Three girls giggle as another girls walked slowly towards a door. They waved her away when she turn to look at them. Once she was at the door she knocked but there was no answer.
She turn and looked at the girls.
"Harder"
They mouth and chuckled. The girl knocked harder but there was still no answer. She slowly opened the door and entered. The whole place was dark except for a huge bed that sat in front of an even larger bay window. The bed stood out under moonlight spotlight.
She walked slowly towards the bed looking around. Suddenly she felt a cold metal on her neck.
"What are you doing here?"
A voice asked from behind.
"It's me Yadia; Carlot, Sibella and Rhin said you bed me tonight."
He put away the knife and Yadia cleaned the blood of her neck.
"Why didn't you try to defend yourself?"
"We live and die for the curator, even if it's not in battle."
"Get out, the next time you enter my room with my summon, make sure it's to kill me."
The next morning the curator was standing at the balcony when a middle aged man walked in.
"Commander, what brings you here?"
"I heard you can help me solve a problem."
"Give me the details and I'll see what I can do."
"Someone stole something that can be bring down the church. I will like it back."
"Is the weapon armed?"
"Oh, not that kind of weapon. Let's say some information that can be damaging to the lot of high ranking officials. Since the information is sensitive, I'll like it not to spread like wild fire. The name the feed gave was Ako Coruja; it's in the territories, I hope it's okay."
"It's perfect, among the pagans there will be no collateral damage."
Yadia was in class with other pages when the Curator walked in.
Everyone stood still with head bowed.
"At ease"
They all raised their heads and resumed what they were doing. The knight training the pages walked to the Curator.
"How can we help you?"
"I need some of your finest pages to enact the law."
Each of the five knights waved over a page.
"From Da Vinci , I nominate Roose "
"For Van Gogh, I present Micheal
"This is Vincent form Picasso"
"Ren for Rembrandt "
"Cézanne best page, Skulls."
The knights introduced their best pages to the Curator.
"Skulls, like pyramid of skulls?"
"Yes Sir, he is that good."
"Who's page is that?"
The Curator asked pointing at Yadia.
"She is mine sir."
"Prepare her, she goes with them."
"Sir, she has been here less than a month."
All the knights were confused.
"I don't care, send them to my office for briefing."
All six?
Yes.
"But there are all from different artist."
The Curator didn't say another word, he walked away leaving the knights dumbfounded.
They told their pages to get ready to be sent out. They got ready and met in the curators office.
"You are going to the territories, someone stole from the knight commander. Find what they stole and kill her and anyone who knows about what she stole. You target is a woman named Ako. Your liaison will meet you at the port. Go and make your order proud."
The pages were walking out when the curator asked Yadia to stay.
"Bring anything you find directly to me."
Yadia nodded and walked out.
"What's with the secondary objective?"
A woman appeared from thin air after Yadia shut the door.
"The commander was hiding something. I'm sure there are other parties after what ever was stolen."
"Why didn't you send someone with more experience?"
"If the item can bring down the church, it can bring down Patria. Anyone will want that kind power, but the pages don't have that ambition, yet."
Yadia and the others arrived in the Territories in less than a minute through a field gate thirty minutes away from their manor.
There a woman was waiting for them. She had a scarf hooded around her head.
"Blood Portrait?"
She walked to them and asked. Ren nodded and she turn and walked away. They looked at each other and followed her. They followed her to a farm and she pointed at a stable then turned around and walked away.
"Go and ask her to give back what she took."
Ren told Yadia.
"You think that will work?"
"It might, we won't know until we try."
Yadia walked to the stables to see a young woman laying in a heap of hay.
"Who are you?"
"A messenger, you stole something, I want it back."
"Forty gold coins."
"Do you even know who sent me?"
"I don't care, but with that kind of cotton your boss can afford it."
"Ako right, fine; give me the item and I'll get you your gold."
'She didn't even bargain on the price.'
Ako thought then smiled.
"Two hundred and I want half now, then half after I give you the item."
"You don't know what I'm after, how can you be demanding such huge amount?"
"I know what you want, it was the fanciest thing I have pinched in years. A book which is not a book, the leather, stitching, engraving everything looked perfect."
A man came from behind the stable.
"As her guardian, I will be taking that money."
The man said and chuckled right before an arrow came out his left eye.
He fell on top of Ako who had turn after hearing him speak from behind her.
Yadia looked in the direction of where the arrow came from and saw Ren knotting his arrow. Ako ran into the house where she saw the others searching. She got out and ran into the woods.
"Why did you tell me to talk to her if you were going to try to kill her?"
Yadia asked Ren who ran pass her. After chasing her into the wood he came back out.
"She got away."
"She was going to give us the item."
"You know we are going to kill her either way right."
"Now we don't, have what we came for."
"It is somewhere here, we will search until we find it."
"Do you even know what you are looking for?"
"Yes, I was at the briefing. A bag with documents."
"No, she said it's a book which is not a book with perfect stitching."
Ren tossed the hay and joined the others inside the house. Yadia broke off the tip of the arrow and pulled it out of the man's head from behind. She put some hay oh him and freed all the animals in the stable then set the whole place on fire.
After days of searching, Ren and the others went to the feed.
"This is the feed, it's a regular watering hole."
"People talk when they have something in them."
Micheal said as they walked to the counter. Before they could say anything the woman behind pointed them to a door.
"The feed likes the peace, burning a house down is not peaceful."
A middle age woman said immediately they entered.
"The Portrait are good business partners but no matter what the people of Patria think this place is now a country. There are rules and people who enforce these rules. They will now care about your crest, it's useless here. Brim have been alerted and they are investigating. You have about a day or two before they find you."
"The commander personally tasked as, we accomplish this by any means necessary "
"Ren, son of Olof Tenure and Lia Sun, if you cause problems for me I'll erase your family. Even your bastard brother, that won't be fair because he doesn't even know you exist. By the look on your face you didn't know he exist either. Get out! "
They all got out and went to the counter. Ren ordered a drink and the bartender added a piece of cloth. Ren opened it and saw a drop of blood moving. He got off the bar stool and walked out with the others.
The were lead to an abandoned house with plants creeping all over it. Micheal saw someone through the window and fired an arrow. Roose and Vincent fire along with him.
"Stop, this time we make sure he have the package before we kill her."
Ren looked at Yadia and nodded.
"I don't understand why we can't bring guns here."
"I think it's because it might influence them."
Vincent and Michael lamented over the weapons they were allowed to bring.
"Where is Skull?"
Yadia asked and they all looked around.
Ako and Adam crawled around the room.
"Where are you going?
"Stop following me."
Ako turned and told Adam. She bumped into someone when she turned back around. When she lifted he head to look at who it was, Skulls hit her in the face and she fell to the ground ice cold. Adam ran and speared him, pushing him to the wall as he resisted. When he was close to the wall he put his right leg on it to support him. When he got his footing he hit him in the face with his right knee. This happened a couple of times then slammed him into the ground face first. He then pulled out a knife and stabbed him a couple times in the back. He then wiped the blood on Adam's cloths and sheathed the knife.
He raised Ako who was gaining consciousness. He sat her down on a chair. Ako saw Adam bleeding on the ground and chills ran down her spine.
"Where is it?"
"It's under a floor board in the bedroom."
Skull got up and went to the bedroom to search for what they were looking for. Ako thought about running away but her legs would not move. After awhile, she heard skulls foot steps coming back her way. Her eyes immediately filled with tears, Skulls walked in holding a leather bag.
"Is this everything?
Ako nodded and Skulls unsheathed his knife.
"Wait, wait, there is a vial third brick from the right of the clay oven."
Skulls stood there and looked at her. He then went to the clay oven and removed the third brick from the right and took the vial. He put it in the bag with the other stuff and walked towards Ako. Before he could stab her, someone snapped his neck from behind.
Skulls fell to the ground and Ako saw a middle age man in standing over his body.
"Where is Haku?"
"I don't know, thanks for saving me."
The man looked and saw Adam bleeding, he turned him over. Then he pulled out the stringed ring from his chest. He put a drop of Adam blood on the ring and he started to beep. He pulled out a black brick with similar writing to that on the ring from his coat jacket.
"I failed twice?"
He turned and saw Ako holding a stool over his head. He grabbed it and put it down gently.
Adam coughed and got their attention
"Hey you help me."
The man told Ako as he knelt over Adams body. He heard the floor creek and slowly went to investigate.
"Lord Hanis?"
The man said an knelt immediately he saw a man at the door. They both walked in to see Ako putting pressure on Adam's wounds.
"I here you have something of mine."
Hanis said then scratched his head. He picked Adam from the ground with one hand. Ako stood there with slightly opened mouth. She wasn't only surprised by his action but why he still looked young when his hair was all gray.
"Yes, It's coming from him, I guess from you too."
Ako sniffed her pits to see what he was talking about.
"Is that why you are here?"
Hanis turned and asked the man who was behind him.
"Yes Lord"
"Did you say I stink?"
"Don't speak to me."
Hanis said to her without looking in her direction. He walked to skull and dragged him off the bag pulling on his left leg. He took the vile from the bag and dropped it.
"Can't let you die, you might be useful in the future."
He poured the substance into Adam's mouth and his wounds started to heal. A white glow formed around him and Adam got up.
"What did you give him?"
"I thought I told you not to talk to me."
"You might be a Lor … ..."
Before Ako could finish her sentence, Hanis grabbed her by the neck and slammed her into a wall. It happened so fast no one had time to react. Adam walked to Hanis and grabbed his arm.
"Let her go."
He looked at in the eyes and smiled then broke Ako's neck. He let go and she fell to the ground. Adam stood there in shock, he screamed and speared Hanis through walls until they were outside. Hanis pushed Adam of him then pushed him back with his left left hand. This sent him flying back into the already damaged house.
Adam ran back back out with a gravity fist in his left hand. He punched Hanis in the face. When Hanis was still standing he was surprised. He had only needed one gravity punched to end a fight for good. He tried punching Hanis again but he caught it.
"Oh no, it is my turn."
Hanis said then punched Adam and he fell on a knee. Still holding his hand he continued punching him. Even after he was down Hanis continued punching him. Adam always tried to get up but Hanis punched him back down. After awhile Adam stopped trying to get up.
"Don't give up now, you only have about twenty minutes to save her.
"How saw he able to take several of those punches and still be alive?"
Micheal and the others discussed as the watched from a distance. Adam slithered slowly to the building where the man was carrying Ako. He laid her down, Adam touched her when he got there and she gasped. He continued slithering until he got to skulls, who he brought back with a touch.
Adam walked back out.
"You have potential "
Hanis said then disappeared right before their eyes.
"What is your name?"
"Sharani "
"What just happened, any of that should not be possible. Only necros can bring people back."
"With Lord Hanis anything is possible."