Drewells976

Chapter 292 - Across the Mirror

Added 2024-10-22 00:21:04 +0000 UTC

A/N: Greetings! We are setting up for the last stages of book 4/this arc and the big finale. Hope you all enjoy it! I'm sure everything will go without a hitch or bloodshed :)

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Formless shadows swarmed over the silver surface. Valela held her arms around herself, heart beating in her ears. Mere moments stretched forever before the mirror cleared to reflect an identical room thousands of miles away.

Kai smiled slightly upon seeing her. “Hi.” His face was paler and more gaunt than she remembered; the blonde locks on his forehead darker and in dire need of a cut.

“It’s good to see you’re okay.” Valela recomposed herself with Poise, praying to not sound awkward. “It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, it has…” His gray eyes carried a gloom shadow.

Why didn’t they contact me sooner? What happened in Limgrell? Is Kea safe? Did he get there too late?

A dozen questions raced to her mouth, so many things she wanted to ask and say—one rose over the others. “Are you alright?”

Kai blinked. “I… yes. I’m fine. Just tired.” His shoulders slackened and softened his posture. ”It has been a few long weeks.”

Yeah, for both of us.

“You’re in… Darvell now?” Valela recalled the location the clerk had mentioned in passing. She had been groomed to thrive in social situations, but her skills seemed to fail her now. She twirled a hazel curl over her cheek, unsure of what to say.

Stop being silly.

“It was the closest town that had a branch of the House,” he moved closer to the floating mirror, studying her. “Uh… Have you done something with your hair? It looks different.”

Valela stopped her fidgeting and pulled her hand away. “I just tied it.“ A braid half circled over her ear and was fastened behind her head. It was a mess with many wavy locks tickling her face. She knit it while running here.

It’s all Rena and Calyssa’s fault.

“I like it,” Kai said with a terse nod.

Heat rose to her cheeks. “It’s nothing much. I could have braided it better.” Valela caught herself just before touching her hair again. ”We should keep on topic. Did no one else come with you? You know traveling on the mainland isn’t like the archipelago.”

From the map she studied, Darvell was a minor trading hub close to the Rattling Hills. It would take days to reach it from the Lake of Myst.

“It was the only way to send a message. And I move faster alone.” He wore a rueful smile. “To be honest, it was probably safer than staying in Limgrell.”

“Why…” Valela gulped as she caught on to the implications: he would be going back for his companions.

I warned him they should have left as soon as possible. Why does nobody ever listen?

The folder Professor Hulmus gave her weighed heavily in her spatial bag. If half of what she suspected was true… She shuddered at the thought; this wasn’t something they should be messing with. ”How are the others? I’ve not heard from them either.”

I have to get away from that town.

Kai stiffened. His gaze darted around the sealed room as if expecting an attack. “Are we safe to speak?”

“Not even the consul could spy on us.“ The House prided itself in the clarity and security of their mirror magic. They had guarded the secret for millennia, spreading across the continent. Valela walked closer to the mirror’s surface with a bad foreboding. “Is everything really alright? Did… did something happen to your sister?”

It had been too long since Niel updated her.

I should have hired someone to check on them.

“Kea’s fine. Well, she’s protected…“ His grim look was back. “We’ve been careful to avoid risks since Niel went missing a month ago.”

“What? What do you mean he went missing?” Valela froze, wishing she had heard wrong. While she had only met Niel a few times, he had accepted her sponsorship and been under her protection. How could he…

Bloody curses! I failed them.

“We were attacked on the streets near the docks,” Kai spoke with a lifeless tone. “I tried to stop them, but…” His hand moved where he held the sword and clenched it into a fist. “I couldn’t do anything to help him. I could barely see anything, the mist was so thick. Then, he was just gone…”

“Meew,” A fluffy silver cat suddenly stood on his shoulders, rubbing his head against him. Kai fondly scratched the familiar without showing any surprise. Her same guilt reflected in his eyes.

It’s my fault.

Valela traced the scar on her stomach—a habit she had thought forgotten. In the archipelago, she always knew where to go and who to call to tackle a problem. Her naive arrogance led her to believe the mainland would be the same. The idea seemed laughable in hindsight. Her years of preparations and contacts amounted to

a grain of sand in the sea.

What can I do?

“Why don’t you explain everything from the start.” She moved a high-backed chair in front of the mirror and gestured to him to do the same before realizing there was no seat in his room.

Bloody cheapskates. The House must consider that an extra for wealthy patrons—she’d have a word with them later.

Kai didn’t seem to mind. “Yeah, a lot has happened.” He summoned a sculpted ice stool and took out a blue pillow in the same motion—not hiding his spatial artifact. A breath escaped him as he sat. “We've been careful with our moves since Niel was taken. The culprits are organized, probably a cult of some kind. They want to keep their secrecy at any cost, but we’ve put together a few clues…”

Valela listened, scribbling down the most important information. Against her advice, Kai had dove straight into the case, treading a precarious path between not calling attention to himself and scouring the town to uncover the truth.

“I recovered this from an ambush site.” Kai took out a sheet covered in an array of jagged runes, and waited for her to copy it before continuing. “We also discovered a man who had been providing names…”

The new information sent her mind flying in a swirl of possibilities. She had concrete clues to pursue. Added to the records and reports, she could make more than far-fetched theories.

It’ll take days to cross-reference everything. Professor Hulmus won’t be happy…

“The number of disappearances keeps increasing. We’ve been looking for where the missing victims are taken.” Kai explained the trails they followed.

Thrumming with nervousness, Valela filled over twenty pages before he fell silent. The affinity for Darkness and the strange runes fit her suspicions of a cult.

Is it really them? The records say they had been purged centuries ago.

She pulled a lock behind her ear. Such an ancient organization would keep her up at night, but there was a more pressing worry.

“Why did you reach out now?” She peered at him, hoping to be mistaken. “Don’t misunderstand, I’m happy that you did. But you should stop this investigation and inform the Republic. This matter is far more than you or I can handle.”

“I can’t. If I speak with the officials in Limgrell, the cult will know. They will run or worse… We’ll lose any chance of finding Niel and Caeden.” The steely stubbornness in his eyes was unmistakable: he had made up his mind. If a month spent watching his back hadn’t dissuaded him, no amount of cool reasoning would change it. “Kea won’t leave till we find out what happened to them. And neither will I.”

Kai lowered his gaze, almost guiltily. He turned the silver ring he wore with his thumb. “I was there when Niel disappeared… I couldn’t help him then, but I won’t abandon him.”

Merciful Moons…

Valela massaged her temples. “Okay, I understand.”

“Uh, you do…?” Disbelief sculpted every line of his face.

“Yes.” She loathed to admit it, but she wouldn’t lie to herself, or him. Duty and responsibility were familiar feelings—even when they were foolish. “You can’t leave them…”

The last piece of this conversation finally fit together. “You’re planning to do something stupid, aren’t you? That’s why you came to see me.”

The guilty look Kai gave her would have made her laugh under different circumstances. “I don’t mean to face them head-on,” he said—as if that was supposed to make her feel better. “Once we find Niel, we’ll run. We’ve got an idea of where they might be hidden. And I thought to inform you before we check. Just in case.”

Just in case you get yourself killed?

Valela wished she could reach through the mirror to slap some sense into that insufferable face. Instead, she pressed her lips into a thin line and stared him down. Why couldn’t he keep out of trouble?

“You can bring what we found to the Republic,” Kai averted his eyes. “Do you know anyone trustworthy? I’d be grateful if you waited a few days. I don’t want to risk the rumors reaching Limgrell.”

Of course…

The corruption of the local officials was hardly surprising. Any large organization had their rotten fields, though Kai also underestimated their capabilities. Valela pushed down a slew of snappy responses and rested her hands on the skirt of her uniform. “How can I help?”

“I can’t ask you for more. You’ve done more than enough,” he said without pausing to breathe.

“Then we’re good that I’m the one asking. You’ve already gotten me here.“ She gestured to the onyx room lit by three crystal lights. “You even insisted on paying. Just indulge my curiosity. What’s your plan? Maybe I can help.”

“I’m not saying…”

Valela rummaged through her bag to take out the folder. The papers were a little unwieldy to show through the mirror, though she liked having something to keep her hands busy. “I’ve also done some research. I wasn’t certain before, but what you’ve shown me confirmed a few theories. This cult is more dangerous than you think.”

“Thank you for your kind patronage.” The clerk smiled brightly, taking his silver coins with a cruel swipe. ”I hope our services were satisfactory. May we interest you in some refreshments?” She slipped a folded sheet over the counter to him, the pearly paper showed images of colorful drinks and snacks.

“I’m good.” Kai fought to keep his tone polite. “Thank you.”

A shiny bowl of mango ice cream gave him pause. He could rarely find fresh apples in Limgrell, let alone mangos. After a month of bland meals, his stomach begged him to buy the sugary dessert—the price tag helped him desist.

I won’t be tempted.

Kai strode out of the hall and descended the onyx steps two at a time onto the dusty road. How could he enjoy any food while the others waited for him? He stopped at a crossing to orient himself. It was laughably easy to find his way without the fog, the eastern stone gate soared over the building and most passersby offered him directions.

Darvell was hardly a picturesque town with its gray buildings, lack of green and chattering caravans choking the main avenue. Still, the burnished blue sky and sunlight washing over the rooftops made him gape.

Since he had trekked out of the mist, he couldn’t stop marveling at the open heavens. The constant dreariness around the Lake of Myst had been suffocating him, he only now realized the toll it had taken on him.

I have to get back.

He was already behind his schedule. Valela had chewed him out for three hours straight, ripping apart and rebuilding his plan with a sweet smile. Someone had to know what was happening in Limgrell before they took any risky initiative.

The worry for his friends pushed him to walk faster. It was mid-afternoon when he exited the eastern gate behind a creaking wagon. Aside from Rain, he was the fastest runner—a logical choice for this task.

C’mon, they can survive a few days without me.

Kai channeled a stream of mana into Body Augmentation, his boots crunched the gravel of the wide road. If he kept a steady pace and didn’t take breaks, he could get back in two days. His concern and eagerness to see the matter done urged him to quicken his steps.

He ran past a team of gruff adventurers who sneered at his speed—perhaps they were going in the same direction. The flow of seekers lured by the gold bounty had never stopped, even though most only stayed a few days before giving up and leaving.

They might be jerks, but they’re right. I must slow down.

One way or another, everything would soon be over. They had spent weeks patching together rumors, statistics and hunches to trace down the cultists’ hideout. By the end, there had still been three vast areas to search. Kai hadn’t expected Valela to provide any useful intel, let alone something to narrow down the possibilities.

I owe her another favor. They just keep piling.

His rhythmic breathing condensed into white puffs as the crisp air brought relief from the heat of running. With the coming winter, the fields of golden crops had faded into muted browns and grays. Dense mana nurtured plants to grow taller and lusher, but also made the seasons and weather hasher. Bare trees and bushes lined the road, offering little cover.

Kai trusted Hallowed Intuition that he wouldn’t need any for a hundred miles or more. Realizing he had sped up again, he adjusted his pace and summoned his status to distract himself.

Living in a creepy shithole sure helps.