That idiot! We don't know how many people are here or what they're capable of!

"Good evening," Lore says like he's merely taking an evening stroll to get some fresh air.

The guards and chauffeur stare incredulously at him. Chanting an incantation, a golden arrow forms in my grasp. Seeing as Lore showed himself, our best bet is to knock these three guys out prior to any alarm being raised. The first guy goes down swiftly from my arrow hitting his chest. The cast is nothing more than a sleeping spell. He drops, as does the guard beside him from Lore's sudden lunge where he punches him upside the head. The chauffeur almost notifies everyone by shouting, but I knock him out too. Lore smirks back at me.

"How easy was that?" He chuckles, watching me descend from the roof on a golden rope.

"You're lucky none of them fired a shot." I knock my foot against the jacket of one of the guards. Sure enough, there's a pistol at his waist that he was about to grab had I not shot him first.

"I didn't know you were skilled enough to know long range sleeping spells. I heard most mages have to be close to get off such an attack."

"Don't forget that I'm a paladin to the Holy Church for a reason."

Something about Lore's smile makes me shiver.

"Indeed you are," he whispers, then grabs a ringlet of keys from the guard's waist and opens the warehouse doors. A pungent smell of metallic yawns from within. The scent of blood coats us like a film. Lore gags and covers his nose, which must be getting an even worse smell than my own.

No one notices us standing near the entrance. The many workers within stand behind rows of plastic curtains, revealing their shadows frantically moving about. Between the curtains, we catch a glimpse of vampires and dhampir alike doing exactly what we saw at the bar, only most of them look beyond exhausted. During schooling, the priests of Trinia explained that vampires and dhampir do have limits to their toxins. It takes their body time to make and store it. No doubt Ikehn's pushing them to the limit, to make as much money as he can. After all, they're all replaceable.

Lore's movement brings my attention back to him. He glides a few steps away to a powerbox on the wall. Ripping the box open, he grasps the wires within. I almost shout at him in surprise until I remember his trait; power absorption. Sparks of electricity whirl around his hand that don't so much as sizzle.

"Come over here," Lore orders softly, gesturing for me to stand behind him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I hiss, but do as instructed.

"Catching everyone at once," he explains, then stretches his hand out towards the room. Someone within finally notices us. Their eyes widen. She grapples for a gun at her waist. She isn't fast enough.

A surge of electricity shoots out of Lore's hand so ferociously that it nearly sends me to my knees. Lights flicker sporadically. The plastic sheets vaporize. Those within the warehouse spasm from the shock rattling their frames. Then they drop when Lore lowers his hand and blows the smoke away from his fingertips.

"Lock up the doors in case anyone wakes," Lore instructs while tossing me the keys. "I'll call Officer Jaryl."

"And the hospital, right?"

Lore sighs. "Yes, yes, and the hospital."

I step around the mess tentatively. People groan on the ground, surrounded by shattered glass and a few flickering flames. While Lore calls the officers, I make swift work of locking the doors and putting out any of the fires started. I wish he'd do it instead. When I step close to the tables of blight, my throat runs dry and my hands shake. A sickness builds in my stomach, memories in my head that flash in vicious cycles. The scent of metal. My aching limbs. The tightness around my wrists, ankles, and neck.

"I love a paper trail when it gives us everything we need," Lore snickers, descending the stairs from an office a floor above, the only one like it. He reads over a stack of papers then shakes them in my direction. "Lists of blight buyers signed by Ikehn himself. We got him. I already told Officer Jaryl to pick him up."

"Can they do that? You did throw yourself at the guards, entered without a warrant, and electrocuted everyone."

Lore shrugs. "We had reason to believe they were selling blight so we entered and our suspicions were proven correct. I merely caught them before they could kill us. Mission accomplished."

"But Ikehn is a lawyer and a damn good one. If he finds a way out, we'll never know if he actually killed Ay--" I stop short when Lore picks a paper from the stack to show me. The text has a list of names and what they're delivering. Ayden Marshalls is on the list.

"So Ikehn sold blight and used Ayden to deliver the goods, but we don't have proof he killed Ayden himself. He could have hired someone and that mage may not be here," I declare.

"True. We'll figure this all out after the arrest," Lore says, not sounding nearly as concerned as he should be. I try to put a little faith in him since he has done work like this longer than I have. Maybe there's something he knows that I don't.

Not long after Lore's call, officers and ambulances arrive. Perfect timing too since some people were starting to wake. Officers hurry inside the warehouse to process the scene. None of them seem all too shocked to see or learn of how Lore caught everyone at once. I'm almost tempted to ask someone to tell a few stories of other crimes Lore has helped solve. However, if he learns I'm doing that it'll make him way too happy. No doubt he'll bug the hell out of me for asking about it. I rather spare myself the torture.

"Your Grace." Jaryl smiles and shakes Lore's hand enthusiastically. "We thank you again for all your help. I sent a team to retrieve Ikehn and they should be back at the precinct before us. I thought you should also know we did more digging into Ikehn's bank records. There are a few mistakes, tax evasions mostly, so there has to be much more that we can pin on him."

"Good. The more we have on him, the more likely he is to talk about Ayden Marshalls. Did you tell your men to be careful?" Lore asks. "There may be a mage among them, perhaps the one who killed Ayden if it wasn't Ikh--"

A loud explosion rings out at the end of the alley. Fire roars high, casting plumes of smoke into the sky. A car flies through the air, crashing nearby. I tackle Lore to the ground in time to evade a pipe that soars through the air. This would be the moment he taunts me. Instead, he grasps my arm and pushes me off to swiftly rise. Something above us caught his intense gaze. I follow his deep expression to discover Ikehn hovering within the night sky. The roaring inferno illuminates his shaking silhouette. Veins throb in his temple. His eyes are bloodshot from rage.

"You rotten bastards!" He roars. Divinity flows into his hands in wisps of silver light. A color that surprises me. White is the most common color of divinity, for those who lack formal training. Typically, only trained magic users cast in silver. He must have used some of his money to get a teacher.

"Calm down, Mr. Bellvitz," Jaryl speaks. He raises his hands like he's surrendering and maintains a calm expression. The officers, however, ready themselves to fire. "If you come down and let my officers take you back to the precinct, we'll pretend like this didn't happen."

Ikehn snorts. The divinity grows in his palms until they're more vibrant than the moon.

"Whether this happened or not doesn't matter--hey!" Ikehn's blaring gaze fixates on me. His lips tremble in a rage as he points the power building in his hands at me. "I know what you're up to, Paladin. Show me your hands and keep your lips sealed! If I sense even a smidge of magic from you, you're dead!"

Frowning, I raise my hands above my head, dispersing the divinity I had been trying to store. Whatever attack he's about to do will be big. I could at least lessen the damage, but not like this.

"Nobody move!" Ikehn bellows next.

Officers remain frozen all around, their hands once hovering over their weapons slowly raise above their heads. Even from here, it's obvious how infuriated Ikehn is. Maybe we should have seen this coming. The way his office was, the kind of perfection, he probably can't stand being outwitted. He rather go out like this on his own terms, fighting, than sit in a jail cell.

"Should you really be throwing such a fit about this?" Lore laughs like this is all a joke, earning a few harsh glares because why the fuck is he agitating him?!

Lore continues by waving his hand dismissively at Ikehn. "You've already lost. Give it up. We have far better things to do than wait around for you to finish your tantrum."

"Do you have any idea what I could do to you?!" Ikehn roars, rising higher as the divinity pulses so ferociously that it carries a physical sound, like the bell of death ringing for us all. "How dare you speak to me like that?! I could level this whole fucking block before even you could escape the blast, Lord Seymour!"

"Is that so? Do it then."

What...?

"Go on." Lore waves his hands in a come hither manner, grinning all the while. "I truly hate those who make promises they don't keep."

Ikehn raises his arms. I try to cast, but in a single burst, Ikehn sends a blast of seething silver light. I wait for the pain and an endless darkness.

Neither come.

Indescribable heat roars beside me, one that radiates and pulses like a heartbeat. Someone grabs my arm, tugging me behind that seething warmth. My eyes open, squinting at the light in front of me. Lore shines as brilliantly as a star, eyes shimmering like turbulent ocean waves in a violent storm that knows nothing can stand against it. He absorbs every ounce of Ikehn's power. I haven't the time to ask how, regardless of his trait, Lore shouldn't be able to absorb divinity! Vampires and dhampir do not have bodies that can contain it. This should kill him!

But then Lore stretches out his hands and sends the shot back at Ikehn. The force sends everyone to the ground. A wave of heat and light hangs overhead, then the world goes silent.

- - ┈┈∘┈˃̶༒˂̶┈∘┈┈ - -

Uh oh! Lore and Seren may have been able to capture the warehouse, but Ikehn has shown up and he is not happy. Can Lore really handle Ikehn's power when dhampir aren't meant to be able to handle magic? Is this going to seriously hurt him or will he be okay?