Cass was knocked to the floor. He could hear the roaring flames and screams through the stampede of fleeing people. Some were on fire…luckily, he was not.
Fire extinguisher…where?
Cass jumped to his feet. Tindra already had it and was blasting the fire as it climbed to the ceiling. He spun around.
Some of the girls are upstairs with customers!
He dashed up the stairs to the second floor. People in various stages of dress were clamouring for the stairwell. Smoke trickled its way between the cracks in the floorboards filling the hall with a haze. He ushered everyone out and began checking the rooms. A shriek broke the eerie silence.
"Help me! Please!"
Without hesitation, Cass dashed to the room where the voice continued to whimper.
"Cass!"
Rachel was laid bare, chained to an odd device Cass had never seen before.
"The bastard left me! Get the key!"
"Where is it!?"
"I don't know! Just hurry, please! I don't wanna burn to death!"
Cass glanced at all the desks and tables in the room: Odd implements, cuffs, a light blue powder, a scattering of pills, strangely shaped brightly colored devices…No key. He ran to her side.
Normal chains…
Cass grabbed the chain keeping her arm above her head and ripped it free. She flinched at the sound of it snapping. He did the same for the remaining 3 and just like that, she was free.
"Hey! What're you doing!? Get movin'!"
She clung to him and shivered, her dark brown eyes like saucers and matching long hair disheveled. Cass lifted the frozen girl and tossed her over his shoulder.
Is this how the heroes do it? Well, it's how Tindra carries me. Good enough.
Cass ran to the bottom floor, making sure not to hit Rachel's head on any of the door frames. The ground floor was soaked, but the fire was out, at least from what Cass could see. Suddenly, the 2nd floor crumbled sending dust and debris flying. Rachel shrieked and Cass coughed.
Just in time.
A large undulating ball of water was floating in the middle of the room. Tindra was guiding a tendril of the gravity defying liquid through the wall.
Must still be some flames in there.
Her brow was furrowed and she was sweating. Her Blessed ability wasn't very strong…or she didn't bother training it; Cass had never asked. She wasn't a mage; someone who'd be able to manifest water. Instead she had the ability to manipulate existing water. She had likely plugged the drains, then turned on the sinks before she grabbed the extinguisher. It's the first time Cass had seen it in action. Seeing Tindra trying to use finesse would have made him chuckle in any other moment. Rachel's meek voice reached Cass's ear.
"Cass? Are we safe?"
"Oh!? Sorry."
Cass avoided looking at her less than modest appearance as he gently set her down.
"Thanks!"
She kissed him on the cheek and ran off. He was too focused on his task at hand to notice.
"Now, where'd that bastard wind up?"
Cass walked over the crumbled wall and into the alleyway where the man had landed. The body was charred beyond recognition. Scorched skin and tattered bits of clothing weaved into a grotesque mass on the smoldering corpse. Something caught Cass's eye: A note was inside the chest cavity.
What? How did that withstand an explosion?
It read simply, in poorly drawn letters: "YOU'RE NEXT BITCH!"
Cass felt the rage bubble up inside. Before it consumed his mind, he noticed blood dripping on the pavement.
Damn it.
He had been injured. He went out of his way to be careful to avoid such things and had succeeded for months. Unfortunately, life in the slums wasn't without its perils. Cass felt a wave of pressure pressing down on him from behind.
"Fuckin' scum!"
Tindra's boot crashed into the man's skull, turning it to mush.
"Relax! This is a crime scene!"
She scoffed.
"Ain't no cops comin' down here for this! If they do, it'd just be a formality! I already know who did this anyway."
She spit on the corpse. Before he could scold her, Cass spotted a strip of white beneath the man's upper arm. He peeled the skin back.
That's odd. Is that bone? No…there's striations in it.
The muscle was chalk white. Cass's focus was interrupted by a concerned voice.
"Cass, you're bleedin'."
Tindra put a rag on his head. He stood up and held the rag in place.
"Oh...this is nothin'. No big deal."
He laughed awkwardly. Cass hesitated for a moment and then put his hand on her head.
"Quit worrying about me. So are you."
A look of surprise found its way on her face. Sure enough, when she pulled her hand from her head, it was stained with blood.
"Damn, seems like."
Cass looked away and kept the rag pressed against his head. Of course, he didn't need to; he was completely healed.
"Treat your wound. I'll go check on the girls."
He left before she could answer. The bar area of the Doxy was wrecked. Some of the girls had minor injuries, a few were severe. They would need to get a Blessed healer or they'd likely have trouble getting clients anymore.
Can Tindra afford that? Can they? It'd be a pain if the Doxy closed and I lost my job. Guess I can take a few more delivery gigs on the side to pay for a healer.
Luckily, Cass chucking the freak out the window had prevented any deaths. The Doxy wasn't really safe to live in, but there weren't many options and no one cared enough to enforce such things in the slums. Several of the girls' rooms were damaged to the point where they had to stay with Tindra. When her place was full…
By the time the elevator door slid open, Cass was starting to sweat. He rattled the keys around in his pocket as they walked to his apartment door. Daniella had a small suitcase with her and an unreadable expression.
It's not like I'm thrilled about this either.
Cass tried to think about how to prepare her for the state of his apartment. He swung the door open.
"After you."
She was like a statue. Cass laughed nervously. He had opted for the "maybe she won't notice" strategy. After an uncomfortably long silence, she turned and glared at him.
Ah, I know that expression.
"It's a bit of an art project I was working on. I admit I got a little carried away."
Silence. Cass scratched his head.
"How about I call Rudy over? Would that make you feel better?"
She turned back and gave the apartment a final, disgusted appraisal. Reluctantly, she stepped inside. Some time later, all 3 were seated around Cass's coffee table.
"Read 'em and weep!"
Rudy slapped down his cards, laid back, and finished the last swallow of beer in his bottle.
"Looks like I win again."
Daniella clapped and gazed doe-eyed at Rudy.
"You're great at this game, Rudy! I couldn't tell you were bluffing at all."
"Ah, what can I say? I always pull out my A game when you're around, Dani."
They touched foreheads and giggled…like idiots
"You aren't swindling us, are you?"
Rudy looked appalled.
"Cass, buddy!? Give me some credit. If I was, Dani'd be cleanin' up right now!"
She giggled.
"Don't cheat for me! That wouldn't be any fun!"
"Aw, c'mon. Seein' Cass rage is the most fun you can have! Look! Look at his face right now! That's it!"
"He looks a tad angry."
They snickered.
Well, I can't be too mad at Rudy. At least he didn't ask me a hundred questions about the state of my apartment, unlike some people.
Good thing I keep all my sorcery notes locked up…
Cass rolled his eyes.
"Are you two finished?"
"Sorry, sorry. I just haven't had a chance to see my gal in a while!"
Daniella smiled.
"If you want, why not let her stay at your pace?"
The air in the room grew tense. Rudy looked down and Dani's face grew cold. Cass looked at them with slight confusion.
"Ehh…I don't think my ma would like that too much. She's a bit of a hardliner, ya know?"
"Fair enough."
Cass learned fast not to ask a lot of questions in the slums. Especially if you want to keep a low profile. A lesson Daniella clearly hadn't picked up on yet. Of course, being employed by Tindra meant that keeping a low profile was pretty much impossible for the both of them anyway. Rudy bounced back from his dour mood.
"I'm just glad you're both okay! Nice work, Cass! Dani ain't got a scratch on 'er!"
He slapped his hands on the table.
"Now! Let's get down to brass tacks…"
A dramatic pause? Rudy's signature move.
"How tough is your bed and are the walls soundproof?"