“Sir. Sir!”

A soft splash echoed through the sewer as Warlock Vulcan finally collapsed. Gaius strained to support him, but was helplessly dragged down by his huge body instead. The boy groaned with effort, dragging what was probably at least ninety kilograms to the side before the man suffocated himself in the sewer water. He propped his superior’s body against the wall and slumped down as well, taking a moment to catch his breath and wonder what to do next.

His eyes flew open at the sound of metal groaning. Gaius stood up again, watching the steel door at the end of the sewer open. A cowled woman stepped out and walked briskly towards them. Energy ran through the Sorcerer.

“It’s alright, Guardian. I’ll take it from here.” Small points of light from the ventilation grilles illuminated her face. Gaius blocked her path, glaring at her hostilely. She looked slightly familiar, although he was sure he had never met this mysterious woman before.

“I don’t think so,” he said in a hoarse voice. “Who are you?”

The woman sighed and removed her cowl, allowing her flowy red locks to tumble down the blue stripes that ran along her robes.

“My name is Cybele Vulcan, and I am the Guardian Council’s designated healer.” There was a hint of impatience in her voice, although the calm expression on her face betrayed none of it. “Now, if you would be so kind as to stand down. Please allow me to tend to my father before he bleeds to death.”

Gaius put his fists down slowly.

----------------------------------------

The boy’s wary eyes never left the healer, even after she had attached the last node to her patient. A warm glow of light left her palm as Vulcan’s breaths slowly steadied. Cybele Vulcan fussed around the array of technomagick equipment in the medical lab while her familiar hopped around, flipping dials and pressing buttons in her stead.

“Are you done staring at me?” Cybele said without lifting her eyes from a screen. She turned to her familiar. “Dappie, monitor his vitals for me, will you?”

The arcane chicken clucked a few times before merging itself with the medical equipment. She swivelled from her chair and walked towards Gaius, leaning against the wall with her arms folded. The Sorcerer looked at her quizzically. Was she waiting for him to start talking?

“I’m so confused.” The words took a shortcut to Gaius’ mouth. “You’re a Guardian too? Why haven’t I seen you before?”

“In battle, you always go for the healer first, don’t you?” she replied. “Healers stay in the background. You’ll see me when you need healing.”

“I… don’t need healing,” Gaius muttered.

“Yes, of course.” Cybele chuckled after taking a brief pause to stare at him intently. “Of course you don’t. Strange physiology you’ve got there, though. Your internal organs are made of light. Just what kind of magic have you been absorbing, Sorcerer?”

“So you’re just stationed here until we need medical attention?” Gaius changed the subject quickly. “No offence, but isn’t that kinda boring?”

“I enjoy Artificing, so I love having plenty of free time to tinker and improve my medical equipment.” The woman gestured proudly at her laboratory. “It’s a pity that I inherited more of my mother’s Cleric abilities, or else I’d be free to pursue a career as an Artificer.”

Her expression turned serious. “Alright, enough chit chat. I wasn’t expecting Dad himself to turn up when he sent the distress signal to my lab. Who did this to him? Who was powerful enough to wound him so badly?”

“Some kind of Mage dressed in all white. He was ready to strike the killing blow when I arrived, so I didn’t have time to-”

“All white? Are you sure?”

Gaius raised an eyebrow, taken aback by Cybele’s reaction. “Yes. Does that mean something?”

The woman clenched her fists, closing her eyes as her head rested against the wall with a small thud.

“The White Locust.” She sighed loudly. “We were barely a match for him back then. No wonder Dad didn’t stand a chance by himself.”

“Does this have something to do with the mission to extract General Faustus’ counterspell?”

“I take it Dad already told you about it then.” Cybele was biting her lip. “Why is that bastard back again? What the hell does he want? Damnit! Why does he always have to ruin our peace?”

Gaius stared blankly at her sudden outburst.

“I’m sorry I lost my temper. It’s just…” She quickly calmed down. “I lost my mother, you see. We were supposed to be protecting the city as a family. As a part of the Guardian Council. But that magi killed her with an enchanted dagger straight to the heart, and she was gone just like that. There was nothing anyone could do- nothing I could do, to bring her back to life.”

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“Some healer I am, right?” Cybele laughed dryly. “If The White Locust is operating in the open again, he must have accomplished something important. I still don’t know what he wants, but it can’t be good.”

“He wants this book.” Gaius pulled out the tome from his pocket and waved it casually. “He tried to steal this from Warlock Vulcan,but I managed to take it back before barely escaping.”

“Impressive, Guardian.” Cybele raised an eyebrow. “But you’ve only put yourself in mortal peril now. That magi is not going to stop until he gets his tome back. Perhaps it’s time for me to mobilise-”

“Not if I find him first.”

The woman stared at him as though he had just grown another head.

“Don’t worry. I think I have an idea of The White Locust’s true identity.”

“Which is?”

“President Cosmo Benedictus.”

The boy had three heads now.

“What?” That was all Cybele managed to utter.

“Just trust me on that. I have a plan.”

“Didn’t the Guardian Council teach you anything about sharing information with your allies?” The lady folded her arms. “At least give me a little more specifics so I can support you. ‘Just trust me’ doesn’t cut it.”

“If you insist, it involves enlisting the help of a Tier Five Meta who’s also a fellow Guardian.”

“You’re talking about Meta Felix Pagonis?” Cybele cast her eyes downwards, deep in thought. “Granted Tier Five metas have a prodigious amount of raw power, but will it be enough to take down what the entire Guardian Council couldn’t? Don’t forget, we still don’t know The White Locust’s motives. And I hope you are aware that each tome of that spellcraft holds within itself enough arcani to vaporise an entire continent. If anything goes wrong with the spell-”

“Well if we don’t try, we’ll never know!” Gaius raised his voice. “Like you said, the city’s in danger. We’re Guardians. This is what we signed up for. If we don’t take action, who else will?”

Cybele looked at him intently.

“There is a huge chip on your shoulders, that much is plain,” she said darkly. “But what do you really fight for?”

“I fight to protect this city.”

“I have Cleric abilities, Guardian. I see past the physical with more than just my eyes,” Cybele said. “And more than anything, I know the look of someone carrying a heavy burden-”

“Don’t.” Gaius’ voice raised sharply. “Don’t pretend to know me.”

“I won’t. But here’s some advice. Whatever you’re trying to push down inside you, get it out of the way before you begin your mission. Bottling everything up will do no one any good.”

“Point taken,” the boy said impatiently. “If you’ve run out of useless things to say, I’m going back to Auraveil High before the president personally tracks me down.”

“Hold on, Deusdedit.” Cybele fished out a coin imbued with a teleportation rune. “If you’re leaving this place, will you do me a favour? Get my sister here. I know Dad would rather not have anyone see him in this state, but she deserves to know.”

“I will.”

Gaius left the room.

----------------------------------------

Auraveil High seemed more crowded than usual, although there were only a few students still in school at this hour of the day. He wondered why.

It was the stares. Everyone was staring at him.

Gaius walked along the corridor, holding the wall for support. Every sound jumped out at him. Every eye was on him. They knew his secret. They must know, or they would not be staring at him like so. The boy quickened his footsteps despite his shallow breaths, deathly thirsty for an empty space to get away from everyone.

Snap out of it, Gaius. You still have a mission to do.

He shook his head and felt a strange sense of weakness wash over him. His heart rate spiked. Was this some kind of mind trick Benedictus was playing on him? Was he being followed? Gaius fell to one knee, panting heavily now. His hands trembled. His feet felt numb. What was he thinking, coming back to school where Benedictus could easily find him?

I don’t have a plan.

Gaius gasped in fear, clutching his chest.

I never had a plan against him! I just said that so that I won’t drag anyone else into this danger! Oh gods, I’m going to die… I’m going to die! I’m going to-

A hand tapped his shoulder.

The boy flinched, but gradually relaxed as a warm presence invaded his thoughts. It massaged his mind like a pair of gentle hands, calming the storm of thoughts raging within. A blissful feeling smothered his body as he slowly sank to the ground.

“Hey, you alright? You don’t look too good.”

Gaius looked up towards the familiar voice.

“I’m sorry for doing that without your permission, but you looked like you were having a panic attack.” Felix’s eyes flickered as he sat down beside him. “What’s the matter? Your thoughts were barely coherent.”

“I’m fine,” Gaius mumbled. “I still have somewhere to go-”

“Hey.” He felt a hand grab his wrist.

“Look, I know we weren’t exactly close,” Felix said. “But you helped me when my sister was kidnapped, and that is something I can never forget. If there is something you need help with, you can trust me to have your back.”

Gaius exhaled loudly.

“Yes. There is something I need help with.”