Ben didn’t really have to convince uncle Chenric, he was ready to take him back to the Hunter manor almost immediately. In fact, Chenric seemed relieved when Ben appeared before him with his bags and informed him of the done test. The young guard only had to confirm the status to the Chairman before he sent the little master back home.

When he tried the Senior Hunter’s number though, the line went busy.

So instead, he contacted Jimmy. Jim, however, too didn’t pick up the call.

That gave Chenric an odd feeling. The Chairman was a busy man, no doubt and the guard did leave him a message, but Jim did not ignore any of his calls, especially under present circumstances. It instinctively made him worry for Miya.

Chenric still couldn’t believe he had landed himself into so much mess, just because for a second he had fancied the young miss’s skill. When his mind raced to the fascination that the young master had for her as a person, his brain went dark.

He could not, for a single second imagine the kind of sh*t that Jimmy Hunter must be dealing with, being involved with Ms. Miya. But then, he too wasn’t an ordinary man.

Not to mention she too, was extraordinary.

Albeit Chenric had intensified the severity of his job by volunteering to protect the boss’s wife, he had also been singlehandedly saved by her from everything horrible that he could have faced. The Chairman had looked ready to fire him when he had returned home with the madam in the state that she was in, his son would have downright got Chenric slain. But a message from her had been his solace.

But the grandest of it all had been how she had rescued him from Kaali.

The green haired guy.

It devastated Chenric’s pride that he had not only not been able to defend the boss’s wife, he had also not noticed when she got hit. But the worst of it all was the numbing realization that maybe – just, maybe, she had been right.

Had she not ditched him the way she did, Chenric wasn’t sure he would have been able to fight off the green guy. Bullets were as fast as darts, but he couldn’t have shot a random man with barely visible weapons – that too darts – in a public place. And shooting was his only brilliant skill, he was a good guard. That, and a bit of martial art. That was it.

The realization succumbed any indignity he felt over her treatment of him. And, it made him investigate on his own lines.

He was a young man of twenty four, with a bit of a haphazard background himself. He was an immigrant, illegal for most parts, and during his time when he had first stepped into Country I, he had had the misfortune of being conned. He had a huge family back in his home country, and he had been the typical unwanted – middle child. He wasn’t the firstborn to be a dear kid, and he wasn’t the only son who could be the ‘heir’. He was baggage, and both his parents had decided to send him off to a distant uncle’s place to help work in a mine. That’s when Chenric had ran.

Running off wasn’t easy, especially to a different country, and his first experience had taught him that. Once he had sailed to the new land, he had been conned out of the little luggage he had, immediately after landing.

That’s when Chenric also had to spend a week near the sewers.

It was one of the most horrible memories of his life. Even when he compared it to his awful memories back at his homeland, the one from the sewers always won.

But that was when he had heard about this clan of people, who used darts as primary weapons too. They mostly used guerrilla tactics to fight, but were quiet and agile, sleazy and cunning. Almost like a serpent. From what he remembered, they didn’t seem to have much of a reputation. But he had had the time to talk to an acquaintance back from his sewer days that he was still in contact with.

As Chenric found out, this dart clan… it was called the ‘K’ tribe.

In fact, the name had evolved after so many years, it was now called the ‘K’ Sect. The thing that was surprising though was that the tribe had almost disappeared. They couldn’t be traced. They couldn’t be contacted. All those years ago, they could be hired for menial tasks like low key brawls, but since then they had practically vanished. They did appear every now and then, but disappeared almost instantly too. What the person had however confirmed was that none of the ‘K’ Sect was, as far as he knew, now in Country I.

Chenric knew that had to be wrong.

Kaali – and not to mention, that ‘K’ on the patient that madam had gone to meet. That was a sign. It was the ‘K’ Sect.

For the umpteenth time, Chenric could not figure out why they wanted to hurt madam. But he did know the boss, Jimmy Hunter was looking for Kaali. And maybe, if he could find the man, he would feel a little better about the situation he was in.

So when the boss didn’t pick up his call, Chenric was worried.

Could it be that the green man had invaded Hunter manor and attacked the miss again?

The thought unsettled him, and the guard shrugged. However, forcibly putting his mind at ease and concentrating on the situation at hand, he decided to take the child home either way.

Seconds passed.

Jimmy’s hand was still, resting on the back of Miya’s head as he refrained from clenching his fist. His eyes went black for a second, and a storm raised in his heart. He was quick to settle the visible tenseness on his face, but his brain did not concede.

Very quietly, and in a voice that could barely let go of the threat in it, he asked,

“Why?”

Miya noticed his arms freeze when she made her request. Her own heart throbbed. She swallowed. She had her head hidden into his belly, but she could feel him go cold.

Had she asked for too much?

She didn’t have an answer to ‘why’. Except that she was afraid to go back and face what she thought she had left behind.

But she also understood Jimmy’s turmoil.

Just like when he had told her about Zaila for the first time. His reaction had been intense. And in that moment, it wasn’t her comfort, or consolation of any sort that he had sought. He had sought alcohol.

He had drowned the pain, unwilling to share it.

She had done the same, but on countless other times, she had trusted him too.

The ‘why’ made her tremble.

“You wo – can’t?”

Her voice was low, but of one thing Miya was sure. This was Jimmy Hunter. And with him, there was no question of ‘won’t’. It was simply a matter of whether he couldn’t.

Jimmy breathed in. Then closing his eyes for one second, he whispered back, “I-It’s not… I can’t… Miya… I don’t visit there. Ever.”

That took her by surprise. But then her own situation dawned on Miya, and she held on tighter around his waist. Jim could feel her shivers against him. By instinct, he drew a wavering hand through her hair.

Miya swallowed.

“The Millennial Graveyard, towards the east end of the city. Is that where Zaila was buried?”

Jim almost clenched his fists again, but continued to breathe.

“Yes.”

Miya knew. That was the yard for all the famous, rich, big folks. Burying her face further into Jimmy, as he stroked her hair, she whispered.

“There’s a building nearby.”

That caught the young master’s attention, and he looked down at her head. The wife didn’t move. The shudder in her shoulder intensified though, and it scared him a little when for a second she trembled violently.

“And?” he was quick to ask.

“I-It’s burnt d-down…”

Jim frowned. Suddenly, he realized Miya’s strange, random request to visit Zaila’s grave held some other motive.

“You mean the castle that mistakenly caught fire a few years back?”

She nodded.

Jim’s heart thudded.

“What of it Miya?”

“It wasn’t mistakenly burnt.”

“… Then?”

“I-It’s not a castle. It’s a grave.”

Jimmy sucked in a breath, and his entire being froze. Very slowly, he whispered again.

“I don’t understand.”

“I…” Her voice lost its trail. Miya was violently shaking now, “I… It’s… She is the most important person in the world, Jimmy.”

“She?”

“I-I can’t go there alone.”

Jim felt his wife’s tremor, and his heart beat threateningly against his chest. He prodded again.

“Where, Miya?”

She could barely mumble now.

“T-The building.”

“Okay, I’ll come with you... but, please dear, breathe.”

That calmed her down. Jim rubbed the small of her back, slightly afraid if this would worsen her condition. But when she refused to let him go, he couldn’t help but ask.

“Miya?”

“Yes?”

“Why do you say the fire was not a mistake?”

She shuddered again. It scared Jim some more.

Then, in a very quiet voice, that spoke of a thousand burnt hells, she said, “B-Because I set it.”