The Hunt

"A wolf that turns its back on the nest, Woah! This is very interesting, well then, we can all sit back." said Nileas excitedly with a bright smile, then he added: "Then, you can entertain yourself!" Again, he shows his joyful character, cringed with a strong accent from the southeast of Europe. He is not much of a concern for both the scroll and the woman.

"Enjoy, you mean. Enjoy," Georgie corrected again.

"Whatever it is, you find that woman, you find the scroll! Her name is Bi Liu Yu, she is once an assistant of Gong Vun. A friend of Noon Jr. as well," said Alois.

"Oh?" Nileas started cracking up. "Awww, it's that Donpin Jr.!"

Alene raised her eyebrows, trying to find if anything that she could relate Donpin Jr. to this. He helped her and she promised not to bring him any trouble in future.

Donpin Jr. is a mundane with special powers, which his excellency Gong would rather describe as atavistic. The demon blood in him should have been washed along the bloodline but somehow, it came back to half the power his great grandfather once possess.

That man owns a tower in the mundane world that could change its architectural style with time. That tower was once a medieval inn downtown, but it is now part of a shop lot in an alley. It has a classic British front door that looks very vintage, on a brick wall full of hanging greens.

His place was rather enchanted. He set up a corridor with many doors and these doors lead to different parts of the world. That's how she disappears completely under the eyes of the hunters and Nine Rune, then appear in York without leaving a trace for the hunters.

"Gray! Be good, Gray!" Alois snapped his fingers and tells his dog to be quiet. It's a huge greyhound with fur seemingly lilac, now snarling in the direction where Alene and the rest of the uninvited are hiding.

"It could be some ditch rat out there. You trained him well," said Krios.

"No, that's impossible, I gave it some practice this morning." said Alois, holding tight to the leather leash that holds the greyhound.

"What kind of practice?" Nileas asked, looking confused. "Are you serious? Did you train it? As far as I am concerned, you guys share no love."

"Sheesh, Nileas. I just wanted him to get used to the scent. The servants brought some belonging of Bi Liu Yu from Zenthor, this..." Alois was eagerly trying to explain and suddenly stopped talking.

"Let it go, Alois. See if it could show us if that ditch rat ended up here." Krios said with no flick of emotion, his eyes suddenly fixed in the direction where Alene is hiding, as sharp as an eagle setting on its prey.

Something is not right, what's going on? All she did was breathe. How did he know where she is? The 'fear' he exudes in the end, it's familiar...

Before she could even find out the answer, the giant greyhound sprung upon where Alene was hiding. The fairies and goblins jolted up in fear and flee their way into the forest.

Alene gasped and join the flee while snapping out the straps she tied to her arms. She had immersed them in Viola Beugenea extract, which is supposed to cover her scent.

She crossed the woods and the stone bridge, running downhill to a chapel that is next to a graveyard. She was about to jump over the short fences but she ended up stopping in the middle of the T junction. She froze.

All the roads look the same as if she was standing in a mirror room, with the reflection of one road coming in all ways.

No, this is not right. This is not real. She refuses to accept what she sees and continues to run. Then, she stumbled upon and fell. What happened? Did she just fall on flat ground?

She was paralyzed to the spot, so she took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves for a minute. She exhales and turns back, but finds a menacing creature growling lowly on her face. The greyhound had found her.

She holds her voice back, trembling like a leaf. All she could see is the razor-sharp teeth that look very promising for a fatal bite. Alene closes her eyes waiting for what was coming but there isn't any pain landing on her face or body.

A faint chuckle sounded in the air. "There, there. Don't be afraid." It was supposed to be a light consolation, but he sounds entertained.

When she opened her eyes, what got in her sight is a confused greyhound. It tilted its head a few times but stop moving forward. Judging by the way it reacts, the greyhound couldn't see her despite sensing her existence in that direction.

After a moment, the giant dog growled and walked away.

"You must be that Miss..... Bee something on the reward notice. I recognize you somehow, there aren't many from the East. You made a good disguise but not good enough. Now, what should I do with you?"

Alene couldn't see him, but she was quite certain that it was Nileas Nathaniel. His jumpy tone and unique accent sold him out.

On the other side of the looking glass, Nileas squat down trying to take a closer look at her, a very common mundane from the East but her eyes are different.

He can tell she is hiding her eye colours but it still fades a little from black when she's scared. It glimmers in the dark, with a hint of turmeric yellow, like the one you see when the street light shines on the brass rod. "It's okay, don't worry, for the sake of my entertainment, I won't tell him about you. Okay?"

"You saved me and I thank you for that. Can I have your name, please?" Alene asked as if she was ignorant enough to not recognize his voice.

Nileas laughed but you can hear him trying to muff himself in his palm. "You are funny. You risked yourself stalking us and you have no idea who knows this trick?" Then the surroundings turned dark, and only the dim street lights were left illuminating a short distance of the route.

"I am Nileas, a man who has a lot of experience in particle control. I love everything in motion and I see you ran a lot. That's a lot of motion."

Great, now she is dealing with a lunatic, Alene thought. He sounds exactly like those mad scientists in the documentary.

Nileas shook his head helplessly. "Oh my, I am dealing with a lost lamb. I do say you are too brave. You step into the West without knowing who is in charge and what we do, and then you blatantly eavesdrop at our party. Hahaha, are you a third-rate hunter?"

"Well... sad to say that I am," Alene admitted without shame. She almost had it! She was nearly upgraded to the upper rank back then if she wasn't set up by that femme fatale who made her fall like a dog in the competition. Damn it, it's been third-rate since then!

Nileas looked at her in disbelief for a long time and finally smiled. "Okay, okay, you win!"

Alene wasn't sure what she is dealing with and she wasn't sure if Nileas is the kind that prefers the hunt. "You are going to let me go? For sure?" asked Alene carefully.

"Yes, of course. I don't like hurting anyone, especially one that Donpin Jr. cares for."