CHAPTER 379: AN ANGEL’S DESCENT-II

Wet with raindrops, Arabella stared at the now charred carnival tent, her chest heaving with the ghost of panic that still lingered in her lungs. Smoke curled upward into the gray sky, and she exhaled a shaky sigh of relief. Who would have thought that a careless cigar, dropped by those wretched crewmen, would consume the entire tent in a rapid blaze?

The drizzle did little to wash away the acrid smell of burnt canvas. Around her, children ran with tears streaking their soot stained faces, flinging themselves into their parents’ arms. The sound of their sobbing cut through the quiet patter of rain. Relief and fear mingled on their expressions, alive, but only just.

Arabella’s throat tightened. If she had been even a moment slower... she shuddered at the thought of bodies left behind in the flames. The ache in her chest deepened, a knot of grief for what might have been.

"You did well."

The low voice, warm and proud pulled her back. Cassius’s hand descended lightly on her head, his touch steady, grounding. He tugged the hood of her cloak forward to shield her face from the curious gazes around them, making sure they didn’t lay eyes on her for far too long.

"Since our business is done here," he murmured, eyes glittering as she was aware the deep desire that had darkened his eyes while he saw her performing magic, "how about we find that puppet master from earlier?"

Arabella blinked, droplets clinging to her lashes. "You’re right. We left too early... do you think he will still be here?"

"I considered the idea of him running." Cassius’s lips curved faintly as he lifted his hand, index finger raised. From the tip, a black shadow dripped and clung to the cobblestones like spilled ink. The line slithered ahead through the crowd, unnoticed by the people trampling across it. "So I left him a little mark. If we follow it, we’ll find him soon enough."

Arabella’s tense shoulders eased. Despite herself, she smiled. "You really are clever."

"Mhm?" Cassius angled his head, crimson eyes alight. "I love the praise. You should keep going while we follow the trail."

Her lips curved with playfulness. "Since you beg so sweetly, I suppose I will."

Without hesitation, she slipped her hand into his. The warmth of his palm contrasted the chill rain as her shield bloomed to life, bouncing the droplets away from them. Beneath its shelter, the world narrowed to just the two of them, moving side by side through the dimming streets while gray skies wept above.

The trail of black mark that they followed eventually reached toward the gate but what they found there was not the puppet master who had known too much, it was simply the two puppet dolls that they had seen from earlier, the one that looked like her and Cassius.

While she bent down to grab the dolls, Cassius looked at the footsteps on the muddy ground, suspecting the entire situation as a tussle, "Seems that some people came from him before us."

"What do you think happened?" She stood up while holding the well made dolls, feeling a little sad to see such adorable dolls of them being stepped around. Muttering a magic, she managed to clean the dolls at once and eagerly, she pushed the two dolls into her cloak pocket before turning around to find Cassius who was staring at the ground, counting the footprints.

"I suppose the puppet master has enemies of his own," Cassius said, pointing toward the gate not far off. "They didn’t like him enough to leave him conscious. Judging by the tracks, they dragged him into a carriage and drove away."

"You can tell all that from footprints?" Arabella asked, wide eyed. She had stared at the dirt more than once and couldn’t tell one print from another.

"We will know for certain once we follow the carriage’s trail." Without warning, Cassius bent down, sliding one arm beneath her knees and the other around her shoulders. In a single effortless motion, he lifted her.

"Ehh?" Arabella squeaked, mortified by the undignified sound that escaped her throat.

Cassius’s laughter rang out, delighted by her fluster. He leaned close, nudging his forehead against hers. "You blush over something this small, when you’ve already ridden me—"

"Shush!" Arabella slapped her hand over his mouth, cheeks burning. "We are on a serious case, Cassius. Your jokes aren’t welcome."

He made an exaggerated pout, sighing. "My wife silences me."

"I’m not your wife," she retorted, though her protest faltered as Cassius floated into the air with her still in his arms. Thanks to the chaos of fire and rain below, few eyes noticed their ascent. From above, the fleeing carriage was a dark blur against the slick road.

"Yet, you mean, darling—"

"There! Cassius, faster!" Arabella smacked his chest, pointing eagerly.

He chuckled, wondering if she would ever swoon over his words instead of chasing mysteries. "Yes, yes, as my lady commands."

Following the carriage was no challenge for him, though its relentless pace stretched on until the sky bled orange and indigo. At last, it stopped before a towering gate, the entrance to a sprawling mansion.

The mansion wasn’t anything familiar to Arabella but she couldn’t help and note the excessive luxury paraded from the mansion. A large statue made up of gold that sparkles in the middle of the foyer with trees shaped into a heart cut and flowers that only bloomed at night with rumors of how it dies by morning arrives and have to constantly be plucked.

"The enemy of the puppet master is a rich man?" Arabella whispered with a tilt of her head as they saw then three men walking out of the carriage with the tall bald man pushing an unconscious man to his shoulder, carrying him like a bag of rice.

"Those people..." she muttered as when she squinted her eyes, she could see the tattoo that they have on their forearm, a familiar tattoo that belongs to the same loan sharks who had sold her! The same people who had lent her gambling father all those money.

"They are part of the crew with the people who sold me... a loan shark!"

Cassius who was only interested in getting the puppet master to speak now was piqued with interest again, but this time with a dark mirth.

"They were the one who sold you?"

"Not exactly the same people but I think the same crew. They all have the same tattoo."

"Really?" Cassius smiled back at her while the black sky behind him seemed to shake a little at his malicious smile. "What a very delightful coincidence. I have been wanting to meet them you see."