The beam of life dust blasted the noble several feet back, knocking him unconscious. Lyam rushed back to Aveline who was still on all fours and breathing heavily. “Are you alright?” He touched her shoulder.

She shook her head and staggered up to her feet. “Doesn't matter. We have to get out of here first.”

They could hear the stamping of footsteps overhead. Probably more guards coming to apprehend them. Even though Lyam was still worried for Aveline, he didn't try to stop her as she hastily drew a teleportation circuit on the floor.

She placed the crimson ruby in one of the circles on the ground and took her position in another circle. Lyam did the same. Aveline was about to make fists of both hands when the boy said, “Wait!”

She looked at him, annoyed. The footsteps were getting closer. “What?”

“I want to do one more thing before we leave,” Lyam said.

“Then be quick.”

“No, it needs to be perfectly timed right before we teleport.”

If Aveline hadn't had her brains fried out from psychic attacks, she would've been intrigued by his statement. But the longer they spent in that underground chamber, she got more anxious and annoyed. “Well, what is it that you want to do? Spill it already!”

The boy grinned. “I want to leave a parting gift for the Count.”

###

Everyone in Eisdel was still asleep. Except for Lieutenant Nicolas who still sat by the circuit the shapecrafter had drawn on the ground. He looked up at the sky that was turning brighter.

The sun would be coming up soon. He wasn't sure if those two outlaws would make it in time. He wasn't even sure if they would keep their promise. For all he knew, they'd made a fool of him and fled. He looked at the crimson ruby placed in one of the circles in the circuit.

The woman had said the location to her home was embedded in the stone. They could use it to track her down. Doubt reared its head again, was she really being honest?

He had just taken her word for it. He was a dust wielder, after all. He wouldn't have a clue about how the damn art of shapes worked. That might be another lie. The lieutenant’s heart sank further as the plausibility of his doubts rose higher.

That's when a red mist appeared over the shape on the ground. Nicolas looked at it, his eyes turning wide when the woman, the boy and a large container made of an otherworldly metal appeared out of the mist.

He rose from his small wooden chair he had laid by the shape. “I was convinced you’d made an ass out of me and left,” he said, clasping his hands.

The two outlaws didn't answer. They merely collapsed to their knees, panting. The woman looked at him, her eyes were wild. “Get me a pail of water. Now!” she snapped.

Nicolas perked at her tone but looking at their exhausted demeanors, he didn't hold it against them. He rushed into one of the houses and returned with the water.

He expected the woman to take a big sip to replenish herself. Instead she drained the water all over the teleportation circuit she had drawn. She pulled out a small sponge from her satchel. It seemed to be made of skunk hair and scrubbed the outline of the circuit clean until there was no trace of it on the ground.

She finally sighed in relief and collapsed on the damp ground once again. “At least…they can't get us now…” she said, her voice hoarse.

Both the boy and the woman lay on the ground, catching their breaths, eyes closed. Nicolas heard a familiar buzzing sound that was coming from the container. “Are those…are those really…”

“One hundred dust blooms, yes,” the woman said, her eyes still closed.

Even though it was right there in front of his eyes, Nicolas found it hard to believe. “How did you even pull this off?” he said.

“Don't ask, old man,” the boy said with a groan. “Don't ask.”

Nicolas actually obliged and held back any further questions. “Well, however you might've done it, you still succeeded. For that I thank y–”

“Save it, lieutenant,” the woman said, opening her eyes and slowly rising to her feet. “Our work isn't done yet. The people of Eisdel are still asleep. It's time to wake them up.”

Nicolas raised an eyebrow. Aveline looked at him with her own piercing green gaze. “What are you waiting for? Bring over the ingredients I told you to prepare. We have to brew Reverie's bane now!”

“R-Right!” Nicolas nodded and was about to rush off to start the preparation when he heard a soft snoring sound. He looked back at the boy.

The woman followed his gaze. Her expression softened when she saw her companion in his sound slumber. “Let him sleep. He's had a rough time,” she said.

###

Next morning, Lyam woke up in a bed that wasn't his and a room he hadn't seen before. An odd sense of deja vu enveloped him as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He looked at the sunlight pouring in through the window. A pair of sparrows flew across the sky outside. He got up and looked out. People were back on the streets again, the neighborhood was filled with chattering voices and sounds of footsteps.

Everything looked normal, but something was still missing from the view he saw.

“There are no children around,” he muttered to himself.

“I wondered if that's why it still seemed rather lonely,” Aveline said. She was leaning by the door behind him. She had arrived as quietly as ever.

“But we still won,” Lyam said, “We still stopped hundreds of people from dying in their sleep. And I finally got to see my mamie.”

A hint of smile played on Aveline's lips. “Focusing on the bright side, I see.”

Lyam nodded. “I still remember what you told me. I can’t keep dwelling on the misery around me.”

“I'm glad you kept that in mind.” Aveline walked into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. “People don't get strong by just brooding around.”

Lyam looked at her over his shoulder. “But Eisdel won't be this way for long. We're going to bring those children back. I hope you haven't forgot that part.”

Aveline shook her head. “I haven't,” she said. “Now about those guards last night.” She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “What did you do to them, Lyam?”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

The boy was quiet for a long time before finally turning to her. “After I'd used syphon burst on them all, the system asked me if I wanted to harvest their life dust. Doesn't that mean some of them died?”

“Some of them probably didn't make it unless someone healed them right away,” Aveline said. “Even if they didn't survive, what does that make you feel?” she narrowed her eyes.

“I…I hope it's just in my mind and they actually lived,” Lyam said.

“So you feel guilt.”

The boy nodded.

“Then everything is normal,” Aveline said and rose from the bed. “It would've been a problem if you hadn't felt anything after killing a bunch of people.” She started back towards the door.

“But, Aveline,” he said, his voice trembling slightly, “how long will I feel like this?”

“Depends. Something like that is bound to linger. Just don't try to bury that feeling. If it makes you cry, let yourself cry. You are a wielder, Lyam, not a monster.”

“So I should just wait for it to go away?” he said.

Aveline gazed at the wall ahead of her. “If they really died at your hands, you should pray for them,” she said. “Pray for their souls to rest in peace. Just don't let it haunt you forever. If you hadn't done what you did last night, it would've been you and I who died. And in turn, all the people of this city would've never woken up. Focus on the good things. That's what it all circles back to in the end.”

Lyam's mouth curled in a sardonic smile. “So I let myself be sad while also focusing on the positives?” he said. “I never thought death would be this complicated.”

“Death is never easy. Especially not on those who live.” Aveline stepped out of the door. “Wash your face and come downstairs. Nicolas is serving breakfast.”

###

Quite the breakfast it turned out to be. They were having croissants, sausages, a fruit salad and a cup of actual tea--with milk and sugar and cream--not the boiled water with herbs Lyam and Aveline had in the forest every morning. Nicolas let them stuff themselves without a word. He even seemed happy at the way they did it.

Then the old man cleared his throat as he poured them all another cup of tea. “So, your friend here told me a bit about what happened at the castle in Diamond Veil,” he said to Lyam. “You both…really went up against Damien De Croy?”

“Just Lyam,” Aveline said with a small grin, “I was a mess.”

The boy shook his head. “The probability of us getting arrested and executed was far higher than us actually escaping. We won because we were lucky.”

“However, it's no small feat to survive against Damien's psychic attacks. If I were you, I'd be proud of myself,” Nicolas said through a mouthful of croissant.

Lyam gave a small smile. “I'm a lot more proud of the gift I left for the Count.”

Nicolas was intrigued. “What was it?”

Aveline groaned and rolled her eyes.

“You'll find out.” Lyam's smile widened as he took a sip of his tea.

###

They helped the lieutenant do the dishes after they were done. Then Aveline said she was going to take a shower. That's when Nicolas stopped her. “Um, there was something I wanted to tell you both,” he said.

His two guests looked at him, curious yet patient.

“Do you remember the letter that I'd sent asking for assistance to arrest you both?” Nicolas said. “Well, the letter came back. They told me to bring you both myself. Since the Enforcer’s head quarters in Diamond Veil is busy dealing with a different situation. What I mean to tell you is that…you don't have to worry about them coming after you now. Since they are busy, they'll eventually forget about the letter I'd sent.”

Aveline and Lyam sighed in relief.

“Thanks for keeping your end of the deal,” she said.

“No, thank you for what you did for my city and all the people–”

Aveline raised a hand to stop him. “Save it, lieutenant,” she said. “Don't thank us. I'm not trying to be rude but there are two reasons why we don't want you to waste your gratitude on us.”

Nicolas paused, scratching his chin. Aveline kept talking.

“The first reason is, we aren't some benevolent heroes who helped this town out of kindness. I think we'd made it more than clear that I made the deal with you because I wanted to save mine and the boy’s neck here,” she said. “And second reason, we want you to do us a few small favors.”

Now Nicolas was back to looking wary again. “What kind of favors?”

Aveline looked at Lyam.

“You tell your thing first,” he whispered to her.

Aveline nodded. “I want you to help the boy get better at dust wielding,” she said. “I've been trying to guide him as best as I can but I’m still just a shapecrafter. He needs someone with the experience of his arts to teach him.”

Nicolas hesitated before saying, “I don't mind being a teacher to someone who wants to learn but I have one condition.”

“What is it?” Lyam said.

“I'll only teach you as long as you promise you wouldn’t use your powers to hurt the weak and innocent,” Nicolas said. “I wouldn't have seriously considered your offer if you hadn't saved my city. And even if I don't mind keeping your existence a secret from the law, at the same time I also don't want to be the one who trained a mass murderer.”

Lyam felt a lump in his throat as he thought of the castle guards from last night. He still gave a sincere nod. That was the entire essence of having Nicolas teach him. So that he wouldn't have to be uncertain about what his powers might do to others around him. “I can promise you I don’t intend to harm anyone who is weak or can't defend themselves against me. But I want to learn to use my powers better.”

Nicolas nodded back with a small smile. “I think we have a deal then.”

“Wait, there's one more thing,” Lyam said shyly. “There's someone I know who is coming here. I want you to help her out with a few things when she gets here.”

###

Next day when Alda arrived in Eisdel, it didn't look any different to her than it had the previous day. She certainly didn't notice any absence of children playing on the streets. Or the quiet way in which people shuffled down the roads, not speaking much.

She had a piece of paper in one hand and two pieces of gold in the other one (she still found it hard to believe how those things had come into her possession). She made her way to the Enforcer's office in the town and walked up the steps.

She found the senior man who was in charge of all administration. The one who hadn't let the constables arrest her when she had made a scene outside their office. She walked up to him hesitantly, unsure about what she was going to say to him. But the note in her hand had said to come see him.

He beamed at her when he saw her approach. “Oh, I was anticipating you!” he said with the kind of enthusiasm people mostly save up for long lost friends.

The old enforcer led her out of the office. “I'm Nicolas Moreau, if you forgot,” he said conversationally. “I hope your travel wasn’t too exhausting.”

“It was alright,” she said quietly as she followed him, still finding the entire situation absurd. “W-What's going on? I still can't understand most of it.”

Lieutenant Nicolas looked at her over his shoulder. “Didn't you get the note from your grandson?” he said. “Didn't it say to come meet me here?”

“It did…b-but–”

They turned a corner and made their way into a tenement building and up some stairs. For the first time in a long time Alda hesitated while being with a man in uniform.

How did this man know Lyam? Why hadn't Lyam talked to her directly in Diamond Veil? What had even happened to Emma?

She looked down at the note again. It was written in her grand-son’s squiggly, half-literate hand. That was the only reason why she had come all the way back to Eisdel. The note was the only evidence that her grandson was still alive. But what business did this enforcer have with Lyam? Had the boy got himself in some kind of trouble with the law?

Nicolas led her down a hallway and into a small apartment at the end of it. It had two rooms, a kitchen and a privvy in the back. There wasn't much furniture but the place had good ventilation. She could see the sun from the sitting room window.

“We had to arrange this rather hastily so the place is still quite modest but it's better than a hut or stable where travellers mostly squat in.” Nicolas chuckled nervously. “You don't have to worry about the rent just yet. Let yourself settle in. You can think of paying the landlord once you get a steady income flowing in. If he still tries to give you grief about it just come to my office, I'll straighten him up for you.”

Alda was frowning now. “What did my Lyam do?” she said.

“Pardon?”

Alda took a wary step back. “Why is a man of the law being this considerate and kind towards me? And where are my grandchildren?”

Nicolas sighed and scratched his jaw. “I understand you are confused about this. And I would try to explain this but I won't do a very good job of it.” He produced an envelope from the pocket of his trousers and held it towards her. “You should just read this letter instead. Lyam left it for you.”