Shattered Ladder 1-13 (Patreon)

Chapter 13: Poking the Shell

Master gave it to me.Pressed up tight against the wall, the thought cycled through his head faster than the drum of his heart against his ribs. He gave it to me. One eye never left the crack between the crates and the slats, a hand still on his mouth to muffle the hungry, deep breaths his body insisted on taking now. All four of them remained where they were, standing tall and proud over Old Wei. They know.

They had to…

They have to know. If they were looking for it, if they had the tools to find it, that meant it was only a matter of time. Maybe a matter of seconds, even. Can they feel it? 

Feel it, like he could; that new warmth inside his chest like a screaming light in the darkness were the pain used to be. It felt so bright inside him he was sure they could see straight through the wood if they looked, right through his skin even.

His eyes darted down to the captain’s still-bloody arm, rigid hand clenched tight in a fist, and Ken bit down a shudder. He did that to the old man…

Which meant they’d have no problem doing it to him too."The remnant is gone." The captain’s cold voice sounded loud through the walls, cutting through Ken’s thoughts again. “The remnant is gone and we have failed our task as Hunters.”

The tool-holder shook his head, red glow fading as he slid the object in his hand into some hidden slot in his armor. “It makes no sense. For it to just be gone like that, I…”

"Gone where?” The man who kicked Wei screamed out again, hands clenched into fists held high. “It can't just vanish! He didn’t have time for a full transference, not with that wound!"

"Calm yourself, Raiten!” The captain’s voice was like crashing ice, cold but thunderous. 

“But Kade, this means n-”

“You think I don't know, little brother? Once again, you overstep your bounds!" The largest of the ‘Hunters’ took a step away from the body and his brother, movements stiff as he flexed an arm thick and crusted with long-dried blood, armor more brown than black there. "I had the pleasure of claiming this vessel’s heart as penance for its deeds and it was… was not enough. Not nearly."

Kade ran a gauntleted hand over his face, a smear of Wei’s blood scraping free to stain his own face-plate. "We bled for this. Eight of our chapter bled for this."

Raiten paced back and forth, heavy boots scuffing on the floorboards, each step a spike of terror in Ken’s chest as the man got closer and closer just to turn around and do it again. The red stripes going down his arms and legs, thick and messy, stood out even against all the blood on the ground. "So. What. Now?” The man growled all three words, each one angrier than the last. “We just… leave? After Lin and Jian… after everything? We go back and tell the Masters w-" 

The Hunter paused his pacing, head slowly turning to the side. “Zero, what are you doing?”

Ken did his best to turn in the direction the other two Hunters moved to face, eye landing on the smallest of the men. The fourth Hunter was rifling through the shelves, black-armored hands managing to be careful as he systematically opened cabinets and stared at each item inside before placing it back. “N-nothing, sir? Just… what if it’s still here, you know?”

Captain Kade raised his head. “What if…”“Respectfully, sirs… Captain, sir,” Zero picked up a jar of dried sun-petals from a shelf — one Ken had prepared himself — the man opening it to peer inside. 

No, don’t touch that. 

"Could he not have transferred it to an object? An effigy?" Zero shook his head as he resealed the jar. “I mean, I read about a peak warrior doing something like that before. With a… a spirit, I mean, sirs.”A laugh spilled out of Rai’s throat, almost deep enough to match that of his brother. “The plants, yes! The bastard was an alchemist-traitor! He must have some kind of spirit plant, something strong enough to hold a root!” The Hunter moved toward a rack of hanging iron-vine, his hand outstretched to the thick red-lined herb bundle.“Don’t be a fool in your eagerness, Executor.” Kade didn’t even turn his head, voice snapping like a whip. “A common weed for Him? After what it took the Masters to crack his last vessel?” One hand gestured in the direction of Wei’s cooling body. “This one… a Grandmaster Alchemist from the reports, and still only half a century before he was worn down enough for a kill.” 

The leader of the four clicked his tongue, the sound followed by a grunt that was more tired than anything else. “A plant would last a few breaths, at most.” Captain Kade stood over Wei’s body, arms crossing over his chest as his blood-stained armor seemed to breathe with him, plates shifting every second. “Mortally wounded as he was, he shouldn’t have been able to make a clean transfer. There should be traces.”Without another word, the man knelt, one hand placed on Wei’s forehead as Val twitched in place, the other man shifting his weight as boots scuffed the wood. Ken’s watching eye went wide as the large man’s hand began to glow, a pale blue different from the red of Val’s tool; the whole room silent as Rai and Zero stopped their search and simply watched.After what felt like an hour, the captain let out another grunt. “Nothing.” The word was almost a whisper, more a puff of dead air from behind the faceplate as he turned to look at his still-nervous subordinate. “My apologies for doubting your work, Examiner.”Val nodded back at him. “None necessary, Captain.” 

Kade accepted the man’s words with a sigh. “Nothing.” He echoed the word again. “A complete severance. Like it was never even there. No core, no root, no dantian, nothing…”

Curses, rough and grating, flew from Rai’s mouth as his voice cracked. “So, that’s it? Years of hunting this plague and it… it just slips away?” The Executor clenched his fists tight again, one hand tearing down the iron-vine in front of him. The bundle crashed down on the floor, a fragrant cloud of red dust meeting the air. “In a sump-stinking apothecary on the literal ass-end of the Tower? How?"

 "Maybe it finally died.” Zero’s voice was oddly hopeful, the smallest of the armored Hunters still holding the jar of yellow petals. "Maybe the wound was too severe, and the core just… dissipated when the vessel failed."

"You think us that lucky, young Rhys?" The captain’s voice was colder now, the man still looking down at Wei’s body. "After one-twenty-eight? After what the demon did to Master Eijun?" The captain shook his head, another grunt slipping free. "Your role requires a curious mind, but a Seeker must not be innocent, Zero. As Hunters, it is our duty to hunt the Old Snake and all other foul traitor-alchemists of its kind."

Kade raised his gaze slowly, the captain turning his head to take in the small shop; hundreds of meticulously arranged jars, herb bundles and ancient leather-bound books staring back at him. The work of Ken’s last three years, all of it perfectly looked after and organized. “The asset is gone. We do as we have always done and leave nothing for the Old Snake to find.”

Val stepped forward, Ken spotting a thick stripe of gray around the edge of his armor’s biceps as he moved nearer. “Captain?”

“Burn it. Burn everything. We leave no trace of him or this place."

Burn it?

"Burn it.”