“Well, the Sisters are about as far from Regional as you can get. Will she agree?”
“I’ll leave her no choice. If Velos is wielding the Nameless, Anna and the remaining Sisters are a target. He will see them as an imminent threat to be eliminated.”
“I will contact her immediately. The other members of this hand are…?”
“We’ll need to play this one close. You, me, Gan, Anna and one more.”
A small smile crossed Pira’s lips.
“Yes, sir,” Pira answered. “Who is the remaining member of the hand?”
“If we’re going to stand against the Nameless—”
“The most powerful blade the Order has created,” Pira broke in. “Just a reminder.”
“I’m aware, thank you. We’re going to need overwhelming force if we are to stand a chance. The fifth member will have to be Sepia.”
“The Jade Demon?”
“Yes. The Jade Demon was created as a counter to the Nameless—the only counter to the Nameless, actually. Fuma was right. We should have destroyed the Nameless when we had the chance.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“It wasn’t entirely my call. That, and hubris. We thought we could control the power it contained…We were wrong.”
“Just to be clear, sir,” Pira said, raising a finger and looking down at her tablet. “This group—the hand—will be comprised of you, me, and Anna—who is the current leader of the Sisters—an organization the Order openly disavows and recently tried to terminate. Then we have; Ganriel, the Director of the Gray, who is currently lying in a gurney and will shortly undergo a dangerous procedure that will most likely leave him in a vegetative state, if not dead. Finally we have Sepia Blue, a renegade ex-Hunter who may or may not have been transformed into some kind of a hybrid Unholy.”
“You never cease to impress, Pira. That is the hand we need, yes. It’s the perfect group to face Velos and the Nameless.”
Pira stared at him for a few seconds before slightly shaking her head.
“If you say so, sir,” Pira answered. “You do realize we have no information as to Sepia’s whereabouts?”
Rafael looked at Pira and nodded.
“She is the lynchpin,” Rafael said. “This all falls apart without the Jade Demon. We’re going to have to locate Sepia sooner rather than later. I’d start in the Park.”
“The Park, sir? Are you serious?”
“If she were out on the streets, with that kind of power, we would’ve heard about it by now, or Velos would have tried to eliminate her. Since neither of those events have occurred, it means she’s in hiding. Where would you hide an immense source of Unholy energy?”
“In plain sight,” Pira said with a small nod. “The Park.”
“Precisely,” Rafael said. “Handle this personally and report back to me.”
“The Park, sir, really? Do you have any required parameters? Limitations?”
“None. You have complete and total operational freedom. Try not to eliminate everything in the Park while you search. Remember, we’re trying to keep a low profile on this. I don’t want Velos or the faction inside Regional that unleashed him to know what we’re doing.”
“If I’m entering the Park, I will need my second, sir,” Pira said. “Someone to recon while we approach and to deal with any…stragglers.”
“Are you certain?” Rafael asked. “You two are not exactly known for being subtle.”
“We can be, when needed.”
“This time it’s needed. I don’t need more reports of unsanctioned activity by the Shadow Reaper. Is he up to the task?”
“Destin is the only one I would trust to watch my back, besides you.”
“I’m flattered,” Rafael told her and then paused, giving the suggestion thought. “Destin will have to be folded into the hand.”
“He usually works alone or in a two-person team, but I’m sure he can be persuaded,” Pira said. “He’s not much of a team player.”
“Can he handle it?”
“A six-fingered hand?” Pira asked. “Has that been done?”
“I think that, for this, we must do the unexpected,” Rafael answered. “Destin is ideal. Take him and get the information we need.”
“Do you really think it was someone in Regional that unleashed Velos?”
“Yes,” Rafael answered. “Someone equipped him with a dark blade—a dark, named blade—and unleashed him on Sepia. That would require access. High-level Regional access, at the Director level.”
“This is why you want to convene the Directive,” Pira mused. “You have an idea of who it is.”
“I do, but I can’t take action until Velos is neutralized.”
“Understood, sir.”
“The last thing I need is a civil war inside the Order. That can wait. Let’s resolve this Nameless situation first.”
“What if the Jade Demon has been unleashed?”
“I have a feeling that dealing with the Nameless will put us on the path to deal with the Jade Demon as well. Everything is connected.”
“So you keep telling me.”
“And each time I’m proven correct,” Rafael reminded her. “I’m going with Gan. I’d suggest you prep Destin and deploy immediately. My intuition tells me we are short on time, and my intuition is rarely wrong.”
“It’s nearly nightfall, sir,” Pira said. “There will be heightened Unholy activity at this time.”
“I’m aware. That only means you will need to take extra precautions,” Rafael said. “Time is not our ally on this. The sooner you can locate Sepia, the better. If I didn’t think you were up to the task, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“Thank you, sir,” Pira said with another short nod. “I’ll contact you after my initial reconnaissance.”
“Send me Anna’s information,” Rafael said. “I’ll reach out to her personally.”
Pira raised an eyebrow in surprise and tapped her tablet.
“Sent, sir.”
“Good,” Rafael said with a nod, dispelling the sphere of silence with a wave. “Once Gan’s procedure is finished, I’ll inform you of the outcome. Be careful out there. The Park is still lethal even for someone with your skills. Once the Unholy get wind of your presence, they won’t be kind.”
“I truly hope not,” Pira said as she turned to walk away. “It’s been some time since I’ve had a proper fight.”
Rafael paused and shook his head before following Gan and the nurses again.
THREE
“This blade, designed to control all
