The Phoenix and the Dragon couldn’t come out of Zinya’s shadow without raising a fuss nor could they leave her unguarded. So, she had entered a building and requested the privacy of a room to let her bodyguards out.
Tezka had come rushing, but since he was in the middle of an experiment, he had needed a few seconds to arrive. He kept looking around the lake for a while before giving up and returning to his lab.
‘I hate leaving loose ends but the guy could be hundreds of kilometers away by now if he used Invigoration to Warp non-stop. Besides, nothing happened and this is one of the few days I don’t have to look after the kids.’ He thought while removing the stasis field and resuming the experiment.
“If you feel safe now, do you mind if I finish my errands?” Zinya asked. “I can’t wait to see Kami and Elysia.”
“Me too!” Zoreth’s face lit up at the idea of visiting her goddaughter and she dragged the Dark Phoenix back into the shadow.
At the same time, Finjorn had just returned to the peak of his strength with Invigoration, Warping away and relaxing the space behind him now that he had calmed down enough to mind the risk of being followed.
He still didn’t feel safe and things didn’t get better until he had put two regions between him and whatever had been following him.
“You filthy bastard!” The Leviathan shouted in his communication amulet. “You had promised me an easy prey yet I almost died.”
“That’s not true.” The man on the other side was beyond confused.
According to the public interlink and the military feed in Verlam, nothing had happened. Not even a small incident or a small riot, let alone something big enough to be a threat to a Divine Beast’s life.
“I told you that the Archduchess would be a tough nut to crack. Between the city arrays and an entire unit of the Queen’s Corps protecting her, it was no walk in the p-”
“Who cares about that?” Finjorn cut him short with a yell. “I crack arrays for breakfast and eat your so-called elite mages for lunch. None of that was the issue. That woman is not human.
“It’s like death incarnate. Even from hundreds of meters of distance, the moment our gazes met my heart nearly stopped. You lied to me and hid vital information for the success of the mission.
“I consider the contract over and I’m keeping the down payment as compensation. Don’t you ever try and contact me again or my next target is going to be you.” The Leviathan then smashed the communication amulet between his spires, making the contact rune on the middleman’s amulet disappear.
In his line of work, Finjorn had learned to never leave behind evidence that might link him to his previous hits. He would make a communication amulet for every client and smash it the moment the job was done.
The Leviathan activated all the safety measures of his underwater secret lab. No one knew where it was and the lab was located thousands of kilometers from Essagor and dozens of kilometers off the Garlen’s coast, yet he still didn’t feel safe.
Only after several hours of trembling vigil and several shots of Red Dragon did he finally manage to fall asleep.
“Wake up, kid. We need to talk.” An unknown voice and a few nudges to his head woke the Leviathan from his slumber.
Finjorn was still drowsy from the drinking yet a sudden feeling of dread cleansed his mind faster than any spell could.
The being in front of him was awfully small, barely bigger than a human. His silvery fur had several black tufts that moved over his body, reminding the Leviathan of Davross.
The intruder sported ten tails coming out of the small of his back and a set of cruel fangs that despite their small size drew Finjorn’s eyes with magnetic hostility.
“Who are you and how did you get in he-”
Tezka grabbed the snout of the Leviathan with his puny hand, closing it shut and breaking the maw.
“I’m the one asking the questions, child, and you better prey that I like the answers.”
***
Verhen mansion, right after the kidnapping attempt.
Kigan had remained at the Vastor Household and Zoreth had reached Lutia with her own means, leaving Zinya alone as she stepped through the Warp Gate. Since Kamila was waiting for her with Elysia in her arms, however, it wasn’t a big deal.
The Master’s hybrids had to keep themselves separated from his wife to avoid the Guardians who always hung out at the Verhen mansion to make the connection between them and Zogar Vastor.
The only one who could move freely was Tezka and only because his cover as Filia’s and Frey’s nanny was long established. The Suneater wasn’t there that day since the kids were staying with their aunt and extended family.
Tezka had little free time so he would welcome every opportunity when his presence was redundant to keep researching his magic and his condition as a hybrid. The Master had done and was still doing everything he could to fuse and harmonize the life forces of the Eldritch-monster hybrids.
The Suneater didn’t like sitting there and waiting, he preferred to perform his own research and look for a way to expedite the process. For an Eldritch who had spent millennia using light magic as little as possible, being free to employ healing magic at will was fun and intoxicating.
At least until Abthot found out about the existence of a Leviathan hitman who had a solid reputation for never failing a mission. Little was known about him except for his name, Finjorn, and the fact that he had been spotted several times along the Kingdom’s southeast coast.
Tezka loved magic but he hated loose ends more so he went out for a chat.
“Kami, it’s so good to see you.” Zinya hugged her sister, doing her best to smile and not point out how worn out Kamila looked. “How are you doing?”
“Today is not a good day, but it’s better than yesterday.” Kamila sighed. “What about you?”
“I’m doing great.” Zinya glossed over the accident in Verlam to not worry her sister. “Zogar sends you his regards and apologizes for visiting you so little.”
“Send him my love and tell him not to worry.” Kamila smiled and handed the baby to Zinya.
Due to the Guardians’ vow to protect Elysia and his nature as an Abomination hybrid, Vastor had to keep away from the Verhens most of the time. It pained him not to be part of so many family events but the idea of meeting a swift death was even worse.
Zinya and Kamila had no idea what exactly he did as the Master, but they knew it was something shady. Not wanting to press him with questions that might destroy Zinya’s happiness after over a decade of suffering at Fallmug’s hands, they gladly covered for him.
“Gods, no matter how many times I hold her, I still can’t believe she can be so beautiful.” Zinya’s eyes veiled with tears and Elysia cooed at her aunt.
