Marcus Flame sighed as he sat in… he wasn’t sure if it was the principal office or an empty room remodeled into looking like an important room. Then again he wasn’t sure if either mattered since there were a lot of important looking people sitting on the opposite side of the table.
First was the wizard.. Garm? Garmar? The wizard who tried to protect him when his life was in danger. He was standing at the end of the room trying to go over what had happened to the adults.
Marcus hated his life at this moment as he didn’t trust the adults… okay he didn’t trust one of the adults as The Old Goat was sitting smack dab in the middle tugging on his beard pretending to look concerned, but most likely trying to figure out how to pin the blame on him.
He hated the traitorous old fiend. Now that his plan in failing to kill Marcus had come to light especially with his ‘last minute schedule change’ to sick a Wild Hunt on him… now he was trying to justify his excuse and claim that Marcus was a threat to the school or students… or twist it into some way that ‘hinted’ that they should kill him.
Or that he was an imposter.
That would be the exact evil villain move he’d use wouldn’t it? Claim that he was some sort of dangerous impostorer before revealing that he had personally brought ‘The Real Flame Heir’ who was some fat chubby star eyed youth who’d agree with whatever the blood sucking fiend would say!
“Do not try and kill the vile fiend” his parents had warned him “He is old and you don’t know enough magic to sucker punch him in the throat”
Okay maybe that last line wasn’t exactly word for word, but Marcus knew that the moment he pulled out his staff, then a dozen wands would release two dozen hexes at him. The old fiend came prepared probably with fifty different wards set up as they almost stripped a fourteen year old boy of everything he had.
Oh they let him keep his staff and what he had personally on hand… but every Unsee dragged away. Every potion, chemical, and weapon inside of his bags had been taken. The only trick he could pull off if the old goat tried to kill him would be…
Praying that the other twig twirlers would hold of the old man long enough for Marcus to unlock the door to the house of Twilight and have one of the Unsee inside the house pull out a heavily enchanted and warded harpoon gun to kill the old man… that or a cannon.
The last one might be unlikely, but maybe Velkear had made it to the House of Twilight and prepared something nasty to be used against his enemies? A magician could hope after all.
The door opened up as the two silver cloak jailers as they were not bodyguards. Bodyguards are supposed to guard people and they ditched everyone that wasn’t in cart number one! They glared at Marcus as if blaming him for the obvious ambush when they ditched everyone they were supposed to protect/kill!
They escorted him to the single wooden chair to stand trial in front of the five judges set for this illegal trial. It was illegal because the young magician was pretty sure he was supposed to have a lawyer… or was that not allowed within the wizarding world when they wanted to frame someone for a crime they didn’t commit?
“Do you know who we are?” The vile traitor spoke pretending he was innocent.
Marcus nodded his head as he started from left to right “Yes.”
The wizard in the middle of the table rolled his eyes “Are we even sure he isn’t an imposter?”
While he had been expecting it. That didn’t change the fact it was rather insulting that they didn’t even wait to try springing that lie so quickly. They didn’t even ask his name before claiming he was an imposter.
Marcus held up his right hand and sighed “Marcus Leng Flame the Third. Heir to the Flame and blood adopted child of Tim and Eliza Flame. I also accept any challenge to the claim by that of a Wizard’s Duel as my champion will be able to arrive to stand for my honor within one hour which is perfectly legal and required by the laws of every governmental position sitting in this room.”
They stared at him as if he had grown a second head or something.
While he didn’t know every bit of magical legal law… he knew enough to buy himself enough time to get someone who could help him. He knew a few people who would step in… and probably accidentally kill the Twig Twirlers if they didn’t know what they were dueling against.
The pause continued to draw on as the young magician pinched the bridge of his nose “I may be a child, but I am not an idiot.”
This was why he hated being seen as a child. Too many people viewed children as idiots and expected him to be one.
Idiots didn’t last long within Arcadia.
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Garmr pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to step in before Philip made things worse. If there was one thing his gut was telling him… the little kid was serious.
The monster horse wasn’t from any magical besterary that he knew of and to make matters even worse the kid had cast spells with the intent to kill. That was more serious than the attack by the magical creatures that were trying to kill him.
Every child had been told to never cast magic with a killing intent, yet he practically shouted it outloud without any hint of shame or grief. He made it clear that he didn’t care… which made him far more dangerous.
If a duel came… Garmr wasn’t sure if the kid wouldn’t use lethal spells to finish off his opponent.
Lux was trying to play mediator to keep things civil “Why did you hide your name when you were asked for it?”
“Same reason why I tried to avoid getting on the carts and tried to take the safe form of transportation.” The kid replied with a hint of anger “Because I wanted to live.”
The other adults were left speechless as… Garmr rubbed his neck as the kid wasn’t playing around. Normally he’d have called it paranoia… but there were creatures outside the castle trying to kill this child.
“Why do they want to kill you?” Garmr couldn’t help, but ask “I mean you are…”
“Just a child?” The boy spoke in an acidic tone “Why not? Plenty of people have plenty of reasons for wanting to kill me already. How many of you are disappointed that I am the real flame heir instead of whatever puppet you had set up?”
Angry, bitter… and not exactly wrong either.
Garmr would have spoken up if not for the looks of clear unease and disappointment shown from the other adults within the room. The Flame Heir was supposed to be a slightly chubby young boy with glasses who was shy and nervous. Good with potions and become a great wizard in the future… but certainly not this boy.
This one was the opposite.
He was a bit more skinny, paranoid, and clearly knew that the others weren’t going to be happy with his presence. In fact he practically seemed to ignore what had been written with the Book of Prophecy itself.
Which either meant they misread the book… or that this kid was supposed to die before Andrew Flame was picked up by then end of the summer. His parents were traveling around the globe so it wouldn’t be unexpected if they picked up a fourth heir.
As if reading their thoughts the young wizard gripped his staff harder “If you think I’m going to roll over and die you are sorely mistaken.”
The staff started to glow the dark purple neon glow as every wizard and witch within the room felt their magical cores being assaulted. It wasn’t a direct attack, but the pressure alone was enough to unsettling most of them… and especially to Garmr.
If this was the kid flexing then he knew how to directly attack somebody’s magical core… which was deeply unsettling. You could heal from physical wounds, but it was hard to treat injuries upon one’s magical core.
“I think we need to take that staff away from you…” Lux started to reply
“You can pry it from my dead fingers.” The young wizard threatened them as magic started to pool around his left hand.
Garmr quickly stepped in as he had no idea what curse that was, but it couldn’t be good “He made the staff. It didn’t come from any of the… what were the creatures from the woods again?”
The child dispainted the curse as he slowly replied “Scorched.”
“The Fae.” Chairman Antiarius supplemented “Marcus was trained in the art of the old ways and we do have records stating that the True Fae did exist in the time of Merlin and it was only due to his success in the creation of the Albion Accord was he and the other witches and wizards were able to drive them back to their forgotten realms…”
He let the words hang in the air as Garmr sighed “Which sadly means they are still alive.”
Glancing at the child who didn’t glare back at him probably due to the older wizard having protected him against the… True Fae.
Garmr shook his head “Can you explain what Scorched means… and your point of view on what happened during the ambush?”
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Hadwin stood outside where the rest of the children were supposed to be coming. The silver staff flared as more than a few students who belonged to this school came stumbling out a little bit green, but they quickly stood tall pretending that none of them had gotten sick.
After all it would look bad if they faltered before the chosen picks of the Duel of Fates.
Hadwin tried to smile and wave only for them to quickly move around him, clearly unhappy at his presence. It would have been easy to place it all on the anger of being robbed of their cart ride to the school and having to take the stomach quenching magical transportation… but the golden staff flared as the rest of the picks for the Duel of Fates walked out.
Hadwin stared at the sight in slight disbelief as he had expected everyone to be arguing or talking with one another… that someone would try and make a scene or look a little bit queasy.
Instead they walked forward as if they had all come from the same school instead of from different schools or more obscure places. None of them seemed to be suffering any ill effects from the transportation as… something felt off about them.
The young wizard spotted two of his old friends from Stagniss and spoke up “Clint! Maria!”
The two turned and glared at Hadwin causing him to stumble back in shock. They had been friends last year, yet they now looked as if they were ready to join Roland in trying to pick a fight. What happened over the summer to change them so much?
It was then Hadwin swore he saw a scar along the back of Clint’s neck as the pale skinned youth shook his head “I’m not being a part of this year’s tally Hadwin. We all remember how well that went for Rebecca Gracefield last year.”
The young wizard was left gapping in disbelief as if he had been punched in the stomach. While he did regret what happened, but…
“We all heard that your cart was attacked as two others died when their guards ditched them while your guards stayed to protect you.” Maria spoke as the dark skinned witch glared at him in hatred “Don’t bother us this year unless we are dueling one another.”
Hadwin tried to reach out with his magic if only to confirm that these were his friends. Their magical cores were there, but they felt more jagged and raw… as if somebody had cut them out and stitched them back in.
Clint to his shock summoned a fireball without a wand or a chant in his hand and threw it at Hadwin’s feet. He stepped back as more than a few of the other picks for the Duel of Fates pulled out their wands as they focused on him…
Something was wrong, but he didn’t know what it was. Only that he felt uneasy and confused at how Clint managed to master wandless and wordless magic casting within the space of the summer!
Still the glares from the sea of strangers made him fall back as the voice in the back of his head warned him to hide from this group. He didn’t know what was off, but he immediately wanted to go to Headmaster Lux… except he wasn’t the headmaster of this school.
Even then… he didn’t have any proof that anything was wrong. The last time he jumped to conclusions and acted without proof…
It cost Rebeca Gracefield her life.
“Wow… trying to find new meat shields already now that your old ones aren’t here?” Lapis replied in a mocking tone “Why your Mundi girlfriend would be so upset that you traded her in for a fancier model.”
Hadwin clenched his fist as he turned towards Lapis Rezen who smirked leaning against a wall as the young wizard didn’t trust her. The other teachers thought it was just an extension with his rivalry with Jasper Rezen, but something about the young witch filled him with anger.
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That she had done something personal to him and he didn’t know… as she always smirked as if mocking him for it.
“They were after the fake Flame heir.” Hadwin countered “It wasn’t my fault that they attacked!”
“Really?” Lapis spoke in a sarcastic tone “That your bodyguards just happened to stay around to protect you while the rest of us were left helpless… only for me and Marcus Flame to risk our lives causing the True Fae to chase after us to prevent them from trying and killing the rest of the chosen picks?”
“He was trying to save his own skin and you ditched everyone else instead of trying to help them!” Hadwin shouted back “Besides the real Flame Heir had yet to arrive as it’s…”
“Andrew Flame?” The witch replied with a chuckle “Just like how Roland is supposed to be best pals with you? Morgana’s Grace… you two fight more than my own brother and that’s just because my parents hate your parents. Roland hates your guts!”
Hadwin kept his wand lowered as Lapis had been picked because she was (as much as he hated it) one of the best duelists within their school. To make things worse unlike her brother she was quite adept at twisting things to suit her story as she avoided getting into trouble.
If he cast the first spell he’d get in trouble and so long as she kept using words instead of curses… then there was nothing he could do.
“Of course Golden Boy gets preferred treatment. He gets a new girlfriend who is supposed to become an important pure blood.” She spoke out loud as some of the other students turned to listen to her speech “Golden Boy gets a pat on the back when somebody dies while the real hero is facing punishment for trying to save everyone!”
She cupped her hands near her mouth nearly shouting “Tell me Hadwin! What was the plan if your cart wasn’t attacked first? Would they have taken you to safety while the rest of us got torn apart in the woods or did Lux have a plan for what should happen if we all died?”
Hadwin turned around and tried to march away.
“Just like how you hexed Rebecca Gracefield because she beat you in a duel and left her to die by the hands of Vilatrix the Crazed!” Hadwin stopped as the witch continued “Makes you feel like a big boy after her family was oblivated into forgetting that she even existed! That’s why you prefer New Blood as friends isn’t it?”
The next words drove home “You can erase any evidence they existed while you take all the credit.”
Hadwin turned around and prepared to cast a curse only for his wand to be shot out of his hand. He turned to the person who cast it only to see a tall figure covered in black bandages staring at him. It towered over the crowd as the red lights from behind the mask flared.
“So you are the deviance for the memory loss from the pact…” The voice seemed to whisper into his ears “Disappointing… You are not needed for what happens next.”
“So are you going to try and hex me because I’m not kissing your shoes?”
Hadwin turned around and saw that his wand was on the ground. He picked it up and looked back towards the crowd trying to spot the towering figure that felt like it had a vice grip on his magical core.
Instead he saw every child within the crowd staring at him with open disdain and anger… that none of them trusted him… that they all expected him to try and attack Lapis.
Hadwin didn’t know which was worse… the uneasy feeling he got from the… thing that had been inside the crowd before it vanished… or the looks on their faces as it felt like a repeat of his second year in Stagniss.
Taking a deep breath and trying to not to shiver.
Hadwin slowly exhaled before glancing at Lapis who stared at him in confusion “I’m not the bad guy Lapis… I didn’t know about the attack and my godfather ditched me to help protect you and your friend when both of you were in danger.”
He glanced at the crowd “Though Lux was right. This Duel of Fates is different as something bad is coming. Whatever those things were in the woods… they are not a part of the normal magical world.”
Hadwin knew his luck was awful… but he also knew what this year’s threat was. Whatever those creatures that had been lurking within the woods where?
They would return.
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Marcus had spent the last half hour explaining what had happened from ‘his point of view’ starting from being stuck taking the cart ride, their driver (and steeds) vanishing before the scorched tried killing as many people as they could in the opening volley.
Then of course the cart chase as he tried to edit parts of the story… mostly in keeping the door to the house of Twilight a secret as he pretended that his suitcase just had a lot of wizard space magic to account for where everything came from.
There was no way he was going to inform him that he just needed any door with a doorknob to escape.
Still what irked him was that Antiarius was his only ally as he agreed with the magician’s decisions. Especially when he confirmed that he had been trying to kill the Lord of the Broken Dawn!
There was no reasoning with that monster and it had been trying to kill him for six years! If anything it only proved that it would only stop when one of them died! Why shouldn’t he try and defend himself against it!
Instead they seemed more concerned about him attending the school thinking he was a bigger threat to the rest of the students than the freaking Scorched who were running around outside!
Marcus may have tried to kill it, but the Scorched had already killed two children when they attacked. Yet that didn’t think that the Scorched wouldn’t return.
What part of The Wild Hunt did they not understand!
The man with the double chin spoke “How can we be sure that this boy didn’t bring them? Lux had clearly changed the travel plan to protect the star children picked to uphold the Duel of Fates and this boy tried to sneak away while the rest of the children could have perished!”
“Please do not jump to any conclusion Philip…” The old goat spoke pretending to be on his side “Though I do find it odd that no one seems to have heard about you until now.”
The young magician gritted his teeth “They sent you the letter.”
The old goat looked at him put on an old grandfatherly smile and lied “I believe I would have noticed a letter from my old teacher.”
“And we certainly heard your reply a week later.” Marcus viciously thought in the back of his head.
Now the other adults were looking at him as if thinking that somehow Marcus was the criminal mastermind that somehow knew about the last minute change in an attempt to hire somebody who wanted to kill him… to try and kill everyone else.
He knew Twig Twilers were stupid, but apparently he had been underestimating just how stupid they were or just how blindly they followed the traitor’s every word.
After all it’s not like the man who changed the plan at the very last second could have an ulterior motive for trying to kill everyone else except the chosen picks he had!
Heck he probably had ‘Andrew’ sitting in the back of a room waiting to be revealed as the Flame Heir until Marcus had the audacity to survive!
The only man not in the wicked wizard’s pocket spoke up “I find it hard to believe that a child could somehow outwit Luxarious...”
The old traitor flinched as Antiarius stood up to defend the young magician. While the others may have believed the traitor… it sounded silly to think that somehow a child was smarter than they were.
Antiarius focused on the ancient traitor “In both planning to kill every other child just one day after I chose him to be one of my picks… much less be informed about Luxarious literal last minute change before avoiding the only cart that didn’t have the guards vanish the moment the Fae stepped into the scene.”
Antiarius nearly laughed at how utterly ridiculous it really was to even believe such a bold face lie. He had to spell it out step by step on just how absurd this crazy lie really was.
“Why... it is quite ‘lucky’ that Hadwin was the only one left with protection?” The best wizard at the table replied in a mocking tone “Especially when Roland shouted at which cart Hadwin was in... as the Fae seemed to be under the impression he was talking about the Flame Heir?”
Apparently that was a step too far as the old traitor tugged his beard clearly unhappy at the ‘baseless’ accusations that were being thrown at him.
“Why would I want to do that?” Luxarious demanded
Antiarius shrugged as if it was obvious “Because I found out recently that the Flame Family had changed their will three years ago. That according to the old will you were supposed to get quite a lot… and now you don’t.”
“Impossible. If they changed the will we would have known about it.” Garmr the misguided fool replied “And what exactly makes you think…”
“No… they might have reason to think about changing their will.” The Traitor spoke glancing at Marcus.
The young magician tried to sit straight refusing to buckle underneath the old back stabber’s gaze. The message had been clear… but clearly the old traitor didn’t care.
Marcus shrugged as he couldn’t help it “Maybe they just didn’t trust how you would take care of their belongings.”
He knew it was foolish as the other adults stared at him as if Marcus swore up and down like a mad man. They couldn’t believe that he would have the audacity to say such a thing out in public!
The old wizard frowned as he focused on Marcus “It was a mistake.”
The Red Stone was stolen as Luxurious tried to make his stance clear ‘Do what I say or perish’ to his parents. They refused to bow so he punished them.
“A costly one.” Marcus replied bitterly
He also refused to bow… and he also wouldn’t go down without a fight.
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They let the child out the door as they weren’t going to get anything from him. Garmr rubbed his aching head as in some sick twisted way… this actually made perfect sense.
Everybody just assumed that the Flame Heir would be happy to see Lux, but it was pretty clear that the child hated the old wizard. He didn’t view him as an old friend of the family, but as the man responsible for causing the destruction of Alchemist’s Glory… and the slow death of his parents.
Lux sighed clearly upset by this unexpected revelation “So now that Philip has managed to alienate the only person who knows anything about the threat lurking within the woods. What is our plan?”
Philip humph clearly annoyed at being signaled out “Antiarius was the one who doubted Lux making it seem like he was trying to kill the boy!”
Garmr rolled his eyes as maybe they should have let Lord Rezen join this meeting instead of letting this idiot here instead. Oh sure he would have tried to slight Lux and mock about how ‘The Great and Powerful Lux failed to protect a bunch of students’ and how he could have done better.
But the slimy creep wouldn’t have tried to pin the blame of Marcus if only because he helped protect his daughter. Then again she knew what the Fae were.
Which sadly meant that Lord Rezen was the closest thing to an expert they could call on for now. They were going to have to ask for his help before seeing what the slimy creep would demand in exchange for that knowledge.
“Is Marcus the heir of any other houses?” Lux spoke clearly unsettled by some unspoken chain of thought.
Garmr was about to say ‘no’ as it seemed silly to ask until he remembered “Oddly enough… yes. He also claimed to be the Heir to the House of the Moonless Night. Never heard of the house, but…”
“He made a staff and has ties to magic not bound by the Albion Accord.” Lux spoke shaking his head “I fear that he is infact a child adopted by the Flame Family… but he is not the Third Flame Heir.”
The others looked at him in confusion as Garmr tried to think about what the old wizard was talking about until… an unsettling feeling formed in his stomach. There was one silly little bylaw within the wizarding world that wasn’t used often, but… Garmr knew of it only because he had been one of the individuals involved.
“If they adopt another child then ‘Andrew’ will become the Third Heir leaving Marcus to become the Heir of the other house.” Garmr replied as he saw the problem
Lux nodded his head as the other wizards and witches realized the problem, but he explained it anyway “A child with a reasonable grudge overshadowed by his sibling. I fear that Marcus is going to be one of the threats the book of prophecy warns of… specifically the one that Andrew is going to have to best in the future.”
It became obvious when you saw the truth as you had the child taught with dark magic practically radiating from a Staff who hated Lux for his inability to protect Alchemist’s Glory… and the fact that he took pride in the Flame family name and offense to those who scorned it.
Such a bitter prideful child would certainly have a grudge if his position had suddenly been usurped at the last minute by some random stranger his parents would adopt before they die… and the relationship would quickly grow sour before it ended with both of them dueling to claim which one was the True Flame Heir.
A tragedy in the making.
“You can’t seriously believe this pile of nonsense!” Antiarius shouted in anger “That just because he isn’t some weak pushover that he must be some sort of villain we need to smother in his sleep lest he threaten the wizarding world!”
Lux glanced at his old friend “I was merely suggesting we take careful steps around the boy…”
“He isn’t a threat! You are! You are you blasted old fool!” The man shouted in anger “My daughter has been dead for years now and unless you get someone to somehow revive her from the grave than you and your blasted book is wrong!”
The people between Antiarius and Lux moved out of the way as everyone knew the issue between the two and that while Lux was a firm believer in the Book of Prophecy… Antiarius lost his faith the moment his daughter died.
At this point he was defending Marcus simply because Lux was warning them of the possible danger that would come in the future. At this point if Lux claimed it was day then Antiarius would swear it was night as he refused to look out the window.
“You’ve been letting your anger fester for far too long.” Lux kindly spoke to his old friend “If you just meet her…”
“My daughter is dead.” Antiarius swore in fury “And that boy is not the next great Dark Lord out to threaten the magical world. He is a child that you nearly orphaned because you believe that you can do no wrong! Tell me Luxarious Superious… Where in the great bloody book is The Vanish?”
He rose from his seat “Where in those vaulted holy texts does it state that half of the entire magical world is suddenly going to vanish overnight? Seems like a ‘minor detail’ that got lost… like possibly Andrew not appearing because he vanished overnight!”
Lux took one calm breath before looking at Antiarius “If he did vanish… then it simply means that Hadwin if fated to find out what happened to our vanished breathernen on that unfortunate night and bring them back.”
Antiarius placed one hand on his forehead as he gritted his teeth not saying anything for a few moments “Hadwin Vera couldn’t find his way out of a wet paper bag. Every encounter he ‘wins’ is only because nobody bothers to mention the bodies he leaves behind as the actual wizards who do the job are not even left as footnotes.”
He glared at Lux “I prefer to place my faith in the reality of the situation as Marcus managed to survive two encounters with obvious dangerous entities without having anyone die. You ‘child of prophecy’ on the other hand couldn’t even save one of the body guards who died trying to protect him while your ‘safety measures’ cost us the lives of two children.”
Garmr flinched as the vengeful wizard wore a twisted mockery of a smile “Please tell me… Did the other guards flee on purpose… or has word about Hadwin’s body count give them second thoughts about staying? You were the one who picked them after all.”
“He is just a child.” Garmr bitterly replied as he defended his godson “He did well for his age…”
“But not well enough.” Antiarius snapped back “And may I remind you that Roland and Marcus are also, but children… no more ‘blessed’ at dropping bodies as your golden boy or as ‘cursed’ to not worship the very rocks your boy trips over.”
Garmr clenched his wand tightly as he felt like giving a barb of his only… before staying silent. He already knew how it would be turned back against him.
“Just do me a favor Antiarius?” Garmr asked the man who used to have been a friend to them “Just let them act like children and make up their own mind if they want to be friends with.”
Antiarius simply nodded “So long as you respect if they do not want to be friends. Roland already gets enough grief from his parents as it is.”
Once Antiarius apperated out of the room he felt Lux’s gaze fall upon him along with everyone else within the room. It felt out of place for him to speak to Antiarius on such terms, but… he had a job to do.
With a deep breath he glanced at the other most scholared and important witches and wizards (minus philip) of their age as he gave the only plan he could think of… even if it sounded foolish.
Trying to sound as serious as he possibly could “I suggest we build a moat for the school.”
They all stared at him as if waiting for the real answer for how the head of security planned on protecting the school against the monsters out in the woods and the possibly budding dark lord walking around within the school.
“The True Fae stopped the moment we crossed a bridge and were enraged to the point they demanded we toss the Flame Heir across so that they could get him.” Garmr slowly explained “It was the only thing that seemed to stop them as not even a gaping hole in the head seemed to have slowed them down.”
There was a pause.
“And before anyone asks… if we hand him over to the Fae then his parents will come for us all.” The head of the British Silver Cloaks spoke having read entire documents about the famous Flame Wrath
He made certain that they knew he was being serious “And they will certainly not believe any ‘theories’ we give them especially since this… Lord of Breaking Dawn seems just like the type to display his ‘trophy’ to his parents before telling them that we killed him.”
Philip raised a hand
Garmr shook his head “And no… They will not listen or care. I suggest you read the Burbank Cultist incident where the actual culprit managed to make it to a ship to escape their wrath for six more days when he pointed the finger at the very evil, but ultimately innocent of that one crime.”
The infamous Flame Wrath… burn to ash, shift through the ashes, and then scorch any remains just to ensure that they didn’t miss their target. While Andrew might be a cheerful friendly kid… Marcus was still a child of Flame who had inherited a piece of their wrath.
There would be no explaining what happened to their child… unless a completely plausible accident killed him… and even then Garmr would prefer to have the conversation with an entire ocean standing between him and the Flame Family.
Just to be safe.