Chapter 9: Slop, Secrets, and Sparks

I followed the duo through alleys that wound like a tangled thread, weaving deeper into the shadowed parts of Enmar. The further we went, the more I realized how unfamiliar I was with this area. Unlike the market streets or outer residential blocks, this place reeked of smoke, sour ale, and desperation. Instinctively, every red flag in my head started waving. Rotting crates leaned against cracked brick walls, and eyes peered from windows that vanished as quickly as they came.

It didn’t take long for me to decide that I needed to be more involved. I patted the younger kid, Ken, on the shoulder. In the blink of an eye, I was inside his body. Ken’s body felt wiry and light, his heartbeat a constant thump in my ears. I fell into step behind Stabs.

I asked, “What do you think about the little girl’s fate?”

Stabs grunted without slowing down. “Kid, trust me… the less questions you ask, the longer you will live.”

We stopped before a shabby wooden structure wedged between taller buildings. It might have been a warehouse once, but now it looked more like a rat’s nest. Inside, the stench intensified from the wet wood, grease, and unwashed bodies. A crowd of rough-looking people sat hunched over crude tables, chewing with their mouths open or yelling between bites.

Stabs grabbed a tray and a wooden plate from the counter, so I did the same, mimicking his every move. I tried to keep the conversation casual.

“So… Stabs, what do you think is better? Feet or ankle?”

He squinted at me like I’d grown an extra head. “What are you on about, kid?”

Before I could backpedal, the food server, a round woman with a greasy apron and a permanent scowl, snorted as she slopped something onto my plate. “Ankles. Less grime.”

The food was an unidentifiable gray-brown mash with chunks floating in it, some soft, and others worryingly crunchy. It steamed faintly, smelled vaguely of burnt barley, and looked like someone scraped it off the bottom of a pot that hadn’t been cleaned in weeks.

We found a spot near the wall, and Stabs began devouring his meal, shoveling it into his mouth with the enthusiasm of someone who’d long since killed his taste buds. I stared down at mine, debating. As a ghost, I’d hoped I could avoid the downsides of eating, maybe filter out taste or sensation, but the moment I shoved a handful into my mouth, I knew I was wrong. I gagged. The texture was both gritty and slimy.

Stabs raised a brow mid-bite. “What’s your problem? Eat.”

I chewed through it with a wince, forcing it down for the sake of maintaining the body’s stamina. Still, I decided to use his sympathy while it lasted.

“I’m just curious, that’s all. About the girl… what’s going to happen to her?”

Stabs didn’t stop chewing. “Probably sold into slavery.”

That hit me hard in the gut, and not because of the food. “Isn’t slavery illegal?” Actually, I have no idea what the case was in this world.

He let out a dry chuckle. “Hoh? You know a fancy word. Yeah, it’s illegal on paper. The Empire learned the hard way that slavery only breeds chaos and very angry transcendents. In a world where anyone can suddenly awaken powers and level cities, enslaving the wrong person could ruin your day.”

That was new. “So what’s a transcendent?” I asked, keeping my tone innocent.

“An all-encompassing term for anyone with powers beyond normal folks such as mages, knights, adventurers, priests, that sort.”

I leaned in. “Are you one?”

He eyed me sharply. “You don’t need to know.”

I smirked, pushing the line. “So stingy. How about the boss?”

He didn’t hesitate. “He is. Definitely.”

I finished eating at a sluggish pace, forcing each bite down while my tongue begged for mercy. The taste wasn’t getting any better. Once I finished, I wiped my palms against Ken’s patched pants and stood, stretching out the ache in my limbs. Then I hurried after Stabs, who was already headed for the stairs.

“Hurry up, slowpoke,” he grunted without turning. “We’ve got a long itinerary ahead of us.”

I caught up beside him. “So, we’re meeting the boss?”

“Yeah,” he said curtly. “Don’t say anything stupid.”

We climbed a creaky wooden staircase that turned left into a narrow corridor. Most of the doors were closed, a few cracked open to reveal dim rooms full of crates and bags that looked like they hadn’t been touched in months. At the far end of the hall, we reached a set of double doors reinforced with iron bands.

Stabs gave a knock that sounded like a code. The doors creaked open.

The room inside was nothing like the rest of the building. Ornate carpets muffled our steps, and gold coins sat piled high in corners like oversized paperweights. Rugs with intricate stitching lined the walls. At the center of the room stood a large chair carved from dark wood and padded with crimson velvet. It was less a seat and more a throne.

And sprawled on it was the boss.

He was a bear of a bald man, thickly muscled with a wide chest covered in black hair. A massive fur coat hung from his shoulders, the kind you’d expect royalty to wear after hunting the beast themselves. His beard was as dense as his build, peppered with streaks of silver. Around his neck hung a pendant in the shape of a cross, which glinted faintly even in the dim room.

He sat with one leg slung over the other, resting his elbow on the arm of the throne like a king in waiting.

“Stabs,” he said lazily, his voice rumbling like a distant storm. “Did you bring good news?”

Stabs stiffened. “We didn’t find anyone else.”

“I see…” The boss drummed his fingers against the chair’s edge, eyes narrowing slightly.

That was my cue.

I unpossessed Ken. The boy blinked and stumbled forward. “Ugh… Where is this?”

The boss raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t mind him, boss,” Stabs said quickly. “He’s new.”

While they spoke, I circled the room quietly and approached the boss from the side. If I could possess him, I’d learn where to find Nira rather easily. The ‘boss’ didn’t seem to notice me until the moment I tried to use possession on him. Like the elf, there was immense resistance.

The boss dropped to one knee, his body trembling. I felt his will pushing back like a wall of fire. He growled through clenched teeth, “This is my body!”

Then I saw the pendant on his chest had begun to glow, white-hot, like a miniature sun. A sharp, burning pain shot through me. My vision twisted.

And just like that, I was flung backwards.

I crashed through the wall like a ghost-shaped cannonball and dropped down a floor, landing with a disorienting thud that made my skull throb. I groaned and stood slowly, head pounding.

That ‘boss’ man wasn’t just muscle. He was dangerous… His pendant had to be enchanted or something. No wonder my possession failed. I brushed phantom dust from my arms and prepared to regroup when I heard shouting.

“Ren! Renzo! HELP!”

I snapped around, eyes wide.

Nira.

She was being dragged down the hallway by a much larger man. She looked completely different. Her hair had been washed. The ash and grime had been scrubbed clean from her face. She wore a fresh, expensive-looking dress. Makeup had even been dabbed beneath her eyes.

Our eyes met.

“RENZO!” she screamed again, voice shrill and cracked from crying.

“Calm down, stop acting crazy, I’ll think of something…” I muttered, more to myself than her.

She was yanked up the stairs by the man’s iron grip. Her eyes were glassy and terrified. Her voice cracked one more time.

“Traitor! Don’t leave me alone!”

I winced. That hurt more than the fall.

I followed them up, feet pressing against the stairs in a hurried, noiseless rhythm. My mind raced, scrambling to form a plan. I didn’t know what lay ahead, only that Nira was still alive and my adversary had resistance to my possession.

Just then, as I looked down at my hand, I saw it.

A thin arc of electricity sparked across my fingers. It danced for a split second before vanishing into the air like it had never existed.

“Did I just… imagine that?”