The discussion had moved to the Seear’s Hall. This majestic Hall, situated at the rear edge of the Palace included offices of central importance encompassing a hall for meetings of high-end officials of the Eye. Therefore, it was built in a restricted area accessible by authorized personnel only.

  “What’s going on, Hugo?” Renekom asked, stopping in the middle of the Hall.

  The doors closed shut behind them, the Justice Council, Hugo, and Renekom and his personal council were now alone.

  “Sir, I need him,” the Zaatsu replied. “We can use a man of his calibre.”

  “Enough with that nonsense! He is too dangerous! Recent times have shown us quite clearly how leniency has backfired! The Eye has paid dearly for such mistakes.”

  The Seear was referring to a former member of the Eye – Ambris Ferrer. He was allowed into the organization by Renekom’s predecessor, Master Delun Yang. After training extensively with many senior masters, he eventually betrayed the Eye and became a rogue warrior, eventually launching a full-scale assault on the very people who once gave him a life.

  “Ambris killed my mentor, Master Delun Yang, and many others because he was shown mercy by our people,” Renekom continued. “Your mentor, Master Warren Ford, brought him in, and Master Yang accepted him. I will not make that mistake!”

  “With all due respect, sir,” Hugo said, staring down at his shoes. “The Madman fiasco, so to speak, was the result of some frivolous adventures of our seniors, yours more so than mine. Ambris dealt a massive blow to the Eye because he was always 5 steps ahead of us and he was able to do that because he had people inside.”

  “You will speak with caution here, Baylis!” the Seear asserted. He was clearly flummoxed. “This is my Hall, and I will not stand anyone who cannot respect my mentors.”

  The war between Ambris Ferrer and the Eye had devastating effects. The rogue warrior commanded the infamous ‘Serpents of God’ movement. It was a vast Cult-cum-organization of wizards and Ki fighters completely separate from any known Cult or group. It included ex-members of the Eye and the Order, and many stowaways from Cults around the world. Their only one agenda was total world domination. And to do that they wanted to get rid of the Eye first.

  Before Ambris became its leader and mastermind, a powerful enchantress by the name of Orianthi Webb led the invisible organization. She gained significant power by seducing her way to the top and marrying the then Seear, the oblivious Master Delun Yang. Unbeknownst to the good leader, she mentored Ambris and moulded him into the perfect leader that her organization needed.

  “Master Yang died defending lives that Ambris threatened!” Renekom added and Hugo did not reply any further.

  “Renekom,” called Master Norma, gaining the Seear’s attention. “I think I agree with the boy here.”

  Renekom turned around to face his good friend. “Seriously?” he said, with eyes wide open.

  “Ambris was a thief taken in at a young age. No one suspected anything of him. Then, as Hugo mentioned, he received help from some not so loyal members within our ranks. This is different. We have our guard up against this man. We know what he is capable of, and we will keep tabs on him accordingly.”

  The Seear dropped his head. “Et tu, Hedish?” he said. “But I won’t change my stance.”

  Hedish Norma looked at the captain of the Zeta Squad and asked, “Hugo! What do you plan on doing, son?”

  Hugo waited, looked around and shook his head. Eventually, looking at the Mystic, he said, “In my opinion we are reacting a bit over the top about this situation.”

  Renekom looked at his friend with one eyebrow raised. His lips bent down in a frown as he stared and never blinked. “Go on,” said Hedish.

  “I believe our altercation with Ambris has made us a bit too careful. This man cannot even get out of the ropes put on his wrists let alone pull off a stunt to escape. He is no Ambris. And if we see to it with enough conviction then we can very well use him anyway we see fit. We can wring information from him, we can use his connections in the underground circuit to find more enemies of the Eye, and we can use his knowledge of the black markets to infiltrate it effectively once more.”

  “So, you intend to keep the ropes on?” asked Fiona Bennett, the 37-year-old Mystic and highly revered member of both the Parliament and the justice council. “And will he stay in prison?”

  “Yes ma’am. I intend to keep him in ropes and probably will keep him in prison too. But…” Hugo looked around once more. Everyone waited in silence. “If the need arises, I may want to take him out on a trip or two.”

  Many masters and councilmen and women leaned back very quickly. “That changes the whole discussion entirely!” Hedish quickly said.

  “And what need might that be, Master Baylis?” Fiona asked.

  Hugo scratched his head. “Not exactly sure but,” he said and paused, looked around and continued, “Let’s have him interrogated first. Then we’ll know for sure.”

  The Seear took a deep breath before saying, “Ladies and gentlemen we have to wrap this up quickly.” He looked around asking, “All those in favour of master Baylis’s opinions?”

  “The Parliament is in favour,” said Fiona, with a nod. Renekom quickly looked at Hedish who nodded as well.

  Hugo, looking at Adel, asked, “And what of the Justice Council?”

  “We are siding with the Seear on this one,” the councilman quickly replied.

  ‘Of course, you are,’ the Zaatsu thought but remained quiet.

  “Alright,” Renekom said. “Let’s just have a quick vote. All those in favour of the Master Zaatsu, please raise hands…”

  “Seems the court is in dispute, Renekom,” said Hedish, looking at the crowd. “At a glance it is quite even.”

  Renekom moved closer to his friend. “We don’t have time for this right now,” he said in almost a whisper. “Call it as you may.”

  Mystic Master Hedish Norma looked at Hugo and said, “Master Baylis! Looks like we will have it your way, for now. But there is still room for discussion, which will take place at a later time. Right now, we have an urgent matter to deal with.”

  “Sir?”

  “We have a mission for the Zeta Squad.”

  Hugo nodded then crossed his arms.

  Hedish looked at Renekom and waited.

  The Seear then asked everyone present in the room to leave. Only Renekom, Hedish, Fiona and Hugo were left standing in the Hall when Renekom said, “Another Keeper has been attacked.”

  “What?!” Hugo exclaimed. “I thought Vincent was…” He stopped mid-sentence and moved back. “Wait a minute,” he added. “If Vincent is here then who did it this time?”

  “That is exactly what we want you to find out.”

  “The attack was powerful, swift and a bit mysterious,” Fiona added. “It was quite different from what Vincent usually does.”

  “How so?” Hugo asked.

  “Outposts these days answer to the Parliament. This particular one was in my vicinity, and I can assure you the Keeper was unable to send out any signals whatsoever before vanishing. We never recovered a body and the Seredums are completely clueless about the whole thing as well.”

  “But how is that even possible? Isn’t there a telepathic link between a Keeper and the Seredums?”

  “That’s the mysterious part. It doesn’t add up.”

  “Hugo, take your team, son,” Hedish said. “Take just the core members and investigate thoroughly, but as quietly as possible. We want this mess handled quickly.”

  Hugo scratched his head and asked, “When did this happen?”

  “About 4:30 in the morning, here. There, I think it was 5:30.”

  “There, where?”

  “Dubai.”

  “Dispatch immediately,” Renekom said. “We don’t have anything else to share as of yet.”

  “Very well. I will gather the team right away.”

  The Seear took a scroll out of his robe and handed it to the Zaatsu. It had the mission orders written on it and the location of the Keeper’s post. Hugo took it, gave it a quick look but before he could leave, he said, “Doesn’t this kind of prove what I was telling you people?”

  “What?” Renekom said and looked at the others.

  “Vincent was after the Scriptures and was stealing them,” the Zaatsu said. “That is what we believed until now when there's someone else doing it. My guess is that he was given the bounty but when he got captured, his employers brought someone else to do it.”

  “Viable theory…”

  “There is far more to this mess than what meets the eye. Something is going down and we are lagging behind. That White Bolt could be our ticket to the front row. He could lead us to figuring it out. He could provide us with the insight we need.”

  If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  Renekom looked at Hedish. “What are you getting at, Hugo?” the Mystic asked leaning closer.

  “I want to tag him along… if you people will let me…”

  “Give me one good, solid reason?”

  “What more do you need? Even if he doesn’t know anything about this, he will be able to give me insights into the issue. He has been doing this same stuff for a while now. If I have a lead that vanishes out there, I may be able to get him to cough up a few links in the undergrounds and the black markets to help us out.”

  “And what makes you think he will comply?”

  “I am not asking him, sir. I will make him do it. And if he resists, well… I have a couple of young and restless guys on my team who would like nothing more than to whack him silly.”

  Hedish and Fiona looked at the Seear. He rubbed his eyes saying, “I don’t have time for this.” Then, looking at Hugo, he said, “Take him. I want results, Hugo. The Eye will not tolerate miscreants, that has been my moto from the start, and you know it. We trust you, son. Just don’t do anything to hurt that trust.”

  The Zaatsu nodded. “I won’t, sir,” he said, quietly.

  “Now hurry up and go!”

  The captain of the Zeta Squad thence left and gathered his team. His siblings, Marcus, Ella, and Gina all gathered at the entrance of the Atramentum. It was a quarter to noon.

  “Mind telling us why we’re here, Master?” Marcus asked, trying to look as oblivious as possible.

  Without replying, Hugo began moving downstairs. The team closely followed. Hugo handed a small piece of paper to a prison guard at the reception desk at the Core. He read it and looked up at Hugo in shock. The Zaatsu nodded and the surprised man slowly went back to his desk, picked up a key and handed it to him.

  Before Hugo could move any further, Neil moved in his way and asked, “What’s going on?”

  Hugo took a good look at his brother then replied by saying, “Come with me.” He then looked at the others and said, “The rest of you, stay here.”

  The two Zaatsus moved to Vincent’s cell and found him asleep.

  “Is he knocked out?” Neil asked leaning closer to take a better look. Even in daytime, very little light reached the prison indoors, and lesser still into the cells.

  “He’s fine,” Hugo said as he unlocked the door.

  Listening to the sound of the door unlocking, Vincent opened his eyes and looked at the two entering. “Well, that was quick,” he said.

  “Six feet,” Hugo said as he crouched down in front of the bounty hunter. Then, looking up at Neil, he said, “Tell someone to fetch some clothes for him. He's nearly six feet tall.”

  “Five eleven and a half to be exact,” Vincent quickly added, still lying on the ground.

  Neil, wearing an exaggerated frown on his face, left slowly.

  Hugo looked back at Vincent. “Get up,” he said.

  With a few grunts, the White Bolt pushed himself up and sat leaning against the wall. “Your sister is nicer than you,” he said, with a grin.

  “Wouldn’t refute that…”

  “What’s going on?”

  “I kept you alive for a reason. This is it.”

  “What is it?”

  “We are going on a mission, and you are coming along.”

  Vincent raised his arms showing the Ki disrupting bracelets on his wrists. “You do know how these work, right?” he said, then rested his arms down. “I don’t have much of a choice here but, what use would I be to you in my current condition?”

  Hugo grinned. “Use your head,” he said. “Figure it out.”

  The bounty hunter chuckled. “Tell your deputy I don’t wear those uncomfortable slippers you people call shoes,” he said with a frown and rested his head against the wall.

  “Sure. What do you want instead?”

  “Anything that’s a bit more comfortable.”

  “Believe me… the shoes will be the least of your worries today.”

  Saying that the Zaatsu got up and went out of the cell. Neil, sat on a chair next to the entrance, stood up seeing him walking out. “So, what next?” he asked.

  “Let’s just do this first,” Hugo replied. “I’ll explain the mission once we get out of here.”

  Martial Artists, Ki Manipulators and Magicists of the Eye, wore a similar uniform regardless of their rank – cedar brown sleeveless keikogi upper, dark grey cargo trousers, and black ninja boots. Most of the fighters would wear inners, vests, or shirts under their uppers, and, if the weather called for it, a robe over the whole thing.

  However, the monogram on the chest with the Eye’s symbol at its centre, was of a different colour for every rank – golden for a Zaatsu, white for a Sokidu, green for senior students at academies, known as Dominus, and blue for juniors students, known as Datimus. A Mystic’s monogram, golden in colour, was different from the rest. It had a Hawk engraved on it instead of the eye.

  Ella brought similar clothes for their prisoner, just black in colour. They did not have the monogram either. He took a good look at them and said, “I will need an inner, like a full sleeve vest or something. This fabric feels itchy.”

  The Mystic chuckled and Neil looked at Hugo. “What makes you think you’re in a place to make demands?” the captain of the Zeta Squad asked.

  “Let’s see…” Vincent closed his eyes and waited a few moments. “In fact, let’s count,” he said. “One, you have kept me alive. Two, you are in quite a hurry to get me ready to go on what quite clearly seems to be a mission of high priority. Three, you are telling me to come along, which means that you need me, somehow. But this mission… Can’t lay a finger on it. Has a remnant been stolen or something? Or are you just playing with me?”

  But before anyone could reply, he further added, “There are a few reasons why I can make demands, Zaatsu. And a few reasons for why you will listen to them.”

  Frustrated by the remarks, Neil looked again at Hugo, but the captain was staring straight at Vincent. He moved a step closer, leaned in, and said, “Let me explain something to you, White Bolt…”

  Firmly grabbing the bounty-hunter’s throat, the Zaatsu threw him out! Vincent went flying through the bars, before smashing on the ground about 5 meters outside the cell. He rolled a further few before eventually stopping.

  Ella and Neil stood shocked. They had seldom seen Hugo show any emotions let alone anger.

  They saw as he then moved up to Vincent and sat placing his knee on the prisoner’s chest.

  “You have no idea who or what I am,” he said, calmly, before grabbing his throat again. “You have no idea why I’ve brought you here. You haven’t even a clue about who you are. You think you know much but rest assured, you know nothing!”

  The Zaatsu was choking him, but just as Ella and Neil began to move closer to stop him, he let go.

  “But alas, you’re no use to me dead either,” Hugo said and then leaned in. With his mouth next to the prisoner’s ear, he whispered, “I know you’re thinking you can get out of those bracelets, but you can’t. I know his liquefaction techniques. They won’t work.”

  Saying that he got up. Looking at Neil, he said, “Separate the bracelets and loosen the grip a little. Then show him where the restrooms are.” Then looking down at the prisoner, he added, “You have 5 minutes to freshen up and be out front. One look at you and I can tell you are a survivor. So, don’t try anything funny or you will regret it.”

  Neil did as he was asked and so did the prisoner. The Zeta Squad knew Zaatsu Master Hugo Baylis was never a man to lose his temper but on the rare occasion when he did, they knew even better to stay away from giving him a reason to unload on them. The deputy stood outside the restroom as Hugo and the rest of the squad waited at the entrance of the Atramentum upstairs.

  Eventually, the two came out as well. Out of nowhere, Vincent charged at Hugo. Loosening the grip of the bracelet had given him more control over his Ki. He could now use up to 40 percent of his maximum strength. He punched an unprepared Hugo who flew many paces back. But just as he hit the ground, he vanished.

  “You were a part of the Outsiders I see,” Vincent said.

  Hugo had teleported behind him. “How long will these antics of yours continue?” he asked with a Ki charged fist about an inch from Vincent’s tail bone.

  The bounty hunter calmed his Ki down. “You’re bleeding,” he said with a grin. “Now we’re even, bastard!”

  “Touché…” said the Master Zaatsu and charged down his Ki as well. He took out a handkerchief and cleaned up the blood from and under his lips.

  The rest of the gang looked a bit surprised. “What do you mean Outsiders?” Marcus asked.

  “A common misconception,” Hugo said. “Many rogues and Cultists make that mistake. I sometimes use techniques not commonly taught to Martial Artists here at Ayn because I served the Outposts for so long.”

  Everyone looked at each other and felt a bit relieved. The peculiarly vast array and mix of uncommon and strange techniques, which he would use to take down far stronger opponents, was exactly what made Hugo Baylis famous.

  “Alright team,” the Captain said. “Who can tell me what a Keeper is?”

  The entire squad looked at each other but remained silent. So, he further said, “Come on, guys.” He shook his head then stood arms akimbo. “You’ve all graduated from different academies and every last one of them teaches about the Keepers. Even I remember talking about them in lectures.”

  Ella raised her hand. “They’re guardians of the metaphysical, right?” she asked.

  “Good!” The captain nodded. “But I want a more detailed explanation.” With another shake of the head, he added, “This is not going to look good on your monthly report, knuckleheads.”

  “They are guardians of the metaphysical,” Camille said, looking down. “They are limited in numbers – less than 100, I think.” She looked up and added, “But they are always there. If one dies another takes his place.”

  “Correct. Anything else?”

  “There is divine intervention in their appointments, and it is nearly impossible to find them if they don’t want to be found.”

  “Awesome! Anyone else want to add to that? There is one more thing you must know, guys…”

  “Oh! Oh! Post! Post!” said Marcus, in his usual amplified way. “They have the Post! Their base of operations, man. It’s invisible to the naked eye. Looks like a home, or something, but it’s actually their base of operations.”

  Hugo nodded. “Well done, Marc,” he said. “Some Keepers indeed have a known Post or base of operations. Next question. Why are they called Keepers?”

  This one was easy. All of them gave the answer in slightly different words. The Keepers got their title from the fact that they were rumoured guardians, or keepers of the Scriptures of Dark Arts written by Rasalhague.

  “Well done, gang,” Hugo said with a smile. “Full points.” He looked at Gina and asked, “Did I miss anything?”

  “Seredums, sir,” she replied.

  “Ah, yes! Do explain.”

  “All the Keepers with known Posts also have certain disciples with them known as Seredums.”

  “They work with and under the Keeper’s command.” Hugo added. “I have seen them at work actually. Strange people with even stranger skills.”

  Vincent was looking up at the sky the whole time. Finally, with closed eyes he sighed. “Protecting scriptures, guarding knowledge, interfering in matters of balance, and preserving powers forgotten or forsaken,” he said. “The Keepers – they don’t wear symbols, they appear ordinary, and they endure.” He looked at the group then and added, “You might have already met one – they don’t announce themselves, you know?”

  Everyone stared at him in silence, his voice deeper and calmer. “But why, I wonder,” he said slowly, “does the Order never believe in their existence?”

  Hugo chuckled. “Now there’s a debate for the research circles,” he said then shook his head and smiled. “You’re awfully well versed for a bounty hunter, you know that?”

  After a moment’s pause, the captain looked at his team and said, “Well guys! Our mission right now is to visit a Keeper’s Post.” They all looked at him and got attentive. “It was attacked,” he continued. “We have reason to believe the Keeper is missing. We’ll be going there to investigate further.”

  Ella asked, “But Master Baylis, a post is not easy to find, right? In fact, very few people in the world can know where it is.”

  “And why are we bringing the clown along?” added Neil.

  “A Keeper’s Post is nearly impossible to find, yes,” said Hugo. “But mister Vincent here is rumoured to have been locating them all the time. And that’s why we’re bringing him along.”

  Ella looked at Vincent and asked, “How do you find them?”

  The White Bolt shrugged. “Oh, you know,” he said, casually. “Bribe a couple of operatives here, torture some there… buy info off the shelves in a black market… take your pick. The Eye is leaking a ton of info these days.”

  An awkward silence followed but before it could be dragged too long, Hugo moved ahead. He placed a hand around Vincent’s shoulder and began walking away with the bounty hunter. The entire squad quickly followed.