⊱ ✽ ⊰

The Streets

The walk to the 'temple' was spent mostly in silence. Masato walking at the front, Bates and Janelle following him. Janelle tried her best not to wince throughout their little journey. Her left foot was hurting but she could keep her mind off of the tremendous pain if she pressed on her right foot and when they would stop, she would rest most of her body weight on her right foot.

Janelle knew she was bound to her uncle as she felt the invisible barrier from before pushing against her back, forcing her to go forward along with him. She was uncomfortable knowing she couldn't just run away if things went down to just that.

True to Masato's words, the temple wasn't that far away; only a fifteen-minute-walk from where they had been previously. Janelle's left foot was crying by then.

She looked at the place Masato called a temple. It was more of a huge, abandoned building that might fall any minute then. She didn't even know how the building was standing or why it was left and wasn't demolished to make way for something more practical. She just hoped that Masato wasn't planning on killing them both in that ancient building.

And she voiced her exact thoughts. "Are you planning to kill us?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Bates seemed annoyed that she spoke but didn't say anything. Though, he put his hand on her shoulder and gripped tightly, enough to send a warning.

Masato looked surprised, even dejected that she had thought he would do something like that. He shook his head vigorously and turned around to face her fully. He raised both arms up as if to surrender. "I don't have anything on me."

"You have magic," she replied, gesturing with her chin at the pouch by his side. "I saw you hold them."

Masato blinked in surprise then he laughed lowly, full of humour. "Dear, I am not a Wizard, I am a Priest. I purify souls. Have you heard of exorcism?"

Janelle shook her head, looking at her uncle. "Exo...ar-cism?" she tried the word on her tongue but it didn't sound the same. "What does it mean?"

"It means to cast out an evil spirit or demon," Bates answered in French, not amused that they were talking about this. His tone left no room for further discussion.

"I am not possessed," Janelle gritted out, glaring at her uncle.

Bates didn't answer her, just motioned for Masato to go on. Masato nodded his head and went through the huge hole in the cracked wall. It looked like a door had been there, but Janelle wasn't sure what kind of door could fit through that hole.

Bates followed him inside, pulling Janelle after him. She cried out at the sudden push by the invisible barrier.

Once they were inside, Janelle thought that place used to be a manor of some sorts. It was much larger on the inside than it appeared to be on the outside. Broken glass was everywhere and a chandelier was thrown to the side, resting against one of the less cracked walls. She guessed that the broken glass belonged to the windows and the fallen chandelier.

"Pardon me, I wasn't expecting guests," Masato told them sheepishly, bowing in apology.

"Even if you expected, how can you clean this up?" Janelle asked curiously, surveying the place with a look of disdain. "It looks horrible."

Masato blushed embarrassedly. "I learned to find the beauty from within," he replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "All Priests do."

Bates sighed in frustration. "Get this over done with, why did you need us to come here?" He asked impatiently.

Masato nodded his head, smiling slightly. He gestured towards a table in the middle of the room that had an ancient-looking book on it. He walked towards it and Bates followed him, pulling Janelle along with him.

"Place your hands on the book," Masato directed and Bates complied. Masato waited for Janelle to do the same. "You, too."

"It doesn't look safe." Was her answer.

"Trust me, dear." Masato smiled reassuringly. His smile grew when Janelle did that even though she did it unwillingly. She had no other choice, though.

"The chaos, the storms and the battles shall speak of the Temple of Paesa, hidden behind the falls. Only those of pure souls shall enter or with the guidance of another they shall see how Paesa flourished and brought us peace."

The words were foreign to both Bates and Janelle. The light that shone from the book almost blinded them had they not closed their eyes in both fear and surprise.

Janelle felt her body lighten as if gravity had lost its hold on her. Her feet left the ground making her scream in horror. Her insides felt like something grabbed ahold of them and squished all of her organs together. It was difficult to breathe and her screams died down as the world around her turned black.

⊱ ✽ ⊰

Temple of Paesa

Janelle puked once consciousness rushed back to her. She groaned, clawing at her tongue with her fingers to get rid of the after-taste of stomach acid in her mouth. She was in the middle of trying not to throw up again when she felt a hand on her shoulder, steadying her and getting her up on her feet.

"I feel bad," Janelle complained, holding her head tightly to will away the dizziness.

"I should have mentioned that going through portals does that," Priest Masato muttered apologetically, handing Janelle a handkerchief to clean herself before helping Bates up who wasn't faring better than her. "Don't worry, it will go in just a couple of minutes," Masato assured, walking to the corner of the room where a big mat was and sat down on it, crossing his legs.

When Janelle regained her settlings back, she was surprised to find herself in a completely different room. The building she had been in was wooden and about to fall off any minute, with planks of wood missing, broken or had been eaten by termites. The room she was in at that moment was stony as if it was a cave in a mountain—probably was—with numerous pillars all around the room and a huge stone altar in the centre.

Her surveying was cut short when a shiver ran down her body that alerted her to how cold it actually was. She crossed her arms in an attempt to keep herself warm.

She felt her uncle's presence at her side. He put his arm around her shoulder and brought her closer to him. She didn't complain but instead, she relished in the warmness she was getting. She heard him murmur something and she instantly felt heat travel down her body. A moment went by and the pain in her left foot was relieved. He must have put a spell on her. Again, she didn't protest or express any dissatisfaction.

"This is the Temple of Paesa," Masato spoke, pulling Janelle out of her thoughts.

Bates walked towards him, pulling Janelle, yet once more, along with him. "Why did you bring us here?" He looked down at the priest in distaste.

Masato's smile vanished almost instantly once Bates finished talking. He wrinkled his eyebrows as if in deep thought. "The girl, I sensed something from her. She's a Shaman, sir."

Bates clicked his tongue in annoyance and scoffed angrily. "I know she's a damn Shaman, I know how to kill Shamans," he gritted out, ignoring how the Priest looked ashamed at his choice of words as his arms tightened dangerously around Janelle. She tried to pull away but she was trapped in his death grip. "What I want to know," Bates continued, "is why she doesn't die."

The Priest nodded his head. "That's what is concerning me, sir. She's not a normal Shaman, so to speak."

"Damn it," Bates' voice was a little louder this time, and Janelle trembled, her whole body was vibrating in panic. "Tell me what she is!"

"Do you know Droda's Prophecy?" The Priest whispered, narrowing his eyes in scepticism.

Bates' felt all the blood drain from his face, taking away his anger and impatience with it. It took him a moment or two before he found his voice again. "This prophecy is bullshit," Bates stammered, his hands were visibly shaking as he tried to control the shaking by clenching his fists tightly. "It dates way back, there are no reasons it'll be fulfilled now."

Masato clicked his tongue. He seemed to not share the same opinion as Bates but he didn't voice out his thoughts and instead looked at Janelle, concern filling his dark irises. "My child, what have you been experiencing lately?"

Janelle huffed, putting some strands of her blonde hair—her eyes widened as she grabbed a handful of her hair in surprise. "It was black," she uttered in disbelief, completely forgetting about Masato's question.

Masato let out a gentle laugh then shook his head in amusement, but the ghost of what the girl might be was too close to suffocating him. "You heard voices, right?" Masato prompted her again, leaning down on one knee to be eye-level with her.

She stayed silent, not knowing how to answer him. She felt that she would be betraying the voices if she answered truthfully, but she also didn't want to lie; her uncle looked distressed enough to scare her. She hummed as an answer, looking at the ceiling. "I do, but not always. They don't hurt me."

Masato let his eyes stray back to the large tome situated on the stone altar. He straightened up and walked towards the tome. That got Bates out of his trance and the blonde man followed him closely behind.

Janelle noticed that she wasn't pulled after him that time, however, her curiosity got the better of her and she followed them. The altar was way taller than her by a good forty centimetres or so. She walked around it and found out how Masato got to the top. There was a stony staircase of five wide steps that got her into a semi-split just to climb them up. She stood beside Masato as he started reading from the tome while Bates was still downstairs. He seemed to murmur something indecipherable to her so she ignored him but kept her attention just in case.

Masato's eyes seemed to burn the book for something, his finger moved along the lines rapidly as he read swiftly, letting out a sound of annoyance every now and then. Janelle took the chance to take a peak at one of the pages Masato was on. It was written in a completely different language; almost alien. She had never seen it before.

"What does this word mean?" She pointed at a word and asked out of pure interest.

Masato jumped slightly in surprise that he prided himself in not squeaking. He took a second or two to regain control of his heart before he looking at the word she was pointing at. "It means betrothal."

"What does betrothal mean?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"It means getting engaged," he answered quickly and waited for a few seconds to see if there were any more questions. When she stayed silent, he continued his search.

Their little conversation, however, got Bates' attention, but he chose not to acknowledge them on the altar, instead, he was putting spells on the cave they were in, trying to find traces of whoever had been present here. "If you're looking for something along the lines of Droda's prophecy, then you're looking at the wrong pages."

Masato didn't jump this time and instead looked at Bates in vexation. "I am looking for something about Henri Chevalier."

Both of Janelle's and Bates' head whirled sharply at the mention of Henri. "What?" They asked in unison.

Masato blinked and turned around to face Bates. "I presume you know about him?"

Bates laughed humourlessly. "He was...family," he answered slowly, narrowing his eyes. "Why are you reading about him?"

Masato sighed and scratched his chin in thought. "Do you know about his war against the Humans?"

Bates stayed silent at that, instead, he chanced a look at his niece. She was petite in stature next to the Priest, her hands clasped together as her thumbs fiddled together. She looked even smaller as she fidgeted, the mention of the founder of their family always brought unease to them. They never talked about him; the reason being a silly belief that his name was a bad omen, a bringer of death.

Janelle always knew that whenever Henri Chevalier was in the conversion, a bad thing happened. Her brothers told her that, her father told her that, even Tony who wasn't a part of their family, told her that. Coming to think of it though, her mother had never joined in their conversations about Henri, and she never participated in any ill-talk about him. In fact, Janelle remembered once how her mother spoke fondly of Henri in private as if she knew him personally.

Masato, sensing that he had crossed a line, shook his head and apologised quietly, then turned around to resume his quick reading.

Clever girl.

Janelle started at the sudden voice in her head. She looked around frantically before remembering that she couldn't see them.

We are everywhere.

We protect you.

We guide you.

Death's helpers.

There were many voices that it was hard to interpret what they were saying. They all murmured at the same time, forcing her to put a hand on her ear, a futile action of blocking them out of her head.

Never run nor hide.

We see you.

Death helps you.

We are Death's helpers.

She closed her eyes tightly, feeling lightheaded and dizzy. She whimpered, earning herself the attention of both Bates and Masato. Masato got down on his knees, shaking her by her shoulders to get her out of her thoughts.

"She's hearing them," Bates answered from his position on the ground. He raked his fingers through his hair and let out an exasperated sigh.

⊱ ✽ ⊰

Opening the door as quietly as he could, Tony entered the poorly lit room in obvious unwillingness. "Master, you called for me?" He asked once he stood in the centre of the room.

"My dear boy," an old, gruff voice whispered after what seemed like two minutes. "How have you been?"

Tony gritted his teeth, thinking of a suitable answer that wouldn't anger the man. He cleared his throat before speaking: "I have been well, Master."

The man—Master—hummed. "You are lying, my dear boy. You are not well."

Tony lost his patience, anxiety taking over him. "Yeah? Why did you ask then?" He regretted speaking in that tone almost immediately.

"You know better than to use that tone with me," Master replied calmly, though the anger was clearly there. "But you're one of my best men, and for that, I shall forgive you."

Tony didn't reply to that.

"About the girl?" Master drawled, his hoarse voice sounding right next to Tony's ears.

Tony clenched his fists. "I know where she is, but she is safe."

Another hum. "Ah, good boy. You may leave now."

Tony looked in front of him in disbelief. "You called me just to ask about the girl?" Again, not the right tone.

"You're becoming unusually brave, my boy, but I shall answer you. Yes, I want to know if my girl is safe and sound. It wouldn't be pretty if something's happened to her, would it?"

The question was rhetorical, Tony knew it, but he answered anyway, "Yes, Master."

"You may leave now."