The Time Keeper

Chapter 57 - Shoulder Touch

I pushed open the doors to the church and walked in. It was dimly lit with candles much like earlier. The bishop who had been conducting prayer earlier was sitting in the front row of the pews with his head bowed.

Upon taking the first step inside, the bishop turned his head to look over at me. He had a sturdy, rugged face with whitening hair. He was still wearing his white cassock that matched his aura.

"Elias, what brings you here at this hour?" The bishop asked.

"You know me?" I replied slightly confused.

The bishop began walking towards me as I took Lorenzo off my shoulder and sat him down in the pew.

"You expect a bishop of the Church of the Keeper of Time doesn't know a fellow arcanist under him? Of course, I know you." He replied with a chuckle. "Now what brings you here."

I guess as The Church of the Keeper of Time has authority over The Huntsmen, it only makes sense that this bishop would know me.

"I was tasked with finding and capturing this here gentleman," I said to the bishop while taking a glance over at Lorenzo. "He has connections to the incident with Pandora. A supplier. I was hoping you could take care of him for me. He's harmless."

"This wasn't tasked by us? Was it a separate task given to the Huntsmen?" The bishop asked.

I slightly tensed up. "Well, no. It was just given to me." I paused thinking if I should tell him the rest, but seeing as The Church of the Keeper of Time was on the side of The Huntsmen, it wouldn't matter. They'd find out eventually. "It was issued to me by the messenger from Mr Haywood Ahern himself."

"Mr Ahern? That's... rather odd." The bishop replied, his brows furrowed.

What could be odd about that? It's just a small bounty. "Odd?"

The bishop paused for quite a moment and then spoke slowly. "Mr Ahern shouldn't be aware of, the Pandora incident. He shouldn't even know their names. Yet he wanted Lorenzo taken out. Could someone have leaked this?"

I took a step closer. "Their names? Is this, The Black Rose? Were Lorenzo and Pandora both a part of it?"

With a sigh, the bishop looked over at me again. "I guess if you already know and are asking anyway, yes. Both of them are part of The Black Rose. Well, Pandora is. Lorenzo was recruited by Pandora from what we know."

There was a moment of pause again while the bishop pondered over things.

"I'll make sure he's taken care of. None of this will get out to the enforcers or even The Huntsmen. I imagine you wouldn't want that."

I bowed slightly, "Thanks, sir." Keeping it a secret was rather important to me.

Stepping back, I cast a final glance at the bishop as he got Lorenzo up onto his shoulder. "Thank you, Bishop... uh, forgive me, I didn't catch your name."

The bishop chuckled again, a deep rumble in his chest. "Pablo. You may call me Bishop Pablo."

Pablo had an air about him, like Bishop August I encountered a while back. A weight that hinted at power. He was no ordinary clergyman; his presence echoed with a great arcanist's strength.

Walking down the stone steps away from the church, I reflected on my encounter with Lorenzo. His reaction hinted at dark secrets, tied intricately to Pandora and the recent incidents with his supplying.

His mention of The Black Rose was the truth. Basically confirmed by Pablo.

The Black Rose was an organisation and Lorenzo was a low-level grunt, taken in by Pandora to do her bidding. But what Pablo said was indeed strange. Why would someone like Haywood Ahern be concerned with taking out someone as disposable as Lorenzo?