Chapter 72 - When It Rains, It Pours

The man approached an open lot in the city which was inconspicuous and that served as a merchant post once a week. The rest of the days it was used for some cultural events for the middle class, and was usually empty at night, and with relatively low security since it was considered a safe place inside the city. As the man arrived, he went up to a corner and started making some noises that simulated a wild cat. This was a common animal in the surroundings, and was one of the codes he used to contact his superior.

Since he had been released, he longed to leave the city as soon as possible, however he needed help. Since he had been rescued, he held the belief that he was still useful so he came to contact his boss. After all, he had done a lot of dirty work for his boss, and he was sure that he did not want to leave him to Lieutenant Serena and the Vanilla Family.

After the man stood in the darkness for some time, a shadow appeared not far from him in plain view in the empty lot. He was wearing a dark vest, and had no distinct features whatsoever.

"Sombra*, It's so good you are here. Thank the boss for rescuing me. Please help me get out of the city quickly. I'll make sure to compensate the boss and work even harder for him in the future".

However, the man he called Sombra, only sneered and said in a voice that was as cold as hell. "Idiot. Do you really think the boss or his allies would risk their neck to rescue you? You've been duped, that "spy" that released you wasn't one of us. Didn't you realize that there was something off about this whole thing? You've been followed. It really seems that your services are no longer needed. Perhaps you have already betrayed us and actually are working for them."

When Sombra said this he then turned his head towards a certain building 200 meters away. Serena and three of her men were standing there following the kidnapper, hoping he would lead them to his boss. In Sombra's face there was a mask with two slits for his eyes, and a hideous grin carved into it.

"Damn, we've been discovered. Quickly, capture that man!" yelled Serena, going full speed towards the men.

"WHAT? No, Sombra, I've been completely loyal!" begged the man in desperation.

However the man named Sombra moved faster than the blink of an eye and severed the head of the Kidnappers' leader. Then he apparently vanished from the place he had been before and blended with the shadows around. When Serena and the rest of her men arrived, the man was gone and all traces seemed to be lost. Serena's face darkened. The man had escaped right under her nose.

Several streets away the man named Sombra seemed to materialize out of thin air. He was quite confident he had lost them completely and leisurely went to a certain part of the city that was close to the walls in the high class part of it. There was a small puppy nearby searching for food. It looked like a stray dog so Sombra paid no further attention to the animal.

Sombra accomplished his mission by tying the loose ends. Their small group could not accept any failures, especially people that might spill the beans on them. If they were somehow identified, their only end would be to be run towards the deep ocean or the Barbarian lands. Otherwise, being branded as Heretics, they would have no place to escape on any of the Major Territories.

Using the shadows to blink ahead, Sombra eventually entered a manor, where he met another hooded figure.

"Is it done?", asked the hooded man.

"Please. Do you doubt my competence? Unlike your foolish subordinates, I leave no leads behind. Just remember what you owe me, and to increase my share of the spoils. Even though we have temporarily solved the leak issues, we still need more cargo. You all wanted to slap the face of that girl from House Vanilla. We can take the children she has left under custody. They did not return with their families immediately in fear that they would be taken once more, since they live in the slums. Using the true spy we have on her guards, we can catch them unaware before they increase the security. It will be like killing two birds with one stone, we'll recover the cargo we were lacking, and we will increase the pressure on her by blaming her for incompetency", said Sombra.

"Hmmm… We will lose the spy afterwards. Maybe they won't notice it in the short run, but eventually, they'll vent their rage on the guards that failed the mission. Oh well, I guess this is for a good cause." said the hooded man, with a clear relief in his voice.

"However, there is no room for failure. If they are caught once more, the ritual will be unnecessarily delayed and more variables may appear. I do not wish to keep solving your blunders. If you fail again, then our next encounter will be less than pleasant."

When Sombra said this, the temperature in the surrounding area seemed to plummet, as if an icy hell had suddenly come to be. The hooded man shivered for a while and eventually nodded. He was furious after being threatened but he knew the other man could quickly dispose of him. Sombra kept staring at him for a couple of minutes, exerting pressure on him, and eventually he vanished into the surrounding shadows.

"Shit… How dare he threaten me. They think nothing of me… But I'll show them eventually. And as for Serena Dai Vanilla, for now we'll let her face the failure of her decisions. I'm sure the Salentos will use this chance to bring the Vanillas down a notch, and might even apply for a Non-confidence Motion to the House of Nobles and end their term sooner. I know the others want to use this chance to kill Serena as well, but that might be hard to achieve. Maybe after performing the ritual we could plan an ambush taking advantage of her eagerness to save the children with some false leads. If this is successful, I'm sure they will help me get rid of my brother and I'll be the next in line for being the head of the house"

The ugly and dark grimace in Alistar Dai Monet's face could be seen in a mirror on the wall nearby.

…

Oliver's face showed a level of seriousness rarely shown before. Saras was in the Governor's manor walking from one side to the other of the building. He was clearly fuming and was just moments shy of berating Serena, but was using all of his willpower not to lose all decorum with his niece.

Truthfully, he liked this niece of his, however, he was also very displeased with her willfulness and attitude. And now a major blunder had been committed, and he was sure that their enemies would use this opportunity to slander them and drag them to the mud.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself Serena? Is there anything that can help us identify the man that killed the kidnappers' leader?" asked Saras.

Serena was seated in front of both of them, with both hands on her chin. Her eyes were not downcast, but were showing an unprecedented seriousness. She seemed to be pondering over the issue, and did not bother to answer her uncle, which further incensed him.

"Saras, calm down. Serena, the rest of the elders of the family are worried as well. I might be the Patriarch, but I can't show favoritism towards you. Mistakes need to be addressed, and the interest of many parties have been compromised. We need to show some results, and tomorrow when all of this is blown up, we won't be able to cover it up." said Oliver.

Serena raised her head and looked straight at her father, but still remained silent. Right when Saras was about to lash out once more, a furious knock was heard outside.

"Who is it? I ordered not to be interrupted unless it was of the utmost importance", yelled Saras a bit gloomily.

"County Governor, County Governor. Bad news. Someone infiltrated the house where the children that had been rescued were being guarded, and they had been kidnapped once more. The guards do not know who did it, no one saw absolutely anything. There was no apparent struggle as well." said a servant who had just received the news.

Oliver and Saras were flabbergasted, and the latter started shivering a little.

"How is this possible? Doomed. We are doomed… It's true. When it rains, it pours", said Saras with a pale face, feeling as if he had aged 20 years in a single minute.

Serena stood up when she heard the news. There was shock in her face as well. However, no one seemed to notice that her shock wasn't that of a person that had been fooled and was on the verge of despair, but the shock of someone that despite knowing what would happen couldn't believe it actually did. She could not help but remember the note she had received the day prior. Then she calmed down and smiled.

Saras, when looking at Serena's smile almost lost control of his emotions, yet Serena didn't even give him time to lash at her, when she said: "Father, Uncle Saras, I need to make a special request of the Army. I will return later today. I know that you are deeply concerned by this bad news, but do not falter, nor lift the Caravan ban or relax the security. An opportunity has come up. It's just as you say Uncle Saras. When it rains, it pours. But the rain is not necessarily falling on us."

Oliver and Saras wanted to retort, but Serena left quickly. She had a mission to do on her own, if she wanted to play the part properly.

…

A shabby carriage was being led on a small road, outside the city of Syracuse. The carriage was being led by a hooded man, that was not any other than Alistar Dai Monet. He had finally decided to take matters into his own hands and using the spy he had inside the City Guards that served the Vanillas, he managed to take the children once again. This would be a major stain on House Vanilla's reputation, yet he showed no remorse whatsoever.

Alistar was quite merry with himself right now. The troubles caused by the previous blunder of his men seemed to have vanished. With the help of Sombra, all the loose ends had gone and after delivering the cargo, there would be sufficient material to perform the ritual. He could not help but get some goosebumps thinking about it, but he gritted his teeth and moved on. He had already made his choice. He had long passed the point of no return.

There were 6 children inside the carriage, tied once more, and being taken towards an unknown place. The children were a bit flustered and scared, but they were otherwise quite calm. Considering that they should have thought they had escaped this nightmare the day before, one would think that their faces would be showing despair, however it seemed to be far from the case. It looked like the current kidnappers did not know that they were originally only 5 children. There was one girl, with black and deep eyes, and a quite normal face that wasn't part of the original group. She was grinning to herself from time to time. Close to the carriage, a small bird blending itself into the night was following quite closely.

The net was closing. Soon, it would be time to catch a big fish.

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* Sombra: Shadow in spanish