Suma’s POV
Jake held on to me, I screamed and begged and ordered him to let me go, to let me keep healing the noble, but he never listened. Eventually, the guards arrested Jake and I, he was collared like a normal familiar, and I was restrained with magic, then we were taken to be questioned at a nearby guard station. I waited for a long time before anyone came in, and the first time they did it was just to ask about Jake. I sat alone in that room with nothing but my thoughts. I thought about that noble, about what he did to me, about how I could not save him. I wondered if I really even tried. In the moment it felt like I was trying, but I failed. I asked myself if I had done something different would it have worked, if I had been able to channel more of Jakes magic could I have healed him? Questions plagued my mind, danced in my head like snow in a blizzard, but no matter what thought came or went there was only a single end to it… I did not save him. A while later, an investigator by the name of Dehal came to question me. With him was a Memory Seeker whose job was to watch my memories as I was being questioned.
“Your familiar, Sentinel, already let us do a memory delve on him, we ask that you cooperate as well.” Dehal said.
“Yes,” I said softly. The Memory Seeker stood beside me and cast her spell, and Dehal began asking his questions.
“Can you tell us how and when you first met the nobles from the alley?”
“I was in a meeting with the Grand Duke at City Hall, he wanted to speak with me about my name and my familiar. After I left the meeting, I saw the nobles watching me. They must have followed me from City Hall because they found me after I had just finished eating. One of them called out to me, he started screaming at me and insulting me. He demanded that I go back to the Grand Duke and renounce my name.” I explained.
“Do you know why he would choose you specifically?” Dehal asked. “What I mean is, there are many commoners with names, why did he go after you?”
“He said that I did not deserve it. He said that I practically named myself, and that meant I had stolen an honor that belonged to nobles.” I told him.
“Why did he say that you had named yourself?” Dehal asked suspiciously.
“Jake… he named me before he became my familiar.” I said. “I did not order him to do so, I had not even asked him to be my familiar, he just decided to name me.” I explained. In our world, ordering someone to give you a name is a crime, technically it is called a theft of honor. Dehal looked over at the Memory Seeker and she nodded.
“So, what happened after that?” Dehal asked.
“The nobles attacked me. One of them threw a magical attack at me and it broke a few of my ribs. I used some of my healing magic then flew away as fast as I could.” I said.
“But they chased you?” Dehal questioned.
“Yes, all the way to the alley. In a panic, I summoned my familiar, Jake.” I said.
“You’ve called him Jake twice now, but according to our records, your familiar’s name is Sentinel.” Dehal interrupted me.
“Yes, sorry, when he became my familiar, I had to choose a name for him. But his name from his world is Jake.”
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“You used a naming bond for a familiar summoning? That’s rather uncommon. Normally naming bonds are only for important things like magical items, why use it with a familiar?” He wondered. He was right, naming bonds were abnormal, at least for familiars. When most people create a pairing with a familiar, it is via a linking bond, and they simply name the familiar later, if they have the magical power.
“Um, that is harder to explain. I did not actually mean to do it, when I was performing the ritual, I was forced to choose a name…” I said hoping they did not ask further questions about that. In truth, I had never seen a familiar bonding ritual like the kind I participated in before. I still had not figured out what that voice was. I glanced over at the Memory Seeker, who at that moment looked some mix of confused and terrified. Dehal noticed this too but did not say anything; they simply exchanged looks. I wondered if they were employing some kind of thought communication spell so that they did not need to speak in front of me.
“Well anyway, you said they followed you to an alley and that you summoned your familiar, after he arrived, what happened?” Dehal asked.
“After Jake appeared, he asked if I was okay, and if we would get into any trouble if he defended us. The noble… he attacked Jake, hit him with what I think was a spell meant to attack life forces. Jake did not have any physical injuries, but he became ill immediately. Jake hit the noble and… and…” I tried to speak but I became too overwhelmed. I was on the verge of breaking down, I was breathing quickly, my heartrate was up, and my stomach was upset. “I am sorry… can I… can I have a minute?”
“Of course, we can take a break for a few minutes. Do you need anything? Water, food?” Dehal asked and the Memory Seeker stopped her spell.
“No... thank you, I just need to clear my head for a moment.” Dehal and the seeker left the room for a few minutes, and I pulled myself together. I could not stop picturing it in my head, that noble…. screaming as I healed him. I broke down crying for a while, until I was able to get myself together. A while after I finished, Dehal and the Memory Seeker came back in and resumed the questioning after making sure I was alright.
“Your familiar hit the noble after the noble attacked him, what happened after that?” Dehal said fluttering back onto his perch.
“I ran over to him and tried to heal him with magic, I trained in healing and bonding magic at school, but I was running out of energy. I asked Jake for help, and I channeled his energy through me and used it to try and heal the noble. I... I do not know what happened. I have performed that spell hundreds of times, it always works, but he just started screaming…” I said. I was tempted to look over at the Memory Seeker, but I did not, I could simply guess her reaction.
“You say you used healing magic, but according to our autopsy reports, only minimal healing was performed on the noble. In fact, there is evidence of torture magic being cast on him… every bone in his body had microfractures, his muscles were shredded, and he had a total body bruise, as if every vessel inside his skin had ruptured. I don’t know how strong your familiar is, but I find it hard to believe that a single hit from him could do that kind of damage. So why don’t you explain to me how he got those injuries?” Dehal snapped.
“No... I,” I started to stammer, “I used healing magic. I would not-…could not do something like that!”
“Here’s what I think,” Dehal started, “I think a noble attacks you, attacks your familiar, and you get mad. Then your familiar retaliates and leaves you with the perfect opportunity for revenge.”
“NO! I did not, I would not! Just keep looking at my memories, you will see-” I tried to say but he cut me off.
“Memory magic has been around for quite some time Miss Suma. You could have altered your memory to make it seem like you were innocent.” Dehal cast a spell opening the entrance of the room, and the Memory Seeker ended her spell. “We will verify the status of your memories, then make a decision. For your sake, I hope you’re telling the truth.” Dehal said and they flew out of the room.
Hours passed before Dehal came back, he told me that my memories had been proven genuine and that the lead interrogator of the case has decided not to press charges. I was led out of the room and was told to wait for my familiar. A few moments later, I saw him walking down the hallway. All the emotions and stress I had been mulling over in that room came to a head and I felt an overwhelming need to go to him. I flew over and let everything out. Jake may have been the one to hit the noble, but I was the one to fail him. In my eyes, his death was my fault; in my eyes, I killed him.