Chapter 76: Meeting Rat King

He walked through the front door without announcing himself, his tentacles coiled and ready beneath his clothes. The common room was nearly empty, just a handful of hard-faced men nursing drinks at scattered tables. They looked up as he entered, their eyes tracking his movements with the wary attention of predators assessing a potential threat.

"I’m here to see the King," Nacho said. "Tell him the Siren wants to talk business."

One of the men stood up and disappeared through a door in the back, his footsteps echoing on the wooden floor. The others watched Nacho in silence, their expressions carefully neutral.

He didn’t have to wait long.

The door opened again, and a figure emerged that Nacho had only seen once before. The Rat King was exactly as he remembered, short and unassuming, with the kind of face that could blend into any crowd. His clothes were simple, almost shabby, giving no indication of the power he wielded in the city’s underworld.

But his eyes were different. Cold and calculating, with the particular gleam of someone who saw the world as a game board and everyone in it as pieces to be moved.

"The Siren." His voice was soft, almost gentle, like a parent addressing a favored child. "I’ve been hearing interesting things about you lately."

"Good things, I hope."

"Interesting things." The Rat King gestured toward a table in the corner, away from the other patrons. "Please. Sit. Let’s discuss what brings you to my door in such a hurry."

They settled into chairs across from each other, the space between them charged with unspoken tension. A serving girl appeared from nowhere, depositing two glasses of something dark and strong before vanishing again.

"I need to move people," Nacho said, getting straight to the point. "Forty Sirens, rescued from a trafficking operation. They need to get back to Lumen without being intercepted by the Consortium or anyone working for them."

"Forty souls is a lot to move quietly." The Rat King’s fingers traced lazy patterns on the tabletop. "The Consortium has eyes everywhere. They’ll be watching for exactly this kind of operation."

"Which is why I’m coming to you."

"Flattering." He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. "And what are you offering in exchange for this considerable favor?"

Nacho reached into his inventory and pulled out a thick sheaf of papers, copies of the documents he’d given Sera. He spread them across the table, watching the Rat King’s expression as he absorbed the contents.

"Names. Shipping routes. Payment records. Everything the Consortium has been doing in this city for the past three years." He let that sink in before continuing. "I’m giving you the keys to the kingdom. All I want in return is safe passage for forty people."

The Rat King was quiet for a long moment, his eyes scanning the documents with the hungry intensity of a wolf spotting wounded prey. When he finally looked up, something had changed in his expression. Something that looked almost like respect.

"You’ve been busy, Siren."

"I have motivation."

"I can see that." He gathered the papers, his movements careful and deliberate. "These are valuable. More valuable than you probably realize. With this information, I could dismantle half of Vex’s operation in the city."

"Then we have a deal?"

"We have a deal." He extended his hand across the table. "Your people will be on a ship by tomorrow evening. I’ll handle the logistics personally."

Nacho shook his hand, feeling the unexpected strength in the other man’s grip. "Thank you."

"Don’t thank me yet." The Rat King’s smile turned sharp. "This makes us even for the information you stole from the Sanctum vault. But it also means I know what you’re capable of now. That cuts both ways."

"I’m aware."

"Good." He stood up, tucking the papers into his coat. "A word of advice, Siren. The game you’re playing has more players than you realize. Lady Vex isn’t the top of the food chain. She’s not even close. Be careful who you make enemies of."

"And who you make friends with?"

"That too." He walked toward the door, then paused and looked back. "One more thing. The Grand General you’ve been working with. Sera."

"What about her?"

"She’s not as alone as she thinks she is. There are people in Lumen who remember what her family did for the Sirens, back before the Elders consolidated power. If things go badly at that council meeting tomorrow, there might be options she hasn’t considered."

"What kind of options?"

"The kind that require someone willing to do the things she can’t." His eyes met Nacho’s across the room. "The kind of things you seem very good at."

Then he was gone, swallowed by the shadows of his own establishment.

Nacho sat alone at the table, turning the Rat King’s words over in his mind. More players. More angles. More complications to a situation that was already too complex.

But also more opportunities.

He stood up and headed for the door, his thoughts already racing ahead to the next challenge. Tomorrow, Sera would face the Elder Council with evidence that could destroy Korith and expose the Consortium’s influence in Lumen. Tonight, forty rescued Sirens would begin their journey home.

And somewhere in between, a former debt collector would have to decide just how far he was willing to go to protect the people he’d started to care about.

The answer, he suspected, was further than anyone expected.

Including himself.

***

"I have motivation."

"I can see that." He gathered the papers, his movements careful and deliberate. "These are valuable. More valuable than you probably realize. With this information, I could dismantle half of Vex’s operation in the city."

"Then we have a deal?"

"We have a deal." He extended his hand across the table. "Your people will be on a ship by tomorrow evening. I’ll handle the logistics personally."

Nacho shook his hand, feeling the unexpected strength in the other man’s grip. "Thank you."

"Don’t thank me yet." The Rat King’s smile turned sharp. "This makes us even for the information you stole from the Sanctum vault. But it also means I know what you’re capable of now. That cuts both ways."

"I’m aware."