Pyro

Chapter 16

I questioned Kaz's movie.

It felt like the first ten minutes were pimping him up with prolix sentences like, "There goes Kaz, that sexy devil," and "god damn, look at that body. I bet you're jealous." First off, I wasn't. Not one bit. Second off, having Kaz as a narrator made me want to light myself on fire.

So I screamed, "Get on with it!"

The black and white movie, which still depicted Kaz strolling down a busy city street, paused, and the announcer (AKA Kaz) boomed, "Shut up and watch the movie."

"Get to the goddamn point, Kaz."

He sighed. "You're so pissy."

What did that even mean?

"Fine." The black and white movie shifted into a picture of a woman.

The woman was in her mid-to-late twenties, and her black hair, twisted into a simple plait, hung over her shoulder. Her incredibly long ebony hair fell past her waist.

But the picture seemed to catch her at a precise moment; a moment where the light hit her eyes just right, and the amber in her eyes exploded- they were almost gold.

No, they were gold. Her golden eyes, the color of the sun, shimmered, appearing almost inhuman.

She wore a simple outfit-a light blue blouse and jeans-but her stately stature-her shoulders squared back, her legs tensed and head tilted to the side, as if scoping the area around her-had me guessing that she, alongside Sam and Belrook, was the one who killed Rebecca.

The announcer spoke as multiple pictures of the golden-eyed woman, always flanked by a tall, swarthy man, sometimes shaking hands with men and women alike, and never by herself, arose into view and faded into nothingness.

"This woman is Alexandra Bane. That's her alias, real name unknown. Her street name, Proditio, is what she's called."

Proditio... her name lit a vague sense of familiarity.

"Proditio is a figurehead in the Traders, known for identifying high-class powers and capturing them without a hitch. She's been connected to over two hundred cases of kidnapping and human trafficking, not to mention the other thousand she's suspected to be connected to."

Thousand? She'd wrenched... over a thousand people out of their homes and sold them?

Kaz continued speaking, losing his slang and growing more austere with each syllable. I could detect the scathing acrimony in his voice. "Her power isn't known, though many suspect it's some kind of detection- an ability to pinpoint high-class powers. But some people think it's something else, something that lets her kidnap people, by herself, with high-class powers without even letting them scratch her."

It has to be some sort of detection... I thought. I thought back to when Bekrook claimed 'she', Proditio, could hear us say her name. That could be a subset ability, depending on her main ability.

But the latter part of Kaz's explanation didn't seem right. By herself? "Why did Belrook and Sam come after Rebecca and me, rather than Proditio herself?"

Kaz hefted a loud sigh. "That's probably what Miranda and Sam were confused about. She always does things by herself, so joining a cell and sending two goons to do the job for her is pretty out of character."

The pictures melted away, leaving me in the expanse of darkness.

"Anyway, you know who she is now. As for how we're connected to her..."

A bucolic home settled into a grass-covered hill emerged from the blackness; the ataractic chirping of birds helped to settle my unsteady heart, and I took in the expanse of serene nature. Trees, full and green, carpeted the landscape, wind swept over the grass, and I felt as if I was there. Away from this madness.