Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
***
Jun left. For real this time.
As predicted, Lin's men came down to the dungeon half an hour later in search for the three medics.
By then, the doctors themselves had returned to a livelier, not yet normal, state. The seven of us walked out of that cell defeated, incredibly confused and with a lot of questions to answer.
Saya was furious. The already reserved girl stopped talking completely. Though words were unnecessary to understand she hung on -onto sanity, prudence- by a threat.
There were no outbursts of rage. No punishment of the responsible, no justice of any kind, and Master Lin was still away. It could've been the perfect time for a coo, but no one dared to step out of place.
Not even the other Legacies tried her after that. Kings Dominion went quiet for the very first time.
Until another book found its way to our table.
Another invitation, but one for all Rats this time.
When we arrived at her room -or study, as I discovered in the past-, all the highest members of the Syndicate were there, but left as soon as we got in. Saya and her right hands were all that remained behind.
Billy was near a heart attack, and let out a squeal when the door behind us was locked. The same was done to the windows and air vents, and we watched the right hands use a thick black material to cover all possible passageways.
Any sign of life was sealed off from the outside. And those who lurked outside from us.
"Lopez, I'm going to ask you this one more time and I advise you not to lie to me again." Saya said once the room was completely soundproofed.
Petra stilled by my side, genuinely fearing for my life.
"What happened on the roof after I left?" Saya spoke slowly, but there was nothing tired about her.
The courtesy I gave Jun banged against my temple. I owe her nothing. "She said the dead boy was meant for her. That it was because of her that he was killed."
"My name was written on his arm."
"That was what I told her."
Saya massaged her forehead. "What else?"
Jun is a bad person. She admitted to killing those people, children. She's caused nothing but chaos since she came here. I owe her nothing. And yet I find myself having difficulty speaking.
Any description that I could've come up with wouldn't accurately depict what I had seen. How can I say she felt genuine? She gave me no proof of her claims, and I still believed her.
There was something in her eyes. Perhaps the absence of tenderness only a former homeless person could identify. The need for someone to brush out their hair after a hot shower, or never having woken up to the smell of waffles.
"Why are you protecting her?"
"I'm not." I told Saya.
"Goddamnit, Marcus. I'm trying to get her back." The girl's breathing was audibly uneven.
My eyes widened without my consent.
"She's not dead." Saya clarified as if reading in my expression how absurd I had found her words.
I didn't speak for a moment. I didn't want to question her. I stole a glance at Petra, whose tiny head shake told me enough. "Okay."
"I've been listening to the police radio communications, their reports and records." Saya began to pace. I had never seen Saya pace before. "Five corpses were found this week and none of them had Jun's description."
When I said nothing, she continued: "She's not dead."
I sighed. "She said she needed to die. Because of you."
I watched her analyze me, her brain turning in on itself with possibilities and impossibilities alike.
Her pacing lead her to a corner of the room where she stopped. A fist collided with the dark brown wall, the tremor reaching us on the other side of the room.
There it was. The outburst all were expecting but never really got.
I think I heard Billy cry a little, but I'm not sure. I couldn't think about anything other than the meltdown in front of us. It seemed ungodly, as if nature should not have allowed us to witness this. It was content for the priviledged, and we were unworthy.
"Fuck." Saya muttered to the wall. She punched it again. "Fuck!"
The first step I took in her direction was awfully hard. It felt like I had been asleep, rusting, for ages without moving. "Saya-" I reached out a hand to touch her shoulder, but she turned around before I could even blink.
The girl grabbed my arm and used it to shove me into the table beside us. My back collided with a hard surface, pain spreading through my nerves.
"She went back, Marcus!" Saya hit my chest with strength. "Jun went back to him!"
All I could do was accept her outburst upon myself. Let her let go for once.
"Why wouldn't you tell me?! Why?!"
"I-" a hit to my stomach pushed the air out my lungs. "Because I think I understand why she would do it!"
Slowly, her energy became lesser and lesser.
Then, she looked at me. And laughed a humorless laugh. "Yeah, I understand too." She stepped back. "I always suspected those murder were not orquestrated by my uncle. She did it herself. For some reason, she killed them. That family was a friend to mine, their patriarch was close to my uncle."
"The boy was a threat to you, but it was meant for her." Petra whispered.
Saya's eyes dropped. "If not her, they were coming after me."
"She was protecting you." It was something that had been itching in my head for a long time. And this theory felt conclusive. The events corroborated.
Saya called out to her right arms who had been silently watching this whole time. "Tell Lin when he returns I'm going to be out for a couple of months." She eyed them both firmly. "You two are in charge from now on. I'm placing the security of the Syndicate in your hands. Do what you need to ensure it and don't disappoint me."
They nodded in sync.
"Clear the door." She commanded in a voice that could dry up the ocean.
The black material was yanked off and the door was open in seconds.
"Where are you going?" I knew.
She turned to us. No sign of the unregarded emotion she had mere moments ago. "After her, before she is executed in a public court. And you four are coming with me."
