ÁSTUR
12.01.8462 - 12:49 AM
Lélia's small plane was quickly approaching the domestic airport of Ástur. As soon as the aircraft completely stop, still in the middle of the airstrip, eight black cars appeared with sirens and surrounded the plane. Lélia commanded the door's opening, and a loud sound of propellers invaded the aircraft. Lélia was the first to leave, trying to control her hair with the strong wind caused by the helicopter's propeller flying over the airport at a low altitude.
"Hello," she shouted to one of the armed agents who was getting out of one of the cars.
"Mrs. Lélia. They interrupted the airport operation just because of you, can you believe it?" Said the agent taking Lélia's arm. "Each one of you goes in a different car."
"No, we'll go together. Give me your car," she shouted over the loud sound of the helicopter breaking away from the agent's hands.
"Too late," the agent said.
Lélia turned back and watched each of the plane's occupants being escorted by a different agent each to a car.
"Who commanded this?" Lélia asked indignantly, stopping in the middle of the runway.
"We received orders to take you all to The Palace, in Kotakahuana. Let's go?"
Lélia's jaw dropped, but she knew that at that moment it was better to set an example of subservience, and so she lowered her head and continued to the car. She picked up her MC as she got into the car and sent a message to the group with the Asturians:
I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE'S DOING THIS SHOW.
When Lélia sent the message, she noticed that two agents were seated on either side of her.
"Guys, we really needed this?" She asked, trying to identify one of her agents. "Lidia, what's going on?" She asked softly in the agent's ear.
"Charlotte asked maximum security to accompany everyone to the hotel. But look, the order is to leave you inside the hotel, protected," Lidia changed her voice as she said the last word.
"I understood. Nothing I can undo," Lélia concluded.
Lidia shook her head from side to side, looking deep into Lélia's eyes.
"At the moment, it might be better to retreat," Lidia spoke as the cars left the airstrip and entered a reserved area of the airport.
Lélia sighed and tried to relax, leaning back on her seat and enjoying the view of Ástur, but her head was boiling with the situation. She remained all the way pressing her jaw as the car already turned onto Ocean Avenue and approached the hotel. To Lélia's surprise, the cars did not stop in front of the hotel but continued on Ocean Avenue, taking the first street on the right and going around the block.
"Are we entering through the back?" Lélia asked.
"It's better," Lidia spoke.
"OK," Lélia said, snorting and widening her eyes as the car slowed down.
Lélia watched an old man in a red uniform open an old, blue gate, which seemed never to be used. As soon as he opened the gate, the cars slowly entered the driveway built for much narrower vehicles. The vehicles entered underground to along a corridor for a few meters before making a left turn where they stopped in a line.
The hotel's basement, unlike its accommodations, was in awful taste and very poorly maintained. The agents were the first to leave, giving way then to the Asturians, who left the cars and stood underground, looking at the glass doors that gave access to a small Lobby and not understanding what they should do. Before one of the agents could say anything, a tall woman wearing a purple turban exited one of the three antique elevators in the lobby.
"Hello, people! I didn't expect to see you so soon," the lady spoke in a strident tone.
"Anna," Lélia lowered her shoulders in relief. "What is going on?"
"Nothing much, my dear," said Anna. "Darlings," she said, looking at the Agents. "Now they're with me, you can leave. Well, come on," Anna spoke, indicating the entrance to the lobby. "Be calm. Charlotte wanted you to be welcomed here by a familiar face. She asked me to help with this."
They walked to the elevators, and Anna held the door so everyone could get into one of the wooden elevators with large mirrors in the center on either side.
"You will stay on the sixth floor of the Hotel. It has been closed to you. You can choose whichever room you like," said Anna.
"The entire floor of the presidential suites?" Questioned Mila, approaching.
"Yes," Anna replied. "Oh my God, what happened to you?" Anna stared at Vaughan and Scarlet clothes with some large bloodstains."
"I'll explain to you later," said Lélia.
"OK, well, before you ask, no, the rooms do not have a magnetic key. Charlotte ordered CriSPe to answer only to her and asked the Arkadian Agents to watch the hotel constantly. She said the intention is to protect you."
"Stupid old cow!" Said Vaughan.
"I know, my dear, I know," Anna slapped Vaughan on the back three times as they left the elevator.
The sixth-floor hallway was filled with crystal chandeliers. Between two of the elevators, there was a sideboard with a glass juicer, all worked, containing water, some cups and glasses, and an ice bucket with five bottles of champagne. The walls had frescoes depicting native vegetation as well as some flower pots. Everyone exited the elevator and headed right down the hall through tropical landscapes.
"This one is mine," Lélia assured, opening the door of room 601. "Come everyone in here. I need to run some messages," she said as she entered the room.
"Me too?" Anna asked.
"Anna, I'm sorry, can you wait in the next room? I want to talk to you, but after I'm done with the guys here," Lélia spoke.
"Sure, no problem," Anna walked away from the group and went into the next room.
Lélia allowed everyone to enter, and they began to explore the room, which had a large living room with two windows facing the beach. Neutral tones and flower arrangements made the atmosphere warm and inviting. The apartment also had a nice balcony, and the sound of helicopter blades came through the living room through the balcony's door. Lélia went to the door and closed it, quickly casting a spell that soon cut off the loud sound of the helicopter flying over the hotel.
Her face was grave, serious in a way they had never seen before. Her gaze was implacable; she was staring into the beyond, her lips were drooping and showing bitter dismay. Lélia walked over to the bed and sat on one end, placing her hands between her legs and moving slightly back and forth. She got her MC and then selected Richard's contact.
"Dick, some things happened at the Manor, and with Fernand. You'll probably discover not very pleasant news when you wake up. I'm with Mila, Marta, Mário, Scarlet, Nair, and Van at Kotakahuana Palace. Your aunt sent heavy security on us. We're fine, and I can only ask you to protect yourself there too. A kiss," Lélia threw her MC on the bed and made the room hermetic with a wave using both hands.
"So, here's what it is, a summary of the night. About the call I got from Charlotte, it's bad news," Lélia took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, making a pout with her mouth. "Everything I'm going to tell you now, only Fernand and I know," she stared at each in the room as she spoke. "Well, as I said, Fernand was on a mission at my request. He was in Tachlovicka but went to Vindobona illegally to proceed with an investigation into Oswaldo. The investigation was about other facts as well, which I'd rather not open up for now. The point is, he went to the Royal Library and broke into Charlotte's office in Hofburg. Charlotte already knows it was him, and she is furious with me and Fernanda, who is responsible for the security of the restricted spaces. Charlotte strongly believes that Fernand is the murderer. The information is probably already public. Look outside. The helicopter accompanied us all the way and is flying over the hotel."
"Fernand discovered something important while he was in Vindobona. Oswaldo visited the city frequently and always went to the Royal Restricted Library. He got permission from Charlotte for consultations. Books cannot be taken out of the library, as it is a restricted library; consultations must be carried out inside the room itself. An agent accompanies the visit to guarantee that nobody makes copies or photos of books. They also keep a record of each book consulted by each person. The message that Fernand sent to the group, was about what Oswaldo was researching. He has consulted several times five restricted books on the Spell of the Thirteen Souls in the last year. "
"Just like Fernand, when Charlotte found out about what had happened at the library, she did the math and asked for a list of the books Oswaldo consulted. She knew that he was an authorized frequenter of the library. This list that Charlotte requested was kept on paper and replicated to an old computer, at Rouge's offices, a computer without access to the network and, therefore, with no possibility of being hacked, as well as several computers that keep certain sensitive information from Charlotte. The Queen thinks that both Fernand and Oswaldo are organizing this, intending to take away her power, and unbalancing world politics. "
"Wow. I truly believe Fernand is not involved in this. The poor man was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. As for Oswaldo, I'm not so sure anymore. I've heard very little about the Thirteen Souls Spell, but anyone researching it either is really evil or has a very ghoulish sense of curiosity," said Vaughan.
"What is the Thirteen Souls Spell?" Asked Mário.
"Look, Mário, they call it a Spell, but no one has ever performed it to know if it indeed works, so it can be quite a horror story to impress people before they go to sleep. Can we broach this subject after we sleep?" Lélia asked.
"Sure," said Mário. "I'm sorry if I touched on a sensitive subject."
"Don't worry. It's not the kind of thing I'd like to ruminate before going to sleep or try to sleep, especially with the night we had," Lélia spoke. "Well, if you'll excuse me now, I'm going to use Anna's ears to vent a little and then sleep. "Lélia clapped her hands again, and the sound of the helicopter flying over the hotel came through the windows and the balcony door."
Everyone got up, looking confused and tired. Vaughan was the one with the worst countenance. His hair was messy, and his eyes red, constantly full of tears. After Lélia's mention of the Thirteen Souls Spell, his gaze gained one more characteristic: terror.
"Vaughan, do you want to sleep here with me?" Lélia asked.
"No, thank you, my friend. I will prefer to be alone with my thoughts. But if you have one of your tranquilizers to give me, I think I'll need it," he spoke while the others left the room.
"Oh, dammit. My bag was on the island, and my pills are in it," Lélia spoke. "I'm going to talk to Anna now and ask her for a recipe. Then I'll ask one of the agents to buy it and deliver it to her room, shall I?"
"Yes, please," Vaughan spoke, crossing the portal and second down the corridor to choose a vacant room for himself.
Lélia watched Vaughan choose room 603 and memorized the number to ask the agent to deliver the pills.