THE FORTUNIST

49. Rayton

“Albenarum has two admission tokens: lead and gold. The golden ones afford more privileges.”

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Rayton and Anarella have already infiltrated the Dropp House premises as servants. It is where the cryfix of the Dropp House, the Twin Mountains should be. But Rayton is skeptic, the reason being last he had seen and heard the cryfix's half sat on the left ear of the General's wife. So far, Lady Fowella is probably in the palace. What is the possibility that she had left the beautiful cryfix behind? He however hides the skepticism from Anarella who is still bugged about the ninth cryfix revelation. She had drunk three mugs after he had given the speculation and he had to pay because she had started being loud and they could no longer sneak out. Even now, she is still slightly drunk.

"How do you kill a cryfix?" She is asking under her hood while they both pretend to handpick weeds from the front garden. "Do the other cryfixes turn to people too when we're not looking? Who even said there was a ninth cryfix? Everybody believed in something they haven't seen. But we've seen it now, Huh?"

"You need to shut up Rel."

She giggles drunkenly. "Not so nice and gentle now eh? Telling a lady to shut up."

Ray rolls his eyes. An inebriated Anarella would not help him much. "How about you imagine these weeds is Purple Shrimp and pluck your heart out."

Her face quickly darkens in a scowl. "I'm not that drunk, if you think you'll leave me behind, fat chance."

He looks at her pleadingly, she shakes her head. She starts plucking the flowers instead. "My purple shrimp is as precious as flowers I want to destroy. I won't settle for weeds."

He watches her as she uproots two more of the precious flowers before making his hasty but necessary decision. Of all things, he had not expected Anarella to be lightweight but now that she is, she'd only impede him. Rayton is not looking forward to planning another prison break.

"I'm sorry Rel," he hisses before wrapping a firm arm around her throat.

"What are you doing," she panics trying to remove him from her but she is a bit too late, her reflexes slow. Rayton winces as he imagines how much she would hate him for this. He carries her limp form and hides her among the bushes. Then he goes towards the direction of the Dropp River where his ears have picked up the sounds of an approaching boat. The area is surprisingly empty and the soldiers and guards he sees are all passed out when he reaches the riverbank.

"You made it just in time. And you didn't bring the girl."

The assassin is fast, Rayton had not seen him until he was by his side. The assassin's ever malleable hair is packed in an exotic highbraid this time.

"I know you can hear the boat. I'm waiting for it too."

Rayton imagines the assassin smiling under his mask.

"You are the ninth cryfix."

The assassin visibly stiffens and it is at that moment Rayton knows that he is right. He turns directly to face the assassin. "All those times we thought you disappeared, you just took on a form. What's your form?"

"Pooh! Just because you're a prince you think I'll tell you? You, you have to try harder than that," the assassin says, breaking into unbothered laughter. Rayton fumes. It'll only be a matter of time before people begin to notice them.

"Why would the ninth cryfix want to kill the queen?"

"You'd have made a pretty good king. Unfortunately, not everything is about you. You are like a loose end I have to cut, not tie up— CUT."

"You've made a lot of enemies. You are the loose end."

"Bullshit Raaayton. Just give me the cryfix you have and get out of here. I don't want you yet."

"Yes, you only want the cryfixes. I don't suppose I know why. Is it because you think there's a realm out there and the cryfixes is a gateway to it."

"There is a realm," the assassin seethes calmly, eyes turning frosty. Rayton does not know what else to say. He does not feel inclined to doubt the assassin when his own hope all along is that his mother is somewhere within the Sun's Chronicle. Besides, if the assassin is the ninth cryfix he would be more entitled to this kind of information more than Rayton ever would.

"Why did you say my mother should not have been queen? What taboo do you speak of? What taint is in the royal blood? Why should the country fall into new hands?"

"Oh?" The assassin tilts his head as if amused, "No longer asking about the girl."

Rayton shrugs, "There's her too but I know now they're not questions you can answer, cryfix though you may be."

"I like it when you get hyped up and you let your ears down." The assassin says before Anarella leaps out of nowhere, landing cleanly on the assassin's shoulders.

"What are you doing? Help me!" Anarella shouts at Rayton as she and the assassin tumble to the ground. Rayton opens his mouth but nothing comes out. This is the assassin's plan all along. He had somehow known that Anarella would land on him, yet he had done nothing to stop her.

"Yes!" comes a victorious yell from Anarella who holds a ripped handkerchief. Her smugness quickly dissolves as she looks down to see that the assassin has a backup thinner cloth. She scowls in frustration and Rayton can hear the assassin's grating laugh.

The sound of an arriving speedboat catches all their attention. They watch the speedboat get half buried in the sand of the banks. Rayton frowns. The assassin had said that he was waiting for a boat.

"Who's that?" Anarella asks sharply, still sitting untop the smug assassin. A figure clambers out of the boat.

"That's Lady Fowella, the Lord General's wife," Rayton responds offhandedly as his eyes immediately travel to the woman's ear. "She may or may not be wearing the half of Twin Mountains."

Fowella draws to an abrupt halt on spotting them. She appears to be shaken. Her eyes are glassy and a cap is haphazardly placed on her head. In the moment of distraction, the assassin shoves off Anarella. Fowella steps back.

"Wait!" She cries. Her hands move to her ear as she removes the earring with exaggerated aggressiveness. "I've seen you before," her words are directed towards the assassin, "I think I know what you want."

"Give it to me!" Anarella demands.

"No, give it to me," the assassin says though only Rayton can hear him. The assassin stretches out a palm for extra measure.

"Lady Fowella," Rayton says cautiously, "Let's not be rash on who gets that."

"Oh this?" Fowella shakes her head, "nobody is getting it."

Rayton hears three simultaneous 'NO's, one coming from his own lips as the tiny earring flies out of Fowella's hand and plops into the river. Immediately, Fowella hurries away for protective cover. Rayton realises she had been willing to sacrifice part of her house cryfix to save herself. Weird, he had never expected she could be that selfish.

A splash!

The assassin has dived. Without hesitation, Rayton dives after him. Fowella has finally alerted some soldiers and Rayton knows Anarella would stay on the bank to somehow hold them back.

The water is heavy and dimly lit. Rayton can see the assassin swimming as if the water is his special turf. The water density pulls away the assassin's backup mask.

The assassin is grinning, teeth shining.

"Arrrgh!" Water rushes into Rayton's mouth when he screams in rage and throws himself at the assassin. He begins to feel dizzy as he feels his head go heavy as if logged by extra weight. His lungs fill with something dense and he gasps.

The assassin places a flat palm on Rayton's chest, his other hand is holding the castaway cryfix, and Dian's Teardrop. He pushes Rayton down and Rayton to his own horror cannot fight the water accepting him.

"She'll never find you in time."

Rayton's eyes widen one last time.