Book 1: Chapter 8.1

Book 1: Chapter 8.1

Her hands cuffed behind her back, Tilarna was taken to a garage. Almost as if it had been awaiting her all along, she was shoved into the back seat of a limousine. Elbajhi soon followed in after her. With a squeak of its tires, the vehicle bounded through the back entrance of the nightclub.

Even the Milvoa Knights are after us now. I swear, this club cant get any rest.

Wrapping up several of his business negotiations on the phone, Elbajhi said.

Im a busy man. Ive got an important deal coming up. Theyve got someone specialized in dealing with these types of things so I thought why not bring you along for the ride. Theres nothing to be scared of, missy! You didnt really think we were gonna throw you off of Silver Bay with a block of concrete strapped to your feet, did ya? That woulda been such a waste!

Laughing maniacally, he ran his fingers down her slender shoulders.

I do not mind. To begin with, I did not have any intention of escaping with my life intact. If you do intend to end my life, it would be more prudent to do so quickly, no?

Thats right. You didnt bring your krge along, did ya? Renunciation, eh?

Wheres your sword?

Back home. I entrusted it to my lord father.

Hmm

Elbajhi fiddled with Tilarnas dynange in the palm of his hand.

Right now, your lord father is probably tearing his hair out praying for his daughters safety.

I wonder about that. His unworthy daughter has been captured by the likes of a ruffian such as yourself, after all.

Hahah. Thats true.

It was there that a seed of doubt began to sprout in Tilarnas mind.

This Elbajhi Has he not realized that I have been lying to him all this time? Perhaps he is unaware of my cooperation with the San Teresa Police Department?

She thought back to that Colombian smuggler. Albares. The assassin that took his life had seen Tilarna just before they committed their foul deed. Practitioners of necromancy, she had heard, are capable of seeing the world through the eyes of the corpses they manipulate. In other words, the mildita should know her face. Of course, they would also be privy to Tilarna cutting down their puppet with her krge.

Is this not odd?

If that mildita had truly been under Elbajhis employ, why have they not told him anything about her?

The limousine continued on its way, entering the parking lot of a restaurant close to the airport. There, they switched vehicles to a light van. Another thirty minutes passed by. Eventually, the buildings around them grew ever sparser. They had arrived at the outskirts of the city.

As they traveled across the meandering hillside, the van finally stopped in front of an old temple. It looked to be of Gravanian make, dating back hundreds of years. In the first place, Kariana Island had been transported from the Semanian world to sit atop the Pacific Ocean. Hidden among the modernities the Earthlings brought with them, one could find the ancient ruins and remains of Semanians left behind from ages past.

I have been expecting you, my lord.

A man clad all in red had come out to greet them, lowering his head. Beside him was a pale-faced Earthling. He was dressed in a suit.

Zelada. Are thegoodsready?

Yes. The final preparations have just been completed. Kalim-sama has seen to it. If you wish to see it yourself, I

Good.

Elbajhi entered the temple in stride.

And this young lady is?

The man named Zelada inquired. Although he had sunglasses on, it did not appear as though he could see. In fact, he had probably judged her to be a woman solely based on the sound of her footsteps and breathing.

The Milvoa knight in question. Dunno how but she went sniffing about the place. Ill tell you the details later.

Oh, please do. Now, allow me to take the floor from here. I shall guide you around.

Tapping the ground under his feet with his staff, Zelada flashed his white teeth as he smiled.

Why the hell am I at this temple again?

Having parked his car about 500 meters away from the temple, Matoba muttered to himself.

Tailing that van without any backup whatsoever had been nothing short of an ordeal.

As soon as he left headquarters, he had immediately gone through all the places Tilarna had likely gone. He had gotten off the phone with ONeill just an hour ago. Finding him pleasantly drunk on scotch, Matoba strongly pressed him on the details. Eventually, ONeill admitted that he had taken Tilarna to the club on her request. She must have been rather desperate to ask the villain for help.

Getting out his Zippo lighter, Matoba lit his cigar. Taking in a deep breath, he fully immersed himself in the smoke as he exhaled.

The outskirts were nice. At the very least, he did not have to deal with any no-smoking fascists in this neck of the woods.

It was there that Matoba realized.

Under the chilly embrace of the night sky, there was smoke coming out of the windows in the temple. And it wasnt just one or two of them. Every single window. Every single entrance.

?

In an instant, he brushed away the foolish idea that his smoking had been the source of all the smoke. No, there was no way that was possible. Smashing the butt of his cigar to the ground, Matoba returned to the drivers seat, peeking at the temple with his binoculars. Men were dashing out of the front entrance, yelling loudly as they did so.

It was a fire.

What the hell?

Something had definitely happened. The circumstances were not clear. Was it really just a simple fire? Or was it man-made?

It was hard to believe that this was mere coincidence. Something strange was going on over there.

A fires just started, sir.

What?

A fire, sir. Is SWAT still not here?

Im working on it. Keep monitoring the situation.

But Tilarnas in danger. The evidence, the fairy, all up in smokes. Elbajhi and his men are running away as we speak.

True enough. But what exactly do you think you can do by yourself?

Fuck, I cant just sit still and do nothing!

Dont do anything stupid. Thats an order.

Then hurry the hell up, will ya?

Hanging up in anger, Matoba once again lifted up his binoculars to continue his observation. The amount of smoke coming out of the temple windows was slowly but surely increasing.

This is bad

Should he just sit there and wait for SWAT to arrive? Or should he head straight for the temple?

At this rate, not only would Elbajhi escape with ease, he would be able to destroy any shreds of evidence linking him to his crimes. These criminals would scatter like rats; it may take years to uncover another lead in this case.

And that was not all. This fire posed a grave threat to Tilarnas safety. If he were Elbajhi a clever guy, by all accounts what would he do given the choice of saving his goods or saving the detective who had tried to bring him in?

There was no doubt about it. He would leave her to die in the flames.

What should I do?

He hadnt a second left to spare. Alone and helpless. He was all by himself here. Matoba instinctively checked the weapons he had on hand.

A shotgun with six shells left in the barrel. Five magazines. 16 rounds inside his 9mm pistol. Two magazines.

Ahh, what have I done

For whatever reason, he had become increasingly reckless these past few days.

Normally, the best and most rational action to take here is to wait. He was even ordered to do so. As a veteran of the military, he had always been subscribed to the following philosophy: Theres nothing that cant be done.

Risking his life for an alien he just met three days ago was nothing short of a fools errand.

However, his cat Kuroi had grown attached to Tilarna. If he were to turn tail and abandon her now, his cat would surely hold a grudge against him for the rest of its life. And if that happened, hed never be able to live with himself.

I sure as hell wont let that happen.

What am I? Fucking Don Quixote now?

With his shotgun and Tilarnas longsword strapped to his back, Matoba stepped forth into the darkness.

Translators Notes:

The Farbanian word for longsword.The Farbanian word for shortsword.The Farbanian word for magician.Also known as a frog car. See here.Protagonist of Lethal Weapon film series. A buddy-cop comedy.See here.