Anachronistic: Endless Masquerade

40 | Below the Surface

- 40 -

If not for his own brilliance, Gamal would have worried about how perfectly everything was falling into place. Sure, he hadn't expected the meal boy to see the little mess he had made in his room, but that gave him one more game piece to play with. With the body dressed up like a succubus' victim he had all the justification he needed to give little Lilith a visit.

        Of course, it was best not to waste time. That's why he set out for her room as soon as he left the morgue. Lilith was going to look so good locked in a cage in his room. Luckily he had already emptied one out in the cargo hold. He wouldn't even need to clean it out; let the succubus sleep in bird shit, it's not like it deserved better.

        He couldn't wait. Once he had it behind lock and key, everyone would thank him for it. Cheer his name and shower him with coin. Well, except for Pandora, of course. She would come try to free it.

        A smile twisted across his lips. Please God, let her try. That was exactly what he wanted to happen. Killing that bitch without getting caught would be difficult, maybe impossible. But if she was trying to unleash a caged youkai on the passengers... An unfortunate tragedy to be sure, but it had to be done. The two had shared a room, the succubus had plenty of time to make the poor woman her thrall. The excuse wrote itself.

        Laughter quaked from the pit of his stomach.

        All of his problems solved at once. Or at least, most of them. He would still need to find and kill the kotengu. That part would be easy enough; it could wait until after he had Lilith captured and Pandora dead.

        For now, he needed to keep focus. He had been watching those two close enough to know their room was on B deck. He looked down the long featureless hallway. If memory served, the door to the main stairway was nearby. He carefully studied each plaque as he passed numerous identical white doors. It didn't take long to find the entrance he was searching for. Pulling the door open, his eyes fixed on a large black mass. A massive black eye turned to meet his. So much for focusing on Pandora and Lilith.

        When you speak of the devil he appears.

        Gamal stood stone still, not wanting to provoke an attack. When the fight started, it would be at his discretion. Before proceeding, he wanted to examine the beast. The bastard was big, but not full; it's body beginning to waste away beneath it's dull feathers. It's beak showed signs of layers cracking and peeling away.

        Who knows how long it was deprived meals in transport. It could have been weeks. Even after he released it from it's cage, one hunter or another had interrupted it each time it attempted to feed. It was malnourished. Weak. Still a threat for the average hunter, but there was nothing average about him.

        He took hold of the doorknob and swept the door back into place. The hinges creaked at the slow methodical movement. Once the opening was only a thin crack, he jerked the door to the side, ripping it from the frame. Splinters rained in on the kotengu, causing the beast to recoil. In the span of that single involuntary reaction, Gamal grasped his makeshift weapon tight and rushed forward.

        There was a loud crack as the door shattered over the youkai's body. A pained caw followed so quickly behind that it beat out even the echo of the splintering wood reverberating through the stairwell. A vicious strike that only bought Gamal the creatures malice.

        The kotengu rose from it's hunch, seemingly unfazed by the blow. It towered above him, starring down with venom in it's eyes. A dull pain exploded at Gamal's ribcage, then gravity shifted. A dozen stairs passed him by in an instant, but his body didn't touch a single one. Instead, it waited to make contact with the wall at the bottom of the stairwell, and then, once gravity returned to normal, the floor. His mind spun and he dragged himself to his feet. All he knew was that fucker had thrown him down the stairs.