Chapter 14

Nate was woken up by the motion of his body rocking back and forth.

“Wake up. Nate, Wake up!”

“Hmm?” Nate peered through squinted eyes and saw a blurry giant staring down at him. He was confused for a minute about where he was but the events of yesterday came pouring in and he understood.

“Yeah?”

“Wake up and get dressed.” Daniel threw some clothes on Nate’s bed and made his way towards the door. “Family breakfast.”

“Family breakfast?” Nate grumbled but began to prepare himself.

Ten minutes later Nate and Daniel arrived at the dining hall. There was a long table and seated at the head of the table was the Grandmaster. There were half a dozen people seated at the table with a close resemblance to each other.

“Nathaniel, welcome.” The Grandmaster said from the head of the table. “I know you have many questions for us but I promise those answers will come soon enough. Come meet the rest of your family.”

Sitting to the Grandmaster’s left was a matronly woman who was introduced to him as his grandmother. She had a scowl on her face and barely made eye-contact with him.

Next was the man sitting to the Grandmaster’s right. He was introduced as Nate’s Uncle. Sitting beside him was his wife. Another couple sat across from them, it was Nate’s second uncle and his wife.

“There are more of us of course.” The Grandmaster motioned for them both to sit down. “Some of us choose to remain here in Albacore but we’re spread all over the world.”

“Big family.” Nate commented.

“It’s only natural. The Prescott lineage has been around for centuries you see.”

The Grandmaster continued to talk, informing Nate on certain things he should know. As he spoke, Nate observed the room.

Except for Nate’s grandmother, the rest of them were all sitting upright and silent. The grandmother herself was scowling, and she didn’t bother hiding the fact she was upset about something. With her lack of eye contact, Nate figured it had something to do with him.

“You will meet several other Prescott’s at the Academy. I hope you can all get along well. Now, shall we eat?” With the Grandmaster’s order given, the servant un-covered the silver platters revealing an extravagant meal.

Nate filled his plate with food and filled his cup with juice. Ever since he woke up from his coma he seemed to be in a perpetual state of hunger. His stomach grumbled, urging him to stop filling his plate and dig into what was already there.

He lifted a spoon-full of eggs to his mouth and took a bite. Nate’s eyebrows rose in surprise, and he quickly began shoveling food into his mouth. He managed to clear his plate before reaching for the cup of juice.

Once he set down the empty cup he looked up in amazement. He saw the Grandmaster staring at him with a twinkle in his eye and a grin on his face.

“What the hell was that?” Nate said aloud.

“We have excellent cooks, but what makes our food special is mana enrichment. It’s one of the ways we cultivate magic in our youth. By eating food enriched by magic it helps them become more aware of the magic around them. Now, I have something special for you.”

A man dressed in all black walked in pushing a tray. On that tray was a pot of soup. The man made a beeline in Nate’s direction and un-loaded the pot onto the space before him.

“This soup was made from a 2-star magical beast taken from the NetherRealm.”

For the first time, Nate saw some emotion from the other family members. They were all staring at the bowl before him with envious looks on their faces. It was only the Grandmother who seemed annoyed that Nate would receive such a gift.

“What does it do?” Nate wondered as he removed the cover and inhaled the delicious soup.

“The soup has the special effect of replenishing vital energy and blood, it can also refine your bones and muscles. It will significantly hasten the recovery speed of your body. With a few more meals like this, your body will return to full strength in no time.”

Nate drank the soup under the gaze of the rest of the family members. Even Daniel looked at him with jealousy. Nate realized the soup from the magical beast must be something that was hard to acquire, even for people like them.

“I must take my leave now.” The Grandmaster stood up to leave. “We all have busy schedules so we have made it family tradition to eat breakfast together. You’ll be living at the Academy starting Monday, but tomorrow I expect to see you here bright and early. Daniel, see to it that Nate gets acquainted with our lovely city.”

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Once the Grandmaster left, the rest of the family took their leave. His uncles greeted him, but the woman didn’t bother looking in his direction. Once they had all left, Nate and Daniel were the only two who remained at the table.

“You’re lucky.” Daniel said as Nate finished his soup. “Magical beasts are usually poison. It takes the work of several high-leveled mages to counteract the poison to make them edible. This is why even though we’re rich, we rarely eat such precious food.”

“Ah!” Nate said in contentment as he set down the empty bowl. He heard everything Daniel said, but he couldn’t help himself. The food he ate was exquisite, but that soup at the end made him want to cry in happiness.

“Asshole.” Daniel said in mock anger.

Nate laughed aloud. Daniel tried to remain angry but soon he smiled and shook his head. “Come on, I’ll show you around the city.”

…

Mendell sat relaxed in his seat, casually observing the group in front of him. There was a woman seated before him with two men at her side. Although his expression was bored, deep down he was ecstatic.

“Dr. Mendell, the director of Homeland security.” The woman began.

“You’ve asked to speak with me?”

“Yes. I’ve come to give you your first and last warning.”

“Which is?” Mendell heard shuffling behind him reminding him he wasn’t alone against his visitors. Three of his elite Guardians were behind him, ready to attack at the slightest sign of trouble.

“You will cease your attacks on my people.”

“Your people?” Mendell shook his head. “Last I checked, walking corpses and mutts aren’t considered humans. Civil liberties don’t apply to you and your kind.”

The two men bristled but the woman remained calm, and with a single hand she managed to get the men to back off. “We’re here for peace talks, remember?” She warned.

Once they were settled she turned back to Mendell with a smile. “The mutts you speak of are called Lycans, and the walking corpses are called Dark kin. For future reference you should remember this, it’s only common courtesy after all.”

Mendell chuckled. “Dark kin, how cute. You speak as if you’re not one of these,” He put on a disgusted face, “Creatures.”

“I’m both actually.” The woman said, ignoring the lack of respect on Mendell’s part. “I’m a Legacy.”

Mendell’s excitement couldn’t be contained. He broke into a wide grin. “A Legacy! I must say, I haven’t had the pleasure of working on one of you yet.”

“Bastard!” The men before him were incensed but the woman kept her cool.

“You’re quite confident in your abilities.” The woman remarked.

“I am. It’s why you’re here before me to talk peace isn’t it? Your people are afraid of going extinct.”

The woman laughed. “Hardly. We’ve been around for centuries while you humans stumbled about like toddlers. We’re not afraid of you in the least.”

Mendell remained quiet.

“You don’t believe me?” The woman shrugged. “That’s understandable, but you will regret a full-scale war with us.”

“Why’re you really here?” Mendell wondered. “You must know I wouldn’t accept an offer like that. And as much as I dislike your kind, I know you’re not stupid. You wouldn’t walk in here without an exit strategy.”

“Do you really think you can take us so easily?” The woman scoffed. “Out of all the races, humans are the easiest to deal with. You spawn like rats and are constantly at war with each other, despite your short lives.”

“You put up a united front, you werewolves and vampires, but it’s false.” Mendell spat. “I’ve read reports that you monsters have been turning amongst yourselves. There’s no loyalty between werewolves and vampires. Soon, we’ll have you all in our labs and that’ll be the end of you monsters.

Of course, I might be willing to be a little magnanimous if you tell me what you meant by that. You said humans are the easiest to deal with which implies there are other races. There might be a way to spare your people if you’re willing to work under me and share your knowledge.”

Mendell knew of mages, angels, and demons. But something in the woman’s language hinted there was more. Although he planned on experimenting on those monsters, he was lacking in information. If he could string the monsters along long enough to discover their secrets, he could have it both ways.

The woman’s jaw quivered. Whether it was in anger or laughter, Mendell couldn’t tell.

“Your arrogance is astounding.” The woman stood up but the men beside her remained seated.

The Guardians behind Mendell moved forward so they were between her and Mendell.

“The only reason we ‘monsters’ have been on the losing end this past decade is because of clan politics and the order handed down by the mages to steer clear of humanity. But, now that you and your mutated humans have been outed for colluding with angels, you’re no longer under their protection.”

The woman smiled, but there was no warmth in her smile. “You so readily agreed to this sit-down because you’ve been lulled into complacency. You’ve underestimated your enemies. I’m quite disappointed, I’d heard you were more calculating than that.”

The woman’s eyes turned black and the world turned hazy as towering black shapes surged up from the floor, their bodies shrouded in shadow, their eyes an iridescent blue that fixed straight into their eyes, pinning them where they were.

“My name is Amarosa,” the black shapes spoke but the voice belonged to the woman. “And I will show you the error of your ways.”

Mendell looked calm on the surface, but he felt overwhelming fear surging up from below, threatening to lock him frozen in place. The shadowy beings were un-like anything he’d ever seen before. They were unnatural.

The shadows gathered closer, and although the Guardians were afraid as well, thousands of hours of training took over and they pushed their fear aside. They dashed forward, activating their spirit energy along the way.

The two men were still seated in their chairs but then two phantoms dove into their bodies. Their human-looking bodies transformed. One of them turned into a were-wolf hybrid, the other’s nails and fangs extended. They both had darkness oozing out of them like a stain on their souls.

Two of the incoming Guardians were intercepted by the transformed monsters. The third Guardian went straight for Amarosa, but her form collapsed in on itself. The guardian stood where she once was, confused.

The phantoms all around him all converged onto the Guardian, and Mendell watched as the Guardian disappeared in that cloud of darkness. All he heard were screams coming from the Guardian.

“I will make you regret your disobedience.” Mendell heard Amarosa whisper behind him. Her breath on his neck sending goosebumps up his spine.

Mendell pushed aside his fear and activated his spirit. A golden aura burst out of his body, lancing through the darkness all around and making it disappear, all except for the shadowy mass behind him. This shadowy mass was Amarosa herself.

She hissed in pain, but the wound was superficial. Mendell stood up from his chair, four golden wings sprouting out of his back as he did so. “You didn’t think I would only rely on my subordinates, did you?”