Lucian woke up in the trunk of a car with his face muzzled, his hands and feet shackled, and his body wrapped in chains. Attached to a chain on the shackle of his left foot was a heavy metal ball leaning against the back of the hindmost seat of the vehicle, and each time the van moved, he could feel himself getting bumped and rattled, his shins colliding into the ball as he slid downward. The dragon-spirit twisted and strained against his bindings to no avail. Underneath his muzzle, his teeth gnashed in an enraged yet futile protest against the indignity of it all.
"I'd like to thank you all for helping me find Juniper and assisting in the capture of the Shrine Scorcher," Kai announced to the other adults from the driver's seat. "You all were very helpful today, unlike a certain senile old lady who'd rather knit or bake cookies or do whatever old ladies do instead of rescuing my daughter..."
"We get it Kai, you hate Juliana," the black-haired man sitting in the passenger seat behind him responded. "But you do know she's been quite busy with Autumn's End Festival preparations and as the principal of Silver Run Academy, right? She needed that day off more than all of us."
Kai turned a corner on the road, yanking Lucian leftwards. "As if I care!" He scoffed. "Look, we're all busy as hell here. I'm a single dad and the High Mage of Avriya, you're supervising Cayto while taking on all sorts of odd jobs to make ends meet, Elliot spends endless hours maintaining the wind barrier on top of his council duties, and Hyacinth practically works 24/7 at this point! Yet Juliana is the only one who thinks she can actually get away with not joining my search party."
The wind mage, presumably Elliot, sitting in the passenger seat next to Kai gave the metal mage a blank stare. "Dude, Juliana's in her seventies. She should've retired by now, but the only reason she hasn't is because then Silver Run Academy would be left without a principal. Obviously she's not gonna have the same energy levels as the rest of us."
Kai slammed the brakes at an intersection, jerking Lucian forward. "That doesn't matter!" He shouted. "Look, have you seen what that horrid beast had done to my daughter?! Her skin was bitten, her clothes were muddy, and she was crying about how she wanted to go home! Does it not alarm you in the slightest how many bite marks were on her arms and legs while the Shrine Scorcher remained completely unscathed?! It was trying to eat her, I'm telling you!"
Lucian bristled at Kai's blatant slandering of him. Now it wasn't like he was trying to make the metal mage like him by taking care of his daughter, but this?! He had literally saved her life, yet Kai still found a way to paint him as the bad guy! If anything, he should be grateful he got free babysitting for his daughter, regardless of personal grudges!
Suddenly the woman with lavender-faded hair (Hyacinth?) spoke up. She had an arm around Juniper, who was asleep in the middle seat. "Hey, I've seen bite marks before, and I'm telling you, those are mosquito bites, not teeth-mark bites," she corrected. "I'm a healer so I obviously have experience with this stuff."
Kai rolled his remaining eye. "Oh, so maybe the Shrine Scorcher wasn't as bad as we thought. It didn't eat her yet, it just tossed her in some mosquito-infested underground hole to save for later and the bugs got to her first. What a hero," he quipped sarcastically. "No wonder Juniper was screaming about how she wanted to go home! Any child would be crying for help like that if they got kidnapped by the Shrine Scorcher."
"But Mr Dalton, right after Juniper said she wanted to go home, I heard the Shrine Scorcher ask her where she lived so he could bring her home," the healer remarked. "Don't you think that would be a weird thing to ask if he really was planning on eating her?"
Kai steered the car leftward onto a gravel lot and slowed it down, the vehicle jittering over the rocks. "Oh, I'd swear on my mother's grave the beast was trying to trick her. It probably only told Juniper it would bring her home so she would end up trusting it, and there, instead of taking her back to her house, she'd follow the rotten creature to its lair and become its next dinner!" The metal mage shouted. "And now that the Shrine Scorcher would've known where Juniper and I lived, it could find my house and burn it down, just like it had done with Blanche's shrines."
"Does the Shrine Scorcher even know that you're her father?" The black-haired man asked Kai as he parked the car and opened the car door. The lavender-haired woman woke up Juniper and exited the car on the opposite side, and soon all of the car seats were emptied. After Kai opened the car trunk to a glaring Lucian, the four adults picked him up, grunting under the combined weight— and force— of their thrashing prisoner and the shackles and chains he was bound up with. The wind mage received a kick to the face. A wisp of smoke trailed out of the dragon-spirit's right nostril.
"Sedate it," Kai ordered after digging through the trunk of the car and handing the lavender-haired woman a needle. She jammed it into Lucian's shoulder, and at once he went limp, ceasing his wordless protests. While Kai placed the tranquilizer needle back in the toolkit of the car's trunk, Juniper looked up at him with a puzzled expression.
"What's going on?"
"We're throwing the beast who kidnapped you into the sea where it belongs," Kai answered as the four adults lugged the still body of their prisoner towards the dock.
"But Lucian didn't kidnap me!" Juniper responded. "Sure, he may be bad at cooking, but he saved me from a falling tree and promised he would bring me home. We also told each other lots of scary stories over a campfire, which was fun."
Suddenly Kai let go of his side of the burden, causing Lucian's head and upper body to violently jerk back. The tall black-haired man, who was next in line after Kai, moved forward to take his place, picking Lucian back up where he was unsupported. Meanwhile the metal mage crouched down, meeting his daughter at eye level. "What scary stories?"
"Fun scary stories!" Juniper replied. "You know, about monsters and stuff—"
Kai's eye widened in alarm. "What kind?!"
"Well, I told him one about a vengeful sea monster and he told me one about a spirit whose face got burnt off," the little girl answered. "Then I told him one about a haunted doll and he told me one about a torture chamber—"
The look that had now made its way onto Kai's face was nothing short of mortified. "Juniper, those are way too violent! You're too young to hear those types of stories!"
"But they're just stories."
Kai sighed and shook his head. "They're not. That beast was trying to corrupt you by telling you things you're too young to hear. Remember what I told you about strangers?"
"Stranger... danger?" Juniper repeated.
Kai nodded. "Yes, I'm glad to see that you remember. Never, and I repeat, never, talk to strangers again, okay?"
"Why?" Juniper asked. "Lucian was nice."
""Lucian" is the Shrine Scorcher. The Shrine Scorcher is bad," the metal mage emphasized. "Do you know what Shrine Scorchers do to children like you?"
Juniper's eyes widened. "What?"
"They eat them!" Kai shouted. "You see, the only reason the Shrine Scorcher was nice to you in the first place was because it— he was trying to trick you. He wanted you to believe he was nice so you would follow him to his lair and he could eat you, and the real reason "Lucian" asked you where you lived was not to return you home, but so he could go to our house and burn it down, just like he does to Blanche's shrines!" The metal mage ranted. "Tell me, do "nice" people look like demons?! Do "nice" people tell children violent stories and trick them into getting eaten?! Do "nice" people set Blanche's shrines on fire?!"
Juniper shook her head. "No."
"I'm glad to see that you understand," Kai commented, giving his daughter a reassuring head pat, one she didn't even bother protesting against. "You're very lucky that my rescue team was able to save you in time. Say thank you!"
"Thank you," Juniper mumbled as the other three adults waved to her and Kai picked up Lucian by the arms and chest once again.
Docked in the marina nearby was a boat with a fair amount of deck space and a pointed bow. Heaving, the four people carrying Lucian tossed their load onto the deck, chains clanging and deck swaying when his body hit the floor. One by one, each of the crew entered the boat after their prisoner, with Kai guiding his daughter over the gap between the watercraft and the wooden boards. As soon as everybody got settled into the boat, the other three members of Kai's rescue team began untying its lines from the dock, and Kai jammed the key into the ignition. A minute later, the boat took off.
Around five to ten more minutes passed where not a sound could be heard except for the revving of the boat engine and the splashing of the waves. As the watercraft zipped through the sea, it left clouds of mist and a V-shaped trail behind. The wind whipped through each of the passengers' hair and had a salty taste to it.
"And... here," Kai announced as he turned the ignition key and the revving of the engine died down. Each of the adults looked up to him for more orders. "Orion, Elliot, Hyacinth, you help me throw this beast overboard. No need to drop anchor, we won't be staying for long," the metal mage instructed as he picked up Lucian by the arms and the rest of the crew followed after him. The black-haired man grabbed onto the spirit's upper body, the teal-eyed man in the windbreaker dug one arm beneath Lucian's back and the other under his knees, and the woman in the tight black shirt held onto the spirit's lower legs, glancing at the sea with a nervous anticipation. Acting in sync, the four members of Kai's crew swung the body and tossed it over the railing, some of them stepping back as soon as it hit the water and left a substantial splash. The boat swayed, and the woman who had previously grabbed onto Lucian's legs leaned over the railing, her face betraying only the slightest hint of melancholy.
"Sorry," she whispered as the body disappeared underneath the water.
Kai raised his head. "What did you say, Hyacinth?"
Hyacinth looked up at the metal mage, startled. "Nothing."
***
When Noi woke up the morning after Skye arrived at his house, Lucian hadn't come back. And when Skye left for school later that morning, Lucian was still not back, and Noi was worried sick.
Where was he? What was taking him so long? Now Noi wasn't one to get hung up over small matters— he hated dwelling over uncertainties— but this wasn't a small matter. Lucian had disappeared for the entire day yesterday, and he was still gone today.
At around ten in the morning, Noi dropped by the town's market square to shop. He needed new cleaning supplies and was also thinking of replacing the living room couch, but running errands did little to take his mind off Lucian. However, while in the square, he did encounter a young girl screaming a profane word at the top of her lungs in front of a tall, silver-haired man with a covering over half his face. The man, who was frantically shushing the girl while apologizing to the crowd for the disturbance, later went on to ask his daughter who taught her such a word.
"Satan," the little girl replied with a mischievous smile, earning a mortified look from her father.
Noi had to admit it was mildly amusing to see such a big and tough-looking man lose his composure in public over his daughter's behavior, or at least he assumed she was his daughter since the owl-man had no way of knowing what their actual relationship was. He could also relate to apologizing for the behavior of other people— namely, Lucian. And speaking of Lucian...
Ugh, he just couldn't take his mind off him, could he?!
Noi shook his head. There really was no point in worrying when he had no control over the situation and a house to clean. Lucian will come back eventually. He always does. If he didn't, Noi would be in serious trouble.
He already had too close of a call with Blanche last night while he slept. It was all the fault of those psychic links— those damn psychic links. Even when he was an entire realm away from her, there was no escaping the Creator goddess when she could simply approach him in his dreams and interrogate him.
"Are you keeping watch on the deviant?" Blanche had asked Noi the previous night, in reference to Lucian. In the dreamscape where Noi got summoned, Blanche was sitting on a throne of quartz inside a moonlit cavern. Her pitch-black hair draped her shoulders and cascaded down her back, her skin a pale alabaster with undertones of gray. Her gown, of which its hue reflected that of the silvery-blue moon suspended in the night sky, hung off her right leg, crossed over her left as she rested her elbow on the side of her throne, her chin leaning against the palm of her fist. Noi was kneeling on the floor below the goddess, looking up into her soulless, pupil-less eyes.
The owl man nodded hesitantly. "Yes. I am."
"That is good to hear," the deity acknowledged in her signature expressionless voice. "What about the child of Polaris? Are you watching her too?"
Noi nodded again. "She, like Lucian, is also under careful supervision."
"Have any of them acted in a manner that may be deemed suspicious, or posed any new threats as of late?"
"Apart from Lucian's usual behavior, nothing as far as I know of," Noi replied. "In spite of the prophecy, Skye has not expressed a desire to initiate an attack upon you or the spirit realm, and stated herself that she has no plans to." Now it wasn't like the owl-spirit was lying; Skye did say she wasn't going to seek out Blanche for the sake of a fight. He just left out the second part, where she added that although she wasn't planning on starting the battle, she'd be more than willing to strike back if the situation came to it.
But Noi's reply alone did not suffice for Blanche, who gave him a penetrating stare, as if attempting to extract more answers from him with just a look. "Where are they and what are each of them doing right now?"
"Skye is in the room of my house, and when I last checked, she was asleep," Noi reported.
Blanche nodded. "And Lucian?"
"Oh, he..." Noi paused. "He went to the Misty Glen River Valley to practice flying."
Blanche's eyes blackened, as they did whenever she got displeased, and when she spoke again her voice had morphed into loud, scratchy whispers that rattled off the walls, coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. The way she spoke when she was mad, as if it was not a woman speaking but a horde of demons from the depths of hell, never failed to freak Noi out. For some reason he associated that voice with spiders. "Why did you let him go? Don't you know that he is a potential threat and is not to be left unwatched? Do you know how bad it would be for us all if Lucian got too powerful?"
"I swear I tried to stop him," Noi professed, but Blanche only gave him a look that was even more threatening.
"You should've tried harder. And if that didn't work, then you should've followed him."
Noi gulped. "Well, somebody needed to stay behind and take care of the house..."
"I. Don't. Care. About. Your. House," Blanche hissed. "You see, I've always been very generous with you. I gave you a high-ranking position, a luxurious compound in City Central's safest location, and a lifestyle many would envy. I've even bent the rules for you, just because I've always known you as my loyal and trusted advisor. Do you think I would've kept the Last Child alive for you if you weren't, or Skye, as you call her? You're the one who said she was "just a kid" and "had an entire life ahead of her." I say that we shouldn't take any chances and eliminate her before she becomes an even bigger threat, but because I trust your wisdom, I chose to not order her destruction. But remember, you have to uphold your end of the bargain, too. Keep a careful eye on her and make sure she doesn't try to follow through with the prophecy, and I'll let her live. Same with Lucian. You see, I've always been opposed to killing him because he needed to live with the consequences of his actions, and the spirit realm needed a strong example of what not to do. But if I hear anything about him becoming more powerful than he ought to be, or setting a bad example by getting away with his misdeeds, or planting dangerous ideas in people's minds and gaining any sort of following or influence..." Blanche took a clawed finger and traced it across Noi's neck, "there will be consequences. Not just for him, but for you too."
Noi nodded. "Understood."
"I hope you mean what you say," Blanche responded. "And knowing you, you probably do. I don't normally let my subjects leave the Realm of Spirits, so just the fact that I've entrusted you with the responsibility of watching over Skye and Lucian in the first place shows how highly I think of you. You're better than Lucian; I know you won't be led astray by the mortal realm, unlike him," she continued. "But still, you have a leniency problem. While it's good to hear that you at least have a handle on Skye, who as of now is a bigger threat due to the North Star Prophecy, you're way too permissive when it comes to Lucian. You've allowed him to burn my shrines—"
"Actually, I tried to stop him from doing that as well," Noi interjected.
"SILENCE!" Blanche yelled as tendrils of dark magic sprouted out of her forearms and wrapped around Noi's neck. "No interrupting when I speak, do you hear?"
Noi nodded. "Yes ma'am."
"Alright," Blanche resumed. "So what I was saying was that the only reason I've let you get away with allowing Lucian to burn my shrines was because his doing so did not have the effect he wanted— if anything, it was counterproductive to his goals. Instead of making people agree with his dangerous ideas, Lucian's shrine burning pushed them away from him even more. While it may have intercepted my supply of offerings, it has also been beneficial in the sense that more people saw him for the evil that he was, and were less likely to view him in a favorable light," the deity explained. "So that was why I didn't punish you for being lenient on him that time. But if the shrine burning did have the desired effect, I wouldn't have spared you. What I'm saying is that you got lucky, Noi. You got away with being incompetent because it actually ended up benefiting us, however indirectly. But next time, luck may not be on your side. Consider yourself warned."
Noi nodded again in affirmation. "I do."
The darkness faded out of Blanche's eyes, and her voice returned to normal. "Good," she said. "I will now leave. Please update me on any news you have."
Soon after Blanche's parting statement, the cavern around Noi began to fade, along with the deity herself. The owl-spirit let out a relieved sigh when she disappeared completely, grateful to finally have some space to himself once again. He hated how much he had to stifle himself during his meetings with the Creator goddess. Every time she checked in on him, he had to be something he was not, and Noi was getting sick of it.
But really, he should be used to putting on this mask. Noi had been Blanche's advisor for a large portion of his life, and there was a time when he actually supported her. He went along with whatever she demanded because that was what came naturally to him— he was used to following orders. It was how he avoided conflict and made life easier for himself.
But ever since the North Star Prophecy came about, it was getting more and more difficult to keep up the "loyal advisor" act. At that moment, he almost envied Lucian for having his psychic link broken, even if the way it got broken was through an event that scarred him for life. Perhaps that was the one and only way the Inferno actually benefited him— at least he, unlike Noi, didn't have to monitor his every action, word, and thought anymore, since there was no need for him to worry about Blanche watching him in his sleep. In a way, it was fitting that Lucian was the only spirit without a psychic link. Blanche may be the Mother of All Spirits and his official creator, but he really was Andromeda's child, not hers.
Back in the present, Noi took a broom from the supply closet and began sweeping, down the hallway, in the bedrooms, by the kitchen. When he stopped by Lucian's bedroom, he opened the closet, taking a step back when all sorts of clutter began spilling out of it. A defective lamp, an old holiday ornament, an empty picture frame— what the hell does he need all this junk for? Noi wondered. He honestly found it quite tempting to go through the Gold Hoard and discard anything he deemed unnecessary, but then he knew that Lucian would get mad at him, so he chose not to. Dragon behavior puzzled him.
But still, the Gold Hoard was a literal disaster at this point, so Noi opted to clean the closet and reorganize it instead, taking out and sorting through all sorts of various bits and bobs of gilded paraphernalia. While doing so, he stumbled across a single item that did not share the same gold color with the rest of the hoard: a pale furry blanket speckled with darker shades of gray, caked in dust and dirt after falling onto the floor. Sometimes he would catch Lucian snuggling or sleeping with that specific blanket with a blissed-out expression on his face, but whenever he pointed it out, the dragon-spirit always got flustered and tried to redirect the conversation. The owl-spirit found that reaction of his mildly amusing, but he never pushed it. He already knew why Lucian reacted that way— another thing he had in common with Andromeda, Noi supposed. All he could do was hope that it didn't end as badly for Lucian, but perhaps it was already too late.
Noi took the blanket to the bathroom and began handwashing it with soap and warm water before wringing it out on the porch and hanging it on the railing to dry. Then he reentered the house to resume his cleaning.
It was a good thing he had washed that blanket in particular because later that day, Skye would come to Noi asking him for her sealskin, along with a pair of heavy-duty chain cutters.