“And yes…” Kiki said smoothly, already stepping forward as though this were the most normal thing in the world.
“…We like to share.”
Bo walked straight in without hesitation, ignoring me. But of course he did, after all, he was on a mission. As for me, it felt more like an expedition to a different world.
I lingered for half a second longer before forcing myself to follow, stepping inside as Kiki stepped in last. Then he turnedgracefully as he reached for the gate, sliding it closed with a soft metallic sound before pressing something unseen along the side.
The elevator lurched slightly before we began to descend, telling me, unbelievably, that this place went even deeper underground. Then, after a small age that did nothing for my nerves, the elevator gave a soft jolt as it slowed. The descent came to a stop before the gate slid open once more, revealing something entirely different once again.
The space beyond opened wide and vast in a way that made everything we had just walked through feel like nothing more than a prelude. The architecture echoed something far older than the rest of the Vault. Towering stone columns stretched high into the shadows, as if the ceiling was covered in a thick black fog that wouldn’t fall. Columns grand and big enough that they could have belonged to a cathedral.
But that was where the old ended.
Because everything else… everything else was modern and alive. Like we had finally stepped into the nightclub.
As for the music, this was definitely louder here and threaded through the space with the pulse of something deeper as voices rose and fell around it. Laughter spilling freely through the space as bodies moved in every direction. It felt less like a room and more like an event already in full swing. Something ongoing that didn’t begin or end so much as exist in a constant state of indulgent chaos.
We moved forward, Kiki leading the way without hesitation. His pace unhurried, as he guided us through the crowd with an ease that suggested he had done this countless times before. People shifted around him instinctively, space opening without question as he passed. The occasional glance thrown his way was not out of suspicion, but recognition.
With respect.
As if each person knew the hierarchy, and that Kiki was somewhere close to the top, despite what he had said about everyone here being equal. As if he had just been feeding me the salesman pitch.
My attention caught on everything and nothing all at once as we moved. A performer to my left was spinning a blade between their fingers in a way that felt far too casual for something that sharp. While just beyond them, a pair of demons argued in low, heated tones before dissolving just as quickly into laughter.
Then somewhere above, suspended silks twisted and dipped as a figure moved through them with effortless grace. Their bodies caught the shifting light in flashes that made it almost impossible to follow. I honestly could have pulled up a chair and stared at the room for hours without once getting bored.
“Keep moving, darling,” Kiki said lightly over his shoulder, though there was something quieter beneath it now, something more focused.
“We’re nearly there.”
Nearly where?
The question barely had time to form before the crowd began to thin. The noise dimmed just enough to feel intentional as the space ahead opened wider, the chaotic edges giving way to something far more deliberate.
And that’s when I saw it.
At the far end of the room, raised slightly above everything else, stood a platform, not quite a throne, but close enough to command the same kind of attention. The structure was built from the same aged stone as the surrounding architecture, though the seating itself was something else entirely. Large enough to hold at least ten people, its design both intricate and imposing.
At its center, the shape shifted into something more defined, forming what could only be described as a throne. The body ofit had been carved into a snarling beast, its front paws forming the legs as though it were poised to pounce, while its back curved seamlessly into the seat itself. Behind it, the form transformed again, the tail of a great bird sweeping upward, its feathers fanned wide to create the backrest. After that came enormous wings that extended out on either side. Their layered feathers continuing along the length of the structure, offering support to the rest of the sprawling, throne-like sofa.
And at the center of it all was the lord of his domain.
Tarik Walder.
The next Enforcer I was to face.
But unlike Lord Oblivion, this one…
Didn’t look happy to see me.
20
WHAT SAFETY COSTS
My gaze lifted slowly, almost reluctantly, as I looked at him properly for the first time. Although whatever I had been expecting, it hadn’t been the man sitting before me now. Because he wasn’t polished, and he certainly wasn’t refined.
However, what he was…was a beast of a man!
