Derek leaned forward and asked, "Heard you went one-on-one with the Baylis Zaatsu. How good's he? Did he take your remnants?"
"I'm not sure about how good," Vincent replied. "But he is damn smart. And as for the remnants… well, I wouldn't be here if I had them."
"Word in the wild isn't all that good. I owe you for last time so… I'm letting you in on this."
"Go ahead…"
"A good chunk of the remnants' been fused."
Slowly narrowing his gaze, Vincent said, "What?"
Derek nodded. "Yeah."
"But do you know where they are?"
"Nope. No idea."
The bounty hunter leaned back. "That doesn't repay the favour, Dee."
"Well, do you have any other questions then?"
'Ask who took them,' Hugo told Vincent.
He asked, "Any idea who might have taken the remnants? Or where they went?"
"The ones down under are with the Palace, that I know for a fact," Derek replied. "The fused chunk though... that's a whole other deal."
"He knows that for a fact?" said Marcus.
Hugo quickly said, "Quiet!"
"What do you mean?" Vincent asked leaning ahead.
"New players in town," Derek quietly added.
"Who?"
"They call themselves the Devil's Hearth."
"Devil's Hand?"
"Nope. Hearth."
"What's that?"
"Believe the word means home or place o' comfort."
"So, what? Do they live with the devil?"
"Who knows… maybe…"
"What're they about?"
"They're a bizarre group very active in the undergrounds."
"Nothing goes unnoticed there, Derek. You of all people should know that…"
"Believe me when I say this, Vee… them Devil's Hearth… they're up to something. And it ain't good. First, they haven't announced themselves like a Cult would. And secondly, they've hired a huge number of civilian lackeys to do trading for 'em."
"Civilians?" Camille asked. "Does he mean plebeians?"
Hugo replied saying, "Yes."
Vincent stretched. "So, this is just you reading and predicting," he said with a half-smile. "Stats lie, you know."
"Nope. Not like this." Derek shook his head as he leaned ahead. "Ninety-five percent of the civilians visiting the markets are exclusively buying enchanted weaponry."
"No way."
"Yes way."
"Last I heard, sixty percent were buying medicinal potions and the rest were buying cursing talismans."
"That's roughly been the case for ages. But this time…" The tongue-man punched the bed softly and whispered, "This time it's different."
Vincent looked away for a few moments. Looking back at him, he asked, "How do you know that all these civilians are with this Devil's Hearth?"
Derek smiled. "The weapons are being accumulated at certain places."
'Ask him where,' Hugo demanded.
"Where?" Vincent asked.
"Three different locations, but that's gonna cost ya."
"Forget it then. Carry on."
"Ah, you cheap ass!" Derek waited a moment then explained, "They have a knack for Witchcraft and Magicism, and they've now been equipped with a hell of a lot of enhanced weaponry. They don't centre their operations anywhere and are yet to attack anyone. As of now they're just busy stealing stuff."
"Enhanced weaponry." Vincent gave him a flat look. "What kind?"
"Not that kind! I meant magic arrows that always hit the target, magic shields that Ki attacks can't penetrate, poison-tipped swords, and even some talismans and amulets of power."
Silence followed as Vincent sat with a bowed head pondering his next move. Derek lit up a cigarette then offered one to his guest who swiftly declined.
"What is it to you?" the tongue-man asked, observing the bounty hunter from head to toe.
"Reputation," Vincent replied then looked up.
"Really?"
"I took the bounty to recover remnants. I can't go back empty-handed."
"Ah, I see."
'Get him to reveal a location,' Hugo asked.
"I can't seem to figure out whether you are telling the truth or just misleading me," Vincent said, smiling and staring with a narrowed gaze.
Derek laughed. "I like you, kid," he said. "We have all night. Ask away and end all suspicion."
He took off the hat and pushed himself back. With both hands clasped behind his neck, he leaned back and rested his head on the headboard. As he brought one leg atop the other, he exclaimed, "Fire away!"
"Alright," Vincent leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs out. "Devil's Hearth, how do you know about them?"
"I buy information and sell it. I don't sell my providers."
"Then how can I know whether they are real or not?"
"I sell information. Do with it as you wish. I don't take any responsibilities."
"You say that the remnants have been fused."
"Yup."
"Theoretically, that would create a residual wave which can be felt on the moon. How is it that I never felt it?"
"Because they weren't smashed together."
"So, the Parliament didn't do it?"
"Nope."
"There is no other way of doing it then."
"There is one."
"Alchemy?"
The tongue-man smiled. "Aaa, so you know of it…"
"There are no Alchemists alive, Derek. Alchemy died centuries ago. Stop playing!"
"What's he doing?" Marcus asked.
"He's good," Hugo said. "He doesn't want to give his own position away. He doesn't want Derek to think he is desperate or in any sort of a weak position. Smart."
Derek nodded and said, "Then give me an explanation otherwise…"
"You're lying," Vincent said with a smile.
"Ha-ha-ha! That's a possibility, ain't it? But I can give you another explanation if you wanna know…"
"It'll cost me…"
"Yup."
"How much?"
"How much do you have?"
"Name your price, Derek."
"Alright… 1000 dollars."
"He doesn't have money, does he?" Camille asked.
"I'm not sure," Hugo replied.
Neil shook his head. "This is not going well," he said.
Vincent, on the other hand, smiled and leaned ahead. "You owe me for an entire bounty, snitch," he said. "I'd say I was entitled to at least 5000 dollars there. Those EU Cultists were out for your blood, remember?"
"EU?" asked Marcus.
"Eastern European Cults," Hugo replied.
"I've already given you enough, kid," Derek quickly replied.
"You have given me nothing!"
"What do you mean? I gave information about the remnants, I told about the Hearth, I already told you a lot more than I should've."
"You told me about remnants, yes. But where are they? I am asking for a location, not speculative theories about dead arcane arts. You talked about a movement that I never asked about. If they have a relation with the remnants, you failed to specify it. And you are now asking for money? Don't ever mistake me for a fool, wizard!"
Derek sat up straight. His expression changed. His gaze sharpened as he frowned. "Then after today," he said. "Consider us even."
"I wouldn't have it any other way…"
"The Devil's Hearth are being led by an Alchemist. I don't know his name, and I don't know where the remnants are, but he is the one after the remnants."
"To what end?"
"Simple. They want domination. They are getting ready to wage war on the Eye."
The White Bolt chuckled. "The Eye?" he asked. "Seriously? Even if they can effectively utilise the power of the Diamond, the Regal Palace already has the Xoitique Emerald and the Xoitique Void."
Derek smirked. "They don't."
"What do you mean they don't?"
"Think about it. When Ambris attacked, did they use any of the stones?"
"Not that I heard. But they wanted whatever remained of the Outsiders out of the Palace and the City of Ayn. They wanted to get rid of the Seekers and never opposed Ambris directly until all Seekers were dead."
"No. No." He shook his head. "That's beside the point. If they had them, they would've used them… before or after the Seekers doesn't matter."
"So, then where are they?"
"Remnants of the Diamond, Vincent. The other stones are not part of the deal."
"Fine. Anything else worth mentioning?"
"Yes, but this will be the last detail, boy."
"Sure."
"The Hearth has people inside the Eye."
"Oh, fuck you!" Vincent looked away as he leaned back. "Do you have any idea how obnoxiously careful they've been lately?" He looked back at Derek. "They're killing off anyone they can get their hands on. You think they'll let someone slip in just like that?"
"Oh, but they didn't let anyone slip recently."
"Then?"
"The infiltration began decades ago."
"How long has the Devil's Hearth been around?"
"I said that was the last thing…"
The White Bolt leaned ahead. "I am willing to pay you a thousand dollars if you tell me three things."
"Alright." The tongue-man nodded. "I'm interested."
"Tell me how old the Devil's Hearth movement is, give me a remnant related location, and give me one name inside the Palace."
"I've a feeling you know something…"
"I'm here to buy, Derek, not sell."
"Let's exchange names. And I'll give you the other two details for free."
"Hugo," Neil whispered.
"Hush," the captain said.
"Always an interesting time with you, man," Vincent said with a smile.
Derek giggled. "You always have extremely valuable items for me. And you know I'm a sucker for a good trade."
"Alright." Vincent shook his head as he cleared his throat. "But you have to go first."
"Fine." The tongue-man nodded. "I'll give you the name, then you'll give me the name, and then I'll tell you the rest."
"Deal."
With a deep breath, Derek said, "Adel Abayomi."
Vincent shrugged and said, "Hedish Norma."
"The Mystic?"
"Mm-hmm. And?"
"Oh, word amongst spiritually active black marketeers is that the remnants gathered somewhere in the south of the Iberian Peninsula recently… like just over 24 hours ago."
'That's where our European outpost is…' Hugo told Vincent.
"Can you be any more specific?" the White Bolt asked.
The tongue-man shook his head. "I'm afraid that's all I got."
"Carry on then…"
"The Devil's Hearth… they've been around for more than four decades now."
"You have got to be kidding me!"
"I don't joke, kid. And have I ever given you a reason to doubt me?"
'Vincent, get out of there,' Hugo said to the bounty hunter. 'He's working a different angle now.'
Vincent quickly got up. "Then I guess I'll be off," he said.
"Leaving so soon?" Derek asked as he too stood up. "You look like you're in a hurry to get somewhere…"
"Always too much to do and always so little time…"
"Well, be careful out there."
"You don't have to tell me that…"
"Nah, seriously." The tongue-man took a deep breath then nodded. "Trouble's never an arm's length these days, Vincent. You never know when you might find it around the next corner."
Ella ran off to her original hiding spot and waited. Very soon, Vincent and Derek walked out. Shaking hands, the two said their goodbyes and the bounty hunter left.
As soon as Derek walked back inside, Ella slipped from hiding and caught up with Vincent. The road back felt quieter than it should have.