Some spoke about a horned demon punis.h.i.+ng the mayor for not meeting the required payment. Others spoke of a silent a.s.sa.s.sin who used demonic powers to bring Lord Bodrick down. All in all, people started speaking of the demonic powers that threatened the country's safety, asking when the butcher of Sosalk will make a return.

In a clear morning, Raiya sat in a terrace overlooking the northern sea. She was reading the newspapers when a middle aged woman came to sit next to her. She had met the n.o.ble lady two days before. Her husband who'd been missing for three months suddenly reappeared after the eclipse. Most people in the capital, including the n.o.ble lady's guards and servants, took her statements as crazy ramblings caused by grief.

Raiya managed to get to the lady, and convince her she was the best person to look for her missing husband. They were both sitting in the terrace, sipping hot ginger tea, watching the birds fly in unison.

"They're rehearsing their formation," the n.o.ble lady told Raiya. "They fly for miles, going south, seeking hot weather. They rehea.r.s.e the order at which they switch positions. The ones in the rear rest, while the leaders flap their wings, beating the rough winds."

"I wouldn't go as far as saying they're rehearsing though," Raiya replied. "They're animals, they act on instinct."

The n.o.ble lady chuckled. She wore her graying hair in long braids that rested on her thighs. Her blue eyes looked hollow, as though the joy of life had been snuffed out of them long ago. Raiya noticed that as the woman admired the birds fly in formation, her eyes twinkled for a fleeting second.

"Did your husband like watching the migrating birds?" she asked.

"He loved animals," the n.o.ble lady answered, "the flying kind were his favorite."

She sipped from her tea and looked at the horizon. The deep wrinkles at the corner of her eyes showed how much worry had accelerated her aging. It also showed she used to laugh and smile a lot, as opposed to now, where she'd only stare at the horizon endlessly.

"Can you tell me once more, how did he disappear?" Raiya asked. "Think of as many details as you can remember. It's important."

 "Hermann was a good man," the n.o.ble lady said. "He spent half his fortune helping those in need. About three moons ago, some men came to our house unannounced. They said they were his friends. He wasn't home yet. He was travelling you see. So I invited them in, as any lady of the house should do. They spoke about some secret dealing they had with Hermann. They said he owed them."

"Did your husband ever tell you about these dealings?" Raiya asked.

The lady shook her head. "He got in trouble lately, over his charity work. He used to get irritated whenever I asked him about it."

"What did the men want from you?" Raiya asked.

"They waited for Hermann," she replied. "I told them he was on a trip. I didn't expect him to get home until dawn that day. They said they would wait. I offered them the guest rooms to sleep in, but they refused to. They said they'd wait in the living room by the main hall."

 "Did they eat anything you offered them?" Raiya asked.

"No," the lady answered. "They didn't even accept the herbal tea I offered."

"Did anything about their appearance strike you as, unusual?"

"Not really," the n.o.ble lady said. "They were courteous. They wore black, crisp suits. They looked like businessmen Hermann usually dealt with for his factory. We usually receive people like them."

"But those people usually accept your food gratefully," Raiya noted.

"Not these ones," the n.o.ble lady said. "These ones were the silent bunch. I tried to get some information out of them. They answered with short, polite words. I knew my husband was in trouble, I just didn't know how much trouble he was in, you see. I only wanted to help. Hermann never made it home that day. The men looked angry when they left, but they never came back."

The middle-aged woman brought her palms to her head and started crying. Raiya mulled over the information she had just received. She didn't want to go on a goose chase, but this mansion was the perfect place for her to hide, while the captain acquired the information they needed.

Two days ago, they realized that they were being followed. They asked too many questions about the butcher of Sosalk. The news pointed their fingers at an unknown individual, who invited otherworldly creatures to feast on the villagers. Raiya knew then, that Myles had something to do with the whole incident.

The village was too close to the exit from the tunnels she'd sent him through. She needed a place to hide though. The ones who tailed her and the captain weren't people to mess with. They were goons from the underground. They dealt in secret trades, human trafficking, money laundering and many other infamous crimes.

She didn't realize that the same goons tailing her had visited Mrs. Hartwell too. They all looked the same, crisp black suits and good manners. They never eat, drink or sleep. They weren't human. They were the sort that hunted her, and could easily finish her.

"Mrs Hartwell," Raiya addressed the crying lady. "I can't find your husband if you don't talk to me."

The woman wiped her tears, readjusted herself on the chair then looked at Raiya. "Many people say he was killed," she said. "Many people told me to forget about him, consider myself lucky that I'm still alive, but they don't understand. I saw him. I really saw him."

Raiya sighed heavily. "You saw him during his funeral," she said, trying to sound comforting. "Did anybody else see him?"

The n.o.ble lady shook her head. "He was observing me from behind a tree," she said. "The Custodians said they'd found his bloodied clothes, but no sign of his body. They said he'd been eaten by the new monsters. I don't buy it. I know what I've seen."

"How many people heard you say this?" Raiya asked.

"How is that relevant?" the n.o.ble lady snapped at her. "I hired you to look for him, not question my sanity!"

"If your husband's really alive," Raiya said. "You screaming left and right that he's still breathing puts you in danger. You said he had dealings with shady people, right?"

Mrs Hartwell nodded.

"I advise you to tell people in your entourage that it was grief then, that you may have seen his ghost, or your mind was playing games with you during his funeral," Raiya suggested.

"Are you out of your mind?" Mrs Hartwell asked, outraged.

"Mrs Hartwell, I understand your grief. I understand that you want others to believe your husband hadn't deserted you. I a.s.sure you he hadn't. If he's still alive, he's hiding to protect you. The people who owed him are dangerous."

She locked eyes with the n.o.ble lady, and gave her the most heartfelt expression she could muster.

"Only death clears his debt. He might have faked it to keep you safe," she told the grieving woman.

"Are you saying you believe me?" Mrs Hartwell said.

"I might," Raiya conceded. "The men you described, the ones who visited your home, I've dealt with their kind before."

"Do you think you can find him, find my Hermann?" Mrs. Hartwell asked.

"I'll do my best," Raiya said. "I don't think finding him would do you any good though."

"What do you mean?" Mrs. Hartwell asked.

"From what I gathered, your husband chose to disappear," Raiya answered. "He's in way over his head. He wants to leave you out of it."

"Can you find him?" Mrs Hartwell ignored Raiya's insinuated warnings.

"If you get me something that belonged to him, I might," Raiya said. "A family heirloom, an old book with his own handwriting, anything that belonged to him really, as long as he left a personal imprint on it."

"How about his bloodstained clothes?" the woman asked.

"That's a good start," Raiya answered.

"Give me a minute," Mrs Hartwell got to her feet, beaming. "I kept them somewhere safe."

Mrs Hartwell left Raiya by the terrace and hurried off inside her mansion. Raiya, alone with her thoughts, started processing this disappearance case. Everything pointed to the underworld, the only organization she wished to avoid at the moment.

The underworld was composed of the rich that had a real grasp over the world, economically and politically. If she were the Raiya before the battle against the Church, she wouldn't fear them, but things have changed since then. Sisha died protecting her secret. The demon king wanted her head for killing one of his kind, and the demon king had ties to the underworld.

She decided to give this job a chance nonetheless. It could bring her closer to the underworld. Someone who had gone at length to hide from them would have vital information for her. She also feared for Myles. If he was the one behind the attacks in Sosalk, he was in greater danger than he realized.

She needed to find him fast, before the underworld goons found him, or before the demon king did.