Chapter 77: Eyes of the State

A bird with pitch black feathers pierced through the darkness of the night.

It flew above the districts of the lower ring, passing between crowded apartment buildings and beneath the glow of lamps lining the streets below.

Very few people bothered with birds, crows especially. They were an ordinary sight throughout the lower districts where discarded food and dense populations attracted them by the hundreds.

There was nothing remarkable about this particular bird from a distance, nothing that would distinguish it from the countless others nesting throughout the Biome.

But this one had unusual eyes. Their natural glossy black had been replaced by a magenta hue that shimmered as the bird turned between buildings.

Its gaze was focused on a particular young woman. For several more seconds the crow watched her departure before the unnatural light within its eyes gradually faded.

Elsewhere, the same magenta shimmer occupied a pair of human eyes.

Black Crow Koa sat upright on her bed.

Her short ash blonde hair had fallen messily around her face and she appeared to be staring straight through the bedroom wall.

Those hollow pink eyes of hers peered through the darkness without blinking, absentminded and unfocused while her awareness existed somewhere far beyond the apartment.

The glow in her eyes disappeared and focus returned to her face. She blinked once then released a quiet breath.

‘Is that enough?’

She wondered, staring at the ceiling.

Ever since meeting Jack Ripley in the underground slave facility, Koa had kept a careful watch on the girl. The same was true for Sk?ll Rune.

She liked to believe neither of them knew they were being observed. Crows were common enough to not warrant suspicion, and Koa rarely relied on the same bird for long enough to establish an obvious pattern.

The young man Rune was easy to stalk.

He didn’t pay special attention to his surroundings unless something directly threatened his life, and most of his recent activities have been thoroughly uninteresting.

Ripley on the other hand required her special attention.

Koa had seen enough during their brief confrontation to know that the girl was dangerous, unpredictable and obsessed with Red Deer Rhos.

What concerned her was that she nearly killed him. In her eyes, that made Ripley an inconvenience.

Even now while monitoring her departure, several of her crows remained positioned throughout the lower ring, maintaining enough distance to track Ripley’s movements without repeatedly entering her immediate vicinity.

Koa knew where that crazy girl was going before Rhos did. In fact, she was the reason Ripley found this apartment tonight.

Not directly, of course. Koa preferred to nudge people toward a conclusion rather than giving instructions where instructions weren’t necessary. It took care of a lot of unnecessary talking.

A crow seen at the correct intersection, another moving toward a certain direction, a conveniently persistent trail for someone intelligent enough to recognize she was being led.

This only worked because of their brief encounter in the underground facility.

Koa understood enough about teenage relationships to know a girl with a particular relationship with a boy suddenly leaving without announcement would create problems later.

So she set the stage for them to talk under observation.

There was another reason she set this whole thing up.

‘Baal’

Koa’s expression remained unchanged as she considered the name. She vaguely remembered hearing that name from “him” before.

The memory was old enough that many details surrounding the conversation had become uncertain, mostly due to her sleep deprivation.

But she remembered three names being mentioned together. Baal was one of them.

She was told to never associate with any of them unless she wished for an early death.

The fear of death had never bothered her. She just saw no reason to make it happen sooner than necessary.

It was sensible advice. People who enjoyed living should avoid individuals whose names were attached to ominous warnings like that.

When she overheard Ripley accepting a request from someone of such a name, Koa changed her plans.

She guided her toward the apartment and allowed her enough time to say goodbye to Rhos, sending the crow when their conversation had lasted sufficiently long.

Koa couldn’t allow Ripley to give Rhos any ideas.

If he somehow decided to follow Ripley out of Elderwood because of misplaced concern, her work would have become more difficult. Worse, she would have failed her objective.

“Mhmm..”

Her attention shifted beside her, she lowered her gaze to the little girl who was fidgeting beneath the blanket.

Even after spending time with the little mutant girl, she still had not adjusted to how unsettling she was.

Apart from her otherworldly appearance, there was nothing there.

Nothing instinctively announcing that another soul occupied the bed beside her.

Koa could see her. She could touch her and she could watch the blanket shift whenever Morri moved.

But if Koa closed her eyes and Morri stopped moving, there was almost no difference between having the girl beside her and having an empty mattress.

Yet when she looked down, there she was. Her white hair spread across the pillow and her strange eyes were closed, although the subtle movements of her body suggested she had not properly fallen asleep.

Koa watched her for a moment.

Morri belonged to Rhos. Therefore, she had to take care of her as well.

It was inconvenient, but…

“You’re cute”

That made the inconvenience tolerable.

When the little girl moved again, Kao lowered herself onto the mattress and pulled her closer. She wrapped both arms around her small body to stop the restless movements.

Morri stiffened briefly before relaxing against her chest. Only then did Koa finally close her hollow eyes.

“You’re making me do too much work…”

There was still more to monitor tomorrow. Her stalking wasn’t exclusive to only those two. There were a lot more others that required her special attention.

As such, she had to get as much rest as her chronic condition allowed.

Her breathing slowed as she surrendered herself to exhaustion.

Just before sleep claimed her, one final name escaped from her lips.

“… Asha”