Hugo asked Marcus to check who it was and ordered everyone else to remain out of sight. The red-haired Sokidu put his headscarf back on and walked through the pathway corridor leading to the front entrance. The entire squad waited anxiously in the lounge on the other side.
Stopping about two feet from the door, Marcus called, "Who is it?"
Hugo smacked his own forehead with eyes closed and then a big crash was heard.
Marcus came flying through the corridor!
Gina caught him, saving him from a painful collision with the wall on the other side as Neil and Hugo jumped in front of the corridor entrance.
A trio of women came rushing in. They had all donned bright white ponchos over a full body suit and stiletto boots. Their faces and heads were also covered with just the eyes visible. They engaged the Zaatsus without hesitation.
Blocking the first attack, Hugo yelled, "Seredums wait! We are with the Eye!"
The words had no effect. Neil took a hit and was pushed back. Camille came to his aid.
Hugo cried again to get them to stop. But they were not in the mood at all and engaged the trio without any hesitation.
Realising the situation could get worse fast, Hugo punched the ground with full force.
The entire structure shook.
Faint crackles of electricity went up the walls.
The ladies immediately stopped and took two steps back.
Hugo stood back straight and slowly opened his clenched fists. Tendrils of lightning snaked from his fingertips as the air shimmered with heat and static. Blue-white bolts surged from his body snapping through the air like whips of lightning, casting jagged shadows along the walls.
"Elemental Conduction," one of the ladies said. "You are Master Baylis."
His eyes flashed lightning. "Yes," he said. "Now, can we stop the theatrics before someone gets hurt?"
Marcus, lying in Gina's lap, whispered, "Someone gets hurt? The only ones getting hurt are the ones pissing Master Baylis off!"
Gina gave an anxious half smile and shook her head. "He's on a roll today…"
The ladies calmed their Ki charge and put their guards down and took a good long look around at everyone.
"You have nothing to fear from us," Hugo said. "Our motives are the same as yours. We just wish to find out what happened here."
They did not respond to the Zaatsu and instead looked at each other. So, he asked, "Are you listening to me?"
"Yes, we are," one of them eventually said. "Our apologies Master Zaatsu. My name is Erina. These are my sisters Eila and Eira. We are Seredums of this Post."
"Pleasure to meet you."
The Zaatsu dropped his Ki charge, and the sparks finally died down. Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief.
The three women removed their masks. They looked like desert royalty – olive skin, hazel eyes, and long, caramel-toned hair – striking and serene, like orchids blooming in the heat.
"This is the Zeta Squad," Hugo explained. "This is Zaatsu Master Neil Baylis, that's our Mystic Ella, and this is Camille, and Marcus and Gina over there."
Eira moved to where Marcus was lying in Gina's lap. Ella standing guard moved a step closer but then stopped. The Seredum crouched next to the injured Sokidu and placed her hand over his burnt chest. Within seconds, he was healed.
"My sincere apologies, Master Marcus," she said.
Marcus thanked her through a stutter and got up on his feet. "I'm going to need a new shirt though, love," he said. The Seredum smiled and walked away. Marcus looked at Ella and let out a huge breath whispering, "Hubba-hubba." She slapped his shoulder and moved away.
"Who's he?" Erina asked looking at Vincent.
"Ah, he's a new recruit," Hugo replied. "An informant."
"What information does he have on our Lord?"
"None," Vincent said, "past the fact that the perpetrators were able to take control of your Lord's mind in no time and without alerting anyone. And I do mean no time."
"Yes, any amount, no matter how small, would have been enough. Had our Lord even sensed them, us and the Parliament both would have been alerted."
The bounty hunter nodded and the Seredums once again looked at each other. "Master Zaatsu," Eira said. "We wish to speak with you and your informant privately."
"Why?" Hugo quickly asked. "Whatever you feel comfortable sharing with me, share with my team."
She looked at him and added, "We either talk with you two alone or we don't talk at all. Your choice."
Knowing he had no other option, Hugo agreed.
The sisters led the duo into a room at the back of the house while the rest of the Zeta Squad remained in the lounge.
"What do you guys think they wanna talk about?" Ella asked, looking at the others.
A few shrugs flew around before Neil said, "Feels obvious." He pushed a chair up and sat down. "They are companions of the Keeper. Keepers are guardians of the Scriptures. And Vincent has been stealing the Scriptures to learn Dark Ki."
"Oh, so they want to know why Vincent is rolling with us," Marcus said. "They're making sure we actually are who we say we are. Fair enough."
"Pretty much…"
Camille and Gina pushed rubble off a sofa and sat down on it.
"It's still a little bit too much for me," said Camille, smiling.
"You can say that again," Gina said, nodding in agreement.
Marcus sat down on the edge of a plank lying on the ground. "About time we got into something a little more serious," he said. "Been running around after fools for way too long, man!"
Everyone chuckled. "But the strangest thing is how Vincent knew about it all already," Gina commented.
"Hmm, there's something insanely fishy about that guy or my name is Neil Toothpick Baylis," said Marcus, before exclaiming, "And it bloody is not!"
"Hey El," Camille said, looking at her friend leaning against the wall to her left. "Do the Mystics tell you about these things? I mean, does the Parliament know?"
"Not really," she replied with a shake of the head. "I mean they do tell us of 'the other world', but the specifics are never mentioned. Or maybe I'm just not there yet… I don't know."
"You guys learn a lot of stuff that we don't, right?" Marcus asked.
"It's not like we learn more. It's more like our training is different, what we're taught is not the same."
He smiled. "And you're not allowed to tell us much either, huh?"
Ella chuckled, and the others joined her. "It is what it is…"
"In any case," said Camille. "Let's hope the Seredums agree with Master Baylis on this one."
"What do you mean?" Gina asked.
"If Vincent has been stealing from Keepers, they might not appreciate us bringing him here…"