CHAPTER THIRTY

~ On the Move ~

The sky is now calm but exhibits a cloudless blandness over a small cottage in a snowy field. The cottage made completely from wood show signs of age and appears as if long abandoned. Inside this cottage sat six individuals over a table. Steam from warm fluids served in bowls could be seen rising in the small cozy room. A serious air filled the room. The girl with golden hair amongst them takes a small sip of the fluid. Noting its taste and seemingly fond of it, she takes in a little more, careful not to consume too much for fear of being burned by the hot liquid.

"So about that lab..." Kai initiates.

"It's completely destroyed." Ian tells him.

"What happened?" Tala inquires.

"I was watching them one day from behind a snow ball I made to avoid detection. Some guys came by...five of them or so. They were kind of strange." Ian begins his story.

"Strange?" Kai takes note.

"They were all wearing dark cloaks." Ian goes on. "But one of them had this gigantic wing thing sticking out of his head."

Lux jerked her attention to him now and stopped sipping her borscht.

"The guy with the wierd wing went inside." Ian continues. "But then something sort of blew in there. He came back out flying and left with his group."

Silence dominated for a moment before Ian went on. "After that, all the usual helicopters that stopped by sort left it alone. One guy did come by but only occasionally."

The room was once again under an unseen veil of silence.

"What do you think, Kai?" Tala asks him.

"Oh yeah, one more thing I forgot." Ian suddenly recalls. "When I tried to go near it, sometime later, I remember there was this horrible smell...kinda like rotting flesh. I'm guessing people in there must've been dead or something. I turned away because of that though."

Lux turns to Kai, awaiting his decision.

After a long moment, Kai announces, "We'll head there to see what's up first thing tomorrow. For today, we should rest up and make some preparations."

All but Lux nod to comply. Lux watches as the others go off to do their own thing before returning to her unfinished borscht. She looks to the stuffed toy with an expression of concern.

Outside, Kai catches up with Tala and places a hand on his shoulder to catch his attention.

"Yeah?" Tala turns to him.

"I think you should tell Lux what you know about her." Kai states. "She deserves to know...about her past."

With that, Kai walked past Tala to train, leaving Tala behind to ponder silently on those words.

...

In Japan, the stars had rose and formed a glittery veil. Beneath it, in a neighborhood lined with old warehouses no longer in use, an aquamarine haired you clad in dark attire traipses almost in silence. He eventually chances the familiar unit he had been dwelling in and enters uneventfully through the front door. To his surprise, under the moonlight atop the tallest of crates stands an august demon awaiting him.

"Kai and Lux are nowhere to be found." Lok states in a dark, irritated tone.

Silence followed. Then came Zane's voice, "If I were Lux, after I left here, I'd no doubt return to Kai. Now if I were Kai, I'd likely take Lux as far from us as I can to keep her safe from harm until I can deal with the problem at hand."

Lok turns in Zane's direction. He then inquires in a menacing tone, "And if you were Kai, where would you have gone, Zane?"

"To somewhere familiar preferably." Zane replies.

A grin appears on Lok's pale face.

"World famous Kai Hiwatari…" Lok muses. "…former member of the Blitzkreig Boys of Russia. Yes, Russia. The two of you will bring me there."

"There's one more thing," Zane adds. "Something was up with Wyvynn's last trip. I believe Wyvynn can fill you in on the details."

The remark startles Wyvynn, snapping his attention to Zane then to Lok.

"Well?" Lok demands tacitly.

"Kull's body is missing at the altars." Wyvynn reports.

"…WHAT!" Lok zooms toward Wyvynn, grabbing him by the neck.

Wyvynn remains silent in his grip for a moment.

"Please…Lok…" Wyvynn says between breaths. "It's not my fault…this happened…I swear…"

Lok lets him down with a loud thump. Then without further movement, he addresses Zane. "Zane."

"Yes?" Zane replies as Wyvynn desperately tries to catch his breath. "You mentioned sometime earlier Ventus is in town. Why do you think Ventus still lingers here? Is he not originally from Sweden? He could have returned after those old fools were killed off. I'm sure he knew."

"Perhaps he had some business here." Zane politely replies.

"Yes…perhaps he is involved in this in one way or another…" Lok then begins to ascend. "The two of you will arrange to take me to Russia as soon as possible. Meanwhile I shall find Ventus..."