Chapter 144: Can't Talk

Rabst got to his feet and was at the front door the next second. Zach reacted just barely in time to get rid of the barrier before Rabst ran into it headfirst.Rabst opened the door and looked to the sky. He glanced back at the three who had now left the bedroom. He nodded for them to follow him as he left the house and followed the hawk high in the sky. It was nothing more than a speck against the orange light of dusk.

Zach and the others wouldn't have known what they were looking at if they hadn't seen the hawk earlier in the day.

After a few minutes, Rabst followed the hawk and led the trio into an empty alleyway. Nothing but stone walls on all three sides. A dead end.

Rabst and the others stopped in confusion and looked around. They could probably climb the walls and continue. But the hawk was signaling that this was the place. It had even descended closer to Rabst to confirm it for him since it was difficult to determine horizontal positioning when it was so high up.

"If they disappear in dead ends like these without anywhere to go, it makes sense they've managed to take so many without any witnesses." Zach couldn't help but comment. That didn't stop him or any of the other three from looking around the dead end for any traces, however.

"If they could disappear like that, my hawk wouldn't have found any traces since they would have disappeared from the house, not here." Rabst denied the possibility of the kidnappers being able to disappear without a trace. If they could, there wouldn't have been any witnesses in the first place.

"But what's so special about a dead end?" Julius asked.

"Did your hawk see them disappear?" Dukiel turned to Rabst.

"No. Even if he did, it's not like he can talk. He only caught traces."

Read the latest on m_v-l'-NovelFire.net

Zach crossed his arms and looked at the hawk in the sky. He looked at the three walls. He looked at the way they came from. He looked back at the sky. He frowned slightly like there was something on the tip of his mind. He felt like he had the answer somewhere within reach.

It was just stubborn.

"The hawk's above. All four directions are not the answer. Then…" Slowly, Zach looked at the ground.

"Below?" He asked. He was voicing his thoughts in a low mutter, but it was enough for the others to react.

"The sewers!" Dukiel called out. He excitedly scraped the dirty ground with his feet as he started looking for a way down. The others were a little confused, mostly by his excitement, but they also helped.

Before long, they found a rusty old manhole cover the same color as the grime on the cobblestones. They looked at each other excitedly. In the entire alley, this was the only thing that led somewhere else.

But they also scrunched their noses as Rabst and Yanael grabbed the manhole cover.

"If it's the sewers…" Zach began.

"Yeah, I'm wearing one of my finer uniforms." Julius continued.

"Oh, don't worry. The sewers haven't been used to handle the city's waste for years, too many to count. It was only used when the city couldn't afford magic waste management. Especially with the fire seats, there's no need for the sewers. The only thing it's used for now is rainwater management and storage." Dukiel happily eased their worries.

"Of course, there's probably still rats, dirt, and mold and things like that down there since it's not like it's cleaned often. But it's better than having to wade through shit." Rabst brought them back to reality. The sewers weren't as bad as they could have been, but that didn't mean it would be a dance on roses. Sёarch* The NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Zach and Julius glanced at each other and nodded with their own sighs. It seemed like they would have to make a sacrifice for the greater good. Zach looked at Yanael. She and Rabst stuck their fingers into the manhole cover's slots and pulled it up.

It was surprisingly easy, and it didn't make any of the creaking sounds one might expect from a rusty piece of metal that had been lodged in the ground for years. Its appearance aside, the manhole cover had been used and maintained recently.

Someone had made the manhole cover soundless and easier to move.

That was all the proof they needed to confirm that Zach's guess was right. The sewers were where people had disappeared to, where the Underworld was taking the people they kidnapped.

Rabst stuck his fingers in his mouth and let out a quick whistle. A few moments later, a large spider crawled down the side of a house and around the corner. It led the way into the sewers without pausing. Rabst jumped down after it.

Zach, Dukiel, and Julius looked at each other. After a moment, Zach and Julius looked at Dukiel. Dukiel nodded. He and the Sentinel jumped in after Rabst. Then, Zach and Yanael followed. Julius and the Mannequin were last since the Mannequin could extend its limbs and pull the manhole cover shut as it dropped down.

Zach glanced around. He could sense the others, but as soon as the manhole closed, it was too dark to see anything at all.

"Light?" He asked.

"Yes, please." Dukiel didn't like the darkness.

"Wait a moment." Rabst stopped them.

"We will be discovered easily. If there's anybody down here, they might run away before we find them," he explained.

"...I have a feeling that we will be discovered in the darkness as well since at least one of us will trip, fall, and make noise."

"So, none of you can see?" Rabst asked.

"No."

"Not at all."

"Does seeing darkness count?"

"..."

"Alright. I guess it's no use finding anything if you can't see it. But keep it low." Rabst permitted it.

Zach didn't need to say or do anything for Yanael to bring out her halo and let its golden light shine on their group. It was weak enough that Zach could barely make out the stony, slimy ground beneath his feet and the faces of his companions.

"Perfect. Let's go."

With an angel's light to guide them through the darkness, the group walked into the darkness of the world under the city.