The Princess of Wrath

Chapter 17 - Arc 1 Epilogue: The Funeral and the Hunt

The memories of the past receded into the secluded and dark place where they belonged in Lucy's head. She rose slowly to her feet, the shadow her body cast over Douglas Teach's corpse behind her growing larger and more imposing.

Her mind was still intact like the day she destroyed an entire country, unlike her soul, haunted by her sins and by the promises of vengeance that Reykana's undead loomed over her, waiting patiently among ashes and dust...

Leaving her victim's body at the mercy of the heat of the great celestial star and the aerial predators circling the shoreline, the Wraith walked to the edge of the roof and dropped down. Her feet touched hard the floor of the narrow corridor between the semi-abandoned houses, but the pain lasted as long as a blink of an eye. She walked rapidly, scaring away curious neighbors who peeked through broken windows or partially open and dilapidated doors.

After a few minutes of walking alone but being stalked by countless eyes full of fear, Lucy reached one of the most urbanized areas of the port district, crossed by an avenue packed with carriages that went or came between the southeast areas of ​​the Factorial Ward and the entire length of the coast.

Across the street, waiting in the darkest of alleyways, was a stately but equally sinister mare with fur so black she could barely be seen in between the shadows. She was her friend from the day she accepted her mask; her partner in the most difficult moments of her career as an Imperial assassin.

"Good girl, Velvet... Good girl," Lucy congratulated her for not moving from there once she reached her side, patting the side of her snout gently. She checked the small bag that hung from the saddle and took out a fruit treat that the animal gladly accepted. "Master awaits us. Time to leave."

She rode up the hill into the Factorial Ward, dodging carriages, other horsemen who veered out of her way without hesitation, and rushing reckless bystanders that did wait to cross the street.

At that time of the morning, normally the machines of the industries began to roar, the crystals in electrical conductors to shine, and the towers to spit smoke like the dozens of smokers sitting in bars with pipes in their mouths and holding newspapers and a cup of coffee in their hands.

But not that day. No, as she advanced more into the heart of the Factorial Ward, the streets and sidewalks became more and more deserted.

Something special was happening in the city and Lucy, having been so focused on a mission that she alone condemned herself to failure, could not remember what it was.

The empty road led her to the immediate vicinity of the always dynamic commercial Residential Area. She expected to find the streets saturated with carriages and hopelessly bottled up, or countless men and women in formal suits, hats and canes going to their respective jobs in the tall buildings, but Lucy only found completely empty streets.

In the distance, the Clock Tower sounded at an unusual time, giving the chimes another meaning that turned its so ordinary sound into a kind of deep and rumbling wail.

"Empty houses, banks and businesses closed... What is happening?" Lucy wondered thoughtfully and almost equating the urgency she had to find her Master with the concern generated by seeing that small part of Entrana so out of the ordinary. "There must be someone on Terminus Avenue. It is impossible for such a crowded place to be deserted."

And she was not wrong: not only was there a massive crowd of people at the intersection between the street she was riding on and Terminus Avenue, but it was also cut off by a security perimeter consisting of metal containment fences and five soldiers dressed in full armor guarding it.

It all made sense when Lucy heard the sad singing of the audience in unison. A melody worthy of a king's funeral.

"Wait! The pass is closed, you must access through one of the...!" One of the soldiers approached quickly and realized that the rider was a Wraith when she got off the horse. He stopped in his tracks and stood straight, his right arm resting on his chest in a military salute. "My lady! How can we be of help?"