77 Purple Rain

After Tyr left the tavern, he jumped up onto the battered rooftops to get a better view of the streets. Many clotheslines blocked his view, and he had to search for a few minutes before spotting the group who attacked. The blonde ramidreju stood out in the street like a sore thumb. Tyr sped along the rooftops to catch up to them. As he got closer, he muffled his footsteps and kept to the rooftops so they would not see him. While he followed them, he listened to their conversation.

Yago rubbed his throat, "Don't worry. We'll tell Alarico all about that guy who stopped us. He'll make sure to put a hit out on those two. Nobody messes with Alarico's business and lives."

Levina snickered. "I kinda liked him. Wouldn't mind a little fun with that one before he gets offed." She considered it a waste if they just killed the handsome man right off the bat.

Secundo rolled his eyes and lit a cigarette. "You like that interracial shit. I dunno how you can be into that. They look sickly and their skin feels too smooth." He shuddered at the thought of touching a non-furry body.

Both Secundo and Yago snicked a bit. Yago nodded his head and spanked her playfully, "Yeah Levina, you sick in the head, but oh so good in the bed." He would often hook up with Levina, so he liked to tease her from time to time.

Levina gave a throaty laugh. She liked having casual sex with Yago because he gave her a lot of free drugs whenever they hooked up. The thought of drugs reminded her, "Hey, when do we make that next shipment to Marseille? I didn't finish packing it yet." If she was late on her delivery Alarico would beat her senseless.

Yago took the cigarette from Secundo's hand. "Next week. You still got time. I can help you if you help me a little." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and gave a wicked smile. Bedding Levina sounded appealing to him and he started planning his evening.

Tyr appreciated that Macha let him follow this group. If this gang smuggled drugs into Marseille, then they were bigger than he expected. This gave him a legitimate reason to deal with them. He knew Freyr would back him up on this. His cousin had a zero-tolerance policy on drugs in the country because there was a time when Marseille's drug problem got out of hand.

The group continued on for a few more blocks until they came to a small rundown hut. It was not bigger than Tyr's bathroom. All three of them entered the shack and their voices faded. Tyr dropped down from a rooftop and circled around the hut. The building had no windows, and the walls were left unpainted. A white crown with a sword going through it was painted on the front door.

A metal pipe leaned against the side of the building. Tyr did not want to go in empty handed so he picked it up. It was similar to the one they used on Macha at the tavern. He twirled it in his hands to get a feel for its weight and length. Then he put his ear against the door and listened. No sounds came from inside.

When Tyr opened the door, he found an empty room with a trap door on the floor. Without hesitation, he lifted the door and took the stairs down. The stairs led to a long hallway with poor lighting. The lights flickered from time to time and the walls had cracks in them. He moved silently along the hallway, following the echoes from the ramidrejus.

The underground facility was large. Eventually, the smell of feces and blood filled the hallway, it grew stronger the deeper he went. Following their voices led him past a room. He looked into the room and saw large cages filled with women and men from different races. They all laid against their pens in a drug-addled state. Many of them had their urine or feces pooled around their bodies. Tyr held his breath and continued. He could free them later, but for now, he needed to find the head of the organization.

Tyr was passing through the hallways when two ramidreju turned a corner. A look of surprise crossed their face, but before they could say anything, he hit them across the face. Their bodies slumped to the ground, the blow knocked them out immediately. He looked around for a place to put their bodies. Leaving them on the ground would easily alert the building of his presence. In the end, he decided to lock them up in the room with the cages. This caused him to backtrack, but it was safer than worrying about them. Tyr tossed them in a cage with one of the prisoners and left.

This happened a few more times, and each time, backtracking took a while. Despite wanting to deal with the organization, he did not want to kill the members if he did not have to. He was still on vacation and locking them up was better than having their blood on his hands. Thoughts about his vacation made him think about Macha. Tyr hoped Macha was all right. He realized that as a boyfriend, he should have stayed, but as a captain of the Obsidian Dragons, he felt compelled to help.

Tyr wandered around the various hallways. By now he lost track of the three he initially followed. As he turned a corner, a guard at the end of a hall spotted him. The ramidreju stood in front of a metal door and shouted, "Hey, what are you doing down here!" Tyr's body reacted and he charged at the guard, hitting him in the gut with the end of the long metal pole. Saliva and bile spewed from the guard's mouth and dripped to the ground. He flicked the heavy furry body into the stone ceiling. A stream of saliva oozed down the pole and Tyr released the guard, letting him crash to the ground. The ramidreju made a loud groan and Tyr kicked him in the snout which knocked his body against the wall.

The guard had been posted in front of a windowed door. Tyr peeked inside, wanting to make sure that the scuffle remained undetected. What he saw stunned him. A large warehouse with many workers lay on the other side of the door. In it were long tables with vats of purple smoke billowing from them. People dropped clear crystals into the vats and took them out after they had changed to a purple color. The crystals were then played on a tray to dry. Another group of workers took the dried crystals and ground them up into a powder.

Tyr reached into his pocket and pulled out a silk handkerchief and tied it around his head to cover his nose and mouth. He did not understand what the drug did, so it was better to take precautions before going in. In the past, he did many drug busts for his country and he knew it was dangerous to fight around them. During a fight, the powders sometimes flew into the air and could be breathed in.

****

Macha sampled a small bite out of each pie, but she was still not even close to trying them all. The assortment that the tavern had amazed her. Unai brought out fifty different pies for her to eat. They came in a variety of flavors and all of them were delicious. The little ramidreju closed the tavern for the day so Macha could enjoy her pie tasting in peace.

Despite loving every pie, she had tried twenty-two different pies, and her stomach was full. The pressure of the food pushed against her ribs, causing her pain. She thought how this was a whole new level of stomach pain that she had never experienced before. In an effort to digest she started a conversation with Unai. "So, where did you learn to cook? Did your mother teach you?"

Unai's face became sorrowful as he frowned. "No, my pa taught me. He died last year from a scuffle that happened on the streets. That's what drove my ma to the drugs. Her mind broke when he died." Unai's feelings were still raw from his father's death and he forced back tears.

Seeing the young boy filled with sadness made Macha feel terrible for asking. She would never have thought her attempt at a light conversation would be such a painful memory for the child. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. Your pa had a wonderful taste for pies. These really are the best I've ever eaten."

Unai forced a smile. "Thanks. Only the first ten were his recipes. I made the others for fun." He did not get to go out much, so he would play with different recipes in the kitchen. He figured at least it was a hobby that helped bring in money for him and his mother. Unai wanted to check up on his mother, she had been quiet the past few hours. "Excuse me, I want to check on my ma." He slid off the chair and made his way across the tavern floor.

Unai went up the wooden stairs to the living quarters. Macha saw him disappear into a room after lightly rapping on the door. She turned to try a bite of a delicious looking nut and honey pie. Macha loved the pies with honey because they were especially sweet. She put the piece in her mouth, but before she could process the flavors, she heard a scream.

Unai ran out of his mother's room and raced down the stairs. His mother dashed after him. Her body hit the railing and she fell to the ground floor. He rushed towards Macha and screamed in desperation, "Run! Run!" Fear was reflected in his eyes and terror covered his face.

Macha stood up, her fork still hung in her hand. Unai's reaction confused her. This was his mother, there was no reason for him to be so terrified. She tried to console him, "Unai, it's fine. It's just your mother." The mother's fall worried her, so she made her way to the woman.

Looking for something to defend them, Unai picked up a knife from the table and stood in front of Macha. The figure that had fallen off the railing picked itself up with jerky movements. Foamy saliva dripped from its mouth and blood ran from its eyes. Its head hung down and sniffed the air towards them.

Macha stood frozen in place. Unai's mother looked terrifying. She had never seen something like this before. "Unai," she whispered, "Is your mother..." her voice became thinner as the creature jerked its head in her direction.

He stood holding the knife in front of him. His hands were furiously shaking. He heard stories of people overdosing on Purple Rain, but he never saw one before. Unai's voice trembled, "S-s-she's dead."

Macha's body shuddered at that realization. This was the first time in this world that the beauty of the magic and fantasy actually scared her to death. Everything had been like dream before, but this was a twisted nightmare. She reached desperately for Unai's hand. "Give me the knife," she ordered.

Macha recognized the child could not attack his own mother. It would mentally scar him. Aside from that, she judged that she was probably more experienced in fighting than he was. She took the knife from his hands and pushed him behind her. Steeling herself for what she had to do, she commanded, "Don't watch. Lock yourself in a room and don't come out unless I say it's safe."

At those words, the creature ran at her. It snarled as it sped up its pace. The sharp claws of its hind legs tapped on the wooden floors.

Unai ran into the kitchen pantry and closed the door. He sat with his back against the door and covered his ears. Tears flowed from his eyes at the realization that he would die.