Yeo was having a particularly bad day. He’d barely made any progress in his cultivation the night before, and he woke with an annoying tweak in his side. Whenever he tried to practice any of his techniques, nothing felt like it came as smoothly or naturally as it had before.
After several hours of fruitless practice, he threw his hands up and stuffed his weapons back into his belt. For once, he couldn’t bring himself to practice any longer, so he headed out to Hound’s.
His favorite booth near the back was already taken, so he flopped into one of the hard chairs and covered a yawn as he scanned through the menu. The restaurant was busier than normal, and it took nearly ten minutes just for the waitress to realize that he was there. She hurried over, handing him a menu and giving him an embarrassed smile.
“Sorry. I didn’t realize you’d sat down.”
“It’s fine. I was distracted anyway,” Yeo replied, refusing the menu with a shake of his head. “Don’t need that though. I’ll have the blueberry pancakes.”
The waitress winced. “Sorry. We’re out of flour. And blueberries.”
Yeo scrunched his nose. “Figures. Uh… the Golden Skewers then? Those sound interesting.”
“Of course. I’ll have those right out,” she promised. The waitress turned toward the kitchen just as another waiter passed by her carrying a pot of tea and a dozen cheese pastries on a platter. He jerked to a halt to avoid the waitress and the tea and pastries pitched off the platter, splashing Yeo. A pastry landed square on his chest and slid down, leaving a trail of cheese.
The waiter and waitress’ eyes grew to the size of a goldfish’s and they scrambled to apologize, grabbing a napkin and wiping Yeo off as he sat there, a bemused expression on his face.
“I’m so, so sorry,” the waitress said for what was probably the fiftieth time. She patted pointlessly at his chest with her napkin, not doing much more than smearing the cheese even more.
“At least the tea wasn’t scalding,” Yeo replied with a grin. He gently took the napkin from her hands. “How about that food? Don’t worry about my clothes. I’ve gotten them dirtier when training.”
The waitress swallowed and nodded, darting off to the kitchen. The rest of the restaurant, many of whom had been watching the exchange with undisguised amusement, finally turned their attention back to their own food.
Yeo tossed the soiled napkin onto the table and drummed his fingers on the wood. He could practically feel Chance’s wordless approval. A tiny laugh slipped out of his lips before he could stop it. Only Chance would be proud of someone for getting food spilled all over them and not getting angry.
A shadow fell over his table, and he glanced up. A white haired Shikari stood over him.
“Jorgin?” Yeo asked. “Funny seeing you here, but I’m not getting a good feeling from it. Whatever you think I did, I probably didn’t do it.”
“No,” Jorgin replied, sitting down across from Yeo. A faint chill danced over Yeo’s skin and his eyes narrowed. All the sound from the diners had vanished. He glanced to the side, but he already knew what he would find. Everyone was gone. He’d gotten pulled into a Ward, but he hadn’t even felt it.
Yeo locked eyes with Jorgin as the man’s eyes changed, turning the pale blue of cold winter ice. Yeo sighed and nodded down to his clothes. “Do you really have to do this today? I’m clearly a little busy.”
“Now is not the time for your buffoonery. There are serious matters unfolding. Perhaps I was overzealous with your team assignment.”
“Did you kill Jorgin?” Yeo asked, tapping a finger on the table to the beat of a silent song in his ear. “I kind of liked him. I hope you didn’t.”
“The Shikari is perfectly fine. I am simply borrowing his body with the aid of another Cultivator.”
“I was going to ask about that. I didn’t remember you having any shapeshifting or body control abilities. He won’t remember this then, right? If so, mind handing me a gold or two from his purse? He won’t miss them.”
“Enough,” Jorgin growled. “There is no need to keep the act up when it’s just the two of us. It grates on my nerves.”
Yeo’s face flattened. “I’d really rather not. What do you want? What does this have to do with my team?”
“The Preservation cultivator was deeply involved with Vex.”
“Yes, I’m aware. I was under the impression that we wouldn’t be having any more trouble from him.” Yeo examined his fingernails and licked a speck of cheese that had escaped his attention off them. He grimaced. It was too salty.
“The impression was wrong. He has come to Gleam.”
“That’s problematic, but I hardly see how it necessitates a visit. I thought we were pretty clear about not talking until the Shikari saw me as a Knight. You’re really ruining my fun here, you know.”
“Forget your fun. Vex has partnered with the Balancer, and Yamish is here.”
Yeo’s eye twitched. “What? Yamish is helping Vex? That’s… bad. Even if it’s just a clone.”
Jorgin shook his head grimly. “Not the clone. The true Yamish was in Gleam. He is aiding Vex for the sole purpose of exiling Bella and his student.”
Yeo couldn’t stop the surprise from washing over his face. “Impossible. He was teaching Chance.”
“He considers this teaching. Yamish cares nothing for the lives of anyone else, and you are now caught in their idiocy. The Shikari will be coming for you shortly. Yamish has assured me that the trouble will only last for several months, but it is imperative that you do not get caught. I am loathe to play my hand at this point, so I would prefer to avoid aiding you if possible.”
“Yamish has – wait. You were talking to Yamish?”
“He was the one who aided me in temporarily taking this body.”
“Why are you working with Yamish?” Yeo demanded. “Does he know?”
“He knows much. I do not know how much. I do not care. He has no interest in you beyond what Chance does.” Jorgin pressed his lips together and shoved a finger into Yeo’s chest. “I trust you can see the urgency of this matter. The Shikari have sent an assassin to kill Bella and Chance. It is likely that there is one coming for you as well.”
“Shit,” Yeo cursed, jumping to his feet and slapping his palms against the table. “When? Where?”
“They are not your concern. Yamish has mandated that you avoid interfering with this. He sees it as training for Chance.”
Yeo bit his lower lip and lowered back into his seat. “What a pain. Things were just starting to get exciting. You’re sure everything will be fine in a few months? If I have to start all over in another city, I’m genuinely going to be furious.”
“I do not believe Yamish was lying,” Jorgin said with a small shrug. “Nobody can know for sure. Yamish cares for nothing but his own goals. Vex was a fool to abide by any terms he set.”
“Says the person using one of Yamish’s techniques to puppet a body.”
Jorgin winced. “It was a favor for Chance, from what he said. I shudder to think who had to pay the toll for that favor. I trust it will not be wasted on you.”
Yeo sighed. “Yeah. I got the picture, Sensei. I’ll lay low and then regroup with Chance and Bella when they return. Man, this is going to be so boring.”
“You could always take it as an opportunity to gain some solo training for your Metal path. I saw you in the tournament, by the way. Very impressive.”
“Thanks. I think I’m finally getting the hang of it. Much cooler than your stupid path.”
“Idiot. You’ll use my stupid path if you have any plans of surviving the assassin,” Jorgin said, rolling his eyes. He rose to his feet. “I will leave. We have spent time enough. Deal with the assassin and escape. I need to return this body. I trust you will be safe?”
Yeo snorted, not bothering to answer the question. Jorgin shook his head and strode out of Hound’s. The Ward dropped a few moments later, and sound rushed back into the diner. Yeo’s waitress glanced at him, still wearing a shameful expression on her face.
“Sorry,” Yeo said. “Pulled into a Ward. Some Soothound was walking around in the area. Got dealt with before I could even find it.”
“You shouldn’t be the one apologizing,” the waitress said. “I talked to my manager, and he’ll be putting your meal on the house today. I’ll go get it for you.”
“That’s sweet. Thank you.” Yeo beamed at her, and she shuffled off to go get a plate of greasy skewers from the kitchen countertop. She brought it over to his table very carefully, taking each step with deliberate intention before she slowly lowered the food safely. “Please enjoy. Sorry.”
She skittered away, but Yeo had already forgotten about her. He plucked one of the skewers from the plate and popped it into his mouth, pulling every piece of meat off and revealing the wooden rod.
The food was really quite good. Not as good as blueberry pancakes, though. He’d been craving those. He spun the skewer in his fingers and picked up another one, chewing thoughtfully.
He cocked his head to the side and a faint shudder ran through his body. A grimace passed over his lips and he polished the last of the meat on his skewer off before rising and stepping away from his table.
An electric current thrummed through Hound’s, washing over Yeo’s body. He let it take him, and everyone vanished for the second time in a few minutes. The door shattered as a black clad man charged into the room, a jagged blade in each of his hands.
If he was surprised to see Yeo already standing, he didn’t show it. The man blurred toward him, black energy covering his weapons as he swung them toward Yeo’s neck, aiming to end him with a single blow.
Yeo leaned back, allowing the blades to pass just over his nose. The wind from their passing rustled his hair. His hand slipped into his coat pocket and he pulled out a thin black handle. It unfurled, transforming into a slender blade.
The assassin slashed at Yeo again, raising his other sword defensively to deflect Yeo’s counterattack. Yeo shifted to the side and the blade carved past his cheek, leaving a thin line of blood along it.
No clang ever came from his sword striking his opponent’s. Instead, there was a wet squelch. The assassin stared down in disbelief at the blade protruding from his heart. The blade of his sword clattered to the ground, cut into two clean pieces.
Yeo pulled the blade from the man with no resistance. As it left, life slipped from the assassin’s eyes. His skin dried and grew taut, and he crumpled to the ground without a single drop of moisture left in his withered corpse.
The blade folded back into the hilt and Yeo tucked the strange weapon back into his pocket.
“Forget Gleam. I hope Hound’s lets me back in,” Yeo muttered. “I really liked this place.”
The Ward collapsed, its owner dead, and the door reshaped itself as people reappeared all around him. Yeo plucked another skewer from his plate. By the time someone spotted the dead Shikari and the screaming started, Yeo was already stepping out of the door.
Hopefully, there wouldn’t be too many Shikari after him. This was going to put a serious black mark on his burgeoning fame. Then again, perhaps it was for the best. Every truly famous person had at least one massive scandal lying under the carpet somewhere.
He vanished into the crowded streets of Gleam, whistling to himself as the screams for help coming from within Hound’s grew louder.