“Thank you, one and all, for attending Caliburn’s celebration for a successful raid venture.”

  Elaine Hallwell paused, smiling cordially as her words were greeted with a spattering of applause. She inclined her head, signalling her intention to continue, and the lingering sounds of applause vanished.

  “Having felled the wyvern and thinned out the Veilcreature presence, our mining efforts are sure to continue smoothly with the decline in threats. None of this would have been possible without your hard work. Our endeavours have proven to be exceedingly fruitful, and your loyalty and dedication will be rewarded with the elevation of our house.”

  Evantra turned towards Clark, who was standing beside Steve, a drink in his hand, while his eyes were on Elaine.

  “Did you speak to him about your speciality,” Guinevere whispered into Evantra’s ear, almost giving her a heart attack.

  “He said he would look into ‘special’ cybernetics you mentioned.”

  Guinevere gave her an approving smile before leaning back in her chair, as Elaine continued.

  “Our short but lucrative tenure in Wisptown will soon be coming to an end, and we appreciate all of your sacrifice and hard work. Without further ado, please enjoy the celebration.”

  Following her brief speech was a healthy spattering of applause, before the attendants began to mingle. Evantra nodded to a few of the soldiers that she recognised as having accompanied her on the raid, before making her way straight for Elaine.

  Her passage, unbeknownst to her, attracted the attention of passerbys, and certainly the attention of the Ghostslayers sitting at the bar, who were angled in her direction.

  “Nice speech, Elaine.”

  Elaine Hallewell turned to face her. They were similarly dressed, if only in terms of shallow, aesthetic quality. To match her own black dress, Elaine sported a shimmering dress that seemed to flow like shadowed mist, with golden highlights in its folds.

  “You have my undying gratitude, Mordred,” the woman sneered, before her curiosity overcame her. She seemed to stare expectantly at Evantra as the girl cleared her throat, shifting from one foot to another.

  Darn it Noelle, this is much harder than you made it out to be.

  “Do you… like cars?”

  Elaine Hallewell frowned.

  “Are you trying to make small talk with me?”

  The woman burst out into laughter and Evantra felt her cheeks warm as she flushed. Glancing to her right, she saw the Ghostslayers laughing in their corner, their gazes directed towards her.

  Ok… maybe I should have been a bit more subtle. Should I have been a bit more subtle?

  “I do happen to like cars, though I don’t imagine they’re any that you’re familiar with.”

  Evantra turned, staring in utter shock at Elaine’s words. Then, the anxiety that had been building in her veins, nagging at her, making her restless since the moment she had made it to the party immediately dissipated. It was precisely the same feeling she was visited with when she hosted her sermons, under the scrutiny of judging eyes, albeit to a much lesser degree than at present.

  A challenge? Now that I can handle.

  “Bring it.”

  “Oh?”

  Elaine withdrew her phone from within the folds of her dress – which was how Evantra knew that it was squarely out of her own price range – before the woman showed her the screen.

  “Seraphim’s Sariel line. Mark 1. This is vintage. Wait… is this yours?”

  Evantra barely prevented her jaw from hanging open as Elaine seemed to reciprocate with a look of begrudging confusion. The woman didn’t respond, merely flicking to the next photo.

  “Alright… we’re moving away from Seraphim. Vahana Motor’s Garuda. This was their most recent release… wait a minute, it isn’t even supposed to be out yet, you got your hands on this?”

  Elaine’s frown only deepened before she snatched away her phone, her eyes lingering on Evantra in confusion. Without another word, she strode away from Evantra, making her way out of the multipurpose hall.

  Great going, Evantra.

  Excellent corporate networking right there.

  Raucous laughter could be heard over where the Ghostslayers were sitting, courtesy of Steve and Clark’s combined efforts, although it seemed even Stephanie had joined in.

  They were all staring at her.

  Evantra strode back over to them with a sheepish smile, this time, taking the opportunity to dodge when Clark’s hand came down for a hearty smack.

  “I have never seen my sister look so confused after a social interaction in my life,” Clark wiped a tear from his eye as he struggled to steady his breathing. “Usually, she either looks like she wants to murder the person she’s talking to or take advantage of them in some way. You broke her, you’re bloody brilliant.”

  Evantra cleared her throat as Steve’s laughter redoubled, drawing looks from the surrounding attendees.

  “Lass, you need to tell us how you did it. What did you talk about?”

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Uhh… cars?”

  ***

  The rest of Evantra’s night passed uneventfully. She dutifully spoke to as many people as she could, keeping a discreet eye out for Guinevere, who mainly stayed with the Ghostslayers. True to Noelle’s words, it seemed like their interest in her activities lessened significantly after her brush-up with Elaine, and her subsequent efforts. She even managed to nip away to her quarters to make preparations for an additional contingency.

  Her moment came when she noticed Guinevere discreetly leave the group gathered at the Ghostslayer’s bar.

  She’s heading back up for her guard shift. No rest for the wicked.

  Evantra carefully watched the crowd where she lingered outside of the women’s restrooms. Just as she expected, there was a long line to the restrooms, seeing as how most of the ship’s personnel were crowded into a single floor. It was simple logistics. Following one enterprising woman, who noticed the same, she followed her into the lift going to the top floor.

  The lift doors opened, and Evantra felt her heartbeat begin to race.

  Guinevere was standing at parade rest to the side of Clark and Elaine’s office.

  She wasn’t replaced with an organic guard. The plan is still on foot.

  The doors were open. Just as they always had been every time Evantra had visited the office in the past.

  Evantra emerged from the lift, making eye contact with Guinevere with one hand clutching her stomach, and her face contorted in apparent discomfort. She watched the Ghostslayer’s lips curve upwards into a wry smile.

  If I had any plans on maintaining a professional relationship with them… this would be social suicide.

  “Enjoy your dump, Mordred. I like the restrooms up here too. Nice and clean. They won’t be after you’re done, I’m sure.”

  Evantra flicked off her mentor, trailing the other woman as she entered the toilet in a hurry, as if she didn’t have the liberty to spare a witty retort.

  Evantra waited in her stall, briefly bringing up her interface, before activating the [ritual of concealment].

  Ghostslayer Rank: Ghoul (Level 8)

  Catalyst: Darkstalker (level 1)

  ·  [Razor claws]

  ·  [Darkvision]

  ·  [Clot acceleration]

  Catalyst: Ionian Mimic (level 5)

  ·  [Conceal]

  ·  [Object mimicry]

  ·  [Stonerooted]

  Reserve catalysts:

  ·  Mistheart (Level 8)

  Rituals:

  ·  [Ritual of consumption]

  ·  [Ritual of Veilsight]

  ·  [Ritual of concealment]

  Veilsouls: 65

  [Ritual of concealment]

  Veilsouls remaining: 55

  When she heard the woman exit, she timed her exit alongside her, and trailed her, slipping out as the door closed. To anyone watching the security cameras – it gave the impression that she had never left the bathroom.

  It wasn’t a perfect plan.

  If Caliburn interviewed people who had visited the floor, there was always the chance that the other woman would mention her presence. Still, they had little choice in the matter and were operating under constraints with their ability to plan and shape the environment to their benefit. The best that she could do was to try to be as inconspicuous as possible, such that none of the women even noticed her. In that regard, it seemed like she was successful so far.

  [Conceal]

  Just in case.

  Evantra slowed, allowing the woman to pass ahead of her. When she heard the lift doors close, she turned the corner. Guinevere was standing at parade rest like before, cybernetic eyes fixed on a point in the wall in front of her.

  Every step that Evantra took towards her had her heart racing. She kept close to the wall, out of the cone of Guinevere’s vision, in the off-chance that Guinevere noticed the slight depressions in the carpet caused by her footsteps.

  After what seemed like an eternity, Evantra turned into Elaine’s office, the Ghostslayer none the wiser to her presence. Sweeping her eyes around it, she promptly walked to the side of the doorway, in an attempt to break line of sight. Anyone without optics would still be able to glimpse her with [ritual of concealment] active.

  Where would Elaine have stored the—

  “Yes, uncle. The diversion was removed, we should be able to resume our efforts in pinpointing and obtaining the artefact within a few days, with directionality restored. What Guinevere encountered—”

  Before Evantra could react, she watched as Elaine walked into her office, closing the door shut behind her. Evantra was frozen, but quickly realised that Elaine’s optics weren’t capable of detecting her either. She slowly relaxed, moving silently into a corner of the room and falling into a crouch.

  “Yes, yes of course. Yes, it still appears to be shifting in location, it is likely in the possession of a Veilcreature. It was why we needed to remove the confounding factor in the ruins.”

  Elaine’s tone was nothing like Evantra had ever heard before. There was not a hint of acidity or arrogance in her voice, which instead assumed an unfailingly cordial tone that promised unfettered subservience and the patience to carry out whatever was asked of her. Evantra heard a hint of disappointment linger in Elaine’s tone before it was masterfully smoothed over.

  She watched as Elaine crouched behind her desk, and she heard sequential beeping that preceded the sound of a click that permeated the room. She watched as Elaine removed a hexagonal black case, placing it gingerly on the table.

  She kept it in a safe… There’s no way I would have been able to access it.

  Is she taking it with her?

  “The ritual will continue as planned.”

  Evantra’s blood froze in its tracks, and she felt an intense chill run down her spine.

  “Yes, we are on schedule. As you said, time is of the essence if we are to ensure that we don’t draw the attention of the other corporations. We have ensured that the investigation was sufficiently stifled, with no leads tracing back to us. No hard evidence that they could use to put the other corporations on notice. I don’t doubt that there are other corporate agents in Wisptown investigating our activities, but in the slew of slum murders the town experiences, this is nothing out of the norm. My lord, you have arranged for multiple such concurrent exploratory operations, our activities here will not be seen as an anomal—”

  Elaine paused, frowning, but Evantra could not detect even the hint of an edge to her tone.

  “Yes, my lord, we have tested its efficacy in the past, and we are certain it will be sufficient for our purposes. The ritual will be executed flawlessly. Of course, thank you. May honour prevail.”

  Evantra could hear Elaine’s voice waver. She seemed disquieted by the conversation.

  “I need a drink.”

  She walked hastily towards the door, pushing them open and leaving the hexagonal case on the desk. Evantra heard the telltale chime of the lift as it reached the top floor.

  Elaine’s conversation confirms it.

  The trove seeker was being used to seek out artefacts, and the appearance of the mistheart threw off directionality, just as we suspected.

  More crucially… the ritual hasn’t occurred yet. The murders were accruing in preparation for the artefact that they’re aiming to obtain from their mining efforts.

  We can still avert it if we act now. By removing the trove seeker from the equation, Caliburn won’t be able to track the movement of the other artefact they’re trying to locate. At the very least… it will buy some time for Trevor to intercede.

  Whatever it is… we need to act now.

  Evantra rushed as quietly as she could to Elaine’s desk when the notification appeared in her vision once more.

  CATALYST DETECTED

  ·  Catalyst of the Trove Seeker

  Evantra slowly undid the catch of the hexagonal black case to find a rusted, golden compass within. She extracted it, closing the case and stood to the side, out of the line of sight of the open doors.

  The compass was large, about the circumference of her palm. Barring its disproportionate size, there was nothing about it that suggested that it possessed qualities like the other relics she had previously encountered.

  Elaine will notice that it’s missing as soon as she returns.

  I need to act fast.

  Here goes nothing.

  [Razor claws]

  Evantra pricked the tip of her finger, watching a small drop of blood well at its tip. She tapped her finger to the surface of the golden compass and activated her ritual.

  [Ritual of consumption]

  INSUFFICIENT LEVEL

  Crap.