While Damion was pondering his options a new city alert went out, snapping him out of his thought process.
"The lockdown has lifted. Citizens in effected areas should coordinate with their City Council liaison for damages related to the beast wave. Inquiries for missing persons should be made to your sector police department."
"Repeat. The lockdown has lifted. Citizens in effected areas should coordinate with their City Council liaison for damages related to the beast wave. Inquiries for missing persons should be made to your sector police department."
"Well, now that that is over, let me walk you over to the police station," Anne said as she hit the button on the wall behind the counter to raise the security doors."
"It's okay, I know my way home," Damion said as he tried to head to the door. However, Anne was faster and took him by the hand, preventing his escape.
"Don't be silly," Anne said as she led him out the door and towards the local police station. "It is far too chaotic for you to wander around here by yourself. Besides, your parents are probably out looking for you. If you go home, how are they to know?"
Not having a choice, Damion did not resist being pulled along to the police station. The station was just a few storefronts down and if not for the signage, it would look just like any other store in this shopping district. Damion figured the design was to keep the area looking fairly uniform. This district seemed to like uniformity and cleanliness.
"Officer Parker, this is the young boy I called earlier about," Anne greeted a young, uniformed police officer.
"Hi there little guy," Officer Parker said as he patted Damion's head. "We haven't received any reports of missing children. Do you know your parents' contact information so we can give them a call?"
"My parents are Caleb and Sharon Wells. We live at 127 Cheshire St," Damion answered. He wanted to add that his mom was likely rushing to his school to check on him, but he thought they might question how a six-year-old got so far from his school right as the beast wave was starting.
"That should be enough," Officer Parker said as he typed Damion's information into his computer. A moment later the police officer picked up his phone and called his parents. "Hello is this Officer Parker of Police District 17, am I speaking to Sharon Wells?"
Damion could not hear his mother's response on the phone, but he was sure she would be quite upset as soon as Officer Parker told her why he was calling.
"Your son Damion was brought in lost after the beast wave… Yes, he… We'll see you when you get here.
"Your mother is on her way," Officer Parker said as he hung up the phone. Damion's mother had not let the officer get more than a few words out evidently.
Damion headed over to a chair to sit and wait, he did not believe it would be long until his mother arrived. Sure enough, not fifteen minutes passed before his mother rushed through the police department's doors and after a quick glance around saw Damion sitting quietly in his chair. She rushed over and hugged him tightly.
"How did you get separated from your class at the school shelter?" His mother asked after she had thoroughly looked him over to make sure he was uninjured.
"I was on my way to the library because all my class work was done," Damion said trying to sound honest. "When the alarm sounded, I didn't know what to do, so I tried to run home, but I must have gone the wrong way."
Damion's story sounded plausible enough, to everyone present. If they each had all the facts, they would realize the timeline did not make sense. Sharon was too happy seeing her son safe to question anything and Officer Parker and Anne felt it was none of their concern, although they were curious about how Damion was supposed to be in school.
"Do you need anything from me before I take my son home Officer?"
"Are you walking or in a vehicle?" Officer Parker asked.
"In a vehicle."
"You should be fine then. We received a report of a casualty found in a nearby alley. The beast responsible has not been located and teams are out checking to see if it is still in the City or not. But if you are in a vehicle, you should be fine."
Damion swallowed hard when he heard Officer Park. That casualty they were attributing to a beast was most likely the man he had encountered. Officer Park did not indicate how the person died, but Damion could not help but wonder if he had absorbed too much mana from the man and had accidently killed him.
Before Damion and his mother could leave the police station another person entered and stood in the doorway. The man was tall and had broad shoulders, with graying hair at his temples and in his neatly trimmed goatee. When he entered the police station his gaze swept over everyone before he turned his attention to Officer Parker.
"I've swept the entire city, there is no sign a of beast that could have sucked the mana out of a human," the man's words frightened Damion's mother, and she pulled him to her, holding him tightly.
"Dean Thorn, do you think the beast has fled, or do you think it was among the beasts we killed?" Officer Parker asked as he was entering information into his computer.
"It has most likely fled. I believe it was a weak, but fairly intelligent beast. It used the beast wave as a cover to enter the city and attack, but since it attacked someone that was not even a ranked mage, its strength must be very low. Otherwise, it would surely have attacked more or someone stronger, after all, mana consuming beasts prefer mana rich targets.
'A no Ranker like the victim should hold little appeal to beasts like it. So, the only explanation is that it is quite weak. I suggest putting a hunter mission out to the local guilds and hope someone is lucky enough to find and kill it before it grows stronger."
"Understood sir," Officer Parker replied as he continued to type on his computer.
"Excuse me sir," Damion said as he freed himself from his mother's grasp. The title of dean had intrigued him, and he was wondering if this man was from one of the magic schools he had heard about.
"Are you from one of the magic schools? Are you here to test for new students?"
"Very astute of you young man," Dean Thorn replied as he looked down at Damion. "I am Dean Richard Thorn of Silver Spire Academy. I was on my way to your city to test for new students when the beast wave broke out."
"The Dean was responsible for the early warning we received," Officer Parker chimed in. "If not for him, we likely would have had a great many casualties."
"Wow," Damion said amazed. He was not truly overly shocked, but he wanted to sound like a star struck child in hopes of the man granting his request. "I just started school; will I get tested too?"
Dean Thorn looked to Damion's mother for clarification, since he appeared too young to be going to school.
"My son Damion is very smart, by five years old he had already read all the books in our home. We were able to convince our local school to let him start this year, he just turned six in the twelfth month."
"Sounds like you are quite a smart lad," Dean Thorn said as he took a small round crystal out of his pocket. "This is a testing crystal. Normally, we only test after ten years old, but I'll let you have a go early. Just hold it in your hand and it will read your magic core to identify your potential."
Damion took the crystal in his hand. It felt warm to the touch and for a moment, he was sure it was going to tell him his magic affinity, but then he received an alert from the Magic System.