her chest. – «Are you strong enough for that?»
At the moment, Kyon was concerned about Leila even more than the Clintons or Valeera’s clan. He would be in big trouble if he couldn’t manipulate her with cartoons anymore. There was only one way to make Leila obey him: establish his parental authority. But how to do it? She had significantly changed her attitude towards Zosimos after going to the dwarfs’ factory, but it wasn’t enough. Cartoons about obedient children weren’t effective either because everything she heard went in one ear and out the other.
A week ago, Kyon could have earned the little pixie’s respect if he had not allowed any flippancy from her and spanked her for any sign of disobedience. However, this method could work with ordinary children, not with Leila, who had regained her strength and would be happy to take the pot-bellied daddy down a notch. If he had been using this method, Leila would have considered that Zosimus could no longer control her, which meant that he would lose his authority over her. If he had forbidden Leila to watch cartoons after that, she would have thought that he was acting out of despair. His paternal authority would have been hurt. He couldn’t allow that.
«This attitude will deprive you of watching cartoons.» – Kyon said.
«No, don’t forbid me to watch cartoons!» – Leila ran back into the room, looking really concerned.
Eve giggled merrily. She enjoyed watching her dad manipulate the naughty and mischievous elder sister, shamelessly hitting her weak spot.
Leila looked out from behind the door and cried out angrily: «Why are you laughing? It’s not funny!»
«Unlike you, I can live without cartoons!» – Eve retorted proudly.
«Me too… It’s just… I don’t want to…» – Leila mumbled uncertainly.
Eve raised her beautiful green eyes and said to Zosimos: «I want to work out, daddy, fly on birds or visit some events… When are you going to spend some time with us?»
«Tomorrow, we will pay a visit to someone, and the day after tomorrow, we might do some practice.»
«A visit to whom?» – The girls asked at once.
«I will introduce you to your peers.» – Zosimos planted the seed of intrigue.
…
A large mansion on the outskirts of an elite Dantes district. It’s a place for wealthy people without a noble family name.
«Morning, sir. Crêpes with dulce de leche for breakfast. Would you like green tea or coffee with cream?» – The servant asked obligingly, rubbing his hands.
«Coffee with cream for me and cocoa with marshmallows for the boys. I will wake them up.» – The tall, stout master of the house stretched and went to wake his two sons. He was about 50 years old, with thick eyebrows and a large nose. There was nothing extraordinary in his appearance: a typical nobleman with bushy eyebrows and a large hooked nose who had made his money selling things.
As Bernard entered the bedroom, he was shocked to see a stranger there. A tall, pot-bellied, bald man was sitting on the bed, turning a dagger in his hand…
Zosimos said coldly: «No sudden movements, Bernard.»
«Who are you? What do you want?» – The deathly pale man whispered.
Lovr pointed to the sleeping boys’ wrists: «Can you see those bracelets? They have secret formations. No one but me can remove them without activating the formations that are sensitive to any damage. The moment I give a mental order or lose consciousness or die, the formations will get activated, releasing a deadly poison into their veins. Your children’s lives are in my hands, so you’d better not send an alarm to the clan or do anything stupid.»
Beads of cold sweat formed on Bernard’s forehead, his eyes wild with fear.
Kyon hid his dagger in the ring and carelessly walked past the dumbfounded man to the door: «We need to talk. Follow me.»
Bernard hesitated but then decided with a heavy heart not to disturb the sleeping children.
As they sat at the table, Bernard babbled in a trembling voice: «If you need money, I will give you everything I have! I am rich, I can give you a lot!»
«I don’t need your money.» – Kyon waved him off. – «I want to join the Silent Horror and I need your help.»
«What are you talking about! Please, let my sons go!» – Bernard begged him.
«Yesterday, you received the profits of the gang that acts on the clan’s territory. Your official income is barely enough to maintain this luxurious mansion, servants, and security. Only an idiot would spend all his money to have a sweet life. Don’t play dumb. I know that you are a personal assistant of the clan leader, the black-haired girl who radiates a dense, cold aura that penetrates the soul.»
{How does he know?} – Bernard could not hide his amazement. Only a few chosen knew such details about Lady Arpha – as she called herself. However, the scoundrel who had taken his boys hostage knew about her!
«What does she call herself now?» – Kyon asked, sipping his coffee.
After a short pause, Bernard realized that he couldn’t hide the truth: «Arpha. Lady Arpha.»
«It’s a beautiful name. She used to be Lanai, but it’s not her real name either.»
«Who are you and what do you want?» – Bernard asked in an intense voice.
«My name is Zosimos. I want only the best for Arpha.» – Kyon said calmly, helping himself to a crêpecrepe.
«I received the ring only yesterday, but you already know everything about my income, estate, servants, and security… You work for the government.» – Bernard concluded. – «I am sorry. I… I don’t want my sons to die but…» – His eyes turned red.
«Wait!» – Kyon screamed when he saw Bernard’s abnormal reaction. – «Are you so loyal to the clan that you are ready to sacrifice your sons? Don’t you love them at all?»
«I love them more than life… But… I love Arpha, too… My boys and I will be executed if you work for the government, so why should I take her with me?» – Bernard’s eyes glowed fanatically. He was on the verge of despair. Nothing seemed to matter to him anymore.
Things didn’t go according to Kyon’s plan. There was no way he could have known that Bernard had feelings for Valeera. Now, he’d have to improvise, so he said wholeheartedly: «I care about her, too… An icy flower that hates the whole world by a twist of fate. There’s nothing I want more than to give her all my warmth and care… I screwed up and inadvertently hurt her, and now I want to repay my debt. Believe me, I mean her no harm!»
Bernard asked glumly: «What color are her eyes?»
«Dark brown. She loves wearing all dark and diamond-patterned tights. She is an ice-maiden who never smiles, taciturn, cold and withdrawn…»
Bernard exhaled convulsively and said in a low voice, staring into the distance: «She is so like my Selbine… They wouldn’t have killed her if I had spent more time with her. I was such an idiot… And now I can be the cause of death of the woman I love again…»
Kyon realized that everything might go down the drain: «We have the same goals. When you decided to protect Arpha, you probably realized that her life was in danger in the world of shadow clans, cruel, merciless and greedy for money and territory. I can help her.» – His voice rang with conviction, his eyes glowing. – «I can see all sorts of dangers: traps, barriers, invisible mode and much more. I want to be Arpha’s eyes and prevent any failure!»
Bernard’s hand stopped on the way to the alarm formation: «There are many holes in your story. How are you going to get close to Arpha after you’ve hurt her? She will kill you…»
«I used to work undercover, pretending to be someone else. Now I am going to guide Arpha to the right path, make her realize the value of life and the pain of those who suffer because of her. She is a lost soul, but she shouldn’t do such wicked things!»
His words hit the nail on the head. Bernard was no villain at heart, and he wanted to change Arpha for the better, to show her that the world was not as cruel as she thought it to be.
Bernard offered glumly: «You are an investigator, aren’t you? But your methods are too cruel even for an investigator or for someone who wants to help Arpha. You took the children hostage, the children of the man whom she cherishes… The children of her most trusted accomplice! Take off the bracelets, and then we will discuss what can be done…»
«It’s out of the question.» – Kyon said resolutely. – «I can’t trust a stranger, a crime boss. There’s too much at stake. My life is also tied up with two kids who lost their mother… My death will give them a lot of grief.»
«Do you have children?» – Bernard frowned incredulously.
«Tell the guards to let the guests in.»
Bernard hesitated but gave an order.
«Eve, Leila, come in!» – Kyon cried out.