The Azra-El Series Ch. 18.1

"Any particular reason?"

"She's in love, apparently," Siofra answered for him.

"I met Lynn, again," he explained to Jie Er. "And no, I don't love her," he pointedly told Siofra.

"Oh yeah?" Siofra asked him sarcastically. "I guess I was dreaming of you singing, ~Are we really in love, or dazed and confused, in your sleep," she sang in a squeaky grating voice. Siofra was terrible at singing. "There was also something about taking a walk on the clouds and falling asleep on the moon."

"Yep. Definitely a dream. Those dumb lyrics can't be mine," he denied categorically, but he couldn't hide the embarrassment on his face.

"It's alright, Blaze Er," Jie Er told him kindly. "That's how you are supposed to feel. Go meet her again. One less day of training won't do you any harm. Just don't repeat Siofra's performance from last night."

The rest of the day was spent in rigorous training. However, Blaze couldn't concentrate. His thoughts ran wild and butterflies filled his stomach.

Later that evening, as he headed out at around half-past-five in the evening, Siofra screamed at his departing form. "Make sure you don't faint when she kisses you! I won't be around to catch you!"

Just wait until I meet the pixie princess, you pesky pixie.

***

Blaze found Lynn at the town center, dressed in a black skirt, a sleeveless white top, and a black fedora. Hundreds of angels bustled around the marketplace, but her pretty figure was distinguishable even from a thousand feet in the air. He dearly wished to see her without her disguise.

She spotted him in the sky and flew up to meet him in mid-air.

"Do you want to soar around the Uluru Pena? I hear the sunset from there is magnificent," he asked. Once again, there were no clouds in the sky.

"That would be amazing, but I called you out for something else," she said, taking his hand and leading him to a ledge against the top floor of the town hall. A couple of stone centaurs placed on either side of the ledge peered down at the crowds below. The duo sat between the sculptures and gazed at the sunset before Lynn began speaking.

"I am sure you've wondered about all the subterfuge I involve myself in," she said, glancing down at her knees and gently rocking back and forth.

"Obviously."

"You can say that I am a spy of sorts," she muttered softly.

"Is this a joke?"

"No."

Blaze observed her face. He couldn't say that he was completely surprised. "Who are you spying on?"

"A very bad group of Malakim."

Blaze raised a skeptical eyebrow. Her words sounded like the perfect trap for him. "Who do you work for?" he asked.

"I can't tell you right now, but I can assure you that this is not some elaborate ploy to get to you. Our meeting here was a mere coincidence."

"Then why did you mention it?"

"To be honest, I am not quite sure," she shook head. "I have a mission tonight, and I will be leaving after that."

She fell silent for a few moments before turning and looking into his eyes. As usual, he couldn't look away. "I guess I wanted to spend a little more time with you. Take you along on my mission if you're willing. I could use your help."

Blaze narrowed his eyes at her. She seemed quite flustered and her cheeks were red like she was asking him on a date, and not a potentially dangerous assignment. Nothing about the whole thing made any sense. "Do you realize how insane you sound?" he finally asked her.

"Yes."

Blaze sighed. "Even if you are indeed a spy, why would you think that I would believe any of this?"

"I don't know!" she sighed, shuffling uncomfortably. "I just thought you would."

Oh God! This sounds like such a honey trap. But he couldn't say an outright no to her and to her Hela damned eyes.

"I promise you won't be in any danger," she continued. "My people are powerful, and they will be watching from outside. All we have to do is sneak into the mayor's mansion and steal a ledger.

Even if you don't believe in my people, the mayor's group will never hurt you if you reveal that you are the Blazing Fury. You can just say that you were misled by me. In fact, they will probably let you go with a warning and use the incident to make you owe them one," she explained in a hurry. "I-

"Wait," Blaze raised his hand. "I have no idea what's going on here. Explain it to me. Why are we stealing from the mayor? She doesn't sound half bad if all she does on catching a spy is letting them go with a warning."

"Sorry. Let me try again. I've never done this before," she said, calming down.

She slowly explained to him about the group she was working against. The mayor was a high-ranking member of the Malakim, but more importantly, she was also a member of an underground group called The Princeps. Their ideology was that power was not a means to an end, but the end itself. They did anything to gain power, and their members were entrenched in all strata of Azra-El's societies and queendoms.

"Why would I not be in any danger from such people?" Blaze asked after hearing about some of their tales of murder and deceit.

"Because you will be a means to more power."

"Ok... Another question. How are they any different from... let's say, the Malakim? I've heard of the Grey Ones offing people who opposed the Malakim," he asked. Things were proceeding too fast and his mind couldn't process all the information that was suddenly dumped on him.

"Very different. The Malakim at least believe that they are working towards a better future. Power is just a tool for the final goal. The Princeps only care for themselves and controlling the lives of the angels around them," she explained with a venom in her voice that was not lost on Blaze.

"How can they remain in power with such an ideology? Wouldn't most of them become tainted?" he asked. Tainted wings were easy to spot once they were materialized. Even the Malakim did not give their Grey Ones any public positions of power. All the powerful Grey Ones worked from the shadows.

"They seem to have invented a concoction that helps with that. We managed to obtain some of it and tested it out. It works, but we can neither figure out how it is made nor find out who makes it. That's why we need the ledger. We may be able to trace out the supply chain."

"So, they can make any tainted angel untainted?"

"No. The stuff we found is not that strong, but the Princeps probably have a stronger version."

"This sounds extremely important," Blaze shook his head. "Why is your group making us do this?"

"Because we will be the least conspicuous. The mayor's daughter is hosting a meeting for the Young Malakim Cadet Association. It is just a veneer for the initiation ceremony that The Princeps will be conducting inside mansion. We will be able to attend the YMCA meeting whilst pretending to be young Malakim. The mayor's daughter, Clara, already knows me as one. The hard part will be to sneak into the mayor's office and search for the ledger."

"I am not trying to be conceited, but you know that this whole thing still sounds like an elaborate trap designed to lure me in, right?" Blaze asked her frankly.

"You're right," she replied and fell silent.

Blaze looked at Lynn with disbelief. He was reckless but he would never do something as stupid as Lynn was suggesting. However, he remembered Jie Er telling him that he should spend time with his potential Kindred.

He was pretty sure Jie Er's words did not apply to going on a random spy mission and putting himself at mortal risk, but when he looked at Lynn's somewhat forlorn figure, he could only take one decision.

"What the heck," he finally said. "Let's do it. I've been keeping away from trouble for far too long. It's bad for my image," he said, manifesting his wings. He quickly reached for Lynn's fedora and took it before jumping off the ledge.

Hovering in the air, he adjusted the fedora on his own head and said, "But you have to prove to me that the mayor is indeed bad. Otherwise, I will just make a big fuss and prevent you from stealing anything."

He glanced back and found Lynn smiling at him. "I think it looks good on you," she said, pulling out her straw hat from the previous night to replace the vacancy left by the fedora.

***

"Just let me do the talking," Lynn warned, before they landed and approached the guard in front of the mayor's mansion.

"We're here for the YMCA meeting," she informed the guard.

"Please inform the young mistress or the butler. You'll find them in the garden on the left," the guard said after giving them a once over.

"M'lady," Blaze tipped his hat at the guard and followed Lynn into the mansion grounds. He couldn't say he wasn't excited.

The security around the mansion seemed lax, but it was possible that it was just a facade. The two found around twenty to thirty young angels gathered around the garden. The space was a well-kept lawn surrounded by oaks and citrus trees.

The weather was sunny and warm, and it seemed like the angels were simply enjoying themselves, drinking fizzy mocktails and discussing mundane things.

"Lynn! You came!" he heard a familiar voice. Clara, the mayor's daughter, approached them with a huge smile on her face. "And you brought the Blazing Furies fan along!" she said, noticing Blaze.

"Yes. She is considering joining the Malakim. I thought it would be nice to let her hang out with us before she officially joins. Do you mind?"

"Oh, not all. It just surprises me that a fan of Blaze Er Lokra wants to join the Malakim," she said.

Lynn started to say something but Blaze interjected. "We are all Aranyans, aren't we? I will obviously support Blaze in the tournament. I have great respect for how she stood up against a Malakim chosen, and she is only twenty!" he said, tooting his own horn. "Besides, I hear that the Malakim are hoping to bring her into the society at some point."

"I know, right? That's exactly how I think. I think I am already fond of you Ms. Rachel. Feel free to mingle amongst the guests and talk. They are all really nice," she said. "By the way, that's a lovely fedora. It looks good on you," she told him before leaving.

"This is mines now," he grinned at Lynn, tipping his hat at her.

Lynn waited for Clara to be out of earshot. "Ok, Blaze, we need to find a way to get inside the mansion," she said, trying to sound casual. There were plenty of angels around them, but no one paid particular attention to their conversation.

"Do you know where we can find the ledger?"

"No. If we did, we would've sent a thief. The plan is to search the mayor's office and her bedroom. The mayor will be busy with the ceremony and I will be able to deal with any lone guards under the archangel level."

Blaze wasn't surprised. If Lynn was a spy, she probably had her methods. Or gadgets?

"Ok, then let's get a few drinks and walk around pretending to be in a deep conversation. We need to figure out our entry points," he said, pointing at the punch table to the side of the lawn.

"I've already scouted the place. There are plenty of entry points, but we can only use the main entrances and find a legitimate reason to walk inside. There are too many eyes on the mansion and the risk of us getting caught is high if we try to sneak in," she said, as they walked towards the table.

"Otine juice or spiked cranberry cider?" asked the angel serving the drinks. Rows of silver goblets and two pitchers full of drinks sat on the table.

Blaze picked up a goblet and pointed towards the cider. He made the angel pour it to the brim before downing it all in one go. He asked for another filling before repeating the same.

"I didn't get a chance to drink last night -- was taking care of my sister," he explained to the flabbergasted server, extending his cup for another fill.

The server gave him a little smile of understanding and filled his cup again. "You won't be getting another for a while," she warned him.

"I thought you would've learned your lesson after what happened with Siofra," Lynn said to him as they walked away from the table with two goblets full of cider.

"Don't worry, I have a good resistance to alcohol."

"That's not what I heard about your little incident with Marquess Astrid at Sekat..."

"The Hela! Why does everyone seem to know about that?" he asked exasperated. Priscilla had mentioned it as well.

"Well, I am a spy. It's my job to know these things. Besides, it's a widely discussed topic among the Aranyan nobility. Especially since most of them know that Astrid is a Malakim and you are, well, The Blazing Fury. It reminds them the tale of Liliana and Bhramar."

Blaze rolled his eyes and sighed. The tale of Liliana and Bhramar was an Azra-El version of Romeo and Juliet. He was no Romeo and Astrid was no Juliet. "Whatever. I can handle a few drinks. I am only drinking because people pay less attention to a drunkard aimlessly wandering around. You should do the same."

They walked to the shade of a nearby tree and leaned against it, watching the angels converse around them. The YMCA meeting was more akin to a late afternoon tea party rather than a conglomeration of evil masterminds.

"I don't usually like to drink," Lynn said softly, taking a tiny sip from her mug.

"Any particular reason?"

"It's a bad habit, and I don't like the feeling of losing control."

"I guess I understand that," he nodded. It wasn't like he was exceptionally fond of drinking. "Anyway, these angels don't really look like they are up to something."

"No. Of course not. They are just young angels hoping to join the Malakim. I don't think any of them, except Clara, know about the Princeps ceremony."

The two stayed under the tree for a few minutes before they began to wander. Lynn introduced him to a couple of angels she knew at the party. She had been at Riverbridge for a couple of weeks, building up connections. They spoke and flitted around while Blaze got himself another couple of drinks, much to the annoyance of the server.

Slowly, they began to inch away from the premises of the garden.

"My main problem with the concept of duty," he said as they walked along the paved pavement perpendicular to the mansion and leading to the west -- they didn't want to make it obvious that they were beelining for mansion, "is that it dampens the capacity of people to judge for themselves."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Lynn responded, her eyes turning wistful for a moment. "Wouldn't that be rather freeing? Especially when you can trust that everyone else is following the same duties that you believe in."

"Er... No. Well, maybe," he pondered. "I guess I can see that. But that's in an ideal situation. How can you prevent angels like The Princeps from misusing people's blind trust? Isn't that what happened with most of the expansionist empires? A lot of their soldiers kept fighting wars only based on an undeserved sense of duty towards their corrupt queens, even when they clearly saw that they were invading well-functioning, happy queendoms. Besides, where do duties sprout from? They all have premises in emotion and logic, don't they?"

"I am not supporting a blind adherence to duty ..."

The conversation continued for a while as Blaze and Lynn discussed ideal societies, corruption, intricacies and variables involved in various forms of government, codes of ethics, and discrimination. Their views turned out to be quite different, though both wished for the welfare of the society.

Slowly, the two made their way towards the mansion's back entrance. They found an older angel guarding the entrance, but before they could decide on what to do, Clara popped up behind them.

"What are you two doing all the way here?" she asked with a wide smile. However, Blaze noted a hint of suspicion in her voice.

"Oh my!" Lynn exclaimed, looking around their surroundings. "We were discussing Vita's treatise on ethics and didn't even realize that we had walked this far."

"Oh?"

"Well," Blaze interjected. "I was also talking about the Blazing Furies clothing collection. I have the whole of their latest collection here in my space ring, but Lynn doesn't want to try them out."

Agatha had sent clothes to be distributed amongst his classmates.

"Really?" Clara suddenly seemed excited. "The latest collection from Varan? Can we try them out together?"

"Sure. I can't sell them to you, but I don't see why you can't try them out," he said, unable to help a lewd smile from sprouting on his face.

"Fantastic! Let's head to my room pronto."

Lynn looked at Blaze in disbelief. It had been too easy. He gave her a smug grin and followed Clara into the building. However, contrary to Blaze and Lynn's expectations, the mansion was quiet. Except for the noise coming from the kitchens and an occasional servant running in and out of the building, there were no signs of a ceremony of any sort.

Clara led them to her room on the second floor. It was clean and quite ordinary for a mayor's daughter. A bookshelf and a wardrobe stood against the left wall while the other walls displayed individual paintings of a hilltop monastery, a deserted fort, and a lush green valley. The only thing odd about them was the absence of mobile life. However, that didn't strike Blaze as exceptionally odd. They were still beautiful pieces of artwork.

"Let me show you what I have as well," Clara said cheerfully, closing her door and heading towards her wooden closet. Her bookshelf was right beside it and a banner hung over it from the wall -- 'Happiness is not an ideal of reason, but of imagination'

Intrigued, Blaze began to walk towards the bookshelf. However, a sudden pop made him pause. Clara froze in her tracks and Blaze noticed a tiny, dart shaped thing sticking out from the back of neck. She stood still for a few moments before flopping down to the carpet.

He turned to Lynn and found her holding a weapon that looked like a cross between a crossbow and a shotgun. A second dart was already sitting in the groove and ready to be shot.

"This can shoot twice without reloading. Just know that I could've shot you as well."

Glancing at the fallen Clara, Blaze narrowed his eyes at Lynn. However, the spy relaxed her posture and put the weapon back in her space ring. "Don't worry. She is just unconscious. Help me move her to the bed," she said, walking up to Clara's body.

Blaze was disappointed for multiple reasons. However, he decided to go along with Lynn for now.

"Don't think I am not gonna raise a hue if I don't find proof that these are bad people. I can also take you out, if I really want to," he warned her as they lay Clara on her bed and covered her with a blanket. She seemed peacefully asleep. The initial expression of surprise appeared to have relaxed.

"I know," Lynn nodded. "We just have to find the ledger and the ceremony. My people were sure about a ceremony taking place. Didn't you spot the adult angels flying towards the mansion, earlier? They can't all be staff. Maybe there is a dungeon or hidden room we are not aware of."

"Let's get going then," he said, suddenly wishing to get to the bottom of things as soon as possible. He didn't want to fall deeper into this mess without truly understanding the situation, but his only other choice now was to leave Lynn and fly away. However, that wasn't an option.

"Not before we search her room. Don't think Clara is a naïve, harmless angel."

Blaze only had to think of Astrid to give credence to that theory.

They quickly went through her shelves and books, but they found nothing of interest, except for the philosophy books that seemed a little advanced for a casual reader.

Even her diary, hidden under her mattress, did not have any culpable comments. Her latest entry was 'Ragna's new friend interesting'.