The librarian stiffened when Thane asked his question, and she looked between Thane and Annabelle with fear in her eyes, "S-so you're the Ascenders, Lilith has been waiting for you two. Please follow me. "
The librarian got up from her desk and moved towards the back of the shop, Thane went to follow her, but Annabelle grabbed his arm as he passed.
"What's going on?" Annabelle asked through clenched teeth. Thane's eyes looked ahead to where the librarian disappeared, "At the inn, a guy gave me a note saying to meet someone named Lilith here. The guys said they know what they are, and it won't be long before others find out."
Annabelle paused for a moment before letting go of Thane, "I wish you would tell me more about things that concern the both of us."
Thane sighed and realized she had a point, "I'm not used to working with someone else. I'll try to be better, though." With his apology, Annabelle forgave him, and they both went after the librarian, who was stopped in front of a random bookcase.
She then pulled on a bright red book that stopped halfway out with a click. There was a sound of something shifting in the walls before the bookshelf swung open, almost hitting Thane in the process.
Both Thane and Annabelle stepped into the hidden staircase at the librarian's gesturing, which descended deep into the ground. After coming to the bottom, they walked down a long stone hallway. The air was stale but humid.
Eventually, the tunnel started to widen, and Thane could hear voices and an instrument playing. A few moments later, the tunnel opened up into an underground room with tables, a bar, and a large board with several posters nailed on.
The people occupying the room all wore the same outfit. A leather armor stained black with a built-in hood and cloak. Thane could also spot several hidden pouches on the armor where one could store an assortment of knives.
The music stalled as everyone turned to look at Thane and Annabelle, the sound of metal sliding against leather ringing through the air. Annabelle went to draw her blade, but Thane stopped her.
There was a long moment as the two forces stared at each other before a sharp whistle cut through the air. Thane looked up to see a woman leaning from a balcony off the dome wall.
"These two are Lilith's personal guests. Let them through." The voice carried a tone as if it was used to giving orders and having them followed. Walking through the crowd, Thane kept his eyes straight and relaxed as if he was unaware of the danger he was in.
Annabelle walked less than three steps behind Thane until they reached the large wooden door and opened it, stepping into yet another stairway. This one, however, was going up in a spiral.
Once they reached the top, they were greeted by the sight of the most beautiful woman he had seen. Curtains of long blond hair, an hourglass figure, and ruby red lips, she was sitting behind a large wooden desk, her delicate fingers holding on to a long thin pipe.
Thane couldn't spot a single flaw on her body, which rubbed him the wrong way. Trying to regain motor control, Thane suddenly slapped his face with all his might leaving a handprint but breaking the spell he was under.
Looking over, Thane saw that Annabelle was in much of the same condition, but there was an unnatural pink glimmer to her eyes.
Turning to the woman, Thane's hand drifted to the gun at his waist, "What did you do to her?" The lady smiled, "Nothing permanent or harmful. I honestly didn't expect you to break out of my technique so quickly. You Ascenders are a mixed bag."
Thane was still wary, "So you're Lilith then, the one who had us tailed?" Lilith's smile widened, and she clapped, "You were able to notice my shadows. While they weren't the best of my collection, they weren't the worst."
"So why did you call us here? I assume it wasn't just to talk?" Thane asked while taking a seat in one of the leather chairs in front of Lilith's desk.
Lilith took a puff from her pipe and breathed out a plume of pink smoke, "You would be correct. I don't have any direct plans for you. I really just wanted to see what type you were."
Thane raised his eyebrow, "What type?" Lilith nodded, "There are two types of Ascenders those who aren't able to cope with their new existence and end up fading into the background. Or those who adapt and take the realms by storm. And you Thane belong to the latter."
He was quiet for a long moment before nodded, "Okay then, I still have some questions, though. If you're willing to indulge me." Lilith waved her hand in the air, "Ask away."
"In your message, you said there are other powers I need to be wary of?" Thane asked, getting straight to the point.
Lilith sat up in her seat, "This city is called Heartwood. It is the largest city outside the capital. Three clans hold all the power in Heartwood. The Xu clan, the Xien clan, and the Huan clan. Each is ruled by a patriarch, who has reached at least the Mortal grade in both Body and Mana cultivation. Once word reaches out about there being an Ascender in town, they will either seek to curry favor with you or kill you before you become a threat."
Thane sighed, "And I assume that if I become one of your 'shadows,' you can offer me protection?"
Lilith's smile didn't slip, "Very well done, of course, there are other benefits to joining. But you'll still have to go through the trial."
"Well, I didn't say I wanted to join," Thane said, holding up his hand to stall Lilith's advances. The enchantress frowned, "That would be a shame. It can be dangerous with no one watching your back."
Thane spun around as the sound of a blade leaving its sheath made his hackles rise. Thane couldn't believe his eyes as Annabelle ran at him, her sword raised to stab his heart.
Pulling out his weapons, Thane used Nibble to hook Annabelle's sword, guiding it away from his body and out to the side. With her guard opened, Thane smacked her on the forehead with the pommel of Bite.
Annabelle collapsed, and Thane lowered her to the ground. Turning to Lilith, Thane ran at her fully intending to kill the dangerous woman before she could use another technique.
As he neared the desk, Thane was forced to stop suddenly as a knife flew through the air where his head would be.
The same woman from the balcony emerged from a shadow, jumping to land smoothly in front of Thane, two daggers in her hands.
He gave the woman a look over. She was an inch or two shorter than him, with a shockingly large breast for her lithe figure. Her bright red hair pooled in her hood, the ruby curls reflecting the light from the lanterns hung on the walls.
Wary of the assassin, Thane looked at her for any gaps in her stance, he found several glaring ones, but they were too obvious to spot out, 'traps to take out less experienced.'
Thane suddenly flipped his dagger around and threw it at the assassin, waiting a second before he charged her. The woman smiled, and her hand suddenly became covered in a black inky substance.
The assassin held her arm high, letting the shadow expand to create a temporary shield that Thane's dagger flew into before stopping as if it was stuck in tar.
Thane's brow furrowed, but he continued his attack watching as the shadow clock disappeared, leaving his knife in a free fall.
When they were less than five feet apart, Thane threw his second weapon leaving him disarmed. The blade cut through the air as he used his full strength to through it. The assassin used her knives to deflect the blade though the sheer force behind it caused her to stagger.
Smiling, Thane grabbed his knife just before it hit the floor, rising in a thrusting attack aimed at the assassin's midsection.
His hand, however, suddenly stop just before piercing her leather armor. Looking over, Thane could see almost near invisible strings wrapping around his arm and biting into his skin.
Trying to break free, Thane strained and was able to snap a few before more suddenly swarmed him encasing his arm in a cacoon. Thane's eyes landed on the delicate fingers of Lilith, who was looking at him with thinly veiled desire while her digits danced, controlling the strings that restrained him.
"You were able to break my strings, don't tell me you're a Body Cultivator?" Thane could hear in her voice that it wasn't really a question. Realizing that trying to break the strings was pointless, Thane resorted to glaring at Lilith.
"What the hell do you want?" Thane spat, glaring dagger at Lilith. The woman frowned, "Isn't it obvious. For you two to join my shadows while the girl needs some training. You, my dear, are ready for the field."
"What if I say no?" Lilith smiled evilly, "That is no longer an option. You will join me, willing or not. The choice is yours."
Thane gritted his teeth and stared at Lilith for a long minute before he sighed, "Fine, you win. We'll be one of your shadows."
Lilith smiled a look. Thane was starting to loath, "Excellent, Sonya set these two up in a room. Make sure they're comfortable and get a health potion for the girl. I want her up and ready for tomorrow."
The red-haired assassin nodded as the strings holding back Thane's arms loosened. After gathering his weapons and Annabelle's books, Thane picked up Annabelle herself and followed Sonya out the door.
Thane ignored the eyes on him as Sonya guided him down a hidden hallway to the rooms. She opened the door and turned to Thane, "You put up a good fight. Maybe we can spar again."
He was in the mood to flirt, so he just grunted and walked into the room, setting down Annabelle down on one of the empty beds.
"I'll return shortly with a health potion if you didn't end up smashing in her brain." Sonya's snide voice irritated Thane, and he sent a death glare her way. A look that would have made other people stiffen in fear made Sonya crack a smile.
When she was gone Thane sighed and sat on the second bed. He had gotten too cocky, he thought with his extra strength he could get them out of trouble. However, he now had no doubt that he would die ten times over before even coming close to killing Lilith.
Thane needed a serious power boost if he was going to escape his new prison. Looking at the books piled on the floor. Leaning down Thane grabbed the book on top of the stack.
"The Basics of Body Cultivation, By Zhou Feng." Shrugging Thane had nothing else to do so he opened to the first page and started to read.
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