However, on his way out, Kael ran into an unexpected problem, one that crashed his rising spirits like a bucket of cold water.
The problem also had a name: Velyr.
Tall and gaunt, with black hair, the man resembled a vulture in both appearance and bearing. He wore an elegant suit of the upper circles, and the way he rested his hands on it made him look like restrained violence. His small, dark eyes pierced whatever they settled on, made even more unsettling by a hooked nose that did not make his appearance more friendly.
He did not need friends anyway. Whatever advantages that came with it were more than compensated for by sheer authority. All of Primalis Flex knew Velyr, he was an influential figure within the Division of the Flaming Star, and its leading Inquisitor.
The moment Kael saw him, he knew he was in trouble.
“Oh, shit,” he thought. “That’s Velyr. He can find fault in everything. He could accuse me just for being up here. A scavenger up here? Although not illegal, it’s not desired either. And if he notices the rune… I’m dead.”
Kael’s legs trembled. He tried to make himself small, forgettable, almost invisible and sneak away as fast as he could.
It didn’t matter.
Velyr’s gaze snapped onto him, locking with Kael’s eyes like a blade finding its mark.
His eyes narrowed, like a predator that had just singled out its prey. Kael tore his gaze away and tried to melt into the crowd, but it was already too late.
- Hey, you. Boy. – The Inquisitor’s voice was soft, almost casual, yet it carried across the street with chilling clarity. – Come here.
Kael froze. He glanced back, foolishly hoping that Velyr had turned away. He had not.
Kael hesitated a heartbeat too long. Two members of the Division loomed behind him, cutting off any thought of escape. Gloved hands settled firmly on his shoulders, steering him forward and guided him to Velyr.
Kael didn’t dare look up at his face again.
Velyr spoke first.
- Boy, – he said quietly. – Do you know who I am, boy? – His low voice made the otherwise innocent question threatening.
Kael nodded. Velyr hummed, seemingly pleased.
- Good. Then tell me who are you, boy?
Kael’s mouth went dry.
- I… I’m Kael. Scavenger.
If Velyr felt the usual disdain for scavengers, he did not show it. Instead, he regarded Kael with a slow, probing stare.
- Ah, a scavenger, – he said at last. – The sturdy foundation of our society. Oil for the city’s gears. – His lips twitched. – Tell me, Kael, what is someone like you doing up here? Shouldn’t you be… working? – Even his perfectly cold exterior couldn't hide his contempt in the last word.
Kael shook his head.
- No, sir. I’ve just made some money.
- Oh? – Velyr’s gaze flicked briefly toward the towering gate behind them. – And what brings you to the upper levels? Thinking of joining the Legion of the Onceblinking Star?
The thought seemed to amuse him.
- No, sir, – Kael said quickly. – I’m… doing research for my work.
Velyr’s expression darkened. His eyes raked over Kael again, sharper now.
- A scavenger who researches. How strange. Tell me more. – he murmured.
Kael hesitated. He had no sense for how to handle a man like Velyr. A simple lie like the one he’d used on Rhane felt dangerously insufficient, but the truth seemed only a little bit safer. In the end, he chose the latter.
- I’m looking for information on Living Rubber.
Velyr’s face darkened as if storm clouds had rolled across a clear sky. His eyes flashed dangerously, and he loomed closer.
- Living Rubber? – he repeated sharply. – And what interest does that hold for you?
- Well, sir, – Kael said carefully, – I found a nugget last time, but I didn’t dare take it because I thought it was dangerous. But if it’s valuable, I might go back for it. I’m not sure. – Kael decided he could afford to cheat a little here.
Velyr’s gaze bored into him, cold and merciless, as if weighing how much pain a scavenger might be worth.
At last, he spoke.
- Well, Kael, Living Rubber is an extremely dangerous substance. Do you know why the Legion seals off the Sealed Zones? Because they seal off great dangers. Anything connected to Living Rubber must be reported so the Legion can destroy the contagion. Do you understand?
He spoke slowly and calmly, yet his fierce gaze constantly on Kael. It stopped several times at Kael’s bandaged hand. Kael could only pray the Inquisitor would not comment on it.
- What’s that on your hand? – Velyr asked suddenly, as if plucking the thought straight from Kael’s mind.
- Um, a rock split it open yesterday. It hurts a lot, – he lied without blinking, and he just hoped Velyr wouldn’t ask any more questions.
Velyr studied him for a moment longer, then let the matter drop.
One of the Division members leaned in and whispered something. Velyr nodded once, sharply, then turned back to Kael, his eyes sweeping over him one final time.
- Very well, Kael. Our conversation is over. You should not be wandering where you do not belong, especially when you are injured and ought to be resting. – His voice hardened. – Forget Living Rubber. You have never heard of it. Do not seek it out. Do not touch what you should not. Do you understand?
He paused.
- I hope so. For your own sake.
With that, Velyr turned and walked away.
Yet Kael could have sworn, though he was not certain, that he heard the Inquisitor murmur to one of his guards, I suspect this boy. Bring him before me tonight.
Kael went straight home, not daring to invite further trouble.
Luck, at least, held. No one stopped him this time.
Once inside his apartment, he locked the door behind him and carefully unwound the gauze from the back of his hand. He flinched at what he saw, the mark had changed again.
Around the faintly pulsing green rune, his skin had transformed. It was black now… elastic, smooth, and glossy, like polished rubber.
Kael touched it cautiously. Nothing happened. It felt warm beneath his fingers, pliant and rubbery.
Unease turning feverish, he pulled out the Legion’s books on Living Rubber and began to read.
The texts discussed the subject rather briefly and incompletely, yet they revealed more than Kael had known before. According to theory, contact with Living Rubber could transform a person into what the Legion termed Rubber Demons, though the books offered little explanation of how or why.
The absorption of liquid Living Rubber was referred to as Incipient Binding. Once the first runes manifested, the process was deemed irreversible, though its spread could, in theory, be contained.
One passage made Kael’s stomach tighten: “Subjects exhibit heightened physical perfection and compulsions toward unity, obedience, and bond formation.”
So far, he felt nothing of the sort. Thankfully.
He glanced again at the mark on his hand. The rune pulsed steadily, alive against the blackened skin.
Kael read on, hoping to learn something about the process and its cure, but the book seemed to be deliberately avoiding the subject. After describing the emergence and physical properties of Living Rubber, they leapt directly to descriptions of fully transformed Rubber Demons and their behaviour.
Kael groaned in frustration, shoving the book aside and rubbing his face. The sense of hope he had clung was slipped away, replaced by a crushing fatigue unlike any he had felt before.
He collapsed onto the bed, and before he could think further, uneasy and restless sleep claimed him.
