Arsh and Juan, with the others following behind, began moving through the streets of Thage toward their target. After walking for a long time, Arsh stopped near the place where Paul Smith and Sefir were.
The golden threads extended toward a large six-story building, its luxury obvious even from the outside. It was none other than the hotel Arsh had seen earlier that day while looking for a good cup of tea.
"Royal Hotel."
"Paul Smith is there?" Juan asked.
"Yes. Third floor, the fifth window on the left."
"The child?"
"In the basement."
They walked toward Paul Smith's room, staying on the opposite side of the street. It wasn't midnight yet, and there were still people wandering around outside. Directly across the street stood an empty building. Juan grabbed Arsh by the arm, led him around to the back of the structure, and they slipped inside through an opening they found. The other members of the team followed right behind them.
The place looked like it was under renovation. There were construction materials and some old items scattered around. Together, they went up to the third floor and found a window that looked directly into the room where their target was.
"Flora, your turn" Juan said.
Flora stepped up to the window and began looking directly into the room across from them. But the street was quite wide, almost twenty meters between the buildings. Still, Flora focused all her attention on the room that lined up with their position. When Arsh turned toward that side as well, all he could see were the silhouettes of two standing figures.
Juan leaned toward Arsh and whispered,
"Flora's senses are strong. Smell, hearing, sight, taste, touch… the siunis…"
But he was cut off by Flora's sharp glance in his direction."I'll be quiet." he said with a smile.
He sat down next to Flora and began watching the opposite building through binoculars he pulled from somewhere. Meanwhile, the others waited silently a bit farther back.
This time, instead of looking at the other side, Arsh found himself watching Flora. He noticed the faint glow coming from the girl's eyes and ears. It was the kind of shimmer that wouldn't be visible unless someone looked closely only in the dim lighting. It gave her a holy kind of vibe.
After a while, Flora began speaking in a whisper without taking her eyes off the other side.
Arsh realized that she was trying to be silent so her own voice wouldn't overwhelm her senses
"There are three people in the room, one of them is our man, Paul Smith. I can see him. But I can't see the two others. One of them is sitting; the other is standing… It must be the man we are looking for, the higher up."
She continued listening quietly for a while and then began relaying what she heard.
"Tomorrow morning, they'll start sending some of the children. At different times, on different ships, they'll be going to Hals… Juan, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"
Arsh was also looking in the direction they were watching. He saw a man stand up from where he was sitting. He was wearing something like a uniform, but Arsh couldn't make out the details. When he looked at Juan, he saw the tension in his face.
"I see a soldier's uniform, a uniform belonging to a General, am I right?" Flora asked.
"He is General Debraz." Juan replied.
The others on the team leaned closer to the window when they heard the name.
"So he was the upper echelon we're looking for. I was only expecting to find a dirty businessman who bribed soldiers today. But look at this—we have a whole general here." Juan said.
"Didn't you already think the matter was connected to someone from the government?" Ray asked.
"Yes, but I didn't think they would leave such a crude job to a general responsible for the Southern Colonies. I didn't think the general would meet directly with a third-rate smuggler businessman. And at the Royal Hotel, no less."
"What's special about the Royal Hotel?" Arsh asked.
"It's a hotel affiliated with the Symran royal family. Its revenues go directly to the royal family. But it's not a hotel anyone can stay at. Only important envoys and dignitaries from foreign countries, as well as people from the upper class of Symran, can stay here. No matter where you are in the world, Royal Hotels only serve people like that. So it's not a place you can enter just because you have money."
Arsh understood the problem.
"So the question is, how is a person like Paul Smith staying here?"
"Exactly" Juan said.
"Most likely, the reason we lose Paul Smith's trail after Renham was because he was hiding here. Even though he's been exposed, his connections are still valuable. He needed to disappear before meeting the general." Tedor said.
"Seems like that. Anyway, we should go in there tonight." Juan said in a low voice.
"We don't have any preparation… Can we handle this? We don't even know how many men are in there."
"Let's observe a little more. We can't enter while the General is here. Let him leave first. Then we'll decide on a route for getting in and out."
"What about Arsh? He doesn't have any experience. Should we just leave him here?"
"No, he will come with us. He'll show the way. If there's a problem, I'll be with him. What do you say, Arsh?"
While they were talking, Arsh had already focused on finding the most suitable entry and exit routes. At Juan's question, he opened his eyes.
"I can show you where the children are. I also think I can find the easiest way for us to get inside. But how we get out after entering… I can only figure that out once I see the situation inside."
"That's already more than enough for a newbie. Alright, let's split up for now. Check the possible exit routes. Look at the doors used by the staff and where the supplies are brought in. And I'll check the other routes we might use with Arsh."
About an hour later, shortly after the general had left, they gathered again in the same empty building. Eliz, Ray, and Tedor hadn't found a suitable escape route. There were too many Symran guards around. Flora, on the other hand, had examined the doors Juan had told.
"The supply door and the staff door are side by side. Symran guards can't get too close to that area. With the children with us, that's our best escape route. But they're aware of that as well. There are four men at each door. As for the ones inside, I have no idea. And if we consider that we don't know how many of them have siunis, we seem pretty outnumbered. What should we do?"
Juan sat where he was, head in his hands, shaking his leg rapidly. Everyone waited for him in silence. Suddenly, he lifted his head and let his eyes move over Arsh and the others.
"Here's the plan. Our priority is getting the children out safely. If they're planning to send them off in separate groups, then once we save one group, they'll find a way to get rid of the other children or transport them with a different way. Paul Smith is secondary for now. Arsh found an empty room on the second floor. If he hides and goes in when the guards aren't patrolling, it'll be pretty easy. Tedor, Arsh, and I will go inside and find the children. We don't know the situation inside, so don't move until I reach the supply door. First, I will take down a few people when you see that you come and take care of the remaining guards at the door. Stay ready. We need to get the children out of there safely."
"Okay, but what then? The number of children is probably more than just one or two. How are we supposed to get all of them out together and bring them to a safe place afterward?"
"Any ideas on what comes next?" Juan asked the others. When no one responded, he stood up and stared out the window.
"Then we'll figure the rest out when we get there."
…
'This isn't a good plan' Arsh thought as he climbed the tree behind Juan.
'Going in without knowing exactly how we're going to get out is madness.' He watched Juan reach toward the window, trying to open it.
'But even if they hadn't agreed, I would have made the same decision.'
Juan's willingness to take such a risk made Arsh like him a little. And the fact that the other team members accepted the plan without opposing him added to that feeling. He wasn't sure what might happen to him here. Judging by the others' reactions, the risk of injury or even death was possible.
But the ones inside were only Kurshan children. Even if this was where his path ended, he remembered something his grandfather used to say.
"'A person should fight not for the dead, but for the living.' Are you proud of me, Grandfather? If I die here, it won't be because of revenge, but for the children who still have their whole lives ahead of them."
Juan slipped through the open window, and Tedor followed right after him. The room was dark and silent. Juan signaled for them to wait, then, just like he had done on the rooftop the other day, his body blurred, turned into a mist, and vanished.
After a minute or two, the door opened from the outside.
The corridors were wide and brightly lit. They moved forward without running into anyone. Following the golden threads, Arsh led them to the staircase at the end of the hallway. It wasn't for guests, but for the staff. They slowly went downstairs.
The floor where the children were kept was two levels below ground. They passed the ground floor, the kitchen, and the laundry room in order. After that point, the lights were no longer on.
"They're on this floor." Arsh whispered.
The space below looked like an area where unused items were stored. Broken chairs, torn-up sofas, old cabinets, chandeliers, and similar pieces were scattered all around.
As they moved forward quietly, they spotted a gas lamp hanging on the wall at the end of a nearby corridor. Under its dim light they saw two men. One was standing, the other sitting on a chair. They were standing guard in front of a door, chatting among themselves.
"The children are in that room." Arsh said, even though it was already obvious.
Juan and Tedor exchanged a quick signal. Then Juan began to darken again, his form fading
and within a moment, he vanished into thin air.
The men suddenly stopped talking among themselves. One of them suddenly froze.
"Hey, Rem, what's going on? Are you okay?" the other man asked, his voice full of fear.
The man looked like he couldn't breathe. He was acting as if he was trying to pull something tight from his throat. His eyes went wide, and blood began to spill from them. After about thirty seconds, he stopped moving.
The other man panicked and started to run. "I'm going to call the others… wait!" He sprinted toward the stairs, but he collided with something solid, like a wall. It was Tedor.
The man tried to step back, but it was already too late. Tedor grabbed his head and slammed it against the wall. The next moment, he lost consciousness as well.
Everything had ended in seconds, much faster than Arsh had expected.
When Juan reappeared from the shadows, his face wore a complex expression.
"This isn't good. Both of them were too weak. They probably didn't have siunis. But I don't think they'd leave just two such weak people here for guard. There must be someone else." Juan said.
No sooner had he finished speaking than another sound echoed from the dark storage area.
"Yes, there is" a voice came from the side of stairs.
"I only stepped away and look at that mess."