----------------------------------------
On our way through the town, the scent of grief hung heavy in the air, although greetings and well wishes were still bombarding my parents from every direction, the majority of the time it felt hollow, like a programmed response.
Judging by the solemn looks on the faces of the people that passed us by, it didn’t take much to deduce the kind of feelings that must have been sweltering inside them. Vreena’s absence had left that much of a void here, it was the kind of thing one could only grow used to with time, from what I'd witnessed over the years, that was how it tended to go but, for the first time ever I’d have to truly experience that for myself.
----------------------------------------
To my surprise, both of my parents had actually been spot on in their estimation earlier when they said that we weren’t going very far.
We were just about to cross the small stone bridge leading to the outskirts of Zale, and in the distance, I could see the small house I’d grown so used to, standing rigid and firm. There wasn’t a scratch on it, in fact it looked even better than before with brand new timber frames, they must have gotten to work on it at some point during my week long coma.
“We’re here” Oliver announced as he descended the slope leading to the small pond on our right. “Recognize this place Liam?” he asked, his upturned gaze oozing with sarcasm.
“Of course, it's our old house, you fixed it.”
“Y-Yeah, with some help.”
“Heh-Heh-Heh...You mean with a lot of help, right dear?” I don’t know why, but that playful chuckle from my mother had left him at a loss for words.
“Ahem! A-anyways, this is it, I’m setting you down now.” Brushing aside her joy, he carefully lifted my body over his head before setting me down on the marshy soil.
It must have been because I’d spent all that time away from this place but the serene sight of the pond’s waters being illuminated by the dawn lit rays inspired a feeling of awe in me – in us all, for the next few seconds, that sight alone was enough to entrance all three of us in a world of melancholy.
“Liam, you remember how I said I needed to ask you a few questions?” My father inquired from my right, but a quick glance to my left revealed the tension building up on Julia’s face.
“I do....you want to ask about those guys, right?” With a stern gaze and clenched fists, I resolved myself to face his inquisition.
“Yeah, but first, I need you to answer something. Among the bodies we recovered after the incident, two of them were charred almost beyond recognition, and from what I understand, Vreena was the only mage with you and Emma at the time....”
He took a brief pause to adjust his glasses, and just then, my mother drifted closer towards me with an expression of grief in her eyes, it was a clear sign that she didn’t exactly like where this conversation was going, but it had to be done.
A monstrous gulp was all I needed to prepare myself for the question he was sure to ask next.
“.....Vreena was a wind mage, and Emma isn’t a mage at all so the only one who could have done something like that was you. I know it's hard for you to talk about this, but I need to know the truth.....Liam, did you kill those mercenaries?”
The brazen question left me a bit stunned, but with nothing else to say I simply answered “Yes”.
A gasp of shock immediately escaped Julia, her hand now slowly approaching her mouth as if she wanted nothing more than to swallow the bitter realization. My father tried and failed to suppress the eruption of shock on his face, despite all the evidence he must have wanted nothing more than to deny it and instead bet on the one in a million chance that they might have had a falling out or something.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
“.... Let’s go sit down, I’d like to hear the full story.” His utterance directed us to take a moment of respite on the well-polished patio. As soon as we arrived, he sat on my right, while my mother placed me to sit on her lap, making me into a sort of focal point for the story that was about to be told.
From there, I recounted the entire story of the brutal struggle that must have lasted no more than four hours, certain details were deliberately left out of the mix, it wasn’t exactly because I didn’t want to tell them but more so because it would only complicate things further. Telling them that I was actually responsible for all six of their deaths and about how I had the power to rip out souls wasn’t going to do much good right now.
Partly because it felt like a disservice to Vreena and how hard she had fought that day, but also because to them, my account of the events was already far beyond the realm of what a four-year-old should be capable of.
By the time I'd finished my account, their expressions had somewhat returned to normal, but I could clearly feel the moist sensation of tears raining down on me, she was trying to hold it back as best as she could but I suppose the story I just told was enough to make any parent worry.
Julia could only take so much after all.
“I see, so that’s what happened....you ended up being forced to use your power to take two lives...” Oliver grunted in admonition.
“It's okay Liam, don’t beat yourself up about it.” Julia’s arms locked me in a domain of comfort, I couldn’t see her face, but she must have had tear-streaked cheeks by now.
“Thanks for telling us the truth; I didn’t think you’d ever end up going through something like that, and to think you managed to pull through all by yourself too....” Oliver remarked as he sunk to the depths of a contemplative whirlpool.
“I wanted to tell you, but I just didn’t know how.” I answered in a low tone, mirroring his lamentation. His eyes blinked at me and before he could respond, he stopped himself by biting down on his quivering lips.
With that initial response suppressed, he planted a hand on my head before saying - “I understand, you did what you had to do.”
I nodded, accepting the discomfort of his large hand.
As soon as he gathered his thoughts, Oliver rose to his feet to address me with his back still turned “Don’t tell anyone about this Liam, I’ll take responsibility for their deaths, it’ll be a lot easier for the towns folk to swallow that way. Besides, I should've seen something like that coming...”
His bitter tirade ended with a deep breath, one that was in sync with the strange feeling of Julia’s fingers tightening their grip on my clothes.
“Okay, I’ll keep it a secret.” I answered, agreeing meekly
“Did they say anything about an organization called Gehenna?”
Surprised at the question, I blinked absentmindedly before giving my reply.
“N-No, they didn’t mention anything about that.”
“I see.”
There was a lingering trace of some emotion in his voice, whether it was relief or distress, I couldn’t tell.
“Liam” My mother’s somber voice called out
“There’s one more thing I need you to do for me, can you.....show me your magic, it doesn’t matter what kind.” She set me down on the wooden floor just in time for me to catch a glimpse of her wiping away the moist ends of her eyelids.
“You don’t have to cry mom, I’m fine now.” I said, reassuring her as I stood on tiptoe to offer assistance, it was enough to earn a chuckle from her.
“Well, I don’t know about that.” She said, brightening her smile “I’ll have to spoil you for a bit just to be sure.”
“Heh-Heh, It's a promise.”
Adjusting my posture, I extended my palm and focused on the magical power flowing through my veins, since she said it didn’t matter what kind of magic I showed her, I was just going to go with my default setting, fire. Mana rushed towards the focal point of my concentration, but rather than a bright orange blaze sparking into existence above my hand, a sharp, aching pain instead ran up my body, making it almost feel like my core was being ripped apart.
The sensation rattled my consciousness and sent me tumbling forward straight into her open arms that had already been spread wide in anticipation. She stooped to the floor after resting my head in her lap and flipping me face up; I clutched at my chest and tried to fight off the dulling pain, but between my wheezing breaths I heard her final utterance.
“I knew it, this isn't good.”