Carnal Stalking.

The guard tried taking William and Visidia to a sultry room stinking with sweat on the second floor before she insisted on something better; the third floor. Looking as if he was too tired and paid too little to deal with nasty customers, the young Oksidi man didn't argue.

But once there, even he had limits on the specific room the western-looking girl was asking for.

"Are you two kidding? If the boss realizes I let someone inside Saint Venikh-Nesh's room I'm gonna wake up tomorrow with my head inside the latrine. Forget about it. Let's return to the second floor."

He tried to turn around, but Visidia playfully pulled him by the neck of his shirt full of pockets and put her hand on his chest.

"Oh, c'mon. Don't be like that. Maybe this will change your mind. Plus I can give you a free service one of these days. You're not gonna regret it..."

She extended with her other hand a leather bag to him. Taking it, the dark eyes of the guard glowed like a treasure hunter at the abundant and cramped, shiny light-golden coins inside the little pocketbook.

"200 stars. All yours to enjoy. Plus a free good time with me one of these days," she winked with a smirk. "you know, I'm adventurous and open-minded. I wouldn't mind whatever you might wanna try out with me..."

The guard swept her whole body with a creepy stare, his eyes still glowing as he looked at the money in his hands, and then back at the developed, mature and fertile body of the black-haired lass in front of him.

"A-alright," the mafia man didn't think it twice. "But you shouldn't take long. And you gotta come here on my free day. I mean, you MUST come."

"Of course, I never break any deal. What do you think I am?" she turned around, giving William a smug look of victory, and walked towards the forbidden, blessed room at the end of the passage. "C'mon, let's delight us with the blessings of Saint Venikh-Nesh."

The guard began unlocking the door. "It's open. Now don't take long, outlanders, or I'm not gonna be the only one praying for his life if the boss realizes what you're doing here."

The door opened, and both William and Visidia got inside. The room was ample yet minimal, nothing but cushions sparsed all across the floor. An old bed stood in the middle, and darkness came from the square windows.

Visidia closed the door in the face of the guard and then did something William didn't expect. Grabbing him from his asymmetrical jacket, she put her other hand on his crotch and pressed her fine, soft lips against his. His phylactery buzzed like a bumblebee.

"C'mon, play along until he leaves and stops voyeuring at us from the creaks on the door," she whispered against his ear, separated for a moment. "that idiot suspects of what we're doing."

William didn't have any words. She kissed him again and grabbed his hands, putting them tight on her round buttocks as she aggressively pushed him against the bed behind. Both bounced on it, Visidia above him, humping against his intimate parts each time she tried to put her tongue inside his mouth.

He was in a trance; feeling her warmth and her feminine scent playing with his nose, her black hair surrounding him. The curves of her lower cheeks fit the shape of his palms and fingers. Separating lips, she unbuttoned his jacket, exposing his shirt below.

William's phylactery was about to break in two, but this time it was not from that joyful lust: she was about to reveal what gave him away from any common human; that hole in his chest displaying his new glowing, mechanical heart containing his soul itself; his phylactery. He was almost pulled back to reality.

But she didn't go further; instead, she began to unbutton her black jacket, revealing her toned, fair-skinned abdomen, and a plumpy pair of bouncing melons covered by a black bra full of black lace.

Putting William's hands off her butt, she pushed both against the warm squishiness of her blossom, looking at him with thirsty, burning eyes as he fondled them.

But the muffled noise of steps marched outside the room, getting away, Visidia turned her head to the door and quickly got off William.

"Alright, that was funny... You need some practice with your hands and mouth, boy, but we have to move on. C'mon."

She buttoned her black jacket again. William didn't react for a pair of seconds; his mind frozen, unable to discern what was real or not, still in trance at the heat of that carnal strike.

He then began to rebutton his coat and pressed on his chest, feeling relieved she didn't discover what he was in reality...

"Goddamnit," she cursed in low voice, trying to open the windows. "It's useless. They are locked from the outside. We'll have to discard going up from them."

"Were they expecting you?"

"Hell if I know. Maybe I drew too much attention while trying to make my plan," she sighed, one hand on her thin waist. "Alright, let's pass to our other option."

"We blow a hole and kill everyone?"

"I was joking, William," she seriously responded. "we're using the stairs. C'mon. Let's go."

She moved to the door and opened it, peeking at the dark corridor outside before giving William greenlight to keep going. Moving fast yet silently as they passed through the occupied rooms around, they turned around at a corner, and then stopped at the middle of the passage, where the stairs that went up were located.

They were blocked by an iron, barred door with a bulky lock. She pulled something out from her jacket; some strange, golden tool full of sharp spikes and valves all across its upper body, where various metallic bars rested in the end.

She spread one of its metallic heads, looking like crossbow bolts, and tried to violate the bulky lock with it.

"What's that?" he asked.

"It's just a lockpick," she didn't lose concentration, rotating her wrist fort and back as she tried to reach the opening point.

"Are you sure it's gonna work?"

"William, I didn't spend 2 years locked with nothing but old locks and metal pieces doing nothing with them. I'd still be rotting in a dungeon a long time ago if I didn't know what I was doing. Now go and check out the stairs going down to our left. Cover me up."

"Alright," he did so, walking through the passage until he reached the part with faint orange lights, the stairs that led down to the second floor.

It was as if her personality had turned 180 grades. Maybe it was just the heat of the situation —and not their little moment of joy some minutes ago. It was better to concentrate on their current task. There was no going back.

Voices whispered below the stairs. William gulped his own saliva, leaning against the shadows. Damn it. Was someone coming?

"And how much did that bitch give you?" asked a voice.

"200 stars, I swear. But don't tell anyone. I'll give you 25," responded the other one.

"Screw you. Give me 100 or the boss will have your head."

"What? Oh, goddamnit, you fat moth. Whatever. Just don't open your swine mouth. Now come with me and let's kick those pale asses out of their room already. The boss will be back soon after he's dealt with that poor bastard in the basement, and they better be gone before he comes here. Did you know the milky bitch's also gonna give me that ass as a part of the deal? I'm gonna dinner like a king one of these days."

"What? You must be dreaming, idiot. I bet she's scammed you. Now c'mon. Let's go up there and kick them out. Maybe we can rob that pastry Mauri idiot with her..."

Steps rumbled below, sounding closer as the two figures slowly raised through the stairs, their shadows coming first. William gulped his own saliva and cursed in his mind, looking at Visidia, who hadn't finished with the lock.

They were coming and would find that everything was wrong. Grabbing his dagger, he kept it ready to take out the snitches, but hesitated and put it back.

Was he really gonna kill? Although he had done it before —by necessit— back when he was a soldier, doing so still felt too much for him. Was he really gonna murder someone over some grail he didn't even want for himself?

No, but he was different now, his capabilities now superior to those of the common human. He squeezed his fist, ready to receive the incoming foes.

"Whatever, by the way, have you seen—" the first mafia goon was suddenly fished by something in the dark, getting his head slammed against the wall. He fell and didn't move again.

"W-what the—"

The other one didn't finish his curse. A kick to his feet made him fall, and then a pulverizing knee to the face put him to sleep. William softly laid him on the floor, and the sound of metal squeaking as Visidia got up and launched him a head-nod.

"Wow, you took them out quietly, without blood or anything. Now c'mon, we're not finished yet. I would not be surprised if there was someone guarding the safe of that hog Erish."

He followed her behind the ascending stairs. Who knew what would expect them once up there...