The morning market was starting to roar to life. Merchants were shouting prices for synthetic fish and rusted machine parts, while the smell of cheap oil and fried dough filled the air. The group moved through the crowd like a strange tide, stopping at every stall.
"Okay, let's divide and conquer," Aero said, though he mostly just followed Lucidia.
Aero tapped a butcher on the shoulder. "Hey, excuse me! Have you seen a guy with long, gold-blonde hair? Really pretty face? Probably wearing clothes that cost more than this entire street?"
The butcher stopped his work, his cleaver resting on the wooden block. He looked Aero up and down, then burst into a deep, gravelly chuckle.
"A guy like that? Down here?" The butcher wiped his hands on his stained apron, shaking his head. "Why would someone like that be here? Sounds like a noble to me, kid."
Aero's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, well, he's... a little lost. Even for a noble."
The butcher went back to his work, the blade hitting the meat with a steady thud-thud-thud. "Good luck, kid. A face like that won't stay hidden for long in these parts."
Aero turned back to the group, looking more worried than before. "Okay, so he's definitely around here somewhere. We just have to find him before someone else does."
Quinna pushed off from a nearby fruit stand, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the crowded market. "He's right. Ash stands out like a diamond in a coal mine. If he's still walking around with that hair and those boots, someone has definitely noticed him."
Acheron didn't respond immediately. Instead, he went completely still, his head tilting at an odd, sharp angle. His eyes, usually cold and distant, sharpened as they locked onto a specific structure tucked away in a corner of the market square.
It was a tall, crooked house with peeling grey paint and windows covered in thick, rusted iron bars. Unlike the bustling stalls around it, the building felt silent and out of place, as if it were holding its breath.
Acheron raised a pale hand, pointing a long finger toward it. "There," he whispered. "The scent stops at that door. It's thickest there."
"That house?" Aero asked, squinting. "It looks abandoned. Why would Ash go in there?"
"He didn't go in alone," Acheron added, his voice dropping an octave. "I smell blood. Old and new."
Mugen shifted his weight, his hand tightening on the hilt of his weapon. "Then we aren't asking anymore. We're going in."
Lucidia's voice cut through the group's hesitation like a cold blade. Usually the most reserved of the bunch, her eyes were now sharp with an urgency that startled even Aero.
"What are you guys standing there for?" she snapped, already taking a step toward the crooked structure. "Quick—Ash might be in danger!"
Her sudden burst of leadership acted like a spark in a powder keg. Aero nearly tripped over his own feet as he scrambled to catch up, his goggles slipping down over his eyes.
"Right! Right! Danger! Noble-saving time!" Aero yelled, his panic returning in full force.
Mugen didn't say a word, but the ground seemed to vibrate as he broke into a heavy jog, his massive frame positioned to be the first one through whatever obstacle stood in their way. Quinna followed close behind, her hand hovering near her belt, her playful expression completely gone.
"Acheron, if you're wrong about that scent, I'm charging you for the shoe leather," Quinna muttered under her breath, though her eyes remained locked on those iron-barred windows.
Acheron trailed them with a ghostly, effortless stride, his gaze never leaving the front door. "I am never wrong about the smell of fear," he replied tonelessly.
They reached the heavy, oak door of the house. It was scarred with deep gouges, and the smell of copper and expensive soap was now unmistakable even to those without Acheron's senses.
Mugen didn't wait for a polite knock. He stepped forward and delivered a heavy, thunderous kick to the center of the oak door. The wood groaned and splintered, but it held firm.
"It's a hatch-lock! It's locked from the inside!" Aero shouted, pointedly looking at the reinforced iron bar visible through the new crack. "We're going to need a—"
He didn't even finish his sentence before Mugen stepped back to put his shoulder into it, but Lucidia was faster. She didn't hesitate. With a sharp, fluid motion, she drew her heavy sword. The blade caught the dim market light for a split second before she brought it down with a devastating, overhead strike.
The sound of metal shearing through wood and iron echoed through the street. The door didn't just open; it collapsed inward, hanging by a single, mangled hinge.
"Move!" Lucidia commanded, being the first to step into the dark entryway.
The air inside was cold and stagnant, smelling of damp stone and that sharp, metallic tang Acheron had warned them about. They found a narrow, winding staircase leading down into a cellar. Mugen went first this time, his massive frame nearly brushing both walls, with the others crowded close behind.
They reached the bottom and burst into a dimly lit room filled with rusted chains and broken crates. In the center of the room, slumped against a wooden pillar, was Ash.
His long, gold-blonde hair was matted with grime, and his fine silk shirt was torn at the shoulder. His eyes were closed, his head lolling to the side in a deep faint. His wrists were bound tightly to the pillar with thick, industrial-grade rope.
"Ash!" Aero cried out, rushing toward him.
Aero reached for Ash's bindings, but a high-pitched, jagged laugh echoed from the corner of the cellar, stopping him cold.
From the deep shadows stepped a girl with wide, unblinking eyes and a jagged grin. She clutched a lock of Ash's golden hair that she must have cut earlier.
"Ugh," Eevee groaned, stepping back. "She's even crazier than me."
Lucidia stood her ground, her heavy sword still unsheathed and dripping with the dust of the broken door. "What do you want from him?" she demanded, her voice vibrating with cold fury.
"I want him!" the girl shrieked, laughing psychotically as she stared at Ash's unconscious face. "Ash is so beautiful... so attractive. I need him to stay here forever."
Acheron didn't let her finish. He let out a low, menacing laugh that sounded like dry leaves scraping against a gravestone. He didn't even look at the girl; he simply gave a sharp, subtle hand signal to Mugen.
Without a word, Mugen lunged. His massive fist connected with the girl, sending her flying into a stack of crates. But to everyone's shock, she stood back up, shaking her head as if it were only a minor nuisance.
"I am Yan," she hissed, her eyes glowing with a familiar, shimmering radiance.
Suddenly, her hands ignited with a burst of light—the exact same ability Ash used, though it flickered with a weaker, unstable energy.
"How do you have those powers!" Lucidia shouted, her eyes widening.
"I sucked his blood!" Yan laughed, the sound bouncing off the damp walls. "His essence is so... delicious."
"This girl is getting annoying," Eevee muttered. With a flick of her wrists, she sent a tangle of heavy ropes flying, expertly binding Yan's arms to her torso.
Quinna didn't wait for an explanation. She drew her gun in a blur of motion and fired. But just as the bullet was about to strike, Yan let out a piercing scream. A blinding burst of light exploded from her body, shattering Eevee's ropes and forcing everyone to shield their eyes.
When the light faded, Yan was gone. A massive, smoking crack ran up the wall of the cellar where she had blasted her way out, the structural integrity of the house groaning in her wake.
Quinna stepped forward, holstering her gun and crossing her arms. She looked down at him with a mix of pity and a sharp "I-told-you-so" energy.
"You got kidnapped by a local psycho named Yan, Pretty Boy," Quinna explained flatly. "She's obsessed with you. And it's worse than just stalking—she was taking your blood and putting it into herself. That's how she was mimicking your light powers, even if she couldn't pull it off perfectly."
Ash's face went even paler than usual. He looked at his torn silk sleeve and the faint marks on his arm where she had taken the blood. "She... she put my blood in her?" He looked toward the massive crack in the wall Yan had left behind, his voice trembling. "I thought the Lower Districts were supposed to be an escape, not a horror story."
Aero let out a nervous laugh, helping Ash untie the remaining ropes. "Welcome to the Fringe, Ash. The rent is cheap, but the neighbors are a bit... intense."
Lucidia looked up at the ceiling as another piece of plaster fell from the groaning structure. "We need to move. That crack she made is opening up, and this whole place is going to come down on our heads."
"We need to move," Lucidia urged, glancing up as the ceiling groaned and a fine layer of dust rained down on them. "That crack she made is opening up, and this whole place is going to come down on our heads."
Mugen reached out, hoisting Ash up to his feet. The prince was still a bit shaky, his knees buckling slightly as the last of the sleeping pills fought against Acheron's treatment.
Aero adjusted his goggles, his eyes darting toward the exit. "We can't stay in the streets—if Yan is out there with a power-up, she's going to be looking for 'Round Two.' And the guards are probably already on their way to check out the noise."
He gestured vaguely toward the industrial skyline. "Lets go to my air ship instead," Aero said, his voice gaining a bit of its usual confident spark. "It's high up, it's hidden, and I've got enough locks on that hatch to keep out a whole army of blood-stealing crazies."
Ash looked at Aero, then at the rest of the ragtag group that had just saved his life. He looked back at the dark, damp cellar that had almost become his tomb
"Your airship," Ash repeated, a small, tired smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He looked over at the pale, stoic boy who had just flushed the toxins from his blood. "Lead the way."
Acheron didn't even look back as he started toward the stairs. "Move, Almond-head," he said tonelessly.
Aero froze, his hand on the doorframe, his jaw dropping. "Hey! Not you too! I thought we were past that!"
Quinna let out a short, sharp laugh, pushing them all toward the stairs as the wood above them gave another ominous crack. "If Acheron is making jokes, Aero, you've officially lost the argument. Now move it, before the house decides to bury us. We've got a prince to hide."
The group scrambled up the winding stairs and burst back out into the market air, leaving the ruined house and the memory of Yan's psychotic laughter behind them.