An hour after the khan had been ushered to safety, the guards confirmed that nobody—save for Bennet—had been killed in the arena and that any injured had been ushered to the hospital. The khan had graciously offered to pay for their medical costs before confirming that the next day of trials would be held. If he expected praise for his generosity, he would not find it, the universe too preoccupied with washing the taste of bad blood from their mouth
The thought did not sit well with any of the seven people in Yama’s sitting room hours later, save for Danzo who balanced a mug of tea on his knee as if he was considering playing hacky sack with it.
Maria had mended her arm and changed into a new green dress, embroidered with a wicked tree, bodies dangling from each branch around the neckline. Nobody paid the design mind as she balanced tea on her forearms for people to grab. Either it was contagious, or Danzo and Maria were just showing off. Knowing them, they probably don’t think it’s that impressive.
“It’s not the khan,” Yama said again through his teeth. “When the fight broke out, he vomited,” Yama said, putting all of his weight into the words as if he might pick his grit teeth with it. “He was willing to throw Batu’s match when Bennett tore into him. He’s not a fighter; he’s prince who would surrender a company for piece of cake so long as he didn’t need to see the company in question.”
Danzo waved the idea away. “So he’s squeamish. What of it? Gin”—Ginevra glared a dagger at him—”we know if he ever fought?”
Ginevra pointed her mug at Yama, covering her visage. “Ask him.”
Yama shook his head. “Not that I know of, but that’s beside the point. What did you find?”
“My hunch was right, obviously,” Danzo said, prompting eye rolls from everyone, including the ghouls below. “The Bratva are moving supplies through the burnt sector and Grigori is running point.”
Maria’s brow arched. “Is he now? I didn’t see him.”
“Tunnels are big. I wouldn’t be surprised if they go into the lower levels of the city,” Danzo said. Brianna’s heart sank into her lap, bouncing with each beat like a small child. She rubbed circles into her chest, either gathering breaths or kindly showing the troublesome heart where to. “There’s more than one lab too,” Danzo added, making Asha’s heart sink. Five to go.
“See inside?” Asha asked before she thought to retract the question and spare herself another horror.
Danzo nodded and grabbed a thick red headband lamp with a gold rimmed monocle in place of a light. “Camera,” he whispered as he set it down, conjuring hologram from the monocle. “See this one?”
The red eyes from Asha’s drawing held everyone’s gaze as the image grinned back at them. It was a dead stare, a dark void that could swallow fleets of starships in its yawning enormity. Every hair in the room stood at attention as if doing so would protect anybody from the ghoul, the exposed white flesh more muscular and defined than anybody of them. A wet plop could be heard as Asha’s heart fell out of her chair and bounced along the floor, like a dog in need of a walk. Yama was tempted to follow after it, if only to get away from the ghoulish image.
“I think I’m going to puke,” Asha said as she rose from her seat, her heart bouncing on the floor behind her.
“What we saw was more amateur, given—”Maria raised a clarifying hand”—it was great by typical fleshbending standards, but not beyond my own abilities. I fear, however that they will soon be beyond my abilities”—her eyes flicked to Orphiel, then Yama—”beyond even the lenience of the Bone Father.”
Danzo’s brow furrowed. “You didn’t see this?”
“A pen and paper please,” Maria requested, and when Ginevra stood up, added, “and do start some ginger tea for Ms. Okoro while you’re up.”
Ginevra phased to give Maria her pen and paper before phasing back to the stove. Maria’s hand was a blur as she drew, humming a small tune as she did so for three minutes. “I do quite like drawing,” she said, her face red as she showed her drawing.
A grotesque, Y-shaped amalgamation of patchy, milk-white sinew and bone greeted their gazes, but did not meet them, if only for its lack of eyes. Its gangly arms and torso fused behind it into one tendon-y mass narrowing into a long with a pincer of flattened, sharpened femur. In place of piercing red eyes was a long slit along the skin between the arms, deep and black like a portal to the abyss, shaded with rows upon rows of jagged obsidian teeth.
Danzo sighed. “Gin, please drop some more ginger tea. How big was this Facia?”
“10, 11 feet long,” Maria said, dropping three more hearts onto the floor with all the grace of the hangman’s lever. The hearts milled about on the floor, grabbing Maria’s pen and scribbling on the sheets of paper. The drawings weren’t good—since the hearts were slippery and had poor motor skills—but the overlapping spirals were more pleasant than Maria’s masterpiece.
I need to tell the khan, he needs to know, Yama reasoned, already plotting the course to Otganbayar.
“I can CRUSH them!” Orphiel bellowed. “Such mockeries of the flesh, I would have ripped their arms from their bodies if Maria hadn’t stayed my hand.”
“To what end?” Brianna said quietly, as if the ghoul would hunt her off of the page by sound alone. “If we don’t get rid of this trucks and supplies, they’ll just make more.”
Danzo nodded as Ginevra handed him a mug of steaming ginger tea, its earthy scent doing little against the room’s sudden chill. “More than that, we need to break off the Bratva’s connections entirely.”
“Dibs on Grigori,” Maria called out.
Ginevra shook her head. “No. We need to make this a losing battle so they stop ever dealing with Otganbayar and Altan. The far-ies do not like fleshbending; it is illegal there, highly so.”
“Grigori doesn’t seem to have a problem,” Asha said as she emerged from the bathroom. “They know. We need to cut off Otganbayar from them. They’re the suppliers.”
Otganbayar needs to know, Yama thought, surer than before. He took a picture of Maria’s drawing with her dex. I can say I saw it wondering the halls and drew this afterwards, he reasoned. It was sickly and he reckoned Otganbayar would think the same.
“And we need to get that stone,” Brianna said. “Even with supplies, no stone, no bones.”
“Agreed. We”—Danzo pointed between the two assassins—”can infiltrate and steal the stone. We will plan tomorrow and move at night,” Danzo said, drawing two nods. “Facia, your insight would also be appreciated tomorrow.” Maria nodded. “Now”—Danzo flicked his hand—”out of my room. Best we not linger too long and rob our giants of their beauty sleep.”
The guests downed their tea and trickled out before Yama turned to his brother. “Your room?”
If you must rely on others, makes sure they are of strong stock
A weak link does nobody any good
The Tenets of Tenshi