Silence fell in the office after the two mist users' disappearance. The Grandmaster locked eyes with his student and said sternly, “Jessica, next time I ask you to hit me, try not to look so happy about it.” Jessica's voice was all deference, but her smile and eyes said otherwise. “Yes, Grandmaster.” The wizard shook his head in disapproval, but he couldn’t hide the shadow of a smile. Then he let it bloom, crossed his arms, and added, “I did say we had to make it believable, didn’t I?” Gaze locked on Jessica, he waited. After a few instants, the female’s eyes grew wide. Then she snorted, rolled her eyes, and answered , “Fine, if that’s what you want…” Without warning, she ran and crashed into a shelf, falling on the ground in a mess of damaged books and broken wood. The Grandmaster frowned, “Did it have to be THAT shelf, Jessica?” Head bowed, Jessica replied, all innocence, “We have to make it believable, Grandmaster.” The old man laid a hand over his eyes, sighing, then he chuckled quietly.
They fell silent as they heard the approaching footsteps climbing up the stairs. A man in black clothes entered the office and stopped when he saw the damage. His short, slightly unkept hair looked like small spikes embedded in his skull. His dark eyes scanned the room. Jessica shivered as she felt like a predator was assessing her. Was she a prey? The man purposefully walked to the Grandmaster and observed the wound, his mouth a thin line. He raised a hand and played with a pale ribbon of pink mist hovering in the air. His voice was soft like a rapier in silk. “You’ve grown weak, Helios.”
The Grandmaster tried to raise an eyebrow in return and winced at the pain. “I remember beating you in duels, Chala.” The dark gaze was still scanning the room, lingering on the open secret door. “Yes, I remember, I was twelve.” The shadow of a smile flickered, “And you were 29.” He stretched his fingers, and thin tendrils of shadow grew from their extremities, floating in the air like a soft breeze held them. The Grandmaster walked to his desk and set a hand on the green sigil. His smile was warm, but his eyes were ice. “Some things change, some things remain the same, Chala.”
Chala's smile flickered again, almost like a tick. He slowly walked to the middle of the pulsating ward and extended his arms. The needle-thin tendrils looked like the were magnetically attracted to the Grandmaster. They quivered like an excited beast close to the old man’s eyes. Jessica stopped breathing as the tension escalated. The shadow man finally said. “Shall we begin?” The Grandmaster smiled, “You first, you’re our guest.” Chala nodded, “Who was the mist user?” The old man pondered before answering, “He was very tall, big muscles. He had a dark wound on his right eye.” The tendril seemed to taste every word. Chala closed his eyes, took a breath, and nodded. “He is no threat then, he is already dead.” Jessica’s hand went to her mouth as she gasped in horror.
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The man glanced at her before dropping his gaze to the ward and then looked beyond the desk. He gave a little interrogative shrug. The Grandmaster said, “Oh, but I have a question too. When was the last time you went to see them?” The eyes of the man changed, thin swirling dark smoke danced in them with anger. Helios yawned and stretched, letting go of the sigil. The green ward faded. “You’re pushing yourself too far, Chala, that’s reckless.” Chala nodded while recalling the shadow to his gloves, but his mouth was a thin line. “I had some unforeseen complication on the way.” The Grandmaster approached him and gave him a quick embrace. “At least you’re here now. Will you stay for the night?” The man looked in the distance. “As you said, I’ve waited too long. I should go.” The old man patted his arm. “You’ll stay for dinner, though.” The smile stayed a second longer, “Yes, I’ll do that gladly.”
They were about to walk out the door when Chala froze. “By the way, any promising students?” The ritualistic tone was unmistakable. The Grandmaster sighed and looked at Jessica, dusting herself off, “Just one.” The shadow man looked at her intensely. “Powers?” The wizard shook his head, “Detection.” Predator’s eyes snapped to him, the hunger of a predator radiating from them. The old man patted his shoulder and sighed, “Only a bit of detection, Chala.” He sighed and added, “Nothing that could be used in the field.” Then he looked proudly at a confused Jessica, “She’s a hell of a scholar, though.” The Grandmaster glanced at the young woman before leading the man to the door. “We could visit the treasure chamber, reminisce a bit about the old times.” The hunter's mouth curved in a bittersweet smile, his eyes shone with feverish brightness. “The old times,” he echoed softly.
When the men were out of sight, Jessica collapsed on the Grandmaster’s chair. She would very much have liked to know the meaning of her mentor’s glance. But she didn’t have the code. Her body started to shiver, then she dropped her head in her hands and sobbed. “Gareth…” she whispered. Her grief and fear got lost in the cold and silent room.
Even when the tears dried out, she stayed immobile. She barely felt her body, and time stopped mattering. The light slowly died out. It was almost pitch black when soft steps echoed from the stairs. Jessica looked up and said weakly, “Meryn? What are you doing here?” The tall woman took in the scene and said, “The Grandmaster asked me to find you.” She picked up a shard of the broken sphere. “What experiment were you doing this time?” Jessica remained silent and brought her knees to her chin, curling up in a ball. Soft hands untangled her. A caring voice reached through the grief, “Come, I’ll help you to our room.” She picked up Jessica like she was a tired child. “Eleonora is already there, waiting for us.” Jessica feebly said, “Put me down… I can walk.” Meryn gave her a knowing smile, “Certainly not, it’s not every day that it is you I can carry. This is a dream coming true.”
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