Amongst Shadows and Stardust: The Chronicles of Joliyah Miller.

Chapter 6 | Guns and Whispers.

The abandoned warehouse loomed against the twilight sky, its weathered walls holding secrets as old as the city Luminara itself. Inside, the air hung heavy with tension and the acrid smell of gun oil. Salim stood at the center of it all, his posture relaxed but his eyes sharp, missing nothing.

Flanking him were Draven and Samara, the deadliest soldiers in his Savage8 crew. Draven, a mountain of a man with hands like sledgehammers and eyes that had seen too much. And Samara - Salim allowed himself a small smirk as he glanced at her. Petite was an understatement; she looked like she'd blow away in a strong wind. But looks, as Salim well knew, could be lethally deceiving.

Samara's light brown eyes scanned the warehouse, her curly black hair framing a face that could switch from angelic to demonic in the blink of an eye. Salim had found her on the streets, a feral thing consumed by hate for the Red Dragon Society that had murdered her parents. He'd given her purpose, honed her into a weapon. Now, her body count was so high she made Michael Myers look like Mary Poppins on a sugar high.

The thought almost made Salim chuckle. Almost.

The sound of heavy boots on concrete silenced any hint of mirth. Blake, the high-ranking military officer who supplied most of their guns, strode in with his crew. The man moved like he owned the place-which, Salim mused, he probably could if he wanted to.

"Graywood," Blake nodded, his voice gruff. "Let's get down to business."

As Blake's men began unloading crates, Samara sidled up to Salim. "Boss," she murmured, her voice low. "Word on the street is Blake's been cutting deals with the Red Dragons."

Draven grunted in agreement. "Heard the same. Thought you should know."

Salim's eyes narrowed. He approached Blake, his voice deceptively casual. "So, Blake. Interesting rumors floating around. Something about you and the Red Dragons?"

Blake's face remained impassive. "You know me, Graywood. I've got loyalties to no one but myself."

"I'm well aware," Salim replied, his tone hardening. "But loyalty or not, you're still a man. And a man's word is everything. Our deal was exclusive-Savage8 only. I don't care who else you work with, but our rivals are off-limits. It causes chaos, disorder... confusion."

Blake held Salim's gaze for a long moment before sighing. "It's not what you think, Graywood. When I met with Ciaran, it wasn't about becoming their supplier. He was asking around about something else. Something called the infinity stone."

The words hit Salim like a punch to the gut. The infinity stone? Why would Ciaran, of all people, be looking for the very thing Salim's family was supposedly meant to protect?

Salim's mind raced. If Ciaran was searching for the stone, could it actually be real? But why was he interested? For power, obviously, but Salim knew Ciaran well enough to know it meant nothing good. Part of him wanted to still dismiss all of this as fairy tale nonsense, but a nagging voice in the back of his mind warned him not to be so hasty.

Before he could pursue the matter further, his phone buzzed. "Hold on," he muttered, stepping away to take the call.

"Unknown number," he frowned, answering cautiously. "Hello?"

A distorted voice crackled through the speaker. "The infinity stone is real. Joliyah is in danger. Protect her at all costs."

"Wait.....what? Who is this?" Salim demanded, but the line went dead.

He turned back to the group, aware of the confused looks on Samara and Draven's faces. "Everything okay, boss?" Samara asked, her hand instinctively moving towards her concealed weapon.