The Last Dainv

Chapter 282

Having followed the blue line on gmaps, Gale arrived in Agincourt after 20 minutes of running. The street signs told him nothing but street names, but he trusted the power of technology.

The Attuned said she was somewhere here, but the man didn't know, and his heart rhythm told him he was telling the truth. No need to squeeze him dry for information when he had no water left.

But this was an easy problem to solve.

Guide, Gale whispered in the growling voice of the dark hunter. Find the woman called Jackie. Blonde hair, fire-type signature, I fought her before.

[Query Accepted]

[Scanning for specific matching signature profile]

Presence Between's tendrils spread outward from his position, stretching across the whole neighbourhood. Passing through walls, doors, basements, it scoured the area relentlessly looking for the target. Most people were on their phones or watching something on the TV. No one was even reading books. Then suddenly, a notification.

[Match Found.]

He felt a fiery Attuned signature from his tendrils. The tendrils fed him the visual location of the house numbered 127, and the street name was Rooksnest Trail. A modest two storey house with a small front yard and a beat up old red car at the front.

Street names always never made sense to him.

The house was bout a 3 minute light jog.

Jogging over to the house, something was off. There were no lights inside. Every window was dark. The curtains were drawn, blocking anything from viewing what was inside. It was as if no one was awake or it was abandoned.

Presence Between's tendrils slipped through the walls, mapping the interior. The house had the standard furniture of having a TV, sofa, dining table and chairs, fridge, microwave, and stove. However, no one was on the first floor nor the second floor where the bedrooms were.

Tendrils moved below the house, going into the basement. That's where he found Jackie, sitting on a sofa with a hoodie and sweatpants. Both of them red.

Why does she always wear red? Gale wanted to ask her that.

She was scrolling her phone, then switching to a different app, she typed in 'The Daily Witching'. A weird name for a website.

On that website, there was a picture of William and the headline that said 'William Rejected by the Heir of the Ann Family over a Wild Boy'.

Gale cringed. Whoever this wild boy was, he'd be more wild than him. Feral, even.

Now, time to do this. Best to be polite, unlike last time when he just barged into the supermarket and made her spill the beans.

Walking up to the front door, Gale knocked thrice, loud.

Through his tendrils, he watched Jackie's reaction.

Her head snapped up from her phone. Her body went rigid. She moved silently off the sofa and toward a closet in the corner of the basement. The door opened without a sound. She slipped inside and locked it behind her.

Gale waited for at least 30 seconds before knocking three more times.

Again, no response from Jackie. Her breathing also remained steady, like she'd done this before.

Now she was just being rude.

Normal way wasn't going to cut it. The old fashioned way it was.

Activating Phase Touch, he walked through the front door. The house was dark, but the darkness didn't bother him at all.

He navigated through the living room, past the kitchen, and found the door that led to the basement. Not a sound was made with each step he took.

Phasing through the basement door, he went down slowly. He saw only a sofa, a fridge, and a microwave in the basement. Nothing else. It reminded him a bit of his very minimal apartment.

At least she was living fine after everything that happened.

Gale moved towards the basement door that she was in. Presence Between tendrils showed him what awaited on the other side. Her gun was pointed right at the door, the same red artificial gun that would spew out fire bullets.

Erebus materialized silently. Not bothering with the doorknob, one slash was all it took to split both the door and gun in half. In one smooth motion, he immediately grabbed her by the neck and threw her towards the sofa.

Jackie coughed, gasping for air. When her eyes widened at his appearance, that was his signal that he recognized her.

"It's you," she wheezed. "You here to finish the job?"

"I'm on vacation." Gale dematerialized Erebus and sat down on the other end of the sofa by the arm. "What job are you talking about?"

Jackie stared at him for a long moment, looking at his posture. For a couple of seconds, she said nothing until she sighed.

"Nevermind. What do you want?"

"Just wanted to say hello." Gale shrugged. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"Stop dancing around the subject and just ask what you want."

"Fine," Gale said, sliding down the sofa. He really did just want to say hello since, although she was a criminal, she had her reasons to be. Still human and reasonable. "So, what's the deal with Big Albert?"

Jackie's eyebrow rose. "You got caught up in it?"

Gale didn't know what she meant by getting caught up. "No. Just ran into three idiots trying to kill someone. What's the deal with it?"

"You heard about the war that just ended?"

"I've heard of it," Gale said. "Don't know the details, though. I was in a rift for a month."

"Right. You were part of that group," Jackie shook her head, taking a deep breath. "A month where everything went to shit."

She was quiet for a moment, her eyes drifting to the ceiling. When she spoke again, her voice had turned somber as if resignation filled her tone.

"You remember Liam? The beast-like idiot that was with me back then?"

Gale nodded.

"He was part of Spotlight's clique in the Silver Lions," Jackie said. "Because of that association, the Anns are after my head too. Guilt by proximity. Doesn't matter that I was just a low-level contractor who managed distribution for the Lions. If you were connected to anyone connected to Spotlight, you were marked."

Unlawfully taken from NovelBin, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"What exactly happened though?"

Jackie forced a laugh. "Street clean up. That's what they called it." She looked at him for a second, then continued. "The Ann family head probably already knew their heir was safe because of the dark hunter."

Gale kept his face neutral at the mention of that name, but inside, his heart hurt ever more.

"They used the rifting as justification to do what they'd probably been planning for years," Jackie continued. "A full purge. Thousands of people dead in a matter of days. Could've been me if I wasn't careful."

"How did you get out?" he asked again.

Jackie unfolded herself from the sofa and walked to the fridge in the corner of the basement. She opened it, revealing rows of bottles and cans. Her hand grabbed two bottles of yellow liquid.

She walked back and offered one to Gale.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Beer."

"Is it sweet?"

Jackie paused. Stared at him. "No. It's beer."

"Then I don't want it."

She shook her head, put one bottle back in the fridge, and grabbed a can instead. This one she tossed to him.

"Try that."

Gale cracked it open. The liquid inside was golden and fizzy and smelled like apples. One sip, and it was sweet with a hint of sourness. It was good and tasted more like adult apple juice.

"So." He kept sipping. "How'd you get out?"

Jackie took a long pull from her beer bottle. "I didn't. Can't you see I'm still hiding?"

Looking around, that was a fair point from the way she was living. Gale sipped his cider again.

"One of Glory's men covered for me during a firefight," Jackie said, staring at the bottle in her hands. "Gave me an opening to run. I took it. Got out. Been hiding here for a month now."

"How are you getting food?"

"SkipTheDoor app."

"What's that?" Gale asked curiously.

"It's an app where you can order food to be delivered. Someone brings it to your door. You don't have to leave the house."

An app that delivers food right to your door?! That sounded crazy convenient. The possibilities of him no longer having to put up with the kiosk or the man behind the desk in restaurants.

Technology was amazing.

However, Gale suppressed his reaction at the casual mention of the glorious app. Couldn't let Jackie catch him lacking.

Jackie finished the rest of her beer and set the empty bottle on the floor beside the sofa. Her eyes dilated. "Imagine living with your friends," she said softly. "Climbing the corporate ladder together. Making plans for the future. Then suddenly, their heads explode right beside you. Blood on your face. Brain matter in your hair. How would you feel if that happened to you?"

That almost happened to him in the Architect's Tomb. The Proctor's army would've made them all into monsters. He'd be able to escape, but what about his friends? They'd be gone, just like that.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Gale muttered.

"No, you're not." Jackie got up and grabbed another beer from the fridge. "But it's fine. Sympathy from the guy who helped destroy my organization isn't exactly what I'm looking for."

She flicked the cap with one finger and took another long drink.

"Big Albert," Gale said. "What's his deal?"

"The war caused a power vacuum. Obviously." Jackie wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Glory's territory was the biggest prize. All the dust networks, the protection rackets, the legitimate businesses they used for laundering. Not to mention the Bazaar's equipment just lying there free for the taking. All of it, free for taking."

"And?"

"Three idiots are vying for the Lion's and Glory's scraps right now. Bonnie, Yuxuan Lin, and a man who calls himself 'Sombra.'"

"Tell me about them," he said.

Jackie slowly smirked at him. "I'll tell you everything, but not without getting compensation."

"What is it?" Gale asked.

Jackie's head leaned back onto the sofa as she stared at the ceiling. "Every day, I relive those moments. She was my friend since high school and her blood splattered all over my face. Both of us were just caught in this Aurian bullshit. None of us wanted to do anything with this until they put us into Sterling back then."

Gale slightly clenched the cider can. "So?"

"I want help," she whispered. "For years, it was just me and her. But she's gone."

Jackie turned her head towards him. Her stern eyes focused on him as if she wasn't taking no for an answer. "Save me from the Anns. Please. Everywhere I go, I always have to watch my corners. Every shadow, footstep. Every fucking goddamned noise makes me jump. I'm about to lose my mind, so please, I can't stand it anymore. I'd rather just die."

Gale stared at her. "Do you know who you're asking?"

"It doesn't matter."

He looked at her for a long moment. This Jackie was different from the feisty one he remembered who almost had him with Liam Duvall. She'd grown weak, and he could somehow understand her pain. Maybe he wouldn't be as strong as her if he saw them die beside him, not being able to do anything about it.

Looking back at her, her hair was dishevelled. Strands fell out of what used to be straight blonde hair. The red hoodie had stains on it that smelled of food that were days or weeks old, same with the sweatpants she wore. She probably didn't have many clothes left in this house, and that app she mentioned probably couldn't bring clothes.

One single month entirely changed the person in front of him.

Gale pulled out his phone suddenly, causing her to flinch slightly. He opened the contacts app and found Ollie as one of the only 15 contacts he had. Tapping on his icon, he turned around his phone to show her the number.

"Memorize this," he said.

"Oliver Glory?" Her eyes widened as she quickly pulled out her phone to type in the numbers.

"Text him or call him. Pray that your luck is good and that he answers." Gale put his phone away.

Jackie nodded. Looks like she'll basically bite at any opportunity she can get to get out of her situation.

"That's all I need," she said. "A chance."

"Good." Gale finished the rest of his cider and set the can down softly on the floor. "Now tell me what you know about the three idiots you mentioned."

"Bonnie," Jackie started immediately. "Born from a well-off family. Smart in her own right. Smart enough to be able to create dust variants."

"Dust variants?"

"Different formulations, just like what Glory does, except bootleg and more about the high rather than the power," Jackie said. "Her power is a subvariant of telekinesis. More about fine-tuned control rather than raw power like Glory's. Support type, more for crafting rather than combat. Mid-Resonant."

Gale nodded.

"Yuxuan Lin," Jackie continued. "Former monk of the Wutang Sect."

"Beggar Sect?" That rang a bell in Gale's head based on the Chinese-based novels that would come in at the orphanage every now and then. He didn't realize they were real.

"Old martial arts organization from China. They moved operations here decades ago. Lin left them to start his own thing," she said. "He runs an intelligence ring now. Expensive one too. If you want information in this city that the Path doesn't have, you go to Lin."

"What's his combat style?"

"Sword called jian, very state, and water like movements. Can deflect bullets. Mid-Resonant as well."

Two Mid-Resonants. If they were arrogant idiots like William, he could probably stand a chance against them.

"And the third one?"

Jackie's expression turned serious. "A man who goes by 'Sombra.' No one's really seen him."

"No one?"

"He kills any outsider that sees his face. Witnesses don't exist when Sombra is involved. No idea what his inherent abilities are. Rumours say he's Late-Resonant. Ruthless too. The kind of ruthless that makes Silver Lions look benevolent."

That was about as strong as Rachel, but from what he remembered on the rankings, he wasn't in the top 10. Still, at his current stage, that was probably still tough.

"That answer your question?" Jackie asked.

"Not really," Gale said. "But it's good info I can bring over to Glory. What's the point if it's just scraps though? Why are these three fighting so hard over leftovers?"

Jackie laughed bitterly. "Scraps might not be a lot to you. But to people like us, it's worth killing for."

"How so?"

"The gun syringe you guys use like candy?" She scoffed. "We could maybe afford one once a quarter. And everyone fights for it. One syringe could be the difference between life and death in a bad situation. If you got one, you're a target."

Gale remembered he still had a dozen or so left in his space storage from the Architect's tomb rift. Rachel never wanted them back. Didn't even ask for it even though it came from her family.

"I'm feeling nice today," Gale said.

A gun syringe materialized in his hand. He tossed it to Jackie, who almost stumbled in surprise as she caught it with one hand.

"I'm not a charity case," she said.

"You earned it," Gale said. Suddenly, his tendrils tugged at his senses of a familiar signature about a kilometre east moving southbound on a bus.

Lily.

She carried flowers on the bus, and her lips had a small smile on them. Probably a happy day for her.

"One more thing," Gale said, standing up. "If Ollie doesn't respond to you, call the Blue Witches. Any of them. Tell them I sent you."

"The Blue Witches? You actually know them?"

"They're my friends."

"Right. Red hollows." Jackie chuckled. "Stop acting cool and just leave. You got what you wanted."

Gale didn't need to be told as he started walking towards the basement steps. Being red hollows had its unique perks.

"One more thing, dark hunter."

He stopped.

"The Ann family is under fire right now," Jackie said. "Killing at least a thousand Awakened and counting tends to draw attention that doesn't go away overnight."

"And?" Gale asked.

"Rifts are appearing at a much faster rate year over year," she said. "Resources are getting scarce. Human resources, especially."

"Get to the point."

"Be careful who you align yourself with," Jackie said. "Today's ally could be tomorrow's assassin."

"And tomorrow's assassin might be at your dinner table over the weekend," Gale laughed a bit.

"Right," Jackie laughed. "See you around, dark hunter."

Walking up the steps, Gale phased through the door, navigated himself out of the dark first floor, and then out the door. Being called 'dark hunter' was kinda growing on him.