“Or what?” Lady Long Legs asked with a sigh. “Abed’s dead, and what? You think you can slowly take up the role of commander? People might have thought Abed was our leader, but need I remind you that it was the thinking of those who knew nothing of the relationship between us. Abed often gave instructions and we didn’t go against them. Why? Because most times he said reasonable things.”

“They are hiding something,” Madam Shaggy said, undeterred.

“And so was Big Man Desolate,” Eitri said. “What gives you the right to pry into their secret.”

“Are you serious?” Madam Shaggy asked, flabbergasted. “Since when did you people start caring about secrets? Especially one that could get us in trouble.”

Eitri’s eyes darted a little too quickly in Zed’s direction. He certainly wasn’t looking at Zed, or Daniel.

“Since they were affiliated to a Knight rank mage,” Ronda said with a sigh. “Considering that Zed is not dead, and these guys are still his teammate, which I really have no idea why, because I don’t see a reason anyone would side with mean girl over here, you’d best not get on his bad side.”

Madam Shaggy’s attention darted to Festus and she frowned. The look on her face was that of a person chiding themselves. It was as if she couldn’t believe she had forgotten that little piece of information.

……………………………….

Daniel stared down at Zed’s body. The axe in his hand, barely held, gave off a Rukh rank aura. If he was to give it a category, Daniel would’ve given it a second category.

“Does this make any sense to you?” he asked Festus who was standing quietly beside him.

“Which one?” Festus asked frowing. “The weapon, the mage, or the aura signature coming from the weapon?”

“All three,” Daniel said respectfully. “Wasn’t he supposed to be an attribute mage?”

“And a mind mage,” Festus said with a scowl. “And a blood mage, and a crafter. I don’t like this.”

“I will be honest. The moment I sensed the blood aura and traced it to him, I had… plans.”

Festus turned his head to look at him. The action was slow. It was exactly how someone as old as Festus was supposed to move. After a short moment where Daniel worried he had truly offended the Knight mage, Festus turned his attention back to Zed.

“I do not hold it against you,” he said. “I’ve seen what blood mages can do. If I didn’t know the kid, I would have killed him, too. Sadly, I know the kid.”

“So he will not die today.”

“No, he will not.”

“How about perhaps isolating him from the others for a while,” Daniel suggested. “If we cut him away from blood mana in all forms for a long enough time, the affinity might wane.”

Festus chuckled. It was a dark sound.

“It never amazes me how easily mages suggest taking away someone’s freedom simply because of what they could be. Need I remind you that even if he is a blood mage, he is not just a blood mage.”

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Daniel nodded. “He is also your student. As such, he is under your protection.”

Festus paused. For a moment, he said nothing. He merely carried a thoughtful expression, as if weighing his next words and plotting how best to deliver them.

“That was not what I meant,” he said finally. “He has shown characteristics of a blood mage and a mind mage. And looking at what is right in front of us, he might also be a crafter. Which means he could be one of all three or none of all three.”

“Mages don’t just stumble upon blood magic, sir,” Daniel disagreed. “It’s not like water or fire or lava. Blood magic cannot be created from nothing. To use a blood spell, a mage must have blood present. It is the only down side to them. And connecting to it is not so easy, trust me, there are rumors of VHF attempts. To use blood magic, a mage has to have an affinity for blood mana.”

“True, but there are also rituals,” Festus said. He clearly didn’t have any faith in his words. If anything, it looked as if he had merely said them for the purpose of continuing the conversation.

Daniel could tell the Knight mage’s mind was elsewhere.

Daniel sighed.

“I know what I want to do with this,” he said slowly, knowing his words would make him no friends here. “A mage with a possible mind affinity and blood affinity who also presents as an attribute mage is very rare. Also, a crafter is one of the rarest kinds. But the VHF has at least one mage in each department. The VHF would be the best place for him.”

“You believe he is an attribute mage with specializations?” Festus asked, skeptical. “Isn’t that supposed to be impossible?”

“I just saw a death mage absorb mana from a mana surge crystal, even if just a tiny piece of it,” Daniel said. “I think my mind is becoming more acceptable of what should and should not be impossible.”

Festus nodded sagely.

“Would you allow us take him back with us?” Daniel ventured.

Festus shrugged. “You are right that the VHF would be the best place for him to grow as a mage right now,” he agreed. “And you people do have the best rune mages I know of.”

“Rune mages?” Daniel asked, confused. “You can’t be telling me that he’s a rune mage, too.”

Festus looked at him with raised brows. “You teamed up with him for a while, you can’t tell me he didn’t use any runes when he was with you.”

“He did. But I just thought it was an attribute mage thing. Some attribute mages have been known to learn a rune or two to compensate for long range attacks or defense against spells.”

“True, but he picks up runes too fast,” Festus said. “He might not be a rune mage but he definitely has a talent for runes. I had intended to teach him all the runes I know before sending him off in search of more.”

“So you are willing to let us have him?”

“Only after I have confirmed a few things. But you are forgetting something quite important.”

Daniel’s armored head turned to look down at the small, old man. Nothing about his size instilled fear, especially when being looked down at from this high up in an Olympian armor.

“What’s that?” Daniel asked.

Festus bent down. He turned Zed on his back on placed his axe on his chest. The axe’s aura bristled as if against the very action of being touched. Ranked weapons were often like that. When they were bonded to a mage, another mage could only use them as the weapons that the were. In the hands of the mage they were bonded to, they were far more than just weapons. When a ranked weapon wasn’t bonded, its aura reacted differently when touched by a mage. It was questing, inquiring.

It seemed the axe was already bonded to its crafter. Unless it was intentionally done, crafters did not bond with the weapons they crafted. It meant that Zed had gotten enough time to bond to the axe before passing out.

With the axe rested on Zed’s chest and his hands placed atop its handle, Festus slipped his hands beneath Zed and picked him up. His short red hair, once long, wasn’t as bright as Ven’s, it was too dark to be. Still, it reminded Daniel of his dead captain.

“What have I forgotten?” Daniel asked again, wishing to bury the emotions he felt for the loss of the captain as this was not the place or time to grieve.

Festus looked up at him with the red haired mage in his hands.

“You seem to forget that the boy is not a piece of property,” he said. “Regardless of what you and I think is best for him, in the end, it is still his choice. If he decides the VHF is not where he wants to be, then no one will be taking him.”

“And if he decides he would want to come with us?”

Festus looked down at Zed’s body with soft eyes.

“Then the VHF,” he said, “would be lucky to have him.”