Fallen Haven [Baneful] Book 1

The Old Feud

The car pulled into a more secluded part of Paris, which made Ein uneasy. "Are you sure we are going the right way?"

"Don't worry, little brother. This area may seem weird, but it's actually rather calm. Many people who prefer to keep their businesses secretive stay in this part of Paris." Ein looked out the window at the winded-down part of Paris. "It only feels eerie because it's nighttime, but during the day, this part of Paris is absolutely lovely, in my opinion.

"This is more like a small town on its own."

"This is Le Village Saint Paul. It holds quite a few things for tourists and people to enjoy while in France."

"Does anyone actually live here?" Niko opens his mouth to speak but pauses. It seems he doesn't know the answer to that question either. "So Carlile doesn't even live here?"

"I don't know where Carlile stays, but if we're being brought here, then most likely, this is a hangout of some sort."

"Sir Carlile s'y rend souvent, généralement pour faire du shopping ou flirter avec les femmes qu'il rencontre. Il est devenu célèbre pour ses habitudes de coureur de jupons dans notre ville." The driver says. Ein doesn't know French well but was able to catch wind of the word womanizer.

"Sound familiar Niko?" Niko glares at Ein unamused. Ein clears his throat. "are we close yet?"

"I can feel the energy, so I imagine so." The vehicle stops short of a small path.

"C'est aussi loin que je peux t'emmener. Le chemin vous mènera à l'entrée de la ville de Sir Carlile." Niko gets out of the vehicle and waits for Ein to get out.

"Why did he stop here?" Ein asks, confused. "Couldn't he have gone any further?"

"He can't see past here. To him, it looks like the normal part of this town, but to us, the path leads into a forest. He only knows about the path cause Carlile let him know so others could find him if needed."

"So we can see it, and he can't because?"

"Our DNA, all magical beings have a mana core that connects together and creates almost this weird chemical reaction so we can see each other's hideouts or hidden paths."

"So, to the naked human eye, this will look like we're walking through a large building?"

"Exactly." Ein looks back at the man in the vehicle before looking back at the path leading into a forest. Before Ein can ask anything else, Niko steps forward, and Ein watches as his body goes through this clear-like substance that closes back up once his brother is inside.

"That's... so weird."

"You haven't even seen weird now; come on, we can't delay this any further." Ein takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, stepping through the clear-like substance, and his skin crawls at the feeling of what he could only describe as gelatin and water going against his body. When he opens his eyes, the town behind them is gone and replaced with more forest, and his clothes are completely dry.

"I never want to feel that again." He shudders, unable to stop thinking about the feeling of the barrier.

"You'll get used to it." Niko leads the way, following the path deeper into the woods. The sounds within the woods were enough to scare anyone to death and make them wish they were home snuggled up in bed. Off in the distance, Ein could barely make out the sounds of gears.

"Niko," Ein catches up to him, "what type of place are you taking me to?"

"Consider it a more science engineering-like place. Basically, where some of the geeks and loners like to live to be in their own worlds and focus on their work and creations." Ein stares in awe as a city starts to come into view.