The Challenge of the Masters

⊱⊰ 52: An Unusual Family ⊱⊰

The door creaked as the built, tall man opened it. He said something out loud in his native language. From his actions, Arisa guessed that he was letting others in the house know that he was back. As soon as the team followed him and entered the area, Arisa saw someone lock their arms around the man in front of them.

"Thank goodness you came back safe and sound, Tam," said a female voice. "This is the last time I agree for you to take a client somewhere at this late hour."

As Tam hugged back the woman, Arisa glanced at the area in front of them. From what she could see, she concluded that the room was large with a small number of furniture decorating it.

"There you go again with your worries, Vina," said Tam, sighing.

The woman gazed at him. "I'm serious. It's not safe to walk around this late with the People of the Sea kidnapping our people to do Aqua Madre Mati knows what."

Aqua Madre? Arisa couldn't help but be curious about that name.

"Probably to have them as a late-night snack," said another female voice across the room. "Everyone knows what those animals' main dish is."

As gasps filled the room, Arisa noticed that the lightly built girl sitting on one of the straw couches across the room was the one that had talked. Two small children playing on the carpet looked at her in horror.

"The Peeple of the Shea eat other peeple?" asked a little boy, his tone scared.

The girl stared at the boy, moving to her right ear a curl of hair that had escaped her messy ponytail.

"No they don't," said Vina, placing her hands on her hips. "Lani, why are the kids here? You were supposed to take them to bed."

Lani focused her gaze back to a magazine. "They said they're not sleepy."

"Well, of course, they won't sleep if you tell them scary stories," said Vina, exhaling. "Take them to bed before I lose my patience with you."

Lani closed the magazine and sighed deeply before she stood up. She grabbed the children's hands and hit the stairs, looking annoyed.

"If that girl keeps telling the kids how evil the People of the Sea can be, they'll definitely grow up hating them as well," said Vina, folding her arms. "We don't need another generation to hate one another."

"What to do if the mother keeps mentioning them whenever their father tries to make a living in his night shift?" teased Tam.

Vina turned around. "It's not my fault if I can't help but worry. There have been a lot of people missing lately."

Upon hearing those words, Arisa wondered if that was the reason most of the streets were deserted. Even if it was really late at night, usually there are some people hanging out.

"What matters is that I'm fine," said Tam, caressing his wife's dark brown head. "Besides, if I hadn't left that client in the station, I wouldn't have met these people."

Tam moved away and showed his wife the four young people standing behind him. Now that she could see the woman properly, Arisa thought that Vina, like her husband, looked like a person in her mid-forties.

"Who are these people?" she asked, tilting her head. Her short wavy hair moved a little in response.

"Guests from other worlds," said Tam, smiling. "Prepare a room for them, they'll spend the night here."

Vina's brows arched. "Is that so? That's great. Please follow me. There are some papers to fill before going to your room."

The team nodded and followed her to the receptionist's table that was small steps away from the entrance. Vina walked behind the table and grabbed a few papers.