I was pretty sure he assigned me to be with him so he could keep an eye on me— which was fair. But I was actually glad for this matchup, as I remembered how he fought. He was good. Perhaps not as fast— and definitely not as strong— as Braz. But he worked as a support.
If anything happened to just the two of us, I believed he would be able to aid me better than anyone else in our group would be able to…
That is if he decides helping me is in his best interest.
There were risks to things, and this was one I had to consider significantly: I barely knew the man. He might decide trying to save my life for whatever reason was not worth it, opting to leave me if things even began to look dangerous. I was not sure how high of a chance that had of happening, but I had to be aware and wary of it.
We continued through dark corridors together, although I made to track Kai’s movements carefully just in case. The building was large for a distillery— and that was because it was used for more than just making alcohol. It was a drug den too.
This was where they made the enuim and stored it too. It was extremely large for that reason.
Kai and I found ourselves stepping out onto a catwalk on the second floor of a big open room. There were pot stills with pipes connected to them laid out across the room, and although none of them were currently in use, I still saw something flicker.
Dark figures moved about in the warehouse. It was hard to see for a regular person, but I had spent too much of my time in the shadows and dark places. It was something I had accustomed myself to ever since I was with the Dark Crusaders, and had stuck with me since. So I could see what Kai could not. And what I saw was this:
People— probably Humans— with hoods over their heads tried to quietly funnel into a room across from us. But it was not just them. There were others, and they were more blatant in what they were.
They were Goblins.
My old allies, and my current enemies.
The Dark Crusaders.
Chapter 31: Enemies
"There they are," I whispered, pointing a finger in the direction of the shadows lurking in the dark.
Kai sidled up next to me; we crouched next to the railings together, as the man squinted. "So it seems."
"What do we do?" I asked, turning to him.
"You," he said, turning to face me, "will go back and get the others. I will keep track of them— ensure that they do not go somewhere else."
I knew he was wary of me— he probably thought if he left me here, there was a chance I might betray them and warn the Dark Crusaders of their ambush. I could understand his reasoning, even though I knew it was not true at all. Simply choosing to nod, I followed his orders and returned back down the hallway we came from.
It took me ten minutes to get back to the meeting point: no one else was there, of course. It hadn’t even been 30 minutes since we separated. I waited for a bit, a hand on my dagger as I kept my guard up.
Eventually, Jack and Braz returned, followed by Elda and Vinnie. We exchanged little words— I simply told them what they needed to know, asking them to follow me, and they did.
I brought them to Kai, who had gone back to the hallway out of sight from the Goblins and Humans. He nodded at my prompt arrival, then pointed a thumb at the large room beyond us.
"They entered a doorway across from us," he said. "I’m not sure what it’s for, but it almost appears to be a storage room. If I had to guess though, it leads to where they produce and keep their enuim."
"Good." Jack folded his arms. "That means we can take care of two things at once. Take them out, and destroy their supply of the enuim."
Everyone nodded in response, and I did too. However, I felt an urge to add in to what he said. "And we only kill them if necessary, right? Try to apprehend them if we can."
Kai narrowed his eyes as he looked over at me. He frowned, but simply answered, "As unlikely as it is, that is the best possible outcome for us, yes. However, if it comes down to it, we have to kill all the Dark Crusaders. Perhaps then they’d decide against supporting the Elise."
I was about to let the issue drop and agree with him, but he stopped me, cocking a brow.
"What’s wrong, Melas? Do you have a problem with this plan?" he asked, not bothering to mask his distrust of me.
I studied his expression for a moment, before shrugging helplessly. "Other than not wanting to make enemies of a continent-wide organization of spellcasters and get them coming after us? Not really."
I had already done that to myself by killing Victor, but Ginah’s Crew had never clashed with them before; it was in their best interest to do as little damage to their men or never be discovered for their actions tonight so as to remain under the Dark Crusaders’ radar.
Kai exchanged a look with the other two pirates with him, before turning back to me. "Well, as long as it’s just that, then I believe we can proceed." He then stalked off, heading down a set of stairs going to the room with the pot stills lined up
