“That can’t be true!” Greyson slammed his fist furiously against the wall. “There’s jus’ no way. why would they even do somethin’ like that?”

With a hint of bitterness, Elmyra groused. “Your father was right not to trust Pyro and his band of bandits.”

“We need proof.” Greyson said firmly. “And I need to see it with my own eyes.”

“I don’t think we should go back there without a plan.” Chimed Mina.

“I agree.” I added. “For one thing, even if we get close to their check point, you can’t tell what they’re doing beyond it from there. So if we want proof, then we’ll need to get inside, but that won’t be easy and getting back out will probably be harder.”

Greyson stared intently at images we’d taken of the checkpoint and a map of the area where the facility was located. “If what you just told me is true, then we should take this to the mantis. He needs to know about the research outpost.”

Elmyra turned to me. “What about the abandoned facility you found? Where was that?”

“I don’t actually know. I was carried to the area by a mist ghost, and taken from it by Ghost reapers.”

Their eyes went wide with shock.

I didn’t think I should mention that the reaper's base was under the mountains.

Greyson placed a hand on my shoulder, nodding as he said, “you really are one ballsy son of a bitch.”

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

We packed up the camp. Once everything was put away in the proper place, Greyson deactivated the mechanical tents and they folded themselves into neat little boxes that he then stored in his CAD. Then, he led the way back to Aurora.

The city was nothing like what I expected. Most of the residents looked like they were barely surviving. The buildings were obviously old and needing repair, but it seemed only essential repairs were ever made.

The city was built on a river with plenty of open land around it, so it had potential for farming and ranching, but as far as I could tell, there wasn’t a single planted field and the only animals present were sick and thin.

“Is this how it’s always been?” I asked, trying not to sound rude.

Mina shook her head. “This city was built by a hero candidate a long time ago. As you can probably guess, he wanted to earn a name for himself by expandin’ the SAFE zone and huntin’ powerful beasts.” She took a pause and grimaced before she continued, “but apparently he spent more time beddin’ women than trainin’.”

“He got eaten by white eyes.” Aleena bluntly added. “Personally, I think most of the hero candidates are picked for their looks rather than skill.”

“Shut it Aleena! You're insultin’ the Mantis too, ya know.” Elmyra snapped.

“The Mantis is one of the exceptions. He’s definitely attractive, but I think if it was him instead of that arrogant twerp, Pyro would be dead now.”

“You mean Gill?” I asked, assuming they must have heard about his attempt.

“Who’s that?” They all asked, including Greyson.

“…uh, he recently tried to kill Pyro, but now that I think about it, you guys probably wouldn’t have heard about that.”

“Whoa really?” Aleena gapped. “So it wasn’t your frien’ Fin?”

The thought of Fin taking on Pyro was so unrealistic it wasn’t even funny. Pyro could probably kill Fin with a sneeze if he wanted to. Although, I couldn’t say I was surprised he’d tried taking credit for it. These wild land people seemed to hate the heroes and look up to anyone that challenged them. Once Fin realized that, I could easily see him spinning some tale about it.

“No, but it was his brother. Gill was a hero candidate until the attack.”

“So what happened to him then? And what about Pyro?” Mina asked with extreme enthusiasm.

“Well… he survived, but from what I heard, that was only because Pyro showed him mercy. He was branded a traitor and thrown in jail.”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

I left out the bit about me suspecting it was him that helped me escape prison. I wasn’t sure if I should tell them about X and I no longer had the abilities that got me imprisoned anyway.

The joy and excitement instantly faded from Mina’s eyes. “Oh…”

“If someone had actually taken out Pyro, I’m sure the Mantis would’ve told us immediately.” Greyson replied coolly.

Mina nodded in agreement, shaking away her disappointment.

“This is it.” Greyson said when we stopped in front of a modest building. It looked something like a large house, but wasn’t in any better condition than the rest of the town. “Ladies, you should go home. Let your families know you’re safe. I’ll take Fey in so he can tell the Mantis about those secret facilities.”

“You never let us see him anymore.” Maylene pouted.

“Stop exaggeratin’!” Elmyra snapped. “Besides, Greyson is right. Aside from Fey’s friends, we’re the only mages in this city; the whole town depends on us and they’ll be happy to know we’re all still alive.”

“That’s odd…” X spoke for the first time since I’d joined up with the group. “Mages are rare, but there should be more than five in a city this large.”

He was right. I’d been mostly focused on the condition of the city, but now I understood why things were so bad. If these were the only five mages, and my suspicions were right, then it meant all of the building repairs were being made by them. It was also safe to assume they were responsible for keeping the entire city safe from beasts.

“If you’re feeling sorry for us, don’t.” Greyson said after the girls had gone.

I straightened my face at his words then followed him into the house.

“When you meet the Mantis there are a few rules to remember. First, you should always address him respectfully. Don’t look him in the eyes and never interrupt him.” He instructed as we walked across a large entryway. “Most importantly, do not ask about his time as a hero candidate.”

When he finished speaking, I nodded and he pushed open the door to a study. Sitting behind the desk was a tall, well built man, with thick black hair and deep green eyes. He was pouring over the words of a familiar old book and didn’t look up from reading even as he spoke.

“Disregard any nonsense that boy told you about rules,” he said. His voice and mannerisms seemed familiar, but I wasn’t sure of his identity. “Why have you come to see me?”

“Uhm… dad?” I asked. Part of me hoped I was wrong.

A carved mask resemblant of a mantis covered his face. Glowing purple runes, on the mask, were an unmistakable association with reapers.

I still didn’t understand the difference between the groups, but I hoped he wasn’t one of the Ghost reapers.

Greyson whirled around with his mouth agape. His wide eyes seemed to yell “what’s going on here?” But he only swallowed then turned back to see how The Mantis reacted.

The man stopped reading immediately. He looked up from his book, at first regarding me somewhat cautiously, though his eyes quickly hardened. “Greyson, leave us.” He said sternly.

“Are you sure Mr. Ma—”

“Go!” The Mantis shouted, pounding on his desk.

With a nod Greyson ducked out of the room like a frightened dog. On his way, he looked at me sheepishly, as if he feared for me.

When Greyson was gone, the man in the mask met my eyes again. For a moment he just stared at me, then dropping his head he sighed and said, “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Yea, I was starting to think the same thing. But probably not for the same reasons you had in mind. Is this what you’ve been doing all these years? Your important work?”

I wasn’t upset that he was trying to help people. I understood the need for secrecy too, but I just didn’t understand why he had to spend so much time away. Why couldn't he at least be present for our birthdays?

Ignoring the question, my father asked, “What happened to you? And what about your sister, where is she?”

“I couldn’t get to her. Ever since the entrance exam, she stopped replying to my messages. Then I ended up getting arrested because…” I trailed off, unsure if I should ask about what X had shown me.

“Valencia filled me in on that, but I was hoping maybe you found a way.”

“You asked what happened to me… well—”

“Fey!” Mai burst into the room with Emilia and Audrey close behind her. “Thank god you’re okay.”

Tears rolled down my cheeks at the sight of her. “Mai!”

I had no idea how she got out of the reaper's stronghold. Part of me thought I might’ve just imagined her, but when her arms wrapped around me, I knew she was real.

I held her tightly, sobbing, “I’m so sorry.”

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

After the intrusion, my father sent for Fin, Cole, Carletta, and Lenora. The reunion with my friends was more emotional than I’d expected, and there was a lot to catch up on.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one with a big secret. Audrey turned out to be a fairy.

Valencia was working with spirit reapers, so was my dad. Valencia was supposed to keep Kyla and me out of trouble, but it seemed like she had her own plan.

After I told everyone about X, my father admitted that I wasn’t really his son. He didn’t know my birth mother’s name, or if everything in X’s memory was true or not. I needed some time to process, but in the end nothing changed.

I needed to get stronger, we all did.