The Extra's Rise-Chapter 425: Windmere (4)

"How long has this been happening?"

"Decades, from what I've heard. The mayor's been in power longer than anyone can remember." She leaned closer, lowering her voice further.

"These men who disappear," I said carefully. "What happens to them, exactly?"

She hesitated, conflict visible on her face. "I shouldn't know this. Nobody's supposed to know." Another pause. "But I saw something once. Something I wasn't meant to see."

I waited, giving her time. Sometimes silence was the best prompt.

"It was about a year ago," she finally continued. "A man refused the mayor's demand. Simon Wheeler, a shopkeeper. Good man, kind to everyone. He said no—said he wouldn't let the mayor touch his wife. The next night, I was coming back late, taking a shortcut through the woods behind the mayor's mansion."

She wrapped her arms around herself, as if suddenly cold. "I heard screaming. Followed the sound to a clearing where I could see into one of the mansion's lower rooms through a window. Simon was there, strapped to some kind of table. The mayor was standing over him with a knife, carving... things into his skin. Symbols, all over his body."

"Markings? Like a ritual?" I prompted when she fell silent.

She nodded. "The mayor was chanting something. I couldn't hear the words, but..." She shuddered. "The air felt wrong. Heavy. And then there was someone else in the room—a tall man in dark clothes. He just appeared, like he stepped out of the shadows themselves. The mayor handed him the knife, and then..."

She trailed off, unable or unwilling to describe what came next.

"This man in dark clothes," I said. "The enforcer you mentioned earlier?"

"Yes," she whispered. "He's not normal. Moves too fast, too quiet. Some people say he's not even human anymore—that the mayor's rituals turned him into something else."

"And these rituals happen regularly?"

"Every few months. Always after someone disappears." She met my gaze directly. "Eleven men in the past three months. More than usual."

That matched our information exactly. "Why the increase?"

"Don't know," she admitted. "But the mayor's been more on edge lately. Stricter about his rules. It's like he's rushing toward something."

"Completing a larger ritual," Erebus suggested. "The individual sacrifices forming a pattern."

"Has anyone tried to fight back?" I asked. "Or escape?"

"A few brave fools," she said, her voice tinged with something like respect. "Men who tried to stand up, to protect their families. They're all gone now. No bodies, no goodbyes. Just... gone." She studied my face. "The adventurer they sent before you—he asked the same questions. Started putting it together. Then one night, he went out and never came back."

"What happened to him?"

"Same thing that happens to everyone who crosses the mayor," she said with finality. "His pet monster got him."

I absorbed this, feeling the weight of it settle in my chest. This wasn't just corrupt leadership—this was systematic terror, maintained through violence and fear.

"And you?" I asked. "Why stay in a place like this? Someone smart enough to see what's happening should be smart enough to leave."

She met my gaze, and for a moment, I saw through the carefully constructed walls to the person beneath—someone who had once dreamed of something better.

"Where would I go?" she said softly. "This town... it traps you. Makes you believe there's nowhere else. And after a while, you start to think maybe that's true." She hesitated. "And there's something else. Something I haven't told anyone."

I leaned forward. "What is it?"

"The mayor... he monitors everything. Every phone, every computer in Windmere. There are cameras hidden all over town. Nothing happens that he doesn't know about." Her voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "Including this conversation."

A chill ran down my spine. "He's watching us now?"

She nodded slightly. "Probably. He has ways of knowing when people talk about him. That's why I never considered leaving—he'd know, and he'd send his enforcer after me."

"Then you need to get out now," I said, adding more money to the pile on the table. "Take this. Go to Azuregrove City and find the Starcrest Academy office there. Tell them Arthur Nightingale sent you. They'll help you start over."

She stared at the money, temptation warring with fear in her eyes. "It's not that simple. Nobody just leaves Windmere."

"You will," I assured her. "My girlfriend is waiting outside. She's an Integration-ranker, like me. She can help get you safely out of town while I deal with the mayor's enforcer when he comes—and he will come, if you're right about being monitored."

Hope flickered across her face, quickly suppressed. "You don't understand what you're up against."

"I do," I replied calmly. "An Integration-rank enforcer using forbidden death magic, serving a mayor who extends his life through ritual sacrifice." I stood up. "It ends tonight."

She rose as well, uncertainty in every movement. "You really think you can stop him? After all this time?"

"Yes," I said simply. "But first, let's get you somewhere safe."

As we prepared to leave, she caught my arm. "Wait. There's one more thing you should know." Her voice was barely audible. "The tattoo."

"What tattoo?"

"The mayor has one on his wrist. A red sun with strange lines around it. The enforcer has the same mark. I've seen it when their sleeves pull up."

"The mark of the covenant," Erebus whispered in my mind, suddenly alert. "A binding sigil that connects master and servant."

"Thank you," I said, genuinely grateful for the information. "That might be the key to stopping all this."

We made our way downstairs, where the main room had grown quieter, an unnatural tension hanging in the air. The bartender's eyes widened when she saw us together, a warning in her gaze that I didn't need Luna's empathic senses to interpret.

Outside, Cecilia straightened from where she'd been leaning against a wall, relief evident in her expression. It quickly shifted to curiosity when she saw I wasn't alone.

"Change of plans," I said before she could speak. "We need to get her out of town immediately. The mayor will be sending someone for her."

To her credit, Cecilia didn't waste time on questions. "The hotel?" she suggested.

I shook my head. "Too obvious. We need somewhere the mayor's people won't look."

"I know a place," the woman offered hesitantly. "An abandoned hunting cabin in the woods west of town. It's where I go when I need... space."

"Perfect," I decided. "Cecilia, take her there and stay with her. I'll keep watch on the brothel. When the enforcer shows up—and he will—I'll deal with him."

Cecilia's eyes narrowed. "I don't like splitting up."

"Neither do I," I admitted. "But I need to know she's safe, and there's no one I trust more than you to make that happen."

The compliment softened her expression, though she still looked unhappy with the plan. "Fine. But if you're not at the cabin by midnight, I'm coming looking for you."

"Deal," I agreed, knowing better than to argue. I gave her a quick kiss, then watched as the two women slipped away down a side alley.

Once they were gone, I found a vantage point on a nearby rooftop, concealed from street level but with a clear view of the brothel's entrance. As the afternoon faded into evening, I settled in to wait, knowing it wouldn't be long before the mayor made his move.

'Be ready,' Luna warned as the shadows lengthened. 'Someone approaches.'

'Yes,' Erebus confirmed, unusually cooperative with Luna. 'Death follows close behind him.'

I called Evolvis to my hand, the sword materializing from condensed mana. Its familiar weight was reassuring as I prepared for what was coming.

The enforcer arrived just as twilight deepened into true night, a shadow separating from the darkness.