Chapter 401
Chapter 401
Two girls climbed the steps to the second floor balcony, took off their veils and bowed to the man: «Hello, uncle. Thank you for seeing us.»
Bernard froze with amazement: what beautiful girls! Young charming creatures that bring warmth to the soul with just their appearance! Are they Zosimos’s daughters?! How is this possible?!
«Wake up the sons. Let them have breakfast with the girls.» – Kyon asked.
No matter how much Bernard wanted to strangle Zosimos, he felt a kind of connection with him: he also looks 50 years old, is also a single father of two children and also has feelings for Arpha. He wants to change her and warm her with spiritual warmth. The man felt: it is all a lie! They’re using him! But for some reason, his heart wanted to believe the blackmailer’s sincere words.
In fact, Kyon’s blackmail is a bluff. He is not the kind of person who would kill the children of a man who has done nothing wrong to him personally. Bernard is the lord of the 6th stage, which means he is not much stronger than Dinah. And compared to Eve and Leila, he is not dangerous at all. So even if the blackmail plan fails, he will definitely leave alive.
Valeera’s chief henchman went to wake the children. Soon he appeared on the balcony with two boys: cute, black-haired, one is 8 years old, the other is 10.
«Wow! We have guests… girls?!» – the older one was surprised.
«How cute they are…» – the younger one muttered embarrassedly.
«Eve, Leila, meet my younger son Adam, and my older son Pavel.» – Kyon introduced the children.
Eve waved her hand shyly.
Leila tilted her head to the side with interest: «Howdy.»
«Hi… Is your name Eve? You are very beautiful!» – said Adam, turning pink.
«Uh-huh… Thank you…» – the beauty lowered her eyes. For the first time she dealt with peers. At least, it seemed to her that they were the same age.
«WOW! What cool eyes! Like a sandstorm trying to devour my soul! WOW!» – staring tactlessly, Pavel opened his mouth with admiration. Frighteningly fascinating!
«I’ll eat you alive! Yam!» – Leila snapped her teeth threateningly and, seeing the boy’s fright, laughed. Her gentle voice resembled the ringing of a thousand silver bells.
«Behave yourself, son.» – Bernard asked dryly.
«After breakfast, Adam and Pavel will show you their possessions and games. I remind you: be careful and cautious!» – Kyon sternly reminded, looking mainly at Leila. Before the visit, they agreed that the girls would not use their power, otherwise they could inadvertently injure Adam and Pavel.
«I got it! I will not hurt the boys. Hee-hee.» – the pixie grinned mischievously.
«Bernard and I will discuss something in private.» – finished Kyon and nodded to the man.
The two men went out into the living room.
«Your daughters are very beautiful.» – said Bernard.
«You might want to know why I took the children to the one I’m so openly blackmailing. How can I be such an irresponsible father, and am I even a father at all, if I’m so careless about the safety of my girls?» – asked Kyon, settling himself more comfortably in a nearby chair.
The man frowned at Zosimos. He really wanted to know the answer.
«It’s simple. My girls are a pledge of my loyalty to the clan. I deliberately show my vulnerability in order to be trusted. If it happens that I betray you, then my daughters will be in danger. Now do you see how serious I am in my intentions?»
Bernard didn’t know what to say. He froze, startled, considering what he had just heard. Just now, his confidence in Zosimos has significantly increased, and the thought of sending an alarm signal, spinning at the edge of his consciousness, has disappeared completely. And yet the boys’ father was now worried about something else: «If you love Eve and Leila, you must understand how I feel when my children are in danger. Take off their bracelets. Listen to your father’s heart!»
«I have already given the answer.» – Kyon firmly rejected the request.
«Bald monkey… I hate you so much.» – Bernard said through clenched teeth.
«You will have nothing to worry about if you carry out all my errands. You can see the purity of my intentions along the way. First, tell me about the hierarchical structure of the clan…»
Bernard did not trust Zosimos at all, but he had already decided to take the risk. Even if the chance is 50%, it’s worth it. What if everything will be alright? I want to believe! Therefore, he reluctantly decided to obey the wishes of the extortionist.
First of all, the boys’ father told them that Silent Horror clan has a head and five of her direct assistants. Everyone is responsible for certain functions. For example, he is engaged in secret receipt of income from all sources. He checks and calculates profits, keeps records and eliminates inconsistencies, incidents and other problems, sells goods on the black market, participates in auctions and, most importantly, knows how to negotiate.
As Lovr understood, Valeera appointed the man to this position for the reasons above, since such professionals of wide profile do not come along every week, and also because of the fact that his children are his weak point.
Having found out everything he needed, Kyon gave Bernard a step-by-step instruction, following which he would become part of the clan. The plan also includes a trial period, during which not only Arpha, but also the man himself will be convinced of the good intentions of Zosimos.
It was late afternoon.
While Kyon skillfully endeared Bernard to himself, Eve and Leila spent time with Pavel and Adam. They talked, studied their collection of toys, pictures and drawings, played cards, checkers and a card game with polyhedral dice called “Dragon Dungeon”. It was a new interesting experience for the girls, as well as for the boys.
Pavel was interested in Leila’s playful and mischievous nature, and he wanted to please her. He was ostentatiously showing off his power of the 5th stage of the advanced phase, but it didn’t impress the girl at all. And Pavel soon became noticeably depressed.
Eight-year-old Adam became very attached to Eve. At first, the cutie was embarrassed with the boy. She was even wary of him. But by the end of the day Eve was liberated: she talked boldly, giggled, joked and let him tickle her.
Zosimos and Bernard, having finished all the discussions, watched from the balcony how the boys and girls played on a bench in the park.
«They get along pretty well. I think in the future, when we become partners, and possibly friends, I will bring them to the boys to play with.»
Bernard said nothing, but sighed grimly.
Kyon clapped his hands and raised his voice: «Come on, bunnies! We are going home.»
«Oh, I just learned how to play…» – Leila pouted.
«You’ll win next time, little villain!» – Pavel said mockingly.
«See you soon, Eve. It’s nice to spend time with you.» – the younger brother said embarrassedly.
«Bye, Adam. You’re funny.» – a dazzling smile appeared on the girl’s lips.
Kyon said quietly at the end: «We’ll do as we agreed. We will meet an hour before the weekly meeting the day after tomorrow. And remember, I’m watching your every move. Any hint of the blackmail violation and I will have to act.»
Bernard nodded helplessly. During the half-day of communication with the extortionist, he had doubts about the fact that there was a deadly formation inside the boys’ bracelets, but there was no desire to check this possibility.
Kyon spent the rest of the evening with Eve and Leila. After dinner, he made popcorn, sat next to his daughters and turned on the movie. For the first time, he showed them a movie, not cartoons, and the girls were very impressed.
Lovr spent the next day training. He made progress in this, as well as the girls. Eve learned how to absorb and release energy from the soul (completed the second stage of the 5 set by Zosimos), while Leila just coped with the first one.
Finally, the day “X” has come.
After dressing up and perfuming himself, Kyon heard Leila’s sarcastic voice.
«Are you going on a date?» – the girl asked, leaning her shoulder against the wall and crossing her arms.
«Maybe I’ll find you a new mom.» – Kyon teased her, straightening his tie.
The girl snorted: «It sucks! You have a wife! What would she say?!»
«She would understand me.» – Lovr sighed sadly.
«Even so, I doubt very much that there is a better woman than the one who gave birth to a goddess like me! Ugh… don’t go on a date!»
«Is daddy going on a date?» – Evа looked out. – «What is her name?»
«Va… Arpha.» – Zosimos grinned stupidly. – «She’s not Lily, of course, but I like her.»
«Ugh! What a lame name! Ew-ew-ew! I will vanquish her single-handedly, why do you need her at all?! Even I’m better than her! But I won’t go on a date with you.»
«Why not?» – Kyon couldn’t resist asking.
«Well…» – Leila was a little confused and ran her eyes over the room. – «Because you’re weak, bald, pot-bellied… And you don’t give me compliments, don’t carry me in your arms, don’t listen to me, and even threaten to ban cartoons for nothing! This is why.»
«You have forgotten the most important thing! He is your dad!» – Eve giggled.
«Oh, that too! Yes.» – said Leila.
Кyon leaned over and kissed the girl on the forehead: «No matter who I go on a date with, you will remain dearer to me than anyone else, bunnies.»
The pixie rubbed her forehead with her palm, stuck out her tongue and ran away to watch movies and cartoons.
At the appointed hour, Lovr met Bernard: he looked tense, nervously pacing back and forth. Of course. Today is the weekly meeting of the head of the clan with close henchmen, and he brought a blackmailer and spy working for the department!
«You must wear a blindfold and black glasses. And also do not use pure energy for scanning, otherwise I will consider it as a betrayal.» – the man did not ask, but demanded it, holding out the blindfold.
«As you wish.» – Kyon agreed, pulled on the blindfold with glasses and climbed onto the horse.
Bernard took Kyon to a fairly busy area of the city, after making several deceptive maneuvers and checking whether they were being followed. He took Zosimos to one of the front doors of a four-story house, then he went down to the basement, opened the lock with a key, walked forward along a damp corridor, turned sharply several times and stopped at a dead end, and then he groped for some pipe and moved it like a lever. The wall parted.
Meanwhile, Lovr was perfectly observing everything with echolocation and birds. As he guessed, this was the headquarters of the Silent Horror clan. It was well hidden! Surely the walls are made of scanning-proof material, and there are all sorts of barriers. How did Valeera manage to build it? Apparently, this is one of the underground secret passages belonging to the Webers.
«You may take off the blindfold.» – Bernard said as the wall closed.
Kyon looked around: a long corridor, dimly lit by dusty lighting crystals, decorated with thick dark brown marble. No doors.
«Follow me.» – Bernard said dryly.
Lovr’s heart was beating faster than usual. For the first time in more than a year, he will meet someone who considers him her sworn enemy, hates him and wants to kill, while he still has warm feelings for her and guilt for what he did.
Kyon was not worried about the fact that Valeera might recognize him, because he was well prepared: completely different appearance, smell, voice and even character. All the formations on the wrist are wrapped in impervious material and hidden under the carbon skin. No instruments or scans can detect them. Also, his development is equal to the 5th stage of the superior phase, while in the family tournament Kyon has only reached the 7th stage of the advanced phase. That is, it turns out that the messenger of the goddess has developed only 8 steps in a year. Too slow for such an important person!
Bernard turned right and opened the only door at the end of the corridor, which led to a dark brown room. 10 chairs were turned to the chalkboard, 6 of them were occupied by people: a handsome long-haired guy, a plump lady and four men. All of them were beautifully dressed and well-groomed, they were expecting the head of the clan.
«Hello, Bernard.» … «Glad to see the best of the best!» … «Greetings.»
«For the first time you are late. Has something happened?» – asked a tall slender man, deputy head of the clan and a former assassin named Alexander.
At the very moment Kyon entered the room. He hastened to bow and say respectfully: «Hello, dear ones. My name is Zosimos. Nice to meet you.»
Everyone stared speechlessly at the intruder.
Bernard cleared his throat: «Hello everyone. This is an old friend of mine. He has some abilities that can be useful to the clan. I thought it wise to bring him here.»
Alexander, frowning suspiciously, said: «It’s very rash of you to show a stranger the location of the headquarters… Explain yourself.»
«He doesn’t know anything. And Lady Arpha is aware of my initiative.»
«Even so, do you understand what will happen to him if the Lady refuses? He saw our faces… He knows where you work. He will be killed!»
«I’m sure everything will go well.» – Bernard replied calmly and sat down on a chair, crossing his arms.
No one else said anything, just looked askance at the guest.
Zosimos sat down on a chair, feeling himself in the center of attention of inveterate crocodiles, waiting for the right moment to rush and tear the victim. Feels like he’s the least developed practitioner here. Even that young guy is already in the noble phase. He looks at the intruder with contempt and superiority. By the way, Kyon recognized him as the thief named Tymoshka, who had been caught by him with the help of that very hair. When the uncle saved Valeera, the girl for some reason took the young man with her.
Suddenly, a cold arose in the heart, increasing with every moment. This omnipresent feeling was impossible to resist, as well as the superior aura of the element of time. The skin was covered with goosebumps. The hairs on the back of the neck prickled. All thoughts flew out of the head in an instant. Any positive emotions quickly faded away, and chills, anxiety and fear of death came in their place.
Looking back, Kyon saw all the people stiffen and stand up respectfully.
{She is coming!} – Lovr thought excitedly.