Affinity: Chaos

Chapter 2148: The Guy In The Lake

Grey and Reynolds stealthily trailed the man who had just left the Mayor’s manor. Of the two people Grey had suspected, this one was the one he had actually regarded with the least suspicion. The fact that the man was moving tonight strongly suggested he was involved with the Necromancers after all.

Before long they arrived at the same long alley and weathered building they had checked when they first entered the city. The narrow lane was quiet under the moonlight, the old structure at its end looking just as abandoned as it had during the day.

From a safe distance they watched as the figure in the black cloak slipped inside. Grey locked his senses on the man’s every movement. Once inside, the man paused and carefully scanned his surroundings to make sure he had not been followed, completely failing to notice Grey’s subtle surveillance. Satisfied, he rapidly formed a series of hand seals. When the last seal was completed, a stone slab in the floor slid aside with a low grind of stone on stone, revealing a dark pathway. Without hesitation, the man dropped into the opening and disappeared from sight.

Grey memorized the hand seals in perfect detail, then motioned for Reynolds to stay outside with the two captives. He moved into the building alone and repeated the exact sequence. The stone slab slid open once more. Instead of entering immediately, Grey signaled the bunny leader.

”Send one of your scouts in first,” he said in a low voice. ”We don’t want to alert them.”

The bunny leader obeyed without question, sending one of his smaller black bunnies down the dark pathway. Grey waited in silence near the entrance, senses stretched thin.

A short time later the bunny leader’s voice reached him, tight with urgency.

”Retreat. They found him. There’s definitely at least one Peak Sovereign down there.”

The report confirmed exactly why Grey had refused to enter first. He quickly closed the stone slab and withdrew from the building as quietly as he had entered.

He reappeared beside Reynolds and studied the two captives. The Eighth-stage Necromancer they had captured the previous night stared at the weathered building with open shock. He clearly could not believe that their headquarters inside the city had been discovered.

The Fire Elementalist traitor, however, showed a completely different reaction. He looked at the building with a faint trace of curiosity rather than fear or alarm.

Grey turned to Reynolds. ”We’re pulling back. There’s at least one Peak Sovereign inside.”

Reynolds’s expression tightened. He understood immediately that this was nothing like the hideout they had cleared the night before. A Peak Sovereign changed the entire scale of the threat.

Grey lifted the two sealed captives with a controlled thread of wind elemental energy, and the group left the western alley, moving quickly across the rooftops toward the Mayor’s manor. After Grey had publicly mentioned the presence of Necromancers, the Mayor had increased both the guards and the number of patrols throughout the city. Even at this late hour, pairs of armed cultivators could be seen moving along the main streets below.

They reached the manor without trouble. The guards at the gate recognized Grey immediately and let them through with a respectful nod. Inside, a servant quickly informed the Mayor of their arrival. A short while later they were led into a private study on the upper floor. The Mayor closed the door, raised a solid barrier, and turned to face them.

His eyes landed on the Fire Elementalist, the same man who had been present in the hall the day Grey arrived, and a cold glint flashed through them before he looked at Grey.

”What’s the situation?”

Grey gave a concise but complete account of everything that had happened: the first hideout in the eastern warehouses, the five Necromancers they had eliminated, the two captives now standing sealed before them, and finally the second location in the western alley. He confirmed the presence of at least one Peak Sovereign and added that the place might well be one of the Necromancers’ main strongholds inside the city.

The Mayor’s expression grew heavier with each detail. When Grey finished, the older man remained silent for a long moment, fingers tapping slowly against the armrest of his chair.

”A Peak Sovereign...” he muttered. ”And they still haven’t fled?”

”They don’t know I’ve found their exact location,” Grey replied calmly. ”Any large movement tonight would draw too much attention while the city is on high alert. They’re most likely staying hidden, waiting to see what happens at the gathering tomorrow.”

The Mayor nodded slowly. ”That makes sense. What do you suggest?”

Grey answered without hesitation. ”We move tonight. Waiting until the gathering only gives them more time to prepare or escape. A small team is enough, you, me, Reynolds, that guy in the lake, and any Ninth-stage Sovereign you trust is strong enough.”

When the Mayor heard Grey speak of ”the guy in the lake,” a clear hint of surprise flashed through his eyes. Very few people in the entire city knew of the Peak Sovereign cultivating in seclusion beneath the lake behind the manor. The barriers around that place were designed to block the senses of most Peak Sovereigns, yet this Ninth-stage youth had detected him without difficulty. The Mayor studied Grey for a moment longer, then gave a short nod.

”Very well. I’ll call Elder Harrington and Elder Voss. Harrington has protected this city for decades and is currently in seclusion in the lake behind the manor. Voss is only a step away from the Peak of the Sovereign Plane and extremely reliable. They will arrive shortly.”

He paused, then added, ”The two captives will remain here under heavy guard. I’ll have them questioned further while we are gone.”

Grey inclined his head. ”Agreed.”

The Mayor lowered the barrier and gave quiet orders to a trusted attendant. The man left at once. Within the hour, two more figures entered the study: a stern, grey-haired man radiating the stable, heavy pressure of a Peak Sovereign, and a sharp-eyed woman whose aura sat at the very peak of the Ninth stage.

After a brief introduction and a shortened explanation of the situation, both elders agreed without argument. Their expressions remained serious, but neither questioned the decision to move immediately.

Grey glanced at the dark window. The night was already deep, the moon high and clear above the city.

”We leave as soon as you’re ready,” he said. ”Once we enter that building, we finish it quickly.”