“Evantra! Pardon me, Mordred, like the bellends say it. You made it! Did you enjoy your time off?”

  Evantra returned Clark Hallewell’s grin as the man strode up to her, clapping a sizeable hand on her shoulder. Turning to look around in the interior of the ship, it seemed as if Caliburn had pulled out all the stops for the celebration of a successful raid.

  They had turned the Ghostslayers’ multipurpose hall into the venue for the celebration. Ghostslayers, the operatives who attended the raid, as well as the staff aboard the barge, were crowding the area, waiting for Elaine Hallewell’s speech to kick things off. The people around her were dressed formally, as was Clark, looking as uncomfortable as ever in the tight, black suit she had first seen him wearing. She was beginning to suspect that the man had a single suit that he resorted to using.

  “Had a restful couple of days, spent some time with family, what did you get up to?”

  “Called the missus! Seems like the little ones are getting restless with me being away.”

  Evantra paused, hesitating at Clark’s words.

  “You know… I don’t think I ever asked, what are their names?”

  Clark’s face lit up at the question, and he didn’t hesitate a moment to withdraw the picture from within his jacket pocket.

  “This here’s Beth, Charlie and Aveline. Beth and Aveline are little devils. Charlie’s an angel, takes after his old man.”

  “Does that mean Charlie goes running at every Veilcreature he sees with a death wish?”

  Clark guffawed at her sardonic words, giving her another hefty clap on her back. Evantra couldn’t help but grin as the “gentle” nudge almost caused her to fall over with the strength of his push. Clark abashedly shot her an apologetic smile, his hands shooting out to steady her once he realised.

  “Think you’ll get to see them sometime soon?”

  “We’ve still got a ways to go. With the raid out of the way, Elaine wants to concentrate our efforts on the rocks again, total bollocks…” the man whispered under his breath, clearly appalled at his sister’s priorities.

  “Clark, I’ve got to ask… what exactly did we achieve on the raid?”

  Evantra felt her heart hammer in her chest as the words left her lips. If there was anyone that she would risk exposing her curiosity to, it was none of the Ghostslayers, but her sponsor himself. At least Clark appreciated her frankness, and she had little doubt that disclosing it to any of the other Ghostslayers could result in her words being passed on to Elaine.

  Or that was the hope.

  Clark scratched his beard, seemingly deep in thought.

  “We spotted the wyvern in the area, and Elaine was concerned that it would make its way down through the tunnels to interfere with our operations… just standard stuff. You deal with this all the time when you’re mining next to the lost territories, having to pre-emptively take out beasties that could interfere,” Clark said, nodding at her, before grinning and swiftly changing the topic.

  “Have you given any thought to what your cybernetic speciality should be? When I head back to the UK, you can bet I’ll be bringing you along to get outfitted.”

  Evantra returned an even smile, even as her thoughts whirled within.

  Clark is an excellent liar. I’m not so na?ve to believe that he’s unaware of their purposes here.

  “I was thinking about invisibility, like Stephanie. Do you have any thoughts?”

  Clark hummed, nodding his lips as his eyes narrowed, mulling over her question.

  “Augmenting your legs could make you really quick and versatile – something that our team lacks at the moment. Maybe your sight? Though you’re a really good shot already, you’ll become an even better one if we outfit you with the right optics.”

  “I’ve heard that there are… special cybernetic—”

  “AH!”

  Clark’s exclamation caused a few of the operatives surrounding them to give them a curious glance, and Clark apologetically waved to them before turning back to Evantra. His eyes were alight with barely contained excitement.

  “How could you have forgotten, you dullard! Yes, I can absolutely push to see what we’ve got available. After your performance in the raid, it’ll be an easy sell,” Clark grinned.

  “Can you tell me what’s involved in the process?”

  “Ah, well, I’m not too across the whole process myself, my uncle’s gotten augmented with a couple of the special parts… but I know that he had our R&D division in overtime trying to get them working for him.”

  Evantra nodded with a smile.

  I’m starting to think that he’s just more convincing than his sister.

  There’s no way he doesn’t know about the process.

  “In any case, we’ll have to get you to Birmingham to get fixed right up, and we can have a look at what’s on offer. I’ll call ahead and let you know what they tell me. Let me do that right now.”

  As Clark departed, Evantra made her way to the bar at the corner of the hall where the Ghostslayers were seated.

  ***

  Six hours ago.

  It was the day after the picnic, and Caliburn’s celebration was scheduled for that evening. They had extensively discussed what elements of the plan were and weren’t in their control. Evantra stared at the metal detector in her grip, which they had purchased from Gale’s Gunstore, and set it down with a sigh. She also hefted the sizeable, black purse that Noelle had obtained for her.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  They had come to the unfortunate conclusion that while there were a lot of elements in play which would assist them in obtaining the artefact, there were too many variables that were squarely out of their control. Compounded by the fact that between preparation for the raid, the raid itself and Guinevere implicitly forbidding her from roaming the barge in her downtime, Evantra had not been able to put together a sufficient plan of action.

  They had concluded that if things got too risky, they would simply have to bail and try again once Evantra resumed her usual training schedule with Caliburn. Still, it was paramount that they managed to remove the catalyst from Caliburn’s grip as soon as they could manage it.

  Her success hinged on her ability to improvise.

  And of course, plenty of luck.

  Finally, it was time for a crucial step in their plan.

  One of the few aspects of their heist that they did have control over.

  “I’ve never been to a corporate event before. You’re going to have to give me the rundown, Twig.”

  “If you thought going out into the Veilsurges were dangerous, corporate parties are a whole other beast. This is as tame as it gets, hosted on a mining barge. Still, it’s a corporate event, and it shouldn’t be underestimated. Thankfully for you, Clark and Elaine are likely to be the only big movers and shakers present; I doubt other Caliburn execs will be making their way down there. Even so, it’s one that you are sorely equipped to deal with,” Noelle replied dryly. “If there was ever a time that your cover would be most easily blown, it’s at this party.”

  Evantra nodded, her brows furrowed.

  “Is it really that big of a deal? I mean—”

  Noelle stared at her flatly, and Evantra raised her hands in defence.

  “You’re introverted to your very soul, and at this party, you need to be seen to be enjoying yourself to throw off their attention. I don’t care what they told you. The codename they gave you was Mordred, the character in Arthurian myths best known for backstabbing his father – Arthur Pendragon. Take the initiative to shmooze up to people, and as the night goes on, and you realise that the Ghostslayers are paying a little less attention to you, that’s when you go for the artefact.”

  “Right…”

  “The first thing you should do is network. Be insufferable, to the point where people actively try to avoid you. There’s nothing more annoying than someone hellbent on people-pleasing their way into corporate success.”

  “And… how do I do that?”

  “If you’re struggling, find common ground. Talk about your hobbies.”

  “Vintage gaming and hypercars,” Evantra nodded slowly, struggling to follow along with Noelle’s thought process. Her background as a heiress of Demeteria Corporation was certainly paying its dividends. Noelle stared at her before deflating.

  “Vintage gaming and hypercars are just going to have to cut it.”

  After getting ready, they got into Evantra’s Himetachi and drove towards the city centre. Carmen’s apartment viewing in Bastion was scheduled for another four hours away, which meant that they had to purchase an appropriate dress for the event quickly.

  Evantra pulled up to the curb, and they made towards a line of shops down the road from Adeline’s bookstore. Casting a brief glance at it, Evantra could see that it had been cleared out. No doubt, Adeline had shipped her stock over to Lagos, where she was settling down. Evantra’s lips flattened into a thin line before she refocused her attention on their current goal.

  “Alright. Where to nex—”

  Evantra yelped as Noelle latched onto her wrist, pulling the girl abruptly towards a store of her choice. Noelle whispered under her breath as she systematically ruled out dress after dress, until finally abruptly coming to a stop. Tracing her gaze, Evantra raised an eyebrow as she took the black dress into her hands.

  “Excuse me, I’m afraid those dresses are out of your price range.”

  A nasal, high-pitched voice called out at their rear.

  Evantra and Noelle ignored it, poring over the dress instead.

  “Ahem. I—”

  “That’s a shame. You’re looking at Caliburn’s latest up-and-coming Ghostslayer. We’ll take our business elsewhere.”

  Evantra watched, her lips slightly parted in awe as she watched the store attendant sputter, seeming to trip over herself as Noelle smoothly made to leave the store.

  “WAIT! N-now hold on a minute, y-you work for Caliburn? As a Ghostslayer?”

  She said the word reverently, and Evantra merely met the woman’s eyes with an even gaze. She chose not to dignify the attendant’s question with a response.

  “It just occurred to me that there are delivery services that can get a dress to us from Elsecaller city within the da—”

  “HOLD ON A MOMENT! My apologies, I’m so very sorry for my crass words. Allow me to properly apologise,” the woman smoothly stepped forward and rounded on Noelle, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder to guide her away from the exit.

  “How much?”

  Noelle pointed at the dress in Evantra’s hands, having assumed an expression halfway between mild dissatisfaction and outright annoyance.

  It was masterful, really.

  “W-well, this is nothing like the mass-produced trash you would find in Elsecaller. I’d place it at around 200 ectocred—”

  “Come.”

  “PLEASE WAIT.”

  The assistant seemed to take a shuddering intake of breath before giving Evantra a close once over. The anxiety in her expression faded, giving way to expert judgment. It seemed as if she was assessing her for her suitability to be a representative of their business. The attendant slowly nodded.

  “We’ll give it to you for a hundred. Tell anyone who asks at your… corporate event, where you purchased the dress. If you can do that, we have a deal.”

  Noelle frowned, almost giving the poor attendant a heart attack, before nodding. Evantra stared at Noelle with begrudging admiration as she accepted the dress from the attendant.

  “For someone that doesn’t know the value of money,” Evantra whispered under her breath, “this superpower is utterly wasted on you.”

  Noelle turned towards her, her expression calm as she whispered back.

  “I think you’re right! I don’t know the value of money. After all, I did sell my apartment to pay for your treatment. Definitely shouldn’t have wasted my ectocreds on that.”

  Noelle didn’t even blink.

  She gestured to the dress as Evantra stared at her open-mouthed, still reeling from her blow.

  “Try it on.”

  After a few minutes in the changing room, she walked out and watched the attendant’s eyes widen. It was the distinct look that a salesman assumed when they knew that their efforts were going to net them quite the bonus.

  Noelle nodded briskly and delivered her words with brutal efficiency.

  “You look like the goth mommy that’s every full dive nerd’s wet dream. It’ll do.”

  ***

  Present hour – aboard the Spirit of Nimue

  “My, Mordred. You dress up nicely. Black is your colour.”

  It was a far superior compliment to the one she had received from Noelle, which she resented. Stephanie’s compliment was much more fitting, similar to the dress she wore.

  Guinevere had adorned an elegant emerald dress that accentuated the curve of her body. But that was far from the most eye-catching feature of her getup. Evantra stared at the woman’s arms and legs. Instead of the dark, black synthetic skin that she expected, it was beige, blending in effortlessly with her face. Her face heated when Stephanie smiled, seeming to catch her lingering gaze.

  “It has a wide colour gamut – but I reserve it for special occasions.”

  “Thanks. I like your dress as well. Where did you get it?”

  Stephanie smiled.

  “Made it myself.”

  Evantra just stared at the woman as she laughed at her expression.

  “Ghostslayers are allowed to have hobbies, you know?”

  She was interrupted by the arrival of Lancelot and Galahad. Roderick was wearing a classy and simple black tuxedo, and a dark golden rose lapel pin attached to his suit collar. It was more unassuming attire by comparison to what the other men were wearing. Especially when contrasted with Steve, who was wearing a shimmering blue suit jacket with a dark, black dress shirt underneath.

  “You fit right in, lass!”

  Steve laughed as he handed her a drink.

  By comparison to their outfits, Evantra’s was nowhere near as figure-hugging as Guinevere’s. It was a simple, matte black item with a relatively high cut out along her thigh, which exposed a single shoulder. Paired with the characteristic misty, white eyes of the Wraithmarked, she supposed she could see where Noelle was coming from.

  Most importantly, though, it afforded her the mobility she required.

  Gripping the sizeable, black purse in her hands to match, she turned towards the stage as Elaine Hallewell began her speech.