Plan B

Lucius drew to a halt, supporting himself against the side of a jeweler’s shop as he struggled to catch his breath. Crouching beside him and wheezing as if all the air had been squeezed from her body, Hana was far from the calm and collected appearance that she so often put forward. Sweat streamed from both of their brows while exhaustion and pain weighed them down, the distant sounds of bells and questioning shouts lingering in the air behind them. Dull pain continued to pulse through Lucius’ shoulder from where the arrow, a parting gift from Salerius, had found itself. He knew enough to know that the wound was far from lethal, though it was certainly painful. The real issue would be an infection, which could be avoided if it was treated quickly.

Of course, that was easier said than done. He had accomplished all of his objectives for the evening, but he had forgotten about the crucial detail of what to do after. Commanding his body to relax, he regained control of his lungs and slowly began to calm his raging heart,

“Hey, Hana? How’re you holding up?”

She gasped and held up a shaky thumb, “I…I am…okay…You? No, you are hurt!” The spot on his shoulder twinging a bit harsher at its mention, bringing water to the corner of his eyes. Still, he tried his best to wave it off,

“It isn’t that serious. We’ll get it taken care of later. For now, we should find somewhere safe to lay low. Once we do that, I’ll figure out what we do from there.” He had hoped to persuade her off, but judging from her steely gaze, he had failed spectacularly,

“Absolutely not! You need help, so let me help you!”

There was something wonderfully endearing about her earnestness, but he had serious doubts that she would be able to do much of anything, especially seeing as she likely had no concept of arrows in shoulders. But then again, neither did he until a few minutes ago.

“How? I don’t mean any disrespect, Hana, but what do you propose we do? There’s no equipment or anything near us.” She stood tall and held him in her eyes, gentle and full of determination,

“Please. Let me try.”

There was no arguing with a person such as her who had made up her mind, so he gave in and relented, “Oh alright, let’s get this over with. First thing you have to do is pull the arrow out. Just be careful, we don’t know if it has barbs or not. Once it’s out, you’ll have to bind it tight to stop any bleeding.”

She nodded quietly, humming a strange melody to herself as she folded up the sleeves of her robe. To give her the best angle possible, he knelt with his back turned and braced his uninjured arm against the nearby wall. Knowing that the removal of the arrow was going to hurt, Lucius tried to concentrate on his breathing and any other sensation he could take notice of; the feeling of the stone against his skin, the chill of the night air and the delicate scent that always seemed to permeate the air wherever Hana went, he filled his mind with them instead of the pain.

When he felt as ready as possible, he steeled is nerves and murmured, “Do it.” He felt her slender hand wrap around the base of the arrow shaft and the pressure it placed on the wound. There was a pause of several seconds where neither spoke nor moved, though she continued to hum her strange, ethereal melody. He could guess why she was hesitating,

“It’s going to hurt, but it’ll be okay. I’ll be fine. Yank it out.”

“No.” The response was firm and certain, and there was an odd echo to her voice, one that was both comforting and slightly disconcerting. Lucius had heard similar tones used before by men and women in places of power. It was a voice that spoke of protection and kindness, while silently threatening oblivion to their opponents. To hear such things from Hana sent a shiver up his spine.

The cold feeling was rapidly replaced by warmth that spread throughout his body, but was most concentrated near his shoulder. The air began to shimmer with a faint light that grew in intensity along with the rising heat. The melody that she hummed likewise intensified, its pitch rising and falling like the distant tide. As it reached a final crescendo, Hana exhaled loudly and physically pushed down onto his shoulders. When she did, Lucius felt something worm its way inside the arrow wound; an odd heat than elicited a shudder from him as it wound its way between his flesh and the foreign object. In a final shot of heat, Lucius sighed in relief as the entire arrow popped straight out and dropped, clattering to the stone alleyway.

Lucius cautiously reached up and felt around the affected area with his fingers, and to his astonishment, he felt nothing besides a hole in his tunic. He had been completely healed, as if nothing had happened at all. Amazement filled him as he stood,

“Hana! That was incredible! How did you do that?” His excitement was tempered with worry, as Hana had since leaned back to support herself on the wall, her breathing labored and shallow. Even through the dim light, she seemed paler than usual while her eyes had difficulty focusing on him. When she answered, she seemed to be twice as exhausted as she was a few moments ago,

“You know…I don’t really know…I just…didn’t want to see you hurt anymore…” His brow furrowed with concern as he stepped in beside her, offering his arm as an alternative to the dirty wall, which she gratefully accepted. She was able to catch her breath after a short while, though her skin was still pale and slightly clammy. Knowing this wasn’t the time to address all the questions that swirled in his head, he instead focused on the immediate,

“Can you walk? We still need to solve our current predicament.”

Hana nodded after a heartbeat delay, “Yes, I am fine. Just a little tired…” Taking her under his arm, the pair began to make their way out of the alleyway, the role reversal not lost on Lucius. It was slow going, though thankfully there was little in the way of distractions or obstacles in their path as they marched below the silent monoliths of civilization. The overwhelming silence of the city was as nearly as oppressive as its daytime rancor, though he wondered off-handedly if Hana was having an easier time because of it. The quiet was so absolute that Lucius was concerned that their footsteps were going to alert their pursuers.

He had little idea as to where the best place to go would be, so he simply picked a direction that would take them the farthest from the mansion and hoped that it was good enough. Several minutes of silent meandering passed before Hana pulled him to a stop, her ears perking up in alarm,

“Someone is there!” She was pointing off the main road to where a tall statue of some nondescript warrior stood amidst a grouping of hedges, though Lucius couldn’t see much of anything in the near darkness. When he was about to question her, a figure detached itself from the statue and stepped out into the open. The figure addressed them in a male voice, though other features were impossible to tell, as they were robed in dark wrappings,

“Not bad, miss. I could’ve sworn I was making no noise, but I guess I wasn’t doing as good a job as I thought! No matter, and no reason to get defensive! I’m here to help.” Lucius had been halfway to reaching for the rapier’s hilt, though he paused after hearing the young man’s overture. Still, he refused to completely relax his posture and remained in a slightly defensive posture. Hana had likewise slunk behind him and had drawn back her ears as much as they could go, in an effort to hide them. Across from them, the interloper spread his hands wide to show that they were empty,

“Now, now. I’m sure that you have both had a very long night and would be very happy to kick your feet up and relax, yes? Of course you would, which is what I’m here to provide. I was sent by our mutual friend to check up on your progress, which I am to presume, since there are two of you, that you have succeeded?”

Lucius could feel Hana’s scrutinizing gaze on him, but he filed that particular issue for later, “I have. I think you’ll find this to be very interesting.” Reaching into his belt, he pulled out the journal that he had swiped from the mansion. The other man’s posture became more alert as all eyes went to the book in his hands,

“Well, well. Consider us impressed, kid. Gotta be honest with you, some of us were sure you’d just up and run the moment you got your girl out of there”

Lucius kept his tone even, despite the obvious provocation, “I was explicitly warned against that. Besides, Salerius fucked with me, so I consider us even with this.” The figure nodded in understanding, “I couldn’t agree more. Now, if you wouldn’t mind tossing that my way, we can consider our business concluded.”

Lucius had no reason to trust this strange man, but neither did he have any option. There was no way he would consider a fight with this odd individual, and both he and Hana were on the brink of collapse from fatigue. So he did the sensible, and possibly foolish action, and did as he was told. Tossing the book forward like a disc, it skipped across the ground for several feet before coming to a halt near his feet. The other man deftly scooped it into his hands and flipped open to a random page. A moment of tense silence passed, where Lucius knew all of the night’s efforts were about to be judged.

Any mounting fears were quickly dispelled when the man uttered a short laugh aloud and snapped the journal shut, the large smile that was hidden behind wraps came through clearly in his elation,

“This is just excellent! Kid, I don’t think you realized just how good a job you did. This’ll be sure to make that creep squirm for years to come! Hey, you ever thought of a career in espionage? With a bit of work, I bet you’d be great!”

Lucius couldn’t resist the tug of a faint smile, whoever this person was, their enthusiasm was infectious. As generous as he was sure the offer was, he couldn’t see himself in that line of work, “Appreciate the offer, but no thanks. I doubt I would be much use for your people.”

“Nonsense! You’ve already done plenty! But very well, we take pride in our non-forceful recruitment policy, after all. but if you ever change your mind, just look us up. Or rather, we’ll look you up! Ha!”

“This person is weird,” Hana whispered quietly to him, “He looks happy, but none of that happiness reaches his eyes. They look so cold…” Lucius quietly agreed, “Exactly, which is why I want to be away from here as soon as possible.”

He raised his voice slightly, “I take it you are pleased, friend?”

“Oh yes,” came the reply, “Very much so! Ah, of course, my apologies, I was getting carried away with all the possibilities.” The cloaked figure pointed off down a side street, “If you follow this to its end, you’ll reach an inn that appears closed for the evening. Knock on the side door four times and speak to the servant there. They’ll provide you with lodgings for the evening.”

“Thanks, much appreciated.”

“Pleasure doing business with you.”

The figure then turned and dashed quietly into the darkness, vanishing from sight within seconds. Hana’s ears kept focused on where he had gone, but even they lost their focus after a minute and returned to their normal position. The situation now well and truly over, they both relaxed and sagged into each other, grateful to have avoided this last obstacle to their rest. As they began to move once again, Hana posed a question to him,

“You didn’t give him the key that you found. Was it not important?”

“On the contrary, I’m sure it’s very important.” This only served to make her more confused, “So then why not give it? Also, who was he?”

“I’ll explain everything once we get to safety. But for now, suffice to say I have no reason to trust him too much. If they need it, they’ll come back and find me. When they do, I’m sure that they’ll want to buy it off me.”

“Uh-huh…but what if they just take it?”

He winced at having his plan so quickly dismantled, “Well…sure, I guess. But let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. From what I’ve seen, they appear to be a reasonable sort.” Hana didn’t answer, but he could tell what she was thinking. While it certainly wasn’t the most brilliant plan to trust the morality of a shady group that got him to commit at least three felonies, it was the best he could come up with.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, reaching their destination shortly before the midnight bell. As instructed, he guided them around to the side entrance and rapped four times. Shortly afterwards, a girl appeared wearing a simple nightgown and rubbing sleep from her eyes. After explaining who they were and who sent them, the girl stepped aside and handed them a key for a room on the third floor. The room in question was rather upscale and spacious, filled with high quality furniture and laden with soft silks and fabrics. Soft light emanated from a covered oil lamp, offering a calming ambiance to end their day.

As there were two beds, Hana staggered in and flopped face down onto the nearest one, sighing with pleasure as the bed consumed her fatigue. Lucius smiled at the sight, though it faded quickly as he found his way to the other bed. When he sat down, he knew what needed to be said,

“Hana, before we call it a night, can I ask you something?”

“Mmffmmmm…”

“I…can’t understand you when your face is stuffed in that pillow. Sorry.”

She turned her head to face him, “I said, okay. But can’t it wait? I’m beat…”

“Please, it’s important.” His seriousness must’ve caught her attention, because she hauled herself upright and sat cross-legged,

“Okay. What is it?”

Taking a deep breath, he looked her square in the eyes,

“Hana, what exactly are you?”