Zoe walked in front of Conor and between Kholwa and Zheanni. They were on the 33rd floor which held religious artifacts.
"What did Paul want from here?" Kholwa asked, staring at the long mural covering one of the high walls of the 33rd floor. Depictions of grey soldiers in gas masks gunning down civilians, dragons burning down villages, angels turning clouds to flame, horsemen decapitating those in their wake…Looking to find something a bit more positive, her eyes were drawn across the freshly waxed marble tile floor to a gold water basin.
"I dunno," Zheanni shrugged, looking behind her, "What did he want, Conor?"
"I was gonna pick something up here," Conor said. He shifted suddenly, glancing around the room as if trying to follow a loose bird, then mumbling, "Nevermind, we gotta go. I need to check something. Now!"
Zheanni and Kholwa exchanged confused looks. A silent but inconclusive conversation happening in that instant.
They followed their hurried leader down until they reached a mostly empty market floor. Turning the corner to walk down one of its hallways, they saw three people standing over a bloody scene. They were on the porch of one of the shops whose outer wall was splattered.
Zoe lifted her gaze, first recognizing the back of Marcello, with his blue flame of energy still surrounding him as he crouched over the body, slowly turning to see who was behind them, making eye contact with Zoe, then flashing behind her to look at Conor.
Conor looked from the blood-soaked clothes of Mitani to the dots and lines of gore across Marcello's face, then focused on the body lying on the porch—broken but set to look straight. Her bright pink hair catching his eye. He was standing over her, staring down at Pamn's face.
Kholwa studied the boy in the middle, noticing as he moved his arm it revealed a studded watch ever so briefly, 'My sight is nigh perfection; I don't miss much, so what are the chances this guy has on the same wristwatch as Poatan?' The silence of the hallway made everything unbearable for her. Everyone waiting to see what Conor would do. Movement to her right as a hand shot out to wrap around Zoe's head. Zheanni's eyes were vast, yearning with eager anticipation, her lips curling into a Cheshire's smile. Though her energy wasn't active, Kholwa could taste her bloodlust; once Conor would give the word, Zheanni would crush Zoe's skull and then tear into them, but even she knew not to overstep at this time.
Mitani stepped back, staggering, getting out of the way of Conor.
"What did you do?" Conor's voice was calm, but there was an edge to it.
Mitani was breathing heavily, his wide eyes bouncing from Gemo to Marcello, hoping one of them would say something.
"We didn't do this," Marcello hesitated.
Conor crouched, turning Pamn onto her back, cringing at the wound in her chest.
He continued, "The one responsible. You know him. His name's Autxmn." He glanced at Conor's right hand, seeing that Pamn was correct—the diamond tattoo was indelible in his palm.
Conor's eyes were fixated on the hole in her chest. "Yeah, that looks to be right." He stood in a huff, turning to grin at the three people standing between him and his sister.
Gemo tried to look casual as he stuck his hands in his jacket pocket, calming his mind so that he could activate his energy in a snap if needed. 'Marcello is the only one in this place right now who has their energy active. Theoretically, I'd say we'd have the leverage here, but these three are different. Conor's strong, I can feel it just from standing next to him, but the tall girl over there…Zheanni, I think…there's something wrong with it… They don't really have a reason to kill me, and likewise is true for me,' he then saw the look in Zheanni's eye, and her hand placed on the back of Zoe's head. 'This is just how these things go sometimes. Death is a reality for this type of job. She's just a kid, though,' he looked her up and down, 'I'm not just some cowardly serial killer, either.'
"These people here," Zheanni cooed, "Conor, they all know each other. I saw 'em the other day."
Kholwa spoke up, pointing at Marcello, "He has Poatan's watch."
Everyone's eyes flashed to him, seeing the outline of the watch under his long-sleeved shirt.
"Well," Conor said, staring directly at Marcello as if challenging him to attack.
What Kholwa just said finally sunk in for Zheanni. "He ha Poatan's watch..." A golden storm began to rage around her as the hum of her energy filled the hallway. The royal light flooded the surrounding area as if they were on the surface of the sun.
Engulfed in the massive aura, it felt to Zoe as if she were naked in an ice storm, small cold pins stabbing all over her skin, her hair whipping around her face in a frenzy.
"Z!" Conor held up his hand, commanding her to stop.
The cold heat of her energy blared at Conor, "He literally killed-"
"Yeah, I hear her too. Don't crash-the-fuck-out!"
Zoe couldn't hear much, likewise couldn't see much, needing to squint to avoid getting hair in her eyes. Zheanni's hand had moved from her head seconds before her outburst, but she still towered behind her. Knowing that no one would be paying close attention, she took the time to attempt to survey her surroundings and everyone in the hall; her eyes settling on Marcello. This was the most nervous she'd ever seen him, his eyes shifting, his feet inching in place.
"And they all know energy, huh?" Zoe heard Conor say. Behind her, Zheanni had calmed down.
Zheanni shrugged, "Probably…" She studied the boy with the strange hat, not getting much of a read on him. Pointing a finger, asking, "How 'bout 'chu?"
Mitani gulped, "I'm not even a battle-type. I'm a healer."
"A healer?" Conor perked up hearing this. "Really?"
"Uh," Mitani felt like there was a spotlight on him, "Yeah," he nodded. "I mean- I can't right now…but like I can heal people." He cringed, 'Shit, did I say too much? He's gonna think I'm holding out on him by not healing that girl!'
Conor glanced to Zheanni, who was watching him, curious about where he was going with this. Turning back to Mitani, "Can you heal people with brain injuries? Like comas and shit?"
"I…yeah, I should be able to."
Zheanni shook her head, "Bruh, Conor, we can't-"
"Bitch, I didn't ask you," Conor held up his palm to her, "I've got familial fealty." Zheanni would've been mad at that comment had Conor's voice not sounded almost hollow, or defeated. Talking to Mitani, "How's it work?"
"It's food-based. I need to cook food, and if they ingest it, it'll heal them. I can't replace limbs or organs."
Conor looked at the floor, "There was a kitchen on the first floor," he said to himself more than anyone else, causing Mitani's heart to skip a beat, realizing the position he had put himself in. "Z, the last thing we need is to look for that pendant, y'know? The sun medallion that we found the fake of at that bank. You're gonna find it."
Zheanni's face scrunched in confusion, "I- I guess we can," She flashed a confused glance at Kholwa who did the same. "Hol' up! The fuck's happening? What're you gonna do? And what're we gonna do with these guys?"
"I'm going with the healer downstairs. Bring the girl with you, and…" he pondered the rest of them, his eyes glazing over the three.
"If they play nice and leave us alone, they can have their friends back in a few hours. No harm, no foul. Shit, I say it's a win-win."
Marcello glanced to Zoe. She stood awkwardly, stiff as a board.
Gemo bit his tongue, clenching his fist. 'Yeah, right! I call bullshit on that. I don't know much about these guys, but I do remember they come from the Silvio mafia family. Despite the glamour, the mafia doesn't fuck around. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to sell Zoe, or keeping Mitani around as some healer-sex-slave! Well, maybe not the sex part, but still…' Gemo was a lot of things. He may have a job that some would consider heinous. 'This feels like I'm watching some kid getting kidnapped at a park, though the only difference is I can't kill the people doing it! At least not right now…' He was very aware of the tattoo on Conor's palm. Conor wasn't really paying much attention to him, so there'd be a chance he could take away his ability.
"I guess so," Zheanni didn't sound sure, but her energy deactivated, and she put a hand on Zoe's shoulder, guiding her toward the end of the hallway as Kholwa followed. Though, before she left, she made sure to glare a thousand daggers into Marcello. 'The next time I see you, it's gonna be on sight.'