Lucien had heard of C.E. before; it had recently hit the market and word about its effects spread more than the drug itself, well, until now, because if it had reached this far…he could already feel a headache coming.
Crystal Ecstasy was infamous for how highly addictive it was; one would think that was enough to keep people away, but no, not when it provided a significant boost in magic that many craved to give them a standing in this world.
The results weren't lasting; whoever created it made sure of that so that people would keep seeking it, and the more they consumed, the more addicted they got until they became mindless souls.
He would have thought that whoever made it was in it for the money, but rumours of its mindless users disappearing made him think otherwise. Of course, there were also rumours that they died from it and their bodies were either tossed in a graveyard conveniently by the watchers or were lost somewhere.
It was bullshit, at least to him and his group thought so; something suspicious was happening. What would someone want from such people? They'd make a good puppet, was his only answer, but for what? Was the bigger question
They had tried several times to get a hold of the drug, but it seemed whoever was distributing it was careful. Now was their chance
Lucien turned to his friend, signalling for him to follow.
"What's up?" Leo asked once they were a few feet from the tavern
"I just saw C.E."
"What? Are you sure?"
He nodded, "Did you see the group of young guys three tables ahead of us?"
"Yes"
"They have it."
"Shit"
"We need to find out where they got it from."
An automatic decision was made that they would wait for the group to leave, and about an hour or so later, the group of five filtered out.
Lucien spotted the last one, who seemed to be holding something inside his pockets, his eyes darting around, wary and alert. It was obvious who was keeping it.
Covered in shadows, they followed the man after he separated from the group and cornered him in a dark path.
"Where did you get it?" Leo demanded, deepening his voice to something lethal that promised violence
"I…I don't know what you're talking about."
The man had been stunned when he was pushed to the wall by an assailant blanketed in darkness and shadows. He could barely make out their silhouettes.
"I know you have C.E., where did you get it?"
"I…I.." Something sharp pressed into his side. He gulped," Some guy gave it to us, said they wanted to test out the market."
"They gave you for free?" There was doubt in his assailant's voice
He quickly added, "Yes, he just handed it to us and said next time we'll have to pay."
"What did he look like?"
"I don't know, he wore a black cloak with a hood that covered his face," the object pressed, "I swear."
"Have any of you taken it?" It was Lucien's turn to inquire
"Not yet, we've heard about this shit, and we couldn't." The two tried not to sigh in relief
"Where is it?"
"In….in my pocket"
"Hand it over," the man made quick work of fetching the drug
"You are never to mention this to anyone; if someone asks, tell them you were robbed. Breathe a word of this, and I will find you."
The two left the man cowering on the abandoned path, the smell of piss an indication of just how scared he had been
Lucien left Leo with the drug to find out as much as he could; at least this was a step forward.
The house was silent once he got back; Laura already off to sleep. He trailed to her room, opening the door with his key. He watched as her chest rose and fell slowly. She seemed to be deep in sleep.
Lyla waited until his silent footsteps faded in the silent house before turning her head to where Lucien had been seconds ago. She had learned the deception from Lysander – how to keep her breathing slow and steady as if she were asleep – it worked.
Footsteps sounded again before the slow creak of the front door was heard. Where could he be going so late?
Curiosity getting the best of her, she crept out of her room. Walking to the front door, she contemplated whether to follow him out when she heard voices in the garden. She headed to the kitchen.
Leaning into the window, she caught Lucien saying.
"We just saw C.E."
"What? Where?" Mor's asked, panic and alarm in her voice
"In the tavern, some guys had it."
"Shit, it's already spread this far."
"Seems like it, we were able to retrieve it. Leo is taking it to Livie."
"Fuck"
"He says hi, by the way," she could practically hear the smirk in his voice. Mor must have done something because he added, "You're never giving him a chance, huh?"
"I'm gonna go, I got a shift."
Lyla moved back to the room, trying to steady her beating heart. She had him get back into the house, heard his footsteps approach, and to her horror, they stopped right outside her door.
She counted the seconds, readying herself, if he knew she had heard them, what would he do? Silence her, she answered herself.
She deigned a small sigh when she heard him head back into his rooms, but now, in the silence, she pondered their words. C.E., what was it, and why was Mor so alarmed to learn it had spread here? Why were they taking the obligation to retrieve it? And who were Leo and Livie? Were they their friends or partners?
The way he spoke was as if he were part of an organized group. Could they be something similar to the protectors? Watchers, Aeneas had told her once, here they were known as watchers. Was it possible her host was one of them and was working undercover to investigate this CE?
'A watcher' and 'a protector' living in the same house, how humorous
She had to find out who they were and what they were planning. She had never once deceived herself that the friends were normal citizens. It was intuition, but from how they carried themselves, they were beings who believed in their strength and capabilities.
Or you could just leave a voice said in her head, and go where she shot back.
They were yet to harm her, and that's not to say they never would, but she had no choice. She knew that they, too, were cautious of her; she'd be surprised if they weren't, so she would play this game and try and garner as much as she could while using Felix to grow her gift.
Plus, if this CE was dangerous, as their Chosen, wasn't it part of her obligation to find out what it was and dispose of the threat; anything and everything could help her on the big scale of things, she supposed, and Umbraeth was hers to protect as much as Luminara was. She belonged to no side, no matter where she had been or who was closest; they were both hers to defend
She had been too consumed waiting for a way to reach the Keeper that she had ignored that the heavens had brought her here for a reason. She needed to know more about Umbraeth, about its people, about how they lived, what ailed them, and what made them happy.
Lyla glimpsed the night sky through her window and came to a decision: she would stay, she had to, she needed to. For Umbraeth.