A group of senior students at the Royal Academy of Martial Prowess were rushing through the western courtyard when one of them pointed at the gallery to their right and whispered, “Guys! Look!”

  Another one gasped and said, “That’s Master Baylis with Lord Primarch! Holy crap!”

  “They’re the top ranked, guys,” a girl mentioned.

  “Yeah, they’re the strongest two Zaatsus. I haven’t seen Master Baylis here very often. What’s he doing here?”

  She nodded saying, “Something big must be going down. And I bet it has to do with that bounty hunter Master Baylis has brought to the Palace.”

  The overseer of each of the 12 academies of Martial Arts inside the City of Ayn was titled the ‘Exarch’. And the leader of the Exarchs was given the title of ‘Primarch’. Hugo was having a discussion with the Primarch, Zaatsu Master Obadiah Moore – the only Zaatsu, apart from the Seear himself, who outranked him. The man with the silver manbun and mutton chops and a broad shouldered tall, strong frame was the strongest operative the Eye boasted at the time. The 40 year old was revered as an expert Martial Artist, a stern commander, and a natural leader in line to be the next Seear.

  The two had just came out of a meeting with Renekom and Hedish where Hugo was explaining how they could get to Derek through Vincent.

  “Mystics say the disappeared Cults are simply hiding and preparing,” Obadiah said, adjusting his robe. “But it’s hard to tell what they are preparing for.”

  Hugo leaned closer. “Did they ask you to tell me that or are you telling me on your own?” he asked.

  He smiled. “Come on, Hugo. Your team is leading this one. You should know.” His smile quickly disappeared then as he nodded and crossed his arms. “Many Cults have been gathering weapons and amulets for the past couple of years.” With a sigh he added, “They’re afraid of something. We just can’t understand what! But the good thing is, the Order is willing to lend a hand in retrieving the remnants.”

  “Nothing’s changed, has it?” Hugo shook his head. “Even with Vincent behind bars, remnants are still getting stolen, and Keepers are still being attacked.”

  When the bounty hunter came under the Eye’s radar, it was because of the remnants of the Xoitique Diamond. He was stealing them. But no one knew why. His motives and his employers remained a mystery even after he was captured. Yet, even with the bounty hunter behind bars, more remnants were still stolen, a Keeper was still attacked, and worse yet, remnants of the Celestial stone were fused.

  “That’s why I’m saying, Vincent may not be the only player here,” Obadiah said. “By the way…” he looked at Hugo, “Do you think the Spirit Morph will work? It’s a risky technique.”

  A shadow replacement, or ‘Spirit Morphing’, spell was a spell whereby the caster would be able to superimpose a shadow of their spirit on to someone else’s body and hear, listen, and feel everything that they would. It required immense control of ones Ki flow.

  “You saw him in the duel,” Hugo said, referring to his bout with Vincent the day before. “He has ridiculous Ki control. It shouldn’t be a problem.”

  Obadiah leaned against the balustrade. “But what makes you think he’ll play along?”

  “I have a feeling he needs answers as well. I think he’s after something too. But then again, it will be my shadow on him. He goes rogue and I pull the plug…”

  “Well…” the Primarch sighed. “The whole thing is sounding the same alarms again, Hugo. Do you remember?”

  Hugo looked away, saying, “How could I ever forget?”

  “Yeah. And you used to work right alongside Marion as well.” With a shake of the head, he added, “In just seven years we’re right back where we started. Ambris, the Basilisk, they called him the 'apocalypse at the turn of the millennium'. And had it not been for the efforts of the Eye, he may very well have been that.”

  ‘Yeah, right,’ Hugo thought. ‘The Eye…’

  “And we’ve since been making every effort possible,” Obadiah continued, “to stop anything like that from ever happening again. We’ve taken down miscreants and rogues, and we’ve kept the Cults in check and monitored the Order’s movements. But we’re right back where we started from 12 years ago.”

  “One often meets his destiny on the path he takes to avoid it.” Hugo smiled. “We’ve always found a way, Master Moore. Don’t worry. We will find a way.”

  The two then parted ways. But as he left, the captain of the Zeta Squad could not help but wonder about all the mysteries that were piling up.

  ‘Are the Cults seeing something even the Parliamentarians missed?’ he thought. ‘Is something coming? What is Vincent’s role in all this? Why is he willing to help us?’

  The clock was ticking. Mystics of the Parliament had been looking everywhere but it had been weeks now and nothing had been reported out of the ordinary. They could sense spirits of the flames and the streams calm within their dominions while all metaphysical beings had begun retreating deeper into the shadows just like the Cults. Yet the world remained so very quiet. Whatever was approaching, if it at all was, remained invisible to even the custodians of the arcane.

  9 a.m., Hugo teleported out to the ‘Zeta point’ – a spot under the shade of trees, on the hilltop at the northern border of Ayn facing the Siberian forests. This was where most squad meetings were held.

  ‘Did I convince him, or did he convince me to take him along?’ the Zaatsu thought as he sat down leaning against a tree trunk. He was at the edge of the hill. 20 meters above the city, he could see a good portion of the northern and eastern quadrant from up there.

  He breathed a sigh of relief. ‘It looks so quiet and peaceful...’

  Keeping himself, his intentions, and his motives hidden from Mystics was not an easy task even for Hugo. Even the slightest shiver in the masking spell he wore at all times, and they would decipher him like a confession etched in glass.

  “Am I a liar?” the Zaatsu whispered, looking up at the overcast sky. “Why did they choose me?” He shook his head and closed his eyes.

  Still loyal to the disbanded outfit antagonised by the Eye for their alleged crimes, Hugo was never an official part of the Outsiders. Being a prodigy, he was taken under his wing by Warren Ford and trained for two years. Since then, he became a set of eyes and ears of the Outsiders inside the Palace.

  But Hugo was also a man of principles. He felt caught between two worlds – being forced to choose what appeared right and what he believed to be better. He was nervous.

  It began to drizzle faintly. Strong winds had already cancelled most sparring sessions in the academies that morning. Hugo opened his eyes and looked at the sky again. Fallen leaves blew past him and the gusty winds hit him in the side with more than a tender push. Temperatures had dropped to just below 13 degrees Celsius, and visibility was dropping. A storm was approaching.

  He looked at his watch then. ‘5 past 9,’ he thought. ‘Camille should’ve been here by now…’ Undeterred by the weather, he waited calmly.

  The youngest Baylis soon arrived with Ella and Marcus. They dragged their captain to a café away from the chilly weather. Ella and Marcus were then sent to fetch supplies and the remaining members of the Zeta Squad.

  As soon as the duo left, Hugo turned to Camille. “I told you to come alone,” he said grinding his teeth.

  Leaning back, the slightly intimidated sister quickly asked, “What happened now?”

  They were at a corner table next under the window.

  Hugo looked out and took a deep breath. “Nothing,” he said. “Sorry.”

  “No. What’s up?” She leaned in again. “You look more worried than last night.”

  “We have our next assignment.”

  “And?”

  “And…” he looked at her. “We are once again taking Vincent along.”

  “How is that worse than the last time?”

  “I feel like we are not looking in the right direction. There is something else going on.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He shook his head. “Well… for starters… why have the remnants never been a target before?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “An alchemist is alive and well, right? Well, that means the art and study of alchemy is also very much alive and well.”

  “Yeah. So?”

  “So, why has no one ever tried to merge the remnants before?”

  Camille kept staring wide-eyed at her brother silently.

  “Think about it.” He continued. “The last alchemist was killed more than 300 years ago which is a unanimously accepted truth. The only available alchemical literature is historic in nature and remains safe with the Parliament.”

  “So, how’s there an alchemist alive today?”

  “Like I said… there’s something else going on here.”

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Few minutes of silence later, the squad arrived.

  “All right gang, listen up,” Hugo said, as everyone grabbed chairs and gathered around. “Interrogations were fruitful. We have found something useful. Vincent gave us a name – Derek.”

  “Who’s Derek?” Ella asked.

  “He’s what they call a ‘tongue-man’… he sells information in the underground arcane markets. According to our prisoner escort, Derek is the most expensive tongue-man and has the widest array of information.” Looking at Camille, he added, “That’s where he bought info about our squad as well.”

  As Camille slowly nodded, Neil asked, “So, how do we find this guy?”

  Hugo scratched his head. “That’s a bit more… ah… tricky.”

  “How so?”

  “He is a wizard. And if we were to take Vincent’s word for it, he can sense anyone approaching from a long distance out. So, he’s impossible to find. Unless he’s willing to meet you, of course.”

  “So, will we get him to meet us?”

  “We won’t. Vincent will.”

  With lines forming on his forehead, Neil leaned ahead and placed a hand on the table as he asked, “You are bringing him along again?!”

  “I’m afraid we have no choice.”

  “But Master,” Ella interrupted. “Don’t you think that’s a little too convenient? I mean, there’s a snitch who might know something and to meet him we have to bring Vincent along. How do we know he is not lying?”

  “Hey, Marcus!” Hugo looked at the Sokidu.

  “Yes, sir,” he replied.

  “Where were you last night?”

  “At my apartment, in the village.”

  Hugo looked at the others and said, “He was at Stella’s apartment in Moscow. Ella saw me going into the Hall and alerted all her teammates. Otherwise, he would have still been there. Today was a day off for all of you.”

  Marcus gave a sheepish smile and looked down. The rest of the team looked at each other, puzzled. “Is there a point to this?” Neil asked.

  “I can tell when someone’s lying. He isn’t lying.”

  “There are ways. No one, including yourself, has been able to read him very well.”

  “Yes. There is a chance he may be lying and hiding it well. But that is exactly why we have him in ropes.”

  Neil shook his head. Camille enquired, “Where is he right now?”

  “He’s still in prison,” Gina replied. Hugo looked at her. So, she explained saying, “I was briefed by Master Norma. I was at the Hall for filling the mission records you gave me.”

  “Ah, well, alright then.” He looked around at his squad mates. With a shrug, he said, “Just wanted to let you guys know the details of the assignment before bringing him out…”

  “So, tell us then,” Neil said and crossed his arms.

  Hugo leaned back then slid ahead and brought one leg atop the other. He looked out the window. The drizzle had now turned heavier as the wind blew just as before. “A little faith would go a long way,” he said.

  “With all due respect, Master,” Ella said, “You have been keeping us in the dark here. You continually look like you’re hiding something. Neil is second in command and yet you let the Seredums lead us, you’ve clearly been keeping Vincent around for a reason, but you don’t feel the need to let us know why. And now you’ve called this meeting, and that too at the Zeta point. This is our space to chill, away from everything, where no one would disturb us. What’s going on?”

  Camille whispered, “A little faith could go a long way…”

  “Alright,” Hugo said and looked back at them. “A year ago, a bunch of us Zaatsus and Mystics used to be out patrolling the southern outpost and the surrounding areas which were attacked by bandits. Do you guys remember that attack?” The team nodded. “Well, the Seear one day contacted me to let me know that the bandits were willing to surrender. So, obviously, the message came via a Seeker’s scroll. They had sent a surrendering note to the Parliament I guess. or maybe the Zaatsus or something. So, I decided to head back. But…” he paused and scratched his head as a waitress brought coffee for everyone.

  Camille looked at the young girl and said, “I’m sorry, but we didn’t order any.”

  “Yannick,” said Hugo with a smile. The squad looked over. Behind the bar, the owner of the café, Yannick Delacroix, was sitting, smiling and smoking a cigar. He gave them a thumbs up and they reciprocated. The chubby man was an old friend of Hugo’s and never shied away from proving his love for the man and his team.

  “As I was saying,” the Zaatsu continued picking up the coffee mug. “While I was packing up, my check-post was attacked. Luckily, my two partners who were there with me at the time – Ameen and Nicholas, both of whom were Zaatsus themselves, were still out on the lookout and I hadn’t given them the news yet. I managed to sneak out and we survived the surprise attack.”

  “Woah,” Camille whispered.

  Hugo nodded. “We redevised our strategy and quickly retaliated. They weren’t expecting that. There were seven of them, and they belonged to the same group of bandits who attacked the outpost before.”

  Ella tried to interrupt by saying, “Wait a minute…”

  “Yes!” Hugo stopped her with a hand raised in front. “Yes, they were the same bandits. So, curious as we were, we captured one of them alive and questioned him. He revealed that no such letter was written by any of their members and accused us of lying. And that’s not even the worst part…”

  “What’s the worst part?” Camille quickly asked.

  “The so-called bandits claimed that they were not attacking, they were retaliating.”

  “For what?”

  “For continual attacks by members of the Eye on their villages.” The team looked around as Hugo continued, “Adding to our… whatever you wanna call it… curiosity, frustration, confusion… was what happened when we got back to the Palace. The Seear told me he never sent me any message, and I was questioned for the debacle and for putting my team mates at risk!”

  “That’s absurd!” Marcus said. “We’ve never heard any of that.”

  “That’s because we were told to never reveal it. And by the way, both Ameen Suleman and Nicholas Moro, died within two months of the incident.”

  “What?” and “How?” were the exasperated exclamations from the team.

  “Ameen died in an accident,” Hugo explained with air-quotes. “And Nic died on a mission. Ameen was with Beatrix Asimov when he died and Nic was with Sammy Lebeau.”

  Marcus raised his hand and said, “Am I going nuts here or are those two the same ones…?”

  “Yes,” Hugo nodded. “The famous two Zaatsus who fought the White Bolt and survived. But in any case, after my friends’ demise, I started digging and found a lot of similar discrepancies. Someone is playing a game with confusing us here in the Eye, but we don’t know who. And talking about faith, why don’t you guys now tell me who put you up to this interrogation?”

  The team, trying to look as oblivious as possible, looked around at each other before realizing what Hugo had explained earlier – he could tell when they were lying.

  “The Parliament,” Camille said. “Everyone is worried about you, bro.”

  “Didn’t you ever tell any of this to the Parliamentarians?” Ella asked.

  “Tell them?” Hugo said, with eyes wide open. “They knew about it all and I discussed the issues with them for months!”

  “Well, everyone has just been worried about you. Especially since you brought Vincent along on that mission.”

  “Well, colour me flattered…”

  Thereafter, Ella, Marcus and Gina were sent to fetch Vincent from the prison. Once they left, Hugo looked at Neil and said, “Hey, listen up.”

  He leaned ahead saying, “What?”

  “There may well come a time when we would be splitting up again. No Seredums around this time. Can I expect you to lead the team responsibly?”

  “What kind of a question is that?”

  “You have been letting your emotions run rampant. You’ve had issues working with me, I understand, but just make sure you don’t do anything to jeopardise this mission.”

  “I have been on many missions, leading my teams with a perfect record! Why would I faulter? What’s so especial here? Maybe if you trust me for once you could see for yourself!”

  “I trust you. I trust you both more than anyone else. And that is exactly why I’m asking you to keep your eyes and ears open.” With both forearms on the table, he leaned closer. “The story I just told you guys… well, I left out one detail. After we took down the bandits and questioned the one we captured, we were paid a visit by a peculiar old man by the name of Mustaqeem al Gohari.”

  Camille, wide eyed, quickly asked, “The Mystic?”

  “Yes. The Emeritus Mystic plus Zaatsu has seldom been seen since the war ended. In fact, he has seldom been seen in the past two decades.”

  With a hand over her mouth, she slowly and softly said, “I saw him the other day…”

  “What?!”

  “When you were sparring with Vincent… he was there right behind me. We talked even.”

  “Mustaqeem al Gohari was here? Inside Ayn?”

  “Yes.”

  Neil asked, “Do you even know what he looks like?”

  “I do, actually. Ella once showed me a picture of his. He’s a legend here, bro!”

  He looked at Hugo and asked, “Wait… complete your story. Why did he come to you?”

  “He came to warn us,” Hugo replied. “he told us that the Eye was no longer functioning as per its purpose, and that our ranks had been infiltrated.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Yeah. We asked him the same thing.”

  “And?”

  “He didn’t say… just left.”

  A few moments later, Hugo looked at Camille and asked, “Where did you see him?”

  “He was standing right behind me,” she replied. “I just felt a hand on my shoulder and when I looked, it was him, Master Al Gohari.” Looking at Hugo, she added, “He wants you to keep an eye on Vincent. He said… ah… the bounty hunter has far more to him than has ever met the Eye.”

  “Great…”

  “And what’s that supposed to mean?” Neil asked.

  Hugo shook his head. “I have no idea…” he looked at Neil, “Just please keep it together, Neil. I am going to need you guys on this one.”

  “Why don’t you just let me be the one baby-sitting the bounty hunter this time?”

  “No, no...” the captain shook his head. “Too risky. I would love it if you helped me out, not if you jumped into a pit of fire for me!”

  “You said it yourself; he’s in ropes. He’s no threat to us.”

  “Currently, yes. No threat. But give him 40% charge and he may very well have enough to give you the slip.”

  “You think I can’t keep him on a leash when he’s not even capable of charging up to a half of his maximum capacity? What the HELL is wrong with you?!”

  “Maybe you can. But that is not your responsibility.”

  “Maybe I am a part of the team! Dammit, Hugo! Are we not a team here?!”

  Hugo dropped his head and did not reply. Camille placed a hand on Neil’s wrist saying, “Hey.”

  “This doesn’t concern you, Cami!” Neil shook her hand off.

  “He’s right.” Hugo looked up, stroked his hair, and looked at Camille. “This doesn’t concern you.”

  Camille smiled. “You are my brothers,” she said, “and I think I am a member of this team too, you know.”

  The conversation, thence, came to a premature halt as the trio kept sitting in the following awkward silence. The one and only thing that held the brothers together was Camille. They both loved her and cared for her deeply and in return she provided them, and perhaps the entire Zeta Squad, a gelling force to unite and get through their differences. She was the humanity in the machine of brilliantly functioning components.

  The brains to see two to three moves ahead, the brawns to take down any opposition, the spells and tricks for every situation, and a defence nigh impregnable – it all needed something to make it work properly. It needed a mother figure to keep it from falling apart. And that was Camille Baylis.

  Eventually, the trio returned with Vincent and met the Baylis trio waiting outside the café. Camille noticed the bruising on Vincent’s arms and face. She looked at Hugo with one eyebrow raised as he looked away. He was still wearing the white shirt and brown pants that Camille gave him albeit they were quite dusty now. He asked Hugo to have the entire team change to something casual as they may encounter a need to infiltrate populated areas. Agreeing, the captain asked him to suggest a course of action for the mission.

  “We will have to go to Canada first,” explained the tired looking prisoner. “I have a friend there. He will give us further directions.”

  It was the White Bolt then who led the teleportation sequence. The squad stood in the circular formation and zapped away to Canada.