Chapter 279: Puzzle

Syryn made a path of frozen rats. Rowan had wanted to kill the crazy little beasts but then they would have had to step over the blood and guts of the rats, and Syryn wasn't having any of that. He could ice over the dead rats but why do things twice?

As they moved, the duo quickly found themselves being followed by some men who saw what they were doing. The men thought they could stay safe while running behind the ice mage who was continuously freezing the rats that kept coming like a tide.

Unfortunately for them, the saviours were crossing the borders, a place they couldn't go to without risking their lives. None of the factions tolerated their territories being crossed into by the enemies unless they had permission to. It was easy to crossover but the hard part was staying alive. 

Gangs knew their men. Strange faces were easily noticed and caught. So when Rowan and Syryn crossed a bridge that marked neutral territory, their tailers stopped following them.

"They're more afraid of being killed by humans than being eaten alive by rats."

After crossing the bridge, the duo slowed down.

"The gangs execute their enemies in very brutal ways," Rowan told the mage.

"Worse than getting eaten by rats?"

"Worse."

"So why didn't they do that to Artemus?"

"You can ask him yourself," Rowan replied.

The dark-haired anti mage was ahead of them and in the company of rough-looking brutes.

"Sightseeing?" Artemus asked the duo.

The unnatural calmness of the blond anti mage in his night robe set the brutes on high alert. The two strangers had just arrived from a town being horrifically attacked by rats so their demeanour wasn't just unexpected, it was downright intimidating. The lack of injuries and their unruffled appearance was especially suspicious. 

"Something like that," Rowan replied as he looked around. "Coop looks the same even on this side."

"You should have left, Rowan. Risking Syryn's life along with yours isn't something I expected from a smart man like you."

Rowan chuckled. "It's hardly a risk, Art. You know that very well. So why don't you tell me what this is about?"

The anti mage signalled for the men to leave even as he walked forward to speak with Rowan. After putting a good distance between them, Artemus gave the blond a dry look.

"Having you here complicates my plans. I know you're good enough to level this island on your own but that's not the point."

Artemus' bruises were an ugly patch on his otherwise beautiful skin.

"Then what is the point?"

The dark-haired anti mage stepped closer and lowered his voice. "Look-"

"Boss! They're here!"

Artemus turned around and saw a large group of men heading their way.

"I have to go," he told Rowan. "Don't get into trouble you two. And don't interfere with whatever happens soon."

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Without another look in their direction, the anti mage left them, taking long quick strides towards the newcomers.

Syryn made an amused sound. "They called him boss."

Thoughts heavy, the blond watched his friend go. "Let's go, Syryn."

"Eh? Where?"

"You heard Artemus, didn't you? We're leaving."

"No! I'm not going back to that rat-infested place."

"Be good, Syryn. If the Sanguine sees us, we might have to leave Coop."

"There's more of them here?"

Rowan tugged the mage back towards the bridge. "I don't know. What I do know is that Artemus is working under the orders of HQ. He likely has a few friends with him."

"And how did you deduce that?"

"That's he's on a mission? If Artemus wanted Bella dead because of a personal grudge against her, he wouldn't involve the entire island. An assassination job isn't easy but it's much easier than taking down an entire faction. There's a much bigger meal here that we're still not seeing, Ryn." The blond was smiling like he was enjoying the act of puzzling out the scenario.

"Okay? Then why are we hiding from your friends?"

"You heard Artemus. We might jeopardise his plans. We're spectators, Ryn. Let's find a place to roost so we can watch Coop burn from a safe distance."

Syryn couldn't understand what was happening. If Artemus was going to start a war, why go through the misery of being beaten and whipped then hanged and attacked by sharks? He could just waltz over to the faction he wanted to side with and pitch his idea. And then it dawned on him. They weren't likely to believe in or trust a man coming from nowhere. It made more sense to approach them as a survivor with a vendetta against the woman who had had him tortured and almost executed.

"Damn! You mage hunters really go all out for your missions."

Syryn wanted in on the guessing game.

"Where do think Robin is hiding? She can't be dead right?"

"Not likely. Robin must be working from the shadows. But we can't discount the possibility that she's dead. Remember that Bella was looking for an undercover spy long before Artemus arrived. He might have taken Robin's place and allowed himself to be found by Bella's men so that Robin could continue her work."

"That's great and everything but didn't he come to Coop to look for me?"

Rowan grinned, and Syryn was blinded by the handsomeness of it.

"He did. But it seems our Art got caught up in an operation that wasn't his. It's either that or he came up with this whole thing to save Robin. We'll figure it out eventually, Ryn. Let's see what he does next."

Since Artemus was working with Red Sun, Rowan decided they were going to wait a day in Queensmen territory and move to the Iron Raiders if the heat was too much over at Bella's side of Coop.

They went right back to the inn they were originally staying at. The Queensmen had now taken control of the rat situation and were cleaning up the streets. The live ones were getting treated for the bites since even the most stupid of thugs on Coop knew that getting bit by a street rat came with unpredictable infections. The ones that were hanging at the edge of life and death were killed off and burned with the dead. Corpses were breeding grounds for all kinds of diseases so they made quick work disposing of the dead.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing we evacuated early," Rowan stated. The night robe-clad man took a sweeping glance around the burnt ruins of the inn they had been staying at.

"The food was shit anyway," Syryn added.

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