Light of Dawn

Chapter 23 - Batsu

Jake was walking beside Rayne and Eve along the cobblestone pathway that led to the entrance of the Imperial Palace. Along the way Jake had found that he had developed a bit of a limp that he had assumed he'd gotten from when he was trying to hold back the Strigoi. They definitely felt wobbly whenever he set one down to take a step. He was definitely regretting his decision to fight all those vampires all on his own, but as long as he'd managed to save that kid he thought it was worth it. 

He looked about the palace and saw that there were a surprising amount of guards now, far more than he'd ever seen since he's been here. Shouldn't these people be out in the streets he thought to himself as he recalled that message that was sent out to all the Shinobi. Surely they couldn't all be done securing the districts already? There should be way too many districts for this handful of Shinobi to handle unless-

"Jake!" Called out a familiar voice causing Jake to raise his head up and look for the source that in all honesty had no place here. His eyes finally found the source of the voice in the form of a brown haired and green eyed Lance hurrying over to the three of them.

"Lance?" Jake said not bothering at all to hide the surprise in his tone. "What- What are you doing here?"

"When Wallace got your message he called in all the troops." Lance said turning his head ever so slightly giving Jake a glimpse of what was going on within the main hall.

Through the ajar door he could see people shuffling around, all in there Skins which Jake knew to be a different variety than the ones that the Shinobi used. He let out a sigh of relief to himself knowing that he likely just saved the lives of several Shinobi patrols. Hell he might've even saved the entire faction itself by doing what he'd done. He blinked his eyes and with that single action he suddenly felt very tired, as the nights action was beginning to take its toll on his body. Jake let out a smile as well as a bit of a chuckle before he put his hand on Lance's shoulder, thanking his brother for coming and noting that he was sure it must've been hard.

"Don't worry about it." Lance said turning and moving in such a way so that Jake could lean on him. Must've picked up on just how tired he was Jake thought as he gladly let Lance take the brunt of his weight. "I couldn't leave you alone over here, we're partners. Besides I'm sure these elves can't be much fun to be around."

"You're definitely not wrong in assuming that." Jake said with a hint of amusement. He was glad to see Lance, but at the same time he couldn't help but dread what might become of his being here. The Empress so far hadn't given her opinion on Issac being here, and now that Lance was here he could only assume she was going to be even more upset than she had been.

As the two of them spoke Rayne had already entered the palace, though she didn't seem at all please with the idea of being here. Her head was on a swivel as if she were expecting something to come at her from behind. She wasn't wrong to assume something like that either, after all the stuff that Jake has been through in his few days here he himself had found himself watching his back despite 'being one of them.'

"So what's been happening here? Wallace gave me a rundown but you've actually been here, mind filling me in?"

"Well- for starters we know that Stark definitely organized all these vampires even if he isn't actually here." Pulling himself from Lance, Jake took a deep breath and began to roll his shoulders. "He has a Shinobi on his side."

At that Lance gave him a sharp look but didn't interrupt. "Yeah, I know it doesn't make a lot of sense. But whoever he is he's good enough to take out Rex. He calls himself Oda, and the last I saw of him he was fighting with Ajax Solaris, the Enforcer of the Monarch."