Fire and Ashes (2)

Aurora~ Friday afternoon 6:42 PM – Killer Wind Headquarters.

"What the hell is this?"

Her words were slowly cut by disbelief, and I understood her. Justine wouldn't let us cross the garden with my puppet until I provided her with a rock-solid explanation. As I suspected, the jack-of-all-trades were still in our way. We couldn't speak freely outside.

The horses are cold; can’t you even let me put blankets on them in the paddock?

My partner wouldn't back down. I could see my breath of annoyance condensing into a small white cloud.

"The target caught us by surprise and attacked the recruit. I took care of him, but Edwoyn lost control. I had no choice but to knock him out."

The boss interrupted me to dismiss all the workers. They seemed thrilled to finish their day earlier than usual.

"So it happened again? Did you manage to gather more information about his magical malfunction this time?"

After the incident on the training field, I had informed Justine about Edwoyn's case. I knew I couldn't keep such information to myself. Justine would find out sooner or later, and it was better for her to hear it from me. After a lengthy discussion, we agreed: Edwoyn was a public danger but also a key lead in our investigation.

We didn't know the identity of our enemy, but we now knew he was connected to the Gasencourts. Thus, there was a high chance he had infiltrated the government and was seeking to control the entire country...

"I didn't dream it. Last time, his eyes did indeed become bright. Like filled with magic. But I'm sure he didn't have a weapon..."

"I see," Justine interrupted me before I could break the taboo. "Take him down to the cellar. Just in case he doesn’t regain control. We’ll talk about it later."

After securing Edwoyn, I took care of my mount and stored the equipment as I always did after a mission. My enthusiasm waned as I removed my tattered uniform. It reminded me of my fight with that strange version of Edwoyn I called Evil Edwoyn.

Why try to protect this weakling? Why is that beast inside of him only manifesting now? Is it a split personality?

Around eight o'clock, all the multi-taskers labours had gone home. It was time for me to report to the boss. The effects of the paralyzing drug had long since worn off, but Edwoyn still hadn’t opened his eyes. We would be eating without him tonight.

"You’ve pushed it a bit too far with that kid... He’s too unstable to follow you on a mission."

"No kidding!"

Justine took a sip of tea on one of the hazel-colored sofas. Her eyes swept over the garden through the large bay window. She put in a lot of effort to maintain it fertile, even though, in the end, the flowers grew just fine without human intervention.

Humans only destroy everything they touch. The world would be much better off without these parasites.

I sat on the opposite sofa. "Believe it or not, it was Edwoyn’s idea to infiltrate the target’s property. Since the target wasn't coming, I thought, 'why not?' and then we stumbled upon a massive smuggling underground warehouse. I read in a ledger that two prohibited weapons were stored there, but they were sold a few days ago. What a bad timing!"

"Did you take the account book?"

"No, it was mostly coded."

"Now we just have to wait for a prohibited weapon to make headlines..." the blonde said, trying to keep it in perspective. "Tea?"

I declined with a wave of my hand. It was a very bad time to relax.

"More importantly," I continued, "De Ritella cornered us at the warehouse exit and used Edwoyn as a hostage. Before I could intervene, the little doe caused another explosion."

"Like in the training clearing?"

"Worse. He literally charred the nobleman. And right after that, he lunged at me."

"Let me guess: that's when his eyes started to shine?"

"If he does it again, I'm not sure I can contain him."

This terrifying realization sealed a long silence between us. There was no point in ignoring the problem any longer.

"No. I certainly won’t settle for that. Admit it. I want to hear you admit it."

I turned my gaze away from my mentor’s azure irises. I reluctantly formed the word she wanted to hear come out of my mouth. "He’s oozing demonic magic, and I can’t get my hands on his weapon…"

“So…?”

“So I never should have let him stay alive.”

Why are you putting me through this, Justine?

"You see, Aurora, you had to bring a big problem home. If you had stuck to the orders, we wouldn’t be in this mess."

How could I have known?! He’s a prince, not a smuggler!

"It’s not like we can turn back now."

The first time the prince had shown symptoms of possession, I hadn’t wanted to believe it. The prohibited weapons belonged to the past; at least, that’s what we thought... Now, Justine was forcing me to face the truth: I had made things worse and invited a monster into our home.

It could have ended there, but Edwoyn had mentioned the strange ‘curse’ that plagued his family. I didn’t trust Luleath’s informant, but it indeed looked like ‘a dangerous cocktail of experimental magic.’

If the kings were crazy enough to condemn themselves, I didn’t give Edwoyn much chance of survival. What would be the price of that power? Why impose this on him without telling him anything?

If his soul were completely replaced by that of the creature possessing him, I wouldn’t be able to bring Big Brother back to him. Yet, the only way to avoid that scenario was to keep the weapon-host as far away from the victim as possible to diminish its influence.

But how do you remove a non-existent weapon?!

"As I’ve already told you, I don’t want to be involved in this mess. Figure out how to solve this problem without involving our organization. Otherwise, I’ll leave him to starve in the cellar. Problem solved."

The conversation was taking a very bad turn. I had to get that idea out of her head. Confident, I leaned over the armrest of the second sofa, "It won’t be necessary, Justine. I know exactly where to look for answers."

At the magical research section of the Court, I thought. It’s the best place for experimentation.

"And then, whether he deals with demonic magic or not, Edwoyn belongs to me. I promise you he will be useful in restoring order to this country. I’m only at the beginning of his subjugation. Patience. Edwoyn will be my ace in this grand game."

Proud of myself, I stood up abruptly, placing my hands on the tea table that separated us by a meter. Justine knew full well that trying to stop me when I revealed my brightest smile was futile.

Thus, she withdrew from the game in bitter silence. I was stronger than the one who had trained me. I was the perfect employee for this Reaper job. Yet, despite my apparent confidence, I was in a precarious position.

What are you, Edwoyn? What is this magical malfunction? What is this thing inside of you?

My mentor expected me to take my leave, but there was one last point that needed addressing.

"One more thing: we won’t be able to pay off the clients.” I said. “Someone has placed a self-destruction seal on the entire warehouse. The interesting part is that the death of the noble was the triggering event."

When Justine narrowed her eyes like that, you could be sure she was taking you seriously. Spells that activated in such a manner were rare. This was advanced magic, which narrowed our search to the wealthiest.

They had hired some very skilled magicians, geniuses who could only be found at the Academy of the Court... How many public figures were involved in this dark affair?

"Good grief, we’ve seen it all... Who could be crazy enough to blow up their comrades along with the evidence?"

The boss massaged the bridge of her nose, sensing the magnitude of our impending troubles. She usually avoided complicating her life… I had dragged her into my wild adventure, and it was only just beginning.

"That’s totally the sort of thing the Revolutionaries would do!" I scoffed. "Plus, they need money to fund their coup, so getting into trafficking––"

"Stop including those terrorists on every case! They would never hire a noble to manage their trafficking! We do have many reasons to hate them, but use your common sense, Aurora. It’s not Revolutionaries this time."

"Yes, okay, maybe you’re right, but they’re still scum..."

As I was about to head down the corridor, I turned to my partner one last time, "Tell the clients I’m sorry; I did everything I could. His death should already lift a significant weight off their shoulders..."

"I have no doubt."

With an empty mind, I activated the magical washing machine where the prince’s uniform I had stripped off was located. As for mine, the remnants of torn fabric ended up in the magical disintegrator. In situations like this, we always had spare outfits, but tossing one of Mr.Tello’s creations like that made me feel guilty.

What a waste.

With every mission, it was the same old song: criminals never respected anything... Not even your beautiful work attire.