Constructors: New Beginning

Chapter 30 A Night at the Golden Lion Pt. 2

"Hello there, Head Mistress Chesh." Julia greeted her. 

"It's actually Night Mistress here. In The Golden Lion, everyone uses nicknames given to us by Cal. Please sit you two, so we may discuss our business." Head Mistress waved her hand over to the empty seats in front of her, and we moved over and sat down. "Now, you two have proven that Bianca was not only able to control her magic but also able to learn new spells as well. In a three-month timespan, no less. I must confess that I'm a little bit curious as to how you two were able to pull such a feat?" 

"We had excellent O.T.'s ourselves back at Lucks Heart, who taught us our skills. We used their methods to help us teach Bianca, who was eager to learn, which helped a lot in teaching her," Julia explained to her, but everything she was saying was a complete lie. We didn't teach her anything, and how could we explain to Head Mistress that Bianca was taught by the ghost of her Grandma, who just so happens to be one of the Constructors? However, Head Mistress Chesh seemed to be falling for it as she nodded with contempt. 

"I saw as such when she showed me her spells. Now tell me, why should I entrust her safety to you two?" 

"Well, when she first came to the orphanage, she told me that she was exploring Seraphim in remembrance of her parents. Not only will we continue training her, but she'll also see all of Seraphim with us. The both of us will make sure that she stays on the path that she's on and that she—" I stopped suddenly because my head began to pound against my skull and it wasn't coming from the incense. 

"She will what Battlemage James?" 

"Excuse me. I need to use the restroom, where is it?" I stood up quickly, trying to hide the pain I was feeling. 

"Outside at the end of the hall. Is everything alright?" 

"Yeah, just have the sudden urge to go. Julia, mind finishing my sentence?" 

"Okay," Julia said and continued where I left off while I walked out of the room. Once I got out, my head felt like it was ready to explode, and I fell to my knees. I was in so much pain. 

Come on, James, get up! 

I got up and went to the bathroom, and as I ran, I felt my headache slowly began to dissipate, and once I got inside, it was completely gone. I didn't know what was causing me to have such a painful headache, but I was feeling better now, and that's all that mattered to me. I need to cool myself off, so I walked over to the sink and splashed some cold water on my face. As I was doing that, I could hear someone come in, but I didn't think much of it. They must be another patron needing to use the restroom. I continued washing my face, but as I could hear their footsteps, it seemed that they didn't have the taps of a dress shoe. They stopped short of the stalls. I turned around to see a muscular guy behind me, just staring down at me. 

"Can I help you with something, sir?" I asked him. 

"You're the one I'm after," the guy said, and out of nowhere, he tried to stab me with a knife. I weaved to the left and hit a pressure point under his armpit that made him fall to the floor and sleep. 

What the heck? Why did he attack me and say that I'm the one he was after? Something is not right in this place. 

I walked out and rushed back to the room, but inside was a mess, and Head Mistress Chesh had Julia pinned down on the floor. "Julia?" 

"James, run!" 

"What—" I felt the barrel of a rifle up against my head from the bartender. 

"Welcome back, Battlemage James. It looks like my other man couldn't get you, and that's alright. It'll be easier to catch you here." Head Mistress Chesh grinned and then extracted her claws to put it against Julia's neck. "Any sudden movements, and I'll cut up your sister's neck, and your brain will be scattered all over the wall." 

"Why are you doing this, Head Mistress?" 

"I found out not too long ago that there's a bounty out for two that go by the names of Julia and James Kidd. The bounty pays handsomely, and I intend to have the money for myself." 

Why would there be a bounty for us? We haven't done anything? 

"Who put up the bounty?" I tried to take a step, but the barrel dug more into my head. 

"Franco Sario, a noble in Marque. He wants you two alive, so I suggest not making any rash decisions." 

"Now, now, what's happening here?" I heard someone behind me ask, and from the nervous look Head Mistress made was disconcerting to me. 

"Calem." She gulped. 

"I thought I told you before Night Mistress; it's King when you're in my cabaret." Calem moved me aside and faced me. I was a little taller than him, but I could feel his cold gaze sink through my body. "So, you're one of the offspring of Kaisa the Merciless, James, if I am correct?" 

"How did you know that?" I tried to be intimidating as I asked, but his expression changed in an instant. He had his hand clamped on my neck as he lifted me off the ground. 

"I suggest you choose your tone when you're in my presence. This is my kingdom, and you'll speak to its king with respect," Calem spoke with a menacing tone as his grip tightened. 

"Let go of my brother!" Julia snapped. 

"No, Julia, don't," I grunted out. 

Calem let me go, and I gasped for air. He then turned his attention to Julia. Calem motioned the Head Mistress to let her go, and she did without hesitation. Julia got herself up and stepped away from the Head Mistress. "So, you're Julia. I definitely see the resemblance in you both. Come, you two are needed elsewhere." Calem walked back to the doorway and waited for us to comply. 

"Wait, I had them first! I'm not gonna let you take the bounty from me!" Head Mistress lunged at Calem, but almost like a flash, he cut her throat with a knife that was hidden in his sleeve. Head Mistress Chesh immediately dropped dead on the floor, and we couldn't believe what we just saw. 

"Will you clean this mess up for me? I'll inform the Academy that Head Mistress Chesh had an untimely incident." He looked at the bartender and cleaned the knife with his handkerchief. "Now that that distraction is dealt with, you two follow me." 

We walked out of the room and stepped back down to the main room, where we were welcomed with death glares of everyone in the room. Such a familiar sight to me that I wasn't bothered, but I felt Julia tug my empty sleeve. If we didn't have these stupid bracelets, I would feel safer. "It appears everyone is not pleased to see you two." 

"Why are they giving us the death glares? We haven't done anything to them." I asked, keeping my guard up. 

"You're the children to the most hated woman in the underworld of Seraphim. Just like her title implies, when she isn't doing a job, her merc company would go after crime lords all over Seraphim. To hear that she has children and that they are in The Golden Lion, I didn't believe it at first. Well, that was until I saw you two for myself and my doubt went away." Calem explained. "I lost a lot of patrons because of your mother's meddling, and it made me lose a lot of money." 

"Are you planning to turn us into this Franco Sario?" Julia asked nervously. 

"I have no need for a noble's money when I can make that amount in a single night. No, I'm taking you to someone that wants to meet you, so I suggest that you stay close or else every single soul in the cabaret will go after you whether they want the bounty or not." 

I got a little closer to Calem, and Julia stayed by my side, shaking a little. I know mom said that she had enemies, but I didn't realize it was the whole underworld of Seraphim. I thought she got the title 'the Merciless' because of the way she would fight her enemies, not like this. This made things a little harder for us now. 

"James," Julia whispered. "I have never felt so defenseless in my life. I can't even feel the girls' presence anywhere." 

"We'll figure something out, Julia," I whispered. 

"You better, because once you're outside my castle, you're no longer under my protection. Just letting you two know," Calem said so casually, and that didn't help us. 

Well shit...