Dawn ensued, and the seagulls danced above all as their energy resurfaced.
Malik and Guan Sui stood on the brink of the porch of the home. The escort was inching to reach for his back, and Malik was aching to reach for his pocket.
"You have plenty of nerve showing up here," Malik said, his fists balled.
"What's that?" He pointed to Malik's fists. "Are you going to punch me? That'd only prove you were problematic like we've said."
Malik took note of his words. He also noticed his unusually relaxed demeanor.
Guan Sui's heart remained calm—a harmony too calm to be pure.
Malik gave a forced guffaw. "Now, I'd like you to tell me how you knew we were here."
His grin widened. "We see everything. I see everything. It's in our nature."
Malik stared into his long smile. "That's not an answer. I said, tell me how you knew."
"A little birdie had informed me. Or was it a seagull, or perhaps a dove? Nobody could know, but I'm aware of it." Guan Sui said as he took a step forward, tempting Malik.
Malik turned around, averting his gaze from him and paying attention to the silence from inside the home. He remembered her words, her tone, and hoped it wouldn't be true.
"Are your people content with this place?" Malik asked bluntly.
"We smile for our reasons. Besides, the fact that you're here shows that you aren't very happy with your home either, right?" Guan Sui smirked.
Malik listened, but his hands trembled. He quickly turned around and went back into the house. Closing the door behind him, the escort laughed as he stood there.
". . . Please hurry, my friends. My dear puppet wouldn't like us to be late."
. . . .
Malik ran inside the house. He felt a static piercing him after every second of silence.
After closing the door, he turned and saw them.
Awan and Zayne stood before him, their faces contoured by an overhead golden light on the ceiling.
Malik uttered, "We have to go. Now."
"We're waiting for her," Zayne responded.
Suddenly, Kaya emerged from a hallway connected to a dark bedroom barely visible from the corner of the living room.
Her eyelids remained bloody, like velvet mascara. As she walked beside Zayne and Awan, her lips remained sealed.
"Everything okay, Kaya?" Malik asked.
She nodded briefly, staring at him, then her eyes darted off to the other two.
Silently, they didn't speak for even a second after. Only the tapping of a foot outside could faintly be heard.
Malik stared into each of their eyes, and when he did, they all blinked twice.
Turning around, he opened the door and waved for them to exit.
When they stepped outside, they saw the escort's curving grin. If it were a bit longer, it would've torn a permanent one.
He wasn't smiling at them; he was smiling at what he held in his palm, wrapped around it like a fin.
A bloody-tipped spear.
Slowly, his head turned to them with the eyes of a predator.
"Shall we go?" he asked.
Malik reached for his pocket and hid a dark observer in his waistband. Then he nodded.
As they began to walk, Guan Sui inspected each and every home nearby, pointing a finger to each and mumbling to himself.
Hovering his fingers, "Dakota, Lawanna, Xue Mei, Iggy, Enola, Kateri . . . or was it Katera? Ah, it doesn't matter. They're all another eye."
The escort had his back turned, using the spear to drag its tip into the ridges etched into the ground.
Kaya had her eyes lasered onto his back, yet he paid no mind to it. After all, they were darker than ever now.
However, she was cautious, it felt like he had eyes on the back of his head too, only buried in hair.
Zayne noticed her distress and tapped her shoulder, signaling to her that now was not the time.
Clearing his throat, "So, what brings you visitors here? It's awful hearing your silence as your guide."
"We got lost on the way home," Malik said, holding his hand tightly.
Guan Sui shook his head. "It appears you've found your home. We're away from such terrible realms of savagery. Do you believe they are righteous?"
Swiftly, he glanced at Kaya's grey uniform and Zayne's dark blue eyes.
"No. But this isn't either," Malik asserted.
"You don't understand the half of what we must do. If you have anything to say, then you are criticizing your home, rather than us," Guan Sui stated coldly.
Malik tilted his head. "And do you fully understand the extent of your actions?"
The dark observer in his hand laughed at his question.
"I understand. They understand," the escort replied. "I can tell that whatever it may be, you simply shed a different light on it—one that isn't golden."
He digs his spear with gilded lies. Just how far is he willing to go for it?
Malik laughed with the observer. The rest behind him were skeptical at his laughter. Was it reaction, or assurance?
Kaya knew that laughter. She knew it was a coin toss to determine what it meant, but she felt her body weaken with every step.
Her body felt heavy, and her eyelids burned with each blink. She kept her composure on the outside but knew it wouldn't last long.
She struggled to keep the same pace as them, but now wasn't a good time to rest.
I can't. Malik, how much longer do I have to bear this? How far must I go for your sake?
If only she could say those words. However, the observers remained in conflict—one bearing a spear, and one bearing a blade.
. . .
After a while, the escort began to move faster, tapping the spear after every step. Turning his head in all directions, he hovered his hand over each house, and—
Stab!
The tip dug into the rocky road, forming a mark in it.
"We are near. Just one more turn, and you shall see what we see," Guan Sui said.
Awan's eyes widened staring at the path. He recognized it. Even though he knew it, his heart still skipped a beat. Nonetheless, he would have to meet him regardless.
His hands trembled further as he walked beside them, remembering that throne, and the silent man behind it.
After the group made a turn, they all saw it.
Their faces were an assortment of different expressions. Some wore gaping mouths, others wide smiles.
Layered sharp roofs rose above it all, each plated in gold.
It was a monolith reminiscent of the mound of stone that marked the end of their voyage. However, this marked their condemnation.
Bright spears were stabbed into the ground around it, acting as a guide towards the entrance.
Within the center of it all stood a square fountain. A large golden gavel stood on its handle, with an eye on all hemispheres of it.
The breeze attempted to push them closer to the large doors of the palace.
"Our dear Asem and his sycophants will provide your hearings," Guan Sui said. He stared at the palace with nostalgia.
They strolled past it all—the spears, the gavel—and confronted it.
The entrance was coated in gold nuggets, crystallized and enhanced by the gold doorframe.
Slowly, they stepped back as a creak emerged.
It began to open as a bright light seeped through the crevices.
As it opened by itself, groups of large-eyed men were seen at the end. They wore wide smiles, and Guan Sui waved to them.
The escort entered—but he was no longer an escort.
Now, he was a part of the council.
Malik stepped in as well, and he witnessed it all.
Inside, there were layers of floors with people huddled about, watching closely. Their eyes were as guilty as the council's, and they looked hungry.
They all showed their rather large fangs through kind grins.
All wore gold-leather armor, and they peered at him like he was already convicted.
Under his feet lay a long red carpet enveloping nearly the entire first floor.
At the end of it sat Chief Asem. His eyes carried a burden hidden by his thick grey beard.
He sat in what appeared to be a judge's table, but it was far too high to be one—it was more like a throne. Yet his face longed to leave the chair.
Guan Sui had walked ahead and lathered his leather suit in gold plating offered by the council. They gave him a headband blanketed in jewelry.
Gladly, he wrapped it around his forehead. Asem stared at him, but his grey hairs were uncovered.
He put his hand out.
"Say, Malik, now that you stand before a king of harmony—no, a Judge—are you ready to face your judgment?"
"In a sense, we are all Kings, don't you think? But sometimes, some Kings may be greater than others. Today, we will see if you bear the blessing of gold harmony, or the lies of blue construct."
Continuing—
"Prove your allegiance, and you shall be prospered, like all other citizens of harmony!"
His words felt all too convincing, yet Malik kept his calm as he took a deep breath.
The crowd roared at Guan Sui's words as their gazes locked onto him.
Asem sat quietly as he sighed.
Guan Sui had taken it all. His arms spread wide as if embracing the appraisal of all who gave him their attention.
Now, his smile scarred.
A scar that wouldn't fade.