Chapter 2
"Dance for me."
She heard Khada walk up the stairs and then a knock on the door.
"May I come in?" he asked.
"Yes," she called and he entered.
Caitlyn noticed that he was leaning heavily on his cane. Even though her instincts told her not too, Caitlyn had to help someone in need and helped him limp over to sit on the bed.
"Thank you," he groaned, "My leg was injured during a terrorist attack, it hasn't healed since then and most likely won't get better. I crafted this cane to help me move around."
Caitlyn inspected the cane, it had a very elaborate tip and handle while the cane itself was metal wrapped in a long red cloth. It seemed familiar but she couldn't place where she had seen it before.
He cleared his throat and asked, "are you hungry?"
"Yes… I would love some lunch," she answered.
Khada stood up and gestured for her to follow.
"You can come down with me but when I am asleep or away, you need to be up there," he explained as he limped down the stairs.
Caitlyn sat at a small table and waited for Khada to finish cooking lunch which was Ionian styled noodles. He hummed a faint melody while he worked.
As she listened closer she could make out a very strict beat, with a softer melody behind it.
"Hmmm. Hmmm. Hmmm. Hmm!"
"What are you humming?" asked Caitlyn.
"Just something from my youth, a calming exercise taught by a mentor of mine. It helps to level out my heartbeat," he explained not looking up from his work.
After a few more minutes, lunch was done and he ceremoniously laid down two bowls on the table, sitting across from her.
Caitlyn sampled the noodles, they were delicious.
"Hey, these are pretty good!" she exclaimed.
"Oh, thank you. It's a secret recipe," he responded.
She glanced up to see him staring intently at her.
While his left eye was alive and warm at her praise, his right eye was slightly covered by a scar and looked almost dead. It seemed so out of place on his cheerful face. It was the eye of a killer.
"So uh… Khada, what do you do for a living?" asked Caitlyn.
"I am a humble painter, I make a decent living but times have been tough, hence the extra caution."
"What do you paint?"
"Mostly flowers and other plants and still-lifes, but I do the occasional portrait. It's hard though, I don't see many people out here. You're one of the three people I've seen this far up in the mountains in this entire year."
"Could I see some of your paintings?"
"I… uh… sure."
He stood up and limped away, returning a few moments later with a couple of canvases.
As he said, most were flowers, almost all the flowers being lotuses.
"That one is interesting," said Caitlyn as she pointed at a painting of a dark pink-purple lotus with four petals that seemed to be opening. The center of the flower was emitting a pale red light.
She glanced at them seeing a self-portrait of Khada. It looked much like he did in real life however the right side of his face was covered in shadows that hid the scar.
"Wow, I bet if you had more people to paint, you could make a lot more, that one is great!" exclaimed Caitlyn.
"Uh… I am most humbled by your praise," he said as he gave a slight bow.
He suddenly stood up and hustled out of the room, returning in a minute with a large amount of art supplies in his hands. He set up and easel and canvas and turned to Caitlyn.
"Would you mind if I painted a portrait of you?" he asked.
"I don't mind."
He directed her to a place with good light and then stood behind his easel and began to sketch.
"Try not to move, it will make my work easier," he asked.
"Whatever you need," she said as she sat up and stayed still. She gave a faint smile and her eyes twinkled a bit.
"Dun.. dun.. dun. Dun!" he hummed as he worked on the painting of her.
After a half hour of Khada sketching, he whirled the canvas around to show it to her.
To say she was stunned was and understatement. The picture was flattering to say the least. It was from her head down to her midriff. Unlike the outfit she wore most of the time, the one she was wearing was a tee-shirt with a low V-neck. Her dark-brown hair cascaded down her body, resting on her shoulders. Her smooth face was framed by the hair and her neck was thin yet looked very strong. Her ample bosom was also drawn and she smirked a bit as she noticed it had a lot of detail put into it.
Khada flipped the painting back around and began to pour paints onto a palette and glanced intensely at her before he began to paint.
He hummed the same tune to himself as the brush spread the color around the canvas. He would gaze back at her every minute or so and murmur to himself. For two hours he painted and when he finished, he gestured for her to stand up and come over.
However good the sketch was, the painting was infinitely better. Her pale skin was perfectly toned and her light blue eyes almost seemed alive. The shading was exquisite and she noticed it was most evident around her throat, collarbones, and cleavage. Around the area of cleavage, her chest was two large orbs almost barely covered by the low V neck. The tee-shirt was violet just like her outfit. Her curls and strands of hair were a coffee-brown and flowed down her face. Full, pink lips were in a slight smirk. The background was plain white and she noticed that not a single stroke moved outside of the picture itself, everything was perfect.
"That's really, really good," Caitlyn said slightly astonished.
Khada blushed and gave the second bow of that day.
"It would not have been possible if not for my exotic subject. I will now go downstairs and cook up some dinner. If you have any questions just come down, I'll call you if you aren't down by dinner."
He limped out of the room and Caitlyn heard drawers opening.
"No, no, no, no!" she heard him mutter from downstairs.
"It would appear as though I need a few ingredients, do you need a snack before I leave to go to the market?"
"No, I'm fine!" she called.
He climbed up the stairs and began to shut the door.
"I'm sorry, just for a few more days, then you can roam freely," he explained as he locked the door and left.
Caitlyn waited for 15 minutes after that before she moved. Unlocking the door like before, she scrambled down the stairs and ran to the bookcase, removing the books that covered the lock. She began to pick it but it was a monster.
A long time later, she cleared the last pin. This one had 16 pins in total, just like the stairs.
With the last click of the pins, Caitlyn slide the bookshelf to the side and walked down a staircase to the underground. She didn't know how long that had taken her but she reckoned she had a bit more time. 8 steps down and she reached the landing. There was a soft pink glow coming from the bottom part so she turned left and went down 8 more steps into the underground room. What she found surprised her.
In the middle of the room was a locked chest, but the three walls were covered in scraps of paper. She looked closer and realized that they were mostly clippings of newspapers. She began to read the headlines which were conveniently in Common so she could understand them.
Golden Demon strikes again in the Northern Mountains. Eight dead.
Man goes on massacre at a theater and leaves fifty six dead or injured.
Governor of Southern Province found dead in office. Four bullet wounds to the head.
Detectives say string of killings in the East are related to last year's rampage by the so called Golden Demon.
Spring festival put to halt after four actors are found dead.
Young and mysterious playwright Mr. Khada is awarded 1st place in competition.
Twelve dead with multiple stabbing wounds.
Twenty dead with small razor-like cuts and petal shaped shrapnel.
She noticed some of the articles had writing in red pen on them.
Attempted murder on Duchess Karma was foiled by a wall of shields. Four gunshots in total. Stupid, stupid guards!
Entire squad of guards found dead. Serves them right. They cannot stop this art.
This year's blood moon festival is said to continue regardless of reports on Golden Demon. I will keep going.
Masked man spotted on rooftops shooting into crowd. Vanishes without a trace. They will never find me.
Caitlyn noticed some of the articles were not from Ionia.
Sheriff of Piltover captures menace, Vi.
Sheriff and Accomplice track down the anarchist Jinx.
Freljordian Princess Ashe wins marksmanship challenge again.
Demacian scout captures murderer after wounding him with crossbow.
The competition is poor. I require a greater challenge.
Golden demon is captured after four years by Master Kusho and his sons, Zed and Shen.
Noxus invades Ionia.
Golden demon escapes prison, murders continue.
Noxian platoon wiped out by lone sniper.
Noxian high general is assassinated by gunman.
Noxian dreadnought ship explodes off the coast of Ionia. Experts say generator was sabotaged.
Caitlyn walked over to the right side and found numerous awards on playwriting and acting.
Khada Jhin, 1st place.
Khada Jhin, best Actor.
Khada Jhin, best writer.
Khada Jhin, most creative.
Khada Jhin, best performance.
"Oh no…" Caitlyn murmured to herself, she was beginning to figure out who Khada really was.
She walked over to the chest and unlocked it with her picks.
Inside she found two weapons; her gun and an ornate handgun with four bullets in it.
Before she could set the gun down, she felt the cold steel of a gun barrel as it was pressed to the back of her head.
"Turn around slowly," ordered Jhin the Virtuoso.
She turned and stared down the barrel of his cane attachment.
He pulled back the hammer and put his finger over the trigger.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't paint you all over the walls," he seethed.
Gone was the quiet and helpless man who lived alone, the killer had revealed himself.
Yes, I know it's short.
Yes, I know the art scene is probably terrible (I only made it to art 3 in High School)
On a different note, the time between this chapter and the previous one will not be the average time for future chapters. My laptop was not working and I had to get it fixed and I had a couple large assignments to work on.
Until next time!