Chapter XXV

“So it was the oriental dance,” Lucius thought. Suddenly, the boy stepped back, realizing he was standing on top of the bloodied Vittorio. He could not remember how the hell he ended up there. Everything went blurry after they saw the stranger sitting on top of the wall.

“Please don’t…” wheezed out the black wizard. Lucius himself had blood on his hands and clothes. He turned his head and saw Michael and Uriel, both with bloody weapons in their hands standing with befuddled looks on their faces.

“Please, please...” whispered Vittorio again.

“What happened here?” - Lucius turned towards the wizard and froze. He just noticed a four-line deep wound that appeared on the wizard’s chest, as if some wild animal had attacked him. His heart sank, realizing he himself was that animal. Suddenly, a pervasive sense of dread filled Lucius’s stomach. He stepped backward, shaking his hands hysterically, stumbled on something and fell. He did not even try to get up, just lying on the ground horror-stricken looking at his hands and bloodied wizard. Suddenly, he heard footsteps. Soldiers armed with spears were encircling him and his friends.

“Be ready and attack at once!” - he heard Jahna’s voice.

The wizards and knights looked startled. They would have probably killed them if not Vittorio.

“Stop it. I’ve already completed delta... No need for more killing…” mumbled the wizard.

Soldiers approached them cautiously, still pointing their weapons...

They returned to the same building they were locked up in before. The wizards left the youngsters in the hall and ushered Vittorio into the chamber.

The boys were sitting exhausted on chairs. Soon Angela joined in. The officer brought her in, pushed her aside, and then silently walked out of the hall.

“Where’ve you been?” Asked Michael to Angela.

“The only thing I remember is that from the tower I saw a ghostly reddish figure on the wall and then the officers found me on the street and brought me here.” - Angela answered,

“What about you?”

“The same happened to us. We do not even remember what we were doing after seeing that figure.” Michael shrugged.

They sat in silence for about half an hour. One of the wizards led the kids into the rooms and provided them with some strange liquid. The drink had a soothing effect on them. The cozy room, with soft beds, and the fatigue took their toll, and the boys soon fell asleep. It would have been well past noon when Lucius woke up. Uriel, dressed in a wizard robe, was looking out the small window at the streets. Lucius found another pair of wizard robes in the room, quickly got dressed and approached the windows. Only one-third of the townsfolk have survived, but despite such an immense loss, one could still feel the festive mood in the streets.

“The gate has been opened, people are returning to their homes in the lower town,” Uriel noted.

“How do they know it is safe to go beyond the wall?” Lucius asked.

“Perhaps the wizards declared so… Well, Marcus was right in one thing. In the end, those wizards turned out as our saviors,” said Uriel.

“Maybe he was right on other things, too…” They heard newly awakened Michael’s voice behind. “Marcus mentioned the red regad and the last thing I remember clearly was that reddish smoke around that damned figure. And he warned about madness and here we are. Too much coincidence for me. Don’t you think the same?” Michael continued the monologue.

Suddenly, the door opened, and a servant appeared on the threshold.

“Lord Vittorio wants to see you,” she said in a nervous tone and hurried back.

“Is it me or does she look scared?” - Michael asked, but this was an assumption more than a question.

Neither Lucius nor Michael answered. - They silently went to Vittorio’s room, which was quite far from their bedroom. Michael knocked three times on the big wooden door.

“Come in!” said the hoarse voice.

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Angela was already there, sitting beside Vittorio. The black wizard was lying on the bed, his whole body wrapped. He pointed to the empty chairs next to the girl. They hesitated a little and sat down in the reclining chairs.

“As this girl tells me, you remember nothing after seeing that figure.”

The boys nodded.

“I thought the same” - the wizard had a thoughtful voice.

“What did you think?” - Michael insisted.

Vittorio looked at the boy.

“Brat, do you have the slightest idea what you have you done in a time-lapse, you have no memory of?”

“I think I could guess…” Michael replied gravely.

“You can guess?” - Vittorio voiced. “You’ve killed people, several experienced wizards and knights!”

“What?!” - Angela moaned.

“Not you. You are innocent for a time being,” Vittorio told her.

“When the Regad’s vessel appeared on the wall, he took control of your bodies. In that state, you’ve managed to kill fourteen knights and five wizards before I completed an oriental dance. The vessel could have come and stopped my incantation. All the wizards were fighting you and I was defenseless. Why did not he come down? Why did he allow me to complete the dance that could eventually destroy him?”

The boys stared at wizards in confusion. They had no answers.

“What happened to that creature?” - Angela asked in a weak voice.

“Destroyed as soon as the oriental dance was complete, and that is why you’ve probably come to your senses.” Replied the black wizard.

“Even if the vessel took control over our bodies, how on earth we could kill so many powerful and experienced warriors?” - Michael’s voice trailed off.

Vittorio said nothing, just looked up and remained like that for a moment.

“It’s strange,” he whispered, more to himself. “I felt the power of the vessel and even though he was very young, no one in this city could oppose him. If he had wanted to, he would have killed us all, but he did not. And I could not understand the reason for that mercy.”

“Is it a deep wound?” - Lucius pointed to the wizard’s chest.

“It is a wound that would never truly heal, given its poisonous nature,” Vittorio explained. “There are traces of a vessel left in it, and that’s why it is so difficult to cure.”

“Why did you call us here?” Uriel asked.

“I wanted to understand the motive behind the vessel’s actions.”

“Did you really think we would know it?” - The blondy was surprised.

“I did not say that I expected a direct explanation from you.

“Tell me everything you remember about Marcus. Now that I know about your eyes, you have no reason to hide anything.” - Vittorio eyed the youngsters.

They talked for a long time, remembering everything that could be said about Marcus. Lucius weighed every word, not wanting to disclose his dream. There was something so unnatural and horrible in that event that even after all this, he could not take any risks ...

The gates of the Noble district were open to everyone. By order of the commander, the whole town was celebrating tonight. The strange thing was that despite all the losses that people had suffered, it was hard to find anyone on the streets who was not having fun.

“Is it all over?” Angela mumbled as they passed a row of tables and continued on their way to the gate. They wanted to come to the lower district. It would probably not be difficult to find an abandoned house to live in. As the wizards said, people’s lives were no longer in danger. The four of them could live normally and needed a house for that, too. Townsfolk on the streets could not recognize kids, but the officers remembered them and tried to avoid any interactions.

“They probably saw us on the square when the vessel took over. But it could be beneficial for us in the future.” Uriel grinned at the sight of Michael’s clenched fists.

“When everything calms down, the fear of the city guards towards us repeatedly turns out to be a source of loot.”

“We should go back. Feast has already started, and soon there will be no free meal for us. And afterward, I want to see Lily,” Lucius intervened.

They soon joined the flow of people entering the gate. The deeper they went into the affluent area, the more people got involved in eating-drinking and dancing-singing.

By the time they reached the Noble district, they were already full up and intoxicated. They found Livia near his house.

The remaining wizards were blended among the people, most of them talking with the nobles of the city. The nobles also seemed happy, completely forgetting the fear that had gripped everyone until the wizards appeared in the city.

“Once we find a house, we can open a fencing school in the lower district. Many will come to study with you,” Michael told Uriel.

“It is a good idea. Many students will not only bring us money. As soon as the situation calms down a bit, the gangs will start dividing up places in the districts and then...”

Michael and Uriel were planning loudly the future, while Lucius was sipping his drink and listening to them with a smile.

The friends were so tired that they went to Livia’s house to sleep. Singing, dancing and drinking in the light of bonfires continued until midnight.

Lucius missed his little sister so much that he rushed to the baby’s room as soon as he entered the house. Usually, children often sleep at such times, but because of the noise coming from the street, most of them were still awake.

When they entered the room, the children were sitting on a mat on the floor and playing. Lily raised her head to the door slam. Lucius immediately headed straight for Lily. The girl jumped up and instead of hugging her brother; she leaned back and leaned against the wall, scared. Astonished by his sister’s behavior, Lucius looked at the other children. They, too, leaned into the corner, trembling and whispering something.

Lucius, dumbfounded, turned to his friends for some explanation. Neither they nor the caregivers could understand what was happening. They could notice nothing odd. Only the children had such an immense fear as if monsters were standing in front of them. The caregivers and Livia tried to calm the little ones down but in vain.

“What are they whispering?” Uriel asked. The children were repeating some words hysterically. Livia got down on her knees in front of the little ones, trying to pick out the words. The four of them and the caretakers stood together. They did not make a sound, waiting for her...