Luck in needles 1

Kaye knew there was no rush. Since the bars formed from Infey metal couldn't be broken without the presence of the highest Infey, his prisoners had no way to escape. Kaye wasn't stupid and knew that Rue was one of them, but he also knew that he was a wanted criminal whose connection with Luck had been severed two hundred years ago and thus posed no threat.

He wasn't sure how he got out of prison, but he wasn't about to pass up the chance for the praise he was sure to get for catching him. When he spotted Rue with Ylre in the cave, he hesitated for a moment whether to actually step in and let his superiors know. Everyone who came to Infey from the surface at least once in a while knew that Rue had escaped and that his guard was looking for him on the king's orders.

Kaye guessed that the red-haired man with Rue was a middle Infey, the guard who was supposed to bring him back. But as he had clearly heard the confidential chatter they were having in the pond he assumed that he had betrayed them.

That's why he wanted to report their location and be rewarded for his merits.

He didn't want to delay, but he wasn't in a hurry either. However, on the way to Alycante, which was the closest to connect with Infey, he met some familiar people. A group of Rinsel people, whom he once robbed and led into a cave, again offered themselves to be deceived by him, and he bit his tongue not to do so. Although it was tempting.

All the time he had been working both for the Church of Bad luck and Luck, he couldn't figure out how people could be so unbelievably stupid. He joined the Church of Bad luck only out of boredom...over time he started to enjoy it and currently his merits were so significant that it would be a shame to lose them.

His work was simple. As a mid-tier Infey, he served his highest Infey, whose luck he accepted in the past as his guardian. He came whenever he called him and fulfilled everything he wanted. However, his Infey was busy, he didn't come to earth often, and all of his commands were few in recent years. Usually related to work for the Church of Luck in one of the countries. That's why he was here most of the time and hardly saw his Infey.

His work for the Church of Luck, or Infey, was completely narrowed down to a few jobs a year, and he was bored on the surface. Therefore, when the Church of Bad luck was formed, which never had enough help, he happily joined them and began to kidnap people for them from time to time. At first he wasn't sure what they were for, but over time he understood that people were just a disgusting creature with a hobby of torture each other.

He usually scouted out a group of people, led them to a cave, had fun with them, stunned them and locked them in cells. Then he put black collars on their necks, connected to the crystal pillar that the church had given. He wasn't sure how it worked, but each of the collars in it had a specific spot where the stone could be inserted.

Once inserted, the stone became filled with either bad luck or luck depending on whether the person wearing the collar was a Rinsel or Lacrisan. And Kaye simply collected them, transported them and had fun. At least he tried to, as he would much rather spend time with his highest Infey

He didn't care what happened to the stones next, he didn't care who was really giving the orders. He wasn't bored and that was the main thing.

As an Infey in the human world, he was able to experience something he normally couldn't in Infey...sex. It wasn't very common for Infeys to seek out this kind of things. No one who hadn't experienced it before would have thought that he could do it without permission from Luck. But he was different.

As one of those whose highest was once blessed by luck with a opportunity to have a child, he experienced sex to the fullest. Once Infey tasted the pleasure, he couldn't longer go into abstinence, so he did the only thing he could without disrupting the flow of Infey offspring...sleeping with his guardian or another Infey of same sex.

His first sexual experience wasn't the most pleasant, but with time he got used to it...and once he got used to it, he was able to love it. Therefore, when his Infey didn't have much time, he missed their moments....so he had fun with people.

However, since he didn't have time at the moment, he didn't deal with the group of men and moved on. He walked all night and half a day, as he didn't need to sleep often, and reached Alycante sometime in the afternoon. He entered the first church he saw and was led to the high priest.

Each of the churches of the Church of luck was led by a mid-tier Infey, exceptionally by the highest, overseeing the world to ensure that the course of luck ran smoothly. Kaye explained the situation and since there was no reason for him to lie, Infey contacted the government. Just as he expected, at first no one believed that Ylre would betray the king's orders and they remained in doubt, but they couldn't leave anything to chance, so they sent a group of Infey from Alycante to the cave with him.

It was really strange how many Rinsel soldiers they encountered along the way. Some were off duty and looked like they had just been fired, but some stopped them. He didn't understand at all why they were concentrated near Alycante, since the city doesn't fall under the power of the government, but they had no choice and had to show them their documents every time.

Although the government and the church were separated, they still lived in peace and no one wanted to destroy their alliance. That's why the nobility went to churches at clearly given intervals as a sign of faith, and that's why the church supported the government as such to keep their relationship.

The delay wasn't long and soon as they had passed through the forest and reached their horses, the road went faster.

"Kaye, did you see him?" one of the Infey asked.

"I did," he understood, "he was beautiful."

"I heard he's majestic…does he look like a king?" he asked.

"I'm not sure...his eyes glow from afar, colored by gold as if you were looking into the luck itself, " he said, "if I didn't know he had a broken connection with Luck, I'd have the impression I was talking directly to it." he added.

"Did you talk to him?" the other couldn't believe.

"I did," he nodded, "I wanted to touch him too, but Ylre wouldn't let me."

"Ylre...that idiot...if what you say is true, when the king catches him, he will definitely have him executed this time." Infey didn't understand Ylre's stupidity.

"I don't know him, but he wasn't nice...he didn't even look intelligent...if he's not thinking about the consequences, it's his fault," Kaye said.

"If you knew him, you wouldn't say that...he's two hundred years older than you, show some respect," said the other Infey, who didn't sound like he was joining Ylre's slander by his two colleagues.

"If I were three hundred years old, I wouldn't be so dumb. Why should I show respect when he betrayed us for a criminal?" he declared.

"We don't know if that's really the case yet, we'll ask him," Infey clarified, not seeming to want to arrest Ylre.

Ksye said, "I mean, they were really close...he didn't look like he wanted to take him to Infey."

"Ylre is good at lying," one reminded.

"That's true," said another, ,,and plus he's an incredible hard worker... you have no idea how much he worked, although he didn't have to... practically for two hundred years, every day, except for the king's trips, he only had time off when the king was away... I suppose he wanted to prove his loyalty…I don't think he'd give up his chance now that he's finally built up the king's trust."

"He never had time off?" Kaye didn't believe.

"Aren't you listening?" the other asked.

Kaye sighed, "You say that when the king had trips, but that's not often, isn't it?"

"Once a year, sometimes every two...you haven't been in Infey for long, but the king is away for a month or more...Ylre always worked the whole year and when the king was away, he took a time off too...it says that he comes to the surface to remember old times."

"It says?" laughed Kaye.

"No one went with him, no one knows what he did, it's his free time, no one cares," he said.

"Absolutely unsuspicious," Kaye nodded.

"We'll meet him and we'll know... Ylre isn't a guy who can't follow orders," other added.

"I'm under the impression that I summoned his followers to arrest him," Kaye added.

"Don't say bullshits…to tell the truth, I just want to see Rue with my own eyes…they say Luck still loves him." Infey laughed.

"If it really loved him, it wouldn't have led him to the cave, don't you think?" Kaye reminded.

"Who knows," he added.

The journey went quite well, and when in a few hours they reached the cave, they dismounted. However, after entering it, they discovered things that didn't please them. First, Rue really still had luck...second, their trip was completely pointless...and third, all the work Kaye had put into catching people all that time was gone.

He was standing in the middle of the hall, which until recently had been filled with the shouts of the people, looking at the empty pillar from which all the stones were visible and at the pile of black collars that no one wore anymore. He stared at the broken door, unable to understand what had just happened.

All of his work, all of his goals, the effort and time he put into making it...all gone overnight. He was silence for a moment before he let out a loud laugh.

"Bastard," he growled as the rest of the Infey debated.

"He escaped," one couldn't believe, "what did we come here for?"

"Why did he escape?" another wanted to know.

,,Why? He was locked here, you usually want to escape when someone locks you."

"He saw the bars holding them...he must have known that we were from Infey and that we were after them...why would Ylre escaped, we're on his side. Does it mean he really didn't intend to follow orders?"

"He clearly wasn't the one who broke the door, so who knows...what if Rue destroyed it and because he didn't want to be suspected, he just went with him?"

"I don't know, the whole thing is strange... let's call the highest ones," he thought.

"We should," nodded another.

Kaye couldn't take it anymore and shouted in anger, "Don't you think it's strange he could destroye the door all?! He's supposed to be disconnected from luck!"

"Calm down," tried one Infey.

"Calm down? Calm down? Do you know how much work I put into this? Do you know that the leader is waiting for me to deliver the stones?"

"A leader? What are you? A human? Stop with this fun of yours, don't forget who you really work for, you're still Infey," the other reminded, ,,your only leader is your highest, the king and the luck itself."

"I know that," Kaye was pissed off, "but you never had a hobby?"

"Serving my highest is my hobby," he refused.

,,АААА-shut up! Wait till I catch him, bastard!" Kaye said with anger.

"Don't catch anyone, leave it to the highest, we're going to Alycante to report it...come with us. Don't make trouble."

Kaye stood angrily in the center of the hall for a moment longer, watching the empty cells, before making his way to the exit of the cave in exasperation. The rest of the Infey watched him with a sigh, wondering what was really going on.

The Infey who knew Ylre, either by hearsay or as a colleague when they were working in the prison, didn't think he would betray them, but they shad to report him to the highest each way. They weren't cheering, but they clearly felt better than Kaye, who had just lost the people and stones he had collected over the years.

And so they got out of the cave and headed for Alycante...unaware that they had the same destination with the pair of Infeys they were looking for.