Chapter Forty-Seven: Going to the Order Knights' Headquarters
After much thought the previous day, Daniel laid out a plan for every possibility he might face. He knew this city showed no mercy, and if the Order Knights noticed his movements or grew suspicious, he would be exposed—especially now that he carried things ordinary people wouldn't dare approach. Since he possessed an Eira for altering appearance, he decided to change his face; yet even that carried risk: if he assumed the appearance of someone already known to the investigators, he would be uncovered at once.
The conditions for changing appearance required that he touch the body of the person whose likeness he intended to assume. Daniel also knew there existed a registry for every person in the kingdom—he remembered this when Leon first asked him his name and details—so he had to choose the visage of someone dead, someone absent from the Knights' recent records. He resolved to buy a corpse from the street beggars in hopes it would grant him features that could not be traced.
After that, Daniel went to the general market in his new guise, a hood shadowing half his face. The market thrummed with hawkers' cries, the spice-laden tang of food, and children's shouts as they darted between stalls. He wanted to learn whether there were rumors about what had happened; he was shocked to find the daily broadsheet reporting the incident. Papers sold fast, as if everyone hungered for news of blood and death. Daniel bought one for five copper coins and began to read.
He was stunned and grieved to read that Niral, Malik, and Risha had been declared dead—and that they had been his companions. His breath stopped for a moment; the ground seemed to tilt beneath his feet.
(So Niral was killed too…)
(…I'm sorry, Niral, for having thought poorly of you before. I… I'm sorry.)
The words clogged his throat, but it was not the time to collapse.
Daniel steadied himself and pushed the thought aside, continuing to scan the rest of the paper, but he found nothing useful—only idle conjecture from fools about who might be responsible. He folded the sheet slowly, as if his fingers refused to let go, and made his way to Sanjay's eatery.
When the cart bumped to a halt in the crowd—or stalled behind another wagon—Daniel overheard people talking about Niral's death. A cart passed a group of elderly women arguing loudly:
"I told you—it was the brave youth who used to help the children in the quarter!"
"And what did his bravery avail him? He's dead like the rest!"
Near a street corner, some soldiers lounged and exchanged remarks:
"I heard the killers were professionals; they left no trace."
"I heard it was treachery from within."
Elsewhere, two young men whispered:
"They say the king himself is furious and plans revenge."
"Shh! Don't speak the king's name here—no sword lasts longer than their silence."
Daniel reached the restaurant; it was open as usual, yet the mood inside felt muted. He sat at a counter by the wall, waiting for Sanjay to appear. Instead the young assistant came with the order book. Daniel asked quietly but with a tone that carried suspicion:
"Where's Sanjay? I can't see him."
The assistant knew Daniel as a friend of Sanjay's but did not recognize him in his altered guise; he rubbed the back of his neck anxiously and answered, "He went to the Order Knights' headquarters—some of his friends are missing."
Daniel sprang up so quickly the chair complained on the wooden floor, and left immediately. He didn't go to the nearest headquarters, nor did he ask the assistant for directions; he already knew—Sanjay had gone to the headquarters where Leon was stationed.
Daniel hired another cart in haste and signaled the driver urgently.
When he arrived, the air before the Order Knights' headquarters felt heavy and charged, as if the walls themselves bore the sorrows of those who had entered and left. Horses' sounds rose in the background; the hooffalls of knights on stone mixed with the murmurs of passersby. The reason was the prince's death. Daniel noticed Sanjay coming out of the gate—he was weeping, tears streaming freely, his shoulders shaking with every sob. It seemed as though his world had crumbled, each step weaker than the last.
Daniel froze, fear and cold creeping down his spine as if a wind had pierced his skin. He went straight to Sanjay and asked in a sharp voice tinged with restrained worry, "What happened? Is Lucas all right?"
Sanjay looked at Daniel in his new appearance; his tear-red eyes narrowed in suspicion. He spoke slowly, as if trying to place the stranger in memory: "Who are you? How do you know Lucas? He never told me about you."
Daniel realized his slip, inhaled deeply to steady his voice, and chastised himself inwardly for the mistake. He answered with a mix of truth and obfuscation: "I'm a friend of Malik's. I know Lucas, Daniel, Azrian, and Risha too—but I was shocked to learn that Niral was the prince Niral, the last of the group that went on a mission about a day ago. I also know you're their friend; sometimes they spoke of you in front of me."
The surrounding crowd's noise faded for Sanjay, who responded more surprised than angry: "What? How did you know that much? I know they did not include anyone else in the team." He paused and wiped his tears with his sleeve.
Daniel pressed his mind for a credible escape route. "I went with them on a mission before this one. For that mission, I was to join the one they took, but I did not go. They went without me. I would have completed it with them if I could, but for some reason I couldn't. Didn't anyone tell you about me?" His heart hammered as he watched Sanjay's face for belief.
Sanjay said after a short silence, "No—no one told me." Then in a lower voice, leaning in with equal parts caution and emotion, he whispered, "I know Lucas is alive. I was sorrowful that his hand was severed, but I learned he will be healed—he was considered a friend of Niral, the prince." He lifted his head and fixed Daniel with a steady gaze. "Don't tell anyone that. It's secret. I don't know why, but I heard that he would be in some danger if he lived normally among us."
(You fat fool—if it's secret, why tell a stranger I just met?) Daniel thought, keeping his expression neutral.
Daniel softened his tone, "Then why are you crying?" There was a note of insistence in his voice.
Sanjay, fresh tears welling, answered, "Because I don't know where Daniel is. His body hasn't been found—he's likely dead." The words were heavy, falling as if to strike the earth.
(Okay—fat, foolish, kind-hearted, and his mind always conjures the worst.) Daniel mused inwardly, stifling a faint, bitter smile.
Trying to soothe him, Daniel said, "Don't be afraid. Daniel's body hasn't been found; you know Daniel's mind and ways—he'd survive somewhere."
(Should I flatter myself more? But he might notice something odd. Good I only asked about Lucas at first.)
After a moment, Sanjay recalled an old saying and said, "Yes… Lucas always said he's like a cockroach—he doesn't die. He must be alive somehow."
("A cockroach?" Really, Lucas? And you bought that?) Daniel's sarcastic thoughts flitted by, but he swallowed them.
Once reassured about Lucas, Daniel rose. "All right. Thank you for telling me. I'll go my way now. Goodbye."
"Goodbye." Sanjay watched Daniel leave, thinking deeply as if trying to stitch together unseen threads: (How did Daniel disappear? Leon told me he vanished from thin air—there's no trace. He said there's an Eira used for instantaneous transfer, but that's impossible at Daniel's current ability. Well, never mind. I hope he's safe. I should tell Leon and have him look—he must search for him.)
As Sanjay returned to the headquarters, a sudden thought struck him: (Wait—what's his name? Do I even know his name? Damn it—I always have a fast tongue and don't think before I speak. I told him details about Lucas and how much he knows!) He scanned the area but found no trace of Daniel at all. (I must tell Leon.) And with that, Sanjay hurried toward the headquarter
s, steps quicker than before as though his heart pushed him forward.