Nocturna League (Episode 2: The Mist Hour) by Kell Inkston Read Free Book Online

girl.
Hi, Colette,” one of the other men says, leaning up from his place
at the wall and gesturing toward her.
    Colette smirks, seeing someone she
recognizes from last night pull off his hood. “Itrim- So these are
the Kalamests?”
    She’s met with affirmations all around
her.
    “ Excellent. They don’t
stand a chance,” she says.
    Itrim hums. “Not quite sure on that
one, actually. Did you take care of your captain?” He asks, a
sea-breeze blowing past their alley.
    Colette smirks. “I have him handled.
He won’t join us, but he won’t be in our way.”
    The Kalamests exchange nods and
impressed looks about themselves. Itrim turns back to Colette.
“Okay, Colette. Here’s the deal. There’s a magic barrier that
prevents our entry.”
    She squints an eye. “I could get in
just fine.”
    “ I know, because you’re not
a Kalamest,” Itrim says.
    Colette shakes her head in confusion.
“Wait, what? So I can go in, but Kalamests can’t? How will you help
me during the fight?”
    Itrim holds his hand up, as if to calm
her. “We’ll need you to draw them out of their mansion. Only the
mansion itself is protected by the barrier, so you raise a ruckus
inside, and pull them out for us.”
    Hearing his plan, she strokes her chin
a moment, and slowly, a look of devious certainty beguiles her
features. “You know, I have a better idea.”
    Itrim raises a brow. “All ears,
captain,” he says.
    She retrieves from her
pockets the Gauntlets of Mist, and a gasp blows over the entire
group. “Oh, Vuru .
Those can’t really be-”
    She grins from ear to ear as the men
gawk at her success. “They absolutely are.”
    The group stares on in some form of
absolute awe- that this girl completed in a single night, something
that has taken them their lives up to this point. “I can’t…” Itrim
has difficulty speaking the rest, instead he leans in and embraces
Colette.
    “ Wh-what the hell, dude! I
know it’s nice I got the gauntlets, but it’s not that nice!”
    “ It’s done! We’ve done it!”
Itrim exclaims as he takes up the gauntlets and shows it to the
others. Cheering, hugging, and tears can be seen among the crowd,
and Colette sighs.
    “ Great, you got both gauntlets, now can we
go and kick their asses? ”
    Uneasy glances are exchanged in the
crowd. “Eh, well, to be honest, Colette, we got what we
need.”
    Everyone listens to the
breeze and Colette’s features curl in disgust.
“… What? ”
    “ Um, thought we’d have you
steal the gauntlets for us while we distracted the Ganasteres
outside.”
    She shakes her head
dismissively as a few of the men chuckle at her animated display.
“B-but what about the people? You know, the ones they kidnapped? ”
    Itrim tames his smile into a serious
look. “We can’t really help you. We just wanted our birthright
back.” There’s a row of snickers and nudges between the men, as if
they’re in on some supreme joke- Colette has a terrible sense of
humor.
    “ I can’t believe you ! I thought you
cared about the people you ruled over!”
    Itrim nods. “We do, it’s just that
this birthright is much more important. People come and go, but the
gauntlets have lasted for generations.”
    Colette slaps the middle of
her face. “ Really? ”
    “ Really. Sorry,
Colette.”
    She takes a deep breath. “Fine! I’ll
do it myself! The Captain was right!” Colette turns to
leave.
    “ Right about wh-… Oh, and
there she goes,” Itrim says as she disappears down the alley in
front of him. He turns to the others and shrugs. “Well, it’s
finally time. This midnight will be one not a soul will forget,” he
says, grinning with his Kalamest brothers.
    Colette remembered the Captain’s
words. “If something is broken, you are the only one who can fix
it.” The phrase rings in her mind as she struts up to the Ganastere
mansion, draws her revolver and shoots into the lock. With a deep
breath she slams her entirety into the door, forcing it open. She
spots a man