Sahger's name passed from one person to the next before we even reached the door of a random bar.
Two men drinking by the entrance abruptly stepped aside.
One lowered his beer the moment he saw the hunter's scarred face; the other looked at me, then at Tsukumo and Havelyn.
"It's them."
I heard the muffled words as we crossed the threshold.
"I can fucking see that."
The bar stood on a dusty corner where the warehouse street met a narrow alley that climbed steeply toward the terraces.
Two broad windows faced the street, one on either side of the main entrance, and thick stone pillars supported the low ceiling.
The stale reek of spilled alcohol reached us before we felt the stifling heat inside.
Dozens of tables filled the dim room, some pushed against the stone walls, others packed so tightly that customers had to turn sideways to squeeze between them.
At the back, a dark wooden counter separated the drink barrels and dusty shelves from the rest of the establishment.
The loud conversations dropped considerably when Sahger entered.
They didn't stop entirely.
Near the left window, four men were still arguing heatedly over a bet, surrounded by dozens of empty glasses.
One was so drunk he could barely keep his eyes open.
At the other tables, though, people followed our every move.
They recognized our faces.
I saw a man hurriedly put away a data terminal displaying my wanted poster.
A woman snatched her bag off the seat beside her and set it in her lap, clearing a path before we had to ask.
Sahger stopped beside one of the pillars near the entrance.
Havelyn stayed close to him, her wings tucked firmly against her body to avoid knocking over any chairs.
Tsukumo leaned his injured shoulder against the doorframe.
I crossed the room to the counter without a word.
The man behind it had thick, hairy forearms, a shirt open at his sweaty neck, and a filthy rag in his hands.
He gave Kazekiba a skeptical glance where it hung at my waist, then looked at Sahger.
"Red Crest. Haven't heard a rumor about you in years."
"You the owner?" the hunter asked flatly, ignoring the remark.
The man nodded slowly, wary.
"I don't want any trouble in my bar."
"We're looking for someone," I said, stopping in front of him.
The owner turned his attention to me.
"A short man. Wears a white mask with a crooked smile drawn on it."
The grimy rag stopped moving across the wooden counter.
"Plenty of people wear strange masks around here."
"Then think a little harder and try remembering the exact one I'm asking about."
He folded the rag slowly, lining up its damp corners with his thick fingers.
"What do you want with him?"
"To find out where he is."
"I got that much."
I planted my palms on the edge of the counter.
"Does he come here often?"
The owner glanced at Sahger again, weighing the danger.
"I don't write down the name of everyone who walks through that door."
A chair scraped harshly across the wooden floor behind me.
"That him?"
I didn't turn.
The owner set the rag aside.
His attention shifted to something just above my shoulder.
"Go back to your table, man."
A heavy, filthy hand slapped my back and clamped down on my shoulder.
"Six hundred and fifty million crowns for this son of a bitch?"
The foul stink of cheap booze hit me square in the face.
I glanced at the hand before looking at the man.
He was one of the drunks from the table by the window.
He had a matted beard, a red nose, and dark grease stains across the front of his shirt.
"Get your hand off me."
The drunk looked at the owner, waiting for some sign of support.
I wrenched his fingers off my shoulder.
"Go back to drinking your shit."
I shoved him aside so I could face the owner again.
He stumbled into a stool, caught himself hard against the counter, and knocked over a full glass that shattered on the floor.
Loud laughter came from the table by the window.
The drunk's face twisted with rage.
I saw his shoulder turn as he wound up.
I didn't move an inch.
His clumsy punch struck the side of my face with a sharp crack.
I felt his knuckles split the skin of my cheek slightly.
No pain.
He pulled his arm back, surprised that I hadn't even swayed.
I stared at him, my expression unchanged.
Behind the counter, the owner took an alarmed step back.
"Enough. I already told you to—"
The drunk swung at me again, roaring with anger.
I caught his wrist before the blow landed and shoved him hard in the chest.
He staggered backward through the gap between the tables and slammed back-first into an occupied one.
Glasses toppled, spilling alcohol over the three customers seated there.
One sprang up in a fury and grabbed the drunk by the collar.
Another customer charged at me, completely unhinged.
"You piece of shit!"
An empty bottle smashed against my shoulder, scattering sharp fragments everywhere.
Glass tinkled to the floor between my feet.
One shard struck the hand of a man trying to gather the coins scattered across his table.
He spun around angrily and drove an elbow into the face of whoever was standing behind him.
Within seconds, someone raised a chair overhead.
Sahger intercepted it with the shaft of his spear, splintering the wood before it got anywhere near Havelyn.
The hunter shoved the attacker back into the middle of the room.
The entire bar seemed to rise at once, erupting into an all-out brawl.
Tables scraped across the floor.
Someone landed on the table by the window, knocking down the four drunks arguing there.
One staggered upright with a broken piece of stool in his hands and brought it down across the back of the first person within reach.
I tried to turn back to the counter.
A thick arm clamped around my neck in a headlock.
At the same time, another man grabbed the front of my clothes and drove two quick punches into my stomach.
I barely moved.
Those blows were pathetic.
They didn't carry enough force to damage my organs—just hysterical shouting, spit, and the stink of alcohol.
I reached over my head, grabbed my attacker by the back of his shirt, and hurled him into his companion.
The two landed in a tangled heap between an overturned table and the base of the counter.
More liquor spilled, soaking the wooden floor.
The owner had ducked out of sight behind the barrels, terrified.
I still hadn't dragged a single useful answer about the masked man out of the bastard, and these idiots kept throwing themselves at me.
A drinking glass flew through the air and struck the back of my neck.
I turned slowly, my patience wearing thin.
Sahger kept Havelyn sheltered near the pillar, driving back anyone who came too close with precise thrusts of his spear.
She had one hand braced against the stone, her gaze shifting between me and the men sprawled across the floor.
Tsukumo remained rigidly on guard at the entrance.
His eyes met mine for a second.
A man rushed me from the right, gripping a heavy chair by its legs.
Another approached from the left, trying to draw a short knife from his belt while stumbling over his own feet.
All I could think about was the precious time I was wasting.
Laura was still imprisoned and suffering somewhere, and I was stuck in this pigsty, surrounded by drunken idiots.
I knocked the chair aside with my forearm and cleared some space between the tables.
The air stirred, gathering rapidly beneath my boot.
Dust, wood splinters, and tiny shards of glass swirled across the floor.
I raised my right foot a few centimeters, compressing the wind into an invisible sphere between my sole and the floorboards.
The man with the knife got close enough to reach for my coat.
By the entrance, I saw Sahger pull Havelyn farther behind the stone pillar.
I brought my foot down with all my strength.
I crushed the sphere of wind against the floor.
The sharp boom drowned out the shouting.
Compressed air swept across the floor and surged through the room like a hurricane, tearing customers off their feet, overturning heavy tables, and hurling chairs into one another.
The man with the knife was lifted off the ground and flew backward past me.
He slammed into two of the drunks by the left window, and all three crashed through the glass in an explosion of shards and splintered framing.
On the other side of the door, another body smashed through the second window.
The barrels collided behind the counter.
Bottles tumbled off the shelves and shattered against the stone.
A table shot across the floor into the wall, trapping an unconscious man beneath its heavy top.
Tsukumo planted his feet and held his ground.
His clothes and dreadlocks whipped backward in the gale.
Sahger stood firm beside the pillar, shielding Havelyn from the debris hurtling through the entrance.
The gust died as quickly as it had risen.
Only the sharp tinkling of the last falling shards remained, along with the sound of dozens of people struggling to draw breath.
The deep scar on my chest pulled painfully when I took a full breath.
I exhaled through my nose and strode to the counter.
The owner was huddled on his knees, one arm shielding his head.
I grabbed his shirt collar and lifted him effortlessly off the floor.
"Now you're going to fucking listen."
He braced his trembling hands on the edge of the counter, struggling in vain to keep his feet on the ground.
"You destroyed everything..."
I hauled him onto the wooden countertop.
His hip struck the edge hard, knocking over the last glasses still standing.
I drew Kazekiba from its sheath.
The blade stopped mere millimeters from his throat.
"The man in the white mask. Where's he hiding? Talk before I slice your fucking throat."
The owner stared at the deadly steel and swallowed, his eyes wide with terror.
His thick fingers clutched desperately at my wrist.
"I don't know who you're..."
I drew the sword back for a moment and drove the pommel straight into his mouth.
His head snapped sideways.
Blood spattered across the wooden counter.
"Don't fucking lie to me."
He tried to stammer a reply, but all that came out was a wet gurgle.
He raised a bloody hand to his ruined mouth.
I dragged him off the counter and hurled him into the broken tables.
His body struck the corner of one, knocking it over.
He rolled to the floor, his arms scrabbling uselessly for support among the wreckage.
I stepped over a stool snapped in half.
"Suki."
Havelyn's cautious voice came from the entrance.
I stopped beside the man on the floor and looked at her over my shoulder.
The harpy had taken a few steps out from behind the pillar.
Her eyes were fixed on my hand, on the warm blood running down my fingers and the sword's blade.
She took another step toward me, then stopped before taking a second.
I had never seen her look at me with that kind of fear.
"Look at me," she said quietly.
"Calm down."
The owner groaned and crawled on his knees across the filthy boards.
I turned my full attention back to him.
Grabbing his torn collar again, I forced him to face me.
His hand clutched the fabric over his injured stomach.
"Short. White mask. A smile carved into that fucking face." I leaned in until our noses nearly touched.
"You're going to tell me exactly where to find that son of a bitch."
"I... I just run an ordinary bar..."
I slammed the sword's pommel into him again, just below his ribs.
The air burst from his lungs in a muffled cry.
He doubled over, and I had to hold him firmly by the shirt to keep him from falling face-first onto the floor.
"The exact address."
He shook his head frantically, coughing blood.
I hauled him up by the collar again.
His heels dragged heavily across the floor.
Outside, someone was screaming for help at the top of their lungs.
One of the men thrown through the window was trying to stand, trembling as he braced himself against the stone wall.
Tsukumo watched in absolute silence, his guard up.
The owner opened his blood-dripping mouth.
"You won't be able to..."
I struck his face again with the heavy pommel, opening a deep cut across his eyebrow.
"I asked you a question, you bastard."
He sagged heavily to one side, pulling at my clothes until the seam over my injured shoulder gave way.
I loosened my grip just enough to keep hold of an intact section of his shirt.
"Suki."
This time, it was Tsukumo.
He was staring outside, straight toward the side alley.
I heard the muffled thud of marching boots before I saw the men emerging between the two buildings.
They wore matching security breastplates and carried heavy stun batons.
The man in front pointed his baton toward the bar's entrance as he shouted orders to the others.
The city guards.
"They're coming this way," Tsukumo warned without blinking.
I tightened my grip on the owner's collar.
"Hold them off."
Tsukumo calmly stepped into the doorway and turned toward the alley, keeping his bandaged arm tucked against his body.
He raised his good hand.
The first guard was only a few steps from the alley's mouth when he suddenly slowed, as though he were running through water.
The boot that should have struck the ground firmly took seconds to complete the motion.
He forced his torso forward and thrust out his baton, but his arm moved in slow motion.
The guard behind him tried to run past.
The moment he entered the same stretch of alley, his legs turned to lead.
His knees buckled under the invisible weight, and he desperately reached for the wall to keep from falling.
A brutal field of crushing gravity filled the alley from wall to wall.
The men at the rear tried to push forward and help.
One grabbed his companion's shoulder and was forced to spread his legs and brace himself just to support his own weight.
Another tried to retreat, dragging his soles over the stone paving.
They kept shouting, straining with superhuman effort, clenching their teeth until they bled, searching for support where there was none.
Every millimeter of movement took too long.
Tsukumo lowered his hand slightly, his gaze cold as he kept them pinned beneath the invisible weight.
The owner began shaking his head in panic, coughing up clots of blood.
"Wait... please, wait."
I looked down at him with murder in my eyes.
"Then talk."
"I know the place! I know it!"
I kept Kazekiba raised, my hand trembling with rage.
"Then fucking tell me!"
"Past the main staircase..." He had to spit out a mouthful of blood before continuing.
"The street at the top. Turn left."
"And what does the fucking bar look like?"
"The one with three arches! Black stone front, a red sign hanging over the door. You can't fucking miss it!"
I dragged him closer until our faces almost touched.
"That's where he is?"
"That's where he meets his contacts! That's where you need to go!"
His terrified eyes darted between my bloodied face and the sword's edge.
"The masked man?" I pressed, my voice dark.
"Yes, him! The man in the white mask! That's where he is!"
His chest heaved beneath his shredded shirt.
Behind me, I heard Havelyn approach with light footsteps.
I only looked away from the prisoner when her hand entered my field of vision, hovering uncertainly near my arm.
She hesitated for a second before touching me.
"Suki..."
The owner tried to drag himself away from the blade, terrified.
"You and your friends won't live long enough to get near him."
I looked back at him, my teeth clenched.
"What did you say?"
"His bodyguards..." Fresh blood streamed from the corner of his mouth.
"He's got two monsters there. Two demigods."
I stared at him, taking in the words.
"They'll kill all of you."
A dry laugh escaped me, and his trembling hand went still on my wrist.
The sound came out low, muffled between two deep breaths.
When I heard myself, I laughed again, a little louder, driven by a blind urgency.
Havelyn slowly withdrew her hand, frightened.
Sahger remained steady by the entrance, his spear held upright.
Tsukumo glanced over for a fraction of a second without releasing his gravitational hold on the guards in the alley.
The owner opened his mouth to stammer something else pathetic.
I seized his collar and pivoted in one sharp motion.
I hurled him across the room with all my strength.
He flew back-first into the left window, shattering what remained of the frame and rotten wood.
I heard him hit the far side of the sidewalk hard, followed by a muffled groan and the scrape of clothing against stone.
I lowered Kazekiba, breathing heavily.
"Demigods," I muttered to myself, turning and striding toward the exit.
I walked straight past Havelyn.
She followed me with wide eyes but said nothing.
Sahger came out right behind us, his guard up.
On the sunlit sidewalk, the owner lay curled up and groaning beside the wreckage of the window, both hands pressed into his stomach.
One of the frightened customers scrambled away from him as soon as he saw me pass.
I looked toward the immense stone staircase rising between the buildings and started walking.
People hurried out of my way long before I reached them.
Some cast fearful looks at Sahger behind me; others stared at the bloodied sword still in my right hand.
The dried blood on the pommel had left my fingers sticky and cold.
I heard Havelyn and the hunter keeping pace.
Seconds later, Tsukumo's dragging footsteps joined theirs.
The shouting and commotion inside the bar still echoed behind us.
I climbed the stone staircase without slowing for a second. My injured thigh pulled and burned on the final steps, but I angrily forced my leg to keep moving until I reached the street above.
I turned sharply left.
The three black stone arches stood just ahead, imposing and recessed beneath the building's dark facade.
A heavy red sign swayed gently above the central door. I strode across the rest of the empty street.
By the time I stopped at the entrance to the den, the other three were beside me, ready for whatever came next.