9-Cascade

  -Chapter Start: Present Day, August 6th, 1PM

  “You can just force it out of me, you know.” Zylas’ voice cut through the hum of chatter at the table. She leaned back, gaze fixated somewhere on the ceiling, indifferent to that around her. After the spectacle of Lord transferring Zylas’ contract to me, which left both of us unconscious, I needed a full day to recover. Zylas, ever tenacious, was back up within hours.

  “Zylas…” Ainai started, eyeing her as she rocked back and forth in her chair, precariously close to tipping over.

  “What?” Zylas replied with a smirk. “He just has to demand it from me.”

  “Alright I get it… What if you ask me questions first? I’ll answer them all, and we’ll go from there.” I rubbed my head slightly; the migraine I’d woken up with showed no signs of fading. Zylas paused her rocking and met my gaze. It wasn’t so much I wanted to look at her—looking anywhere else was too much pain to bear.

  “Fine. Does that bitch have any control over me, or is it just you?” Zylas let the chair fall forward, her stare sharpening as she leaned across the table. In doing so, she nudged Valia’s plate mid-cut, causing the fork to scrape.

  “Think of her as someone else I have a contract with. She’s… You don’t have to worry about her.” I spoke, wincing as the sound resonated within the confines of my head.

  “Can you prove that?” Zylas hastily retorted.

  “If you’re going to be that stubborn, I can play intermediary.” Ainai spoke, her calm voice springing up from my right. Glancing over, I noticed she was…

  “Oh? Well, this is unusual for you.” Zylas remarked, glancing over. Ainai appeared in her true form, with 3 tails now visible from behind her, tipped with a flaming blue orb. “What’s bringing out the fox to play?”

  Ainai glared at Zylas briefly, before standing up and moving her chair between us. Oddly, despite the vibrant glow the orbs radiated around her, the migraine was slowly melting away. Settling back down, she placed her hands on the table and took a deep breath.

  “Before you two begin, I have my own question, Daegon.” Ainai’s voice was calm as she leaned back slightly. I nodded, curious about what she wanted to know. “What is your contract with the other being that resides within you?”

  A long pause ensued. For such a simple surface question, there was a complexity I wasn’t sure how to begin with, nor fully answer.

  “Well… She’s…” I began, attempting to formulate my response. A churning of grogginess began to wake up within me, as if coming out of a long hibernation.

  “Does she have a name?” Valia interjected, having moved her plate over to Ainai’s previous spot. She also seemed very interested in knowing more.

  “Well, yes. But… Knowing her name would cause a lot of problems. Especially if others outside of here knew.” I stated, looking between the four. “I can’t say much about the contract either, honestly. I can’t even tell you when it was formed, or how long it has been… But I can tell you that its impossible for both contracts to intermingle.”

  Another stirring of grogginess swept over me, and the smallest of murmurs entered my mind.

  “Little Daegon, do you intend to trust these like those before?” She spoke, in the faintest of whispers on the edge of one’s ear. A lulling, almost sorrowful feeling swept over me. Ainai took immediate notice of the interaction. But a bleak coating of memories covered my field of vision, and took control of my senses. There was movement around me, but it was impossible to see through the memories.

  “I don’t know…” I responded, potentially out loud.

  “It will repeat…” She spoke, as if attempting to maintain the barely audible speech. “Are we… making an Amend?”

  “You approve of them?” I asked, shaking the cascade of memories from my gaze. Valia was still sitting on the other side of the table, with a new plate of food. Despite her appetite, it was apparent she was still focused on me. Carna had elected to sit down finally, taking up residence where Ainai previously was to my right. She held a quiet conversation with Valia, but nothing I could make out. Zylas hadn’t moved since we started, glaring at me intently. And Ainai…

  “Put yourself at ease, there’s no need to answer.” Ainai spoke from behind me, her hands on my shoulder. An enormous wave of soothing warmth had enveloped me, and for quite some time at this point. It appeared to be there since Ainai stood up, but I was completely oblivious until I focused back on reality. It slowly left me though, as she sat back down.

  “So, the cum-rag isn’t telling us anything, nothing new there.” Zylas snarked.

  “What the fuck, Zylas.” Carna said in a whisper, wide-eyed at such a remark.

  “What? Not like- “Zylas began to snap back, but was cut off.

  “Daegon and… His guest, are going to tell you Zylas. I think that much was just decided.” Ainai interjected, keeping a calm, sincere voice and presence. Perhaps I was overthinking it; but as unsettlingly serene as Ainai was, if she ever turned to nefarious deeds, she would be unstoppable. “What were you just thinking?”

  “Uh… Just that, if you preyed on humans, I don’t think there would be any way to stop you.” I said, as if my mouth had a mind of its own. I froze realizing what I said, while Ainai snorted lightly.

  “Yeah she’d be at the top of both worlds if she let loose. I wouldn’t stand a chance… Ainai, what the fuck!” Zylas muttered, realizing too late she was also under Ainai’s influence. Valia burst with laughter, gasping for air between breaths.

  “If you didn’t feel the need to comment on everything, you wouldn’t have said that.” Ainai replied with a smile, looking back over to Zylas. Carna turned to Valia, a sense of mischievousness crossed her face.

  “Hey Valia, how do you feel about Daegon?” Carna asked in a cunning tone.

  “Carna!” Ainai nearly shouted, but it wasn’t enough to stop Valia’s response.

  “I mean I’d carry-“ Valia began before Zylas slammed her fist onto the table, rattling everything in discord.

  “X'n mjd wqlq vjl sjk dhj dj vkge zljkmt.” Zylas growled. Valia covered her mouth and Carna was left awe-struck, despite Zylas’ aggression.

  “Can we please not make so much noise? My head is going to explode if this keeps up.” I beckoned, covering my face with my hands, slowly rubbing my temples. Whatever Ainai was doing to soothe me, seemed to pale in comparison to the new wave of agony. A sudden wave of lulling hypnotic power coursed through me, as I pulled my hands away to see dark pulses of purple run under my skin through my veins. The migraine remained, but reverted back to its original pre-crippling strength. A subtle, but noticeable squint came from Ainai, watching whatever just happened unfold.

  “Lets start from the beginning then. Daegon, are you certain you’re the only one holding the contract?” Ainai asked, looking me over again. Another wave of warmth pulsed from her, though to little effect this time.

  “How am I supposed to know?” I replied, resting an elbow on the table and covering my right eye with one hand. My whole body ached, and I wished I could be anywhere but here. The pounding migraine made this conversation an uphill struggle.

  “Mmm… Pups chest has a crest…” A voice tiredly, slowly, sprung forth from me. All eyes, which fixated on me, slowly shifted to Zylas. She glanced down and unzipped her jacket, exposing bare skin. In the middle of her chest laid an unmistakable emblem, roughly the size of her hand.

  “No shit.” Zylas said, almost sounding impressed.

  “Is something off?” Ainai asked carefully, glancing back over to me. She was more concerned for my wellbeing than Zylas’ contract.

  “Well it’s my old contract, verbatim. Wait... Looks like Lord made a last-minute addendum before passing it on.” Zylas said curiously.

  “‘First Fallen, Mother of Wisdom, and Seductress of Eden, will never hold Domain over one Zylas Etertwight’. So long as you bear that name, and that contract holds true, I cannot command you through it.” An exhausted voice once again borrowed my lips. A deep pain seemed to resonate through me, but only laid within her… Are you… Alright?

  “What kind of bullshit name is Etertwight?” Zylas barked.

  “That’s… My last name.” I replied dumbfounded. A name I haven’t heard in years, even from her. “When... I became host to… To her, I didn’t have a middle or last name. To seal our contract, she bestowed upon me one such… Briorth Etertwight. But, those haven’t been spoken since that day, and now.”

  “Lord learned your last name, and used it to solidify a Contract to bar your ‘other’ contract from controlling Zylas? Also, isn’t that beyond the norm for him? I don’t think I’ve ever heard an Overseer taking interest in anything beyond Rule-Breakers.” Carna asked, looking puzzled.

  “I made a bet with Lord, and it seems he’s a sore loser. Both him and Zylas are far more exceptional than they know.” She spoke again, a bit livelier than previously.

  Before anyone could follow up with their questions, the sounds of a door quickly opening and closing a few rooms down could be heard. Then, another, and another.

  “What the fuck is going on.” Zylas snarled as she stood up to quickly make her way down the hallway. A few moments later, she returned with the mail-delivery faun in hand, literally.

  “Sorry! Sorry sorry, terribly sorry! I have a quick, quick quick important delivery for Daegon! Top priority delivery!” The faun pouted slightly until Zylas dropped them. They hastily walked up to me with a letter in hand.

  “Time sensitive, Special Request. Please come in as soon as you can.” They whispered closely to me, attempting to not let the others hear. Oddly, it looked like a magic circle formed in front of their mouth when they spoke. The faun quickly shuffled away and nearly ran into Zylas as they looked back down into their courier bag for their next delivery. Zylas let out a low snarl, causing the faun to bolt to a door much further away, exiting as quickly as they could. Opening the letter, it was just as they said. Someone, or rather, something, has requested me to deliver a parcel by the end of the day. I looked over to Zylas, a bit concerned with having to end this conversation early.

  “Look, if you got shit to do than fine, go do it. But I’ll beat the answers out of you next time if I have to.” Zylas responded before turning about and walking off in a huff. Ainai gave a small sigh of relief, gave a glancing smile, and walked off after Zylas.

  “Sooo… Valia, what exactly were you willing to carry for Daegon?” Carna quipped up, before being punched in the shoulder.

  “Ask again, and I’m turning you into a rug Carna!”

  With a swish of the Travelers Rune, and a flick of the doorknob, a rather lulling blue hallway appeared before me. Looking behind me, Valia gave a light wave as she stood in the kitchen area of my house before the door closed. Memories of my first mishap using the rune kept my mind sharpened for these attempts. The jump to my house, and now to the original CDS shipping area Lord brought me to after saving my life, went off without a hitch. I was a bit overprepared this time it felt, gearing up with some more special equipment for adventuring. Despite the preparedness, it was mostly wilderness survival items in a small backpack. Though, this felt more like a placebo when my partner Jaskrim is considered. Looking back, the hallway shrunk, and brought me within walking distance of a large desk with a suit of armor behind it. The armor itself was missing its head, with a decently sized green flame coming from its neck. Whatever it was doing with the various papers and folders was keeping its attention rather than my closing presence.

  “Uh, hello.” I sheepishly spoke. Its attention instantly turned to me as the armor-clad body quickly stood up. A horrifying floating skull covered in green fire immediately raced up to meet my gaze from below. It screamed, rupturing forth a merciless sound before abruptly stopping.

  “Oh! You’re Daegon!” It echoed in a humbling, but still terrifying garbled way. The skull quickly spun in circles, causing the flames to brighten and forcing me to close my eyes. Slowly opening my eyes after a few seconds, the skull seemed to turn into a ghostly, almost porcelain white face of a young woman with scars running down the cheeks. Her eyes, a clouded green that have long since seen life rolled about until locking into a ‘humanlike’ stare. The flair of her ghostly white hair sprung forth, as she slowly floated back in forth. Her hair streamed behind her in a hypnotic rhythm, as if possessed by the symphony of her previous life. Finally, her expressions awakened, as she quickly scrunched, squished, and made various faces as if remembering how to do so. Quickly, her head floated back towards me, giving me her full attention.

  “I thought you were a trespasser I’d have to scoop the eyes out of, sorry about that. Call me Duals!” She spoke in a chipper and rather foreign tone, with haunting inflections that seemed to drag the words in a quiet endless echo. Duals body was still that of a suit of armor, with a much calmer flame coming from the neck than previously. “You must be here for that delivery! You sure are quick for a human, I didn’t think you’d be here for a while.”

  “Oh, they did issue me a rune, I just used that to travel home to get my stuff… Is uh, Jaskrim here by any chance?” I asked as Duals quickly began to sort through paperwork and files once more. She stopped for a second to eye me, as she unwrapped a sucker and popped it into their mouth.

  “You know, CDS has strict rules on using that stone… Under normal circumstances I bet they’d wallop ya good for doin’ that… Nah, you’ll be fine since you’re human, you used it for work. I’ll clear it here for ya just in case. Give’em a good note from yours truly.” Duals spoke happily, her body working on one task as the head flew about looking at other things. “Oh, and it looks like the big guy just clocked out, want me to call’em?”

  “Yeah, if that’s poss- “I began to say before a high-pitched buzzing sound rang out, causing me to cover my ears. It only lasted a few seconds, but with that migraine still fresh, and Duals previous scream, it seemed reignite the throbbing pains I had gotten used to. After about a minute, my head seemed to calm down and I heard a distinct ‘ring’ sound come from behind me, followed by a few large ‘thumps’.

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  “Daegon!” Jaskrim yelled, giving me just a few moments to turn around before being inexplicably squeezed to death. Despite previous times, he had quite a noticeably different smell to him. Almost, floral.

  “Hey there big guy. Are you tagging along today?” I asked as he sat me back down. He looked puzzled, and looked down onto himself. He wasn’t wearing his uniform, and it just struck me the color of his armored plates were a near identical match to his uniforms.

  “I just clocked out; did they give you an assignment?” He asked curiously. I handed him the note I was given, which quickly turned into a concerning look.

  “Qogkyq nq, tj sjk wzfq dwq ywqqd vjl dwxy lqikqyd?” Jaskrim asked a question I didn’t quite catch.

  “Yjlls, xd yqqny dwq Lqikqyd gzm jmrs pq ywjhm dj Tzqcjm.” Duals responded in kind, as her head flew over to me. “Meaning, you’re not allowed to share its information with anyone else that isn’t listed. You’re the only one requested.”

  “Only myself?” I questioned, who in the right mind would ask for just a human to deliver something?

  “They asked for you by name, even left an incentive. That’s pretty rare honestly. You normally get paid for the job through the CDS, and whatever being wanting it delivers pays the cost in advance. This being both a delivery, and a reward on delivery is quite the rarity. Especially for such a simple job.” Duals said, her head flying around me before heading back.

  “That doesn’t seem right…” Jaskrim said worriedly.

  “Nope, that’s right! Here it is. Daegon Etertwight, Human Male, to personally deliver… Yadda yadda yadda, to… The client. Yup! It’s all here. They said the reward is the package itself, once you deliver it.” Duals said with haste. A cold chill ran down my spine hearing my last name again. I don’t know how, or why, but L has to be behind this as well.

  “Daegon, this doesn’t sound right at all. If they’re asking you to come alone, it’s not safe.” Jaskrim stated looking back over to Duals.

  “Why? You do your job alone a lot. Nothing bads ever happened to you… Well, besides those like… Two… Three… Five times? Who’s keeping count.” Duals said as her head did a little nodding, almost like dancing, as they were reading over a file. Surprisingly, it seemed they picked up the file with whatever magic kept their head afloat and was reading it in front of them.

  “But Daegon’s a human! Plus, the package is for him. They’re most definitely not- “Jaskrim began before being cut off. Duals ‘threw’ the file upwards in the air and quickly rushed over to Jaskrim, glaring. In the background, the file leisurely flew back down and was claimed by the body who promptly sorted it.

  “The client is verified, and has been for a long time. The CDS wouldn’t have approved him doing this if his safety wasn’t at least somewhat, mostly guaranteed if he sticks to protocol. Besides, he needs to do the tougher jobs eventually. Worst case he declines the job, right?” Duals once again spoke in haste. Her head floated back over to me, as she squinted as if looking for my reaction. She was slowly moving the sucker around from one side of her mouth to the other.

  “I can decline?” I pondered the new revelation.

  “And you should!” Jaskrim quickly stated.

  “Of course you can decline, it’s not like we’re monsters.” Duals paused, before bursting out into laughter, nearly tearing up from their joke. “But seriously, Special Requests like these are an oddity. If they’re requesting one, and only one CDS member, you have every right to decline regardless of what they want delivered. All clients are aware we deliver in a minimum group of two.”

  “Who’s the client, then? Is it someone I should be worried about?” I asked, an uneasy feeling nestled deep within. Curiosity was a poison of mine, and it already set in. If L was behind this, I don’t feel he would intentionally put me in a situation I couldn’t overcome.

  “You can’t be se- “Jaskrim began before getting cut off.

  “Hmm, how I put this in human words… Arch-Lord Kalth, of the Fae.” Duals spoke after some particularly interesting thinking noises, and floating unsettlingly close. The cunning dealmakers and the phantasmal wordplay, trickery and deceit from every word they say. “It says here, ‘We agree to make no such moves that would hinder your work at the CDS or daily life outside of it’. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.”

  “That’s… Odd.” I spoke, confused by this job. Duals nodded in agreement and wisped herself away. On one side, a very powerful being wishes to meet, and promises no ill will outright. With, an extra gift to boot. But on the other, they want me to go alone. They said ‘we’, but didn’t clarify who ‘we’ is… Do they have a third party that would intervene? Also, why does ‘Kalth’ sound so familiar to me?

  “It is odd Daegon, please don’t accept this. I would feel much better if we could request me to go along as well.” Jaskrim said, very obviously worried about this whole ordeal.

  “I doubt it, the Fae are very mingy about things like this. It’ll be this, or nothing.” Duals spoke once more. “So, what’ll be Mister Human?”

  The deadline was by the end of the day, while I had more than enough time to reason it out… That isn’t in your nature, is it little one? If it is the Fae, I will be in full attendance… That’s more concerning than the job, if she’s willing to stay in attendance…

  “I’ll do it. Don’t worry Jaskrim, I still owe you an explanation about my friend, right? I’ll be back.” I stated with a smile. His concern didn’t seem to fade away, but he acknowledged my resolve.

  “Alright, but if you’re not back by tomorrow I’m going to check on you myself regardless of what the CDS says.” He spoke, probably the first time with such an authoritative tone around me.

  “I ain’t gonna stop ya.” Duals spoke, her head floating back to the table. Her armored body stood, and walked over to me handing a decently sized package. If I had to guess, it was a rather large book, or bundles of documents. “Take this here, by yourself as agreed upon. Failure to do so voids any protection the CDS offers. Normal rules apply, so don’t go makin’ trouble for others in the area and they shouldn’t for you.”

  “You new? Or lookin’ for a job?” An exhausted, older office worker asked as I entered the rather clean elevator. Despite the peculiar foreign sounds he spoke, I understood him completely thanks to the Travelers’ Rune I had promptly secured around my neck.

  “No, just here to deliver a package.” I said hesitantly. He looked up slightly to see me after I pressed a button to the top floor.

  “For the President? How odd. Can I have your name young man?” He asked looking at the package. A strange tinge pried at the back of my neck, and a jarring shake from the elevator sprung us upward.

  “Oh uh, you mean this?” I stuttered, pointing to the freshly placed name tag on my uniform. I couldn’t read the inscription, and Duals insisted I point to it whenever someone asked me for my name and that I don’t translate it. The older worker smiled, and gave a small chuckle.

  “Youths these days, so carefree. What would you have said if I was blind?” He asked.

  “I-uh… Want one of these?” I stammered, realizing I wasn’t allowed to apologize as I held out a handful of butterscotch candies. I had a crash course slammed into me by Jaskrim before my departure, as Duals let slip where I was going. This Dominion had a curious effect on all those who entered. While it might seem like a normal building, and most of the entities inside of it were human, there were laws dictating the very flow of things here. Questions can be quite literal, and apologies were an indication of guilt that others could act upon. It’s best to say nothing at all if possible, and don’t get too comfortable around anyone within. If cornered, try offering something to deflect anything the target might want from you. No matter how unassuming, treat everyone with immense suspicion.

  Ding! Third floor.

  “A piece of advice for the treat, you’ll need to hop multiple elevators if you’re going to the top. Try floor five for your next one.” The older worker spoke popping the candy he took before getting off.

  Ding! The elevator door closed, and slowly began its ascent. It was odd, but I’m pretty sure he was telling the truth. Heeding his advice, I pressed the fifth button.

  Ding! The doors open, and as I began to exit, a group of workers entered filling the elevator. A rather close call to being packed inside; The old man might be right.

  “A newbie to help turn the cogs of the machine, eh?” Another voice sprung up to my right from a cubical. ‘Isamu’ was on the name plaque on the wall, polished to a fine sheen.

  “No, uh, package delivery. Just going to the top.” I quickly retorted looking over, before looking back at the elevator area. But the elevators were replaced with lines of cubicles.

  “Such a sad day to get lost.” Isamu replied, continuing their work without looking over. “You sure you can’t stay for a moment?”

  “Nope, so- so long though!” I quickly caught myself as a pain jolted down my right arm. “Don’t worry little thing, I’ll be sure to keep you from doing anything too trivializing.” It almost felt like it went numb, before going back to normal. Making my way through the now maze of cubicles, it almost looked like I was lost.

  “Hey there, can I get your ideas for this report?” A voice sprung up from a cubical I was walking by. “I can show you the way to an elevator if so.”

  “Sur-“ I was cut off by my hand going numb. “Your ideas…” “Surely, others would be better for that than I. But I appreciate the offer.”

  “Aw man, it’ll never get done in time then.” A saddened response came. I paused, looking back. Part of me was curious, too curious, about what all these folk were working on. With a deep sigh, I steeled myself and continued onwards. It felt as if I passed hundreds, if not thousands of these before I finally came to another section of elevators.

  “What a relief.” I said pressing the up arrow. Walking through the cubicles put me onto the nineth floor, which felt like a minor victory in terms of how my previous Dominion experience went. Another employee holding a large, fresh cup of coffee came and stood next to me, their expression looked dreadful.

  “Forty-seven thousand, nine hundred and sixty-three… Carry the five…” they appeared to be deep in their own world of office work.

  Ding! An empty elevator arrived, as I hastily got in and pressed the top floor button. Slowly, the dreadful looking worker dragged himself into the elevator, still murmuring various equations. I held the door, as it wanted to close before he would have made it in.

  Ding!

  “Thanks.” He murmured, as he went back to his numbers. The elevator jolted up, as he slowly pressed the button for floor 12.

  Ding! The doors opened on floor 10, as a rather tall and well-suited lady walked in, also clearly overworked. My heart-rate jumped, as for a second, she had a similar complexion to Ainai. She was definitely taller, and more built, but she felt off. I ended up sliding to the side away from the number pad behind the exhausted guy who entered with me. I don’t think she honestly noticed me at all as she pressed the close button and slumped against the wall.

  Ding! Floor 12, and the guy in front of me slowly made his escape. The doors closed and I glanced over to see no other buttons were pressed except the top floor. Was she going there as well?

  “Uuuuuggghhhh. I’m gonna die here at this rate. Just one more meeting…” She moaned, slowly pushing herself back up and looking over at the buttons. “Did I…?”

  “You alright, miss?” I asked carefully.

  “Oh fuck off, I don’t have time for your dumb kinds tricks. My days almost over.” She said without even turning about.

  “Y-you’re not Fae-bound?” I asked, a bit confused from her response. That was more than enough to get her to turn around and look at me. Her eyes were that of a green, almost yellow color.

  “Are you?” She asked with a tired, but stern look. Getting a better look at her, I fear my initial glance at her was the only thing similar to Ainai. Her hair was obviously dyed, a deep dark shade of pink, nearly or perhaps magenta. It would be fair to say she was a middle-ground between Zylas and Ainai when it came to facial features. But it did make me question if this region might be where Ainai originated.

  “Gods no. I’m here to deliver a package.” I responded.

  “Alone? What are you then, some type of… Doppelganger? Elemental? What monster walks into a place like this of their own free will?” She asked, crossing her arms in the same tone.

  Ding! The doors opened, and two workers began to get in before seeing the woman and slowly backed out, allowing the doors to close. “Ooh, those Fae were afraid of her… But she’s just human, this is interesting. You might want to see if you can get on her good side, but watch your tongue.”

  “I’m human, just like you… This Dominion is very specific with its wording, right? Could a Fae say something like that?” I spoke after the doors closed and we began moving again.

  “Only an idi-... Wait, you’re delivering a package…” She began, as she looked me up and down, then back to the elevator buttons. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a crumbled piece of paper before looking me over once again.

  “CDS Delivery?” She asked, uncrumpling the paper.

  “Yeah, for uh, top floor.” I responded, unsure how much to say.

  “So, Director Kalth? I’m his secretary.” She spoke once more, now eyeballing the package. “Looks like I’ve lost another wager, no way in hell did I think a normie would be stupid enough to just walk into a place like this. How did you even get this far?”

  “Well…” I began to speak before-

  Ding! The 21st floor opened, and a shorter female walked in eyeballing the secretary.

  “My, wouldn’t it be nice if we were alone in here?” The new lady asked, in quite a sultry tone. She leaned on the opposite wall from the secretary closer to me, and slowly pushed a foot up and against the wall raising her skirt slightly.

  “Never.” The secretary simply said, as she placed her back against the far wall watching the new shorter lady eye her up and down. The secretary had quite the agitated aura, despite the stalwart neutral expression she forced. The elevator shook, and a pen that was lodged into a stack of folders flops to the ground from the shorter lady. A small glint reflected from her pink eyes as she smiled in my direction.

  “Oh dear, young man can you get that for me my hands are so full.” She asked with a charming smile. I began to reach for it when suddenly a flow of purple energy shot through my veins and clenched my muscles… This was also a trap?

  “C-can’t do that.” I said, straightening back up as my muscles untensed.

  “Oh that’s fine, you lovely little thing. I think that one was out of ink anyways. Wouldn’t want to waste time on something empty, right? Better we forget it? The time just flies by here, you must be exhausted from all the work today. You’re not from around here, right? Work ends in an hour, perhaps we could give you a tour of the city. We could spice up that resume of yours with more formal practices.” The shorter lady spoke in such a carefree way, it almost made me forget where I was. I opened my mouth to respond, but the glare of the secretary made me stop.

  “That’s… Incredibly devious.” I spoke aloud, realizing the numerous pitfalls and catastrophes she laid in a simple dialogue.

  “Can’t blame a girl for trying to get some alone time with their wife.” The shorter lady smirked, as-

  Ding! “Don’t worry work wifey, I’ll be here when you need more alone time in a seclu-” She was saying as the elevator door quickly closed. The secretary was white-knuckling the ‘close door’ button. She glared at me momentarily before letting loose another long sigh.

  “Utagawa, Rinako.” She said, leaning back over on the wall.

  “Daegon.” I stated simply, happy the tension finally broke.

  “Sadly, I knew that, your name is listed on my document.” Utagawa said loosening the tie around her neck. It seemed our destination was rather close now, and I was hoping no other distractions would interfere.

  “Who was-” I began to ask, as Utagawa cleared her throat.

  “Fuzu Rinako, once a Fae of the Court, now my wife. Yes, I was tricked. No, I can’t divorce. But at least I got the better end of the stick.” She spoke as if this was the hundredth time today saying such a statement.

  “Sor-uh… Gotcha.” I began, catching myself. She looked me over again, slowly rolling her neck side-to-side. Utagawa began to destress it felt like, clearly no longer worried about my presence.

  “Listen, I know how this entire thing is about to go down.” Utagawa began.

  Ding! She took a step out, and blocked the elevator door with her foot. “You don’t seem like a bad guy, so I’ll offer you some advice. Kalth isn’t going to finalize this delivery today to sweat you out, knowing you can’t return until it’s done.”

  “Wh-what? But, the package…” I began before she held up her hand.

  “Yes, it’s for you. But he won’t sign until the last moment, tomorrow afternoon just before he leaves for the day. By then, you’d be bombarded by hundreds of other creatures to get you in some type of pact with them, that he’ll use to leverage whatever sick gains he wants from you.” Utagawa spoke, as if this wasn’t the first, or last time this would happen.

  “So, I just have to…” I began, before she held her hand up again to pause me.

  “You have to turn down, not help, or accept anything from anyone over the course of the next day. Sorry to say but you’re a bit out of your depth here, seeing how you nearly fell for Fuzu’s trickery.” Utagawa spoke, as the potential future dawned on me. “Here it comes, Daegon. Listen well.” “I want to make you an offer.”

  “Why would you be willing to help me? Especially against your employer?” I asked, as a rush of concerns flushed through my mind. A multitude of scenarios, all overly complex, seemed to captivate my senses.

  “Honestly? Because I’m sick and tired of this company, and I’m no longer under their spell… Plus, you might be able to help me, and you’re not from around here. You scream outsider. Maybe I need an outside perspective on things.” Utagawa spoke as she nodded for me to exit the elevator. The door closed behind me and I entered into a small, but elaborate waiting area. A fair number of luxurious chairs stretched across a wall with an extravagant painting, giving a majestic view of the city below. Utagawa walked behind the ornately carved desk and grabbed a few files before walking back over.

  “Listen, you can crash at my place to avoid most of this. But only if you think you can help me with this Wife problem I have.” Utagawa spoke firmly.

  “I don’t have knowledge…” Utagawa gave a stern look at me once more, as if telling me to keep quiet.

  “I’m not asking you do the impossible, I’m just asking, maybe become a preferred delivery provider for me and, maybe you find out some information on your deliveries… And, while you’re here, maybe distance me from that vampire of a wife I have.” Utagawa quietly spoke. “She is in luck, I have quite a bit of knowledge on how the Fae work, nefarious little things. We should accept this, Little Daegon.”

  “Al…” Once again, she holds a hand up, this time pushing a finger to her lips. Honestly, it was getting a bit annoying to be cut off so much, but I bit my tongue knowing it was probably for a good reason.

  “Director Kalth is available for you to see now, Daegon.” Utagawa spoke as she walked over to the far door. Opening it, she stepped in and ushered me to follow.

  “Nothing ventured…” “Nothing gained.”