Chapter 8 Book 1 White Lie
The town guards, their faces pale in the lantern light, found Xu Mei and Ethan huddled together in the back of the abandoned wagon. The air was thick with the stench of iron and the heavy, suffocating silence of death. Ethan, a small eight-year-old boy, was covered in blood that was not his own, his face a tear-streaked mask of horror and confusion. The dagger, a small, intricate thing, lay on the floor beside him, a silent testament to a rage no child should ever feel. Xu Mei, physically unhurt, was a silent sentinel of a different kind of terror, her body shaking with an internal tremor that had nothing to do with the night's chill. She stared at the five lifeless bodies, the faces of her captors now peaceful in death, and the brutal finality of what had happened felt like a cold stone in her heart.
"Let's take the children first," said one of the guards as they entered the carriage.
As soon as the carriage shook, Xu Mei and Ethan trembled and looked at the two guards.
"It's okay. We are here to help you," a tall one said while trying to calm the two children.
After the two children were settled on the side of the road, the captain of the town guards, a grizzled veteran named Vorlag, arrived on the scene. He couldn't help but look at the scene while squinting his eyes. The two children seemed to have suffered an emotional trauma as they huddled together, and one of the guards stood beside them.
Director Anya followed behind with worry etched on her face. The sight of the children, so small and innocent amidst such carnage, shook the older man to his core. He gently lifted Xu Mei, his large, calloused hands surprisingly tender, and wrapped her in his own wool cape. Director Anya, her face a mask of shock and grief, took Ethan, whispering soothing words as she held him close, her own tears beginning to fall.
The two took the children away from the bloody scene and quickly went to the town's clinic.
Healer Lena, the town's elderly medical practitioner, examined both children. She gave Ethan a mild sedative to calm his racing heart and soothe his battered body. He had a deep purple bruise blooming on his cheek, and a small cut on his lip that needed to be cleaned. Xu Mei, to the healer's surprise, had no physical injuries, but her emotional trauma was far more profound.
"They'll be alright physically," Healer Lena said quietly to Director Anya later that night, as the children lay sleeping in separate, warm beds in the orphanage. "But what they saw... what they experienced... that will leave scars. It's a miracle they survived."
"I am afraid that this would have caused the two children something irreversible." Director Anya said helplessly while looking outside the window.
After investigating the scene and the corpses, Captain Volrag found that the kidnappers might be mercenaries, judging from their clothing and weapons. Their target should be the newly awakened magii, Ethan. The little girl should have seen them and was caught by the group.
"What baffled me is… how could two little children defeat and kill five adults?" he muttered while looking outside the dimly lit streets of the town.
That situation was truly baffling.
…
The next morning, Captain Vorlag and Director Anya began their interrogation. They chose to speak with Xu Mei first, seeing that she was the calmer of the two. She sat on a small wooden chair in Director Anya's office, a cup of warm milk held tightly in her hands, while her feet dangled freely.
The room was clean, orderly, and a stark contrast to the bloody chaos of the wagon.
"Little Mei, we need you to tell us everything," Captain Vorlag said, his voice firm but not unkind. "Everything you remember from the moment you were taken. Don't leave anything out."
Xu Mei looked at him, then at Director Anya, whose eyes were filled with a mix of fear and an unspoken promise of protection. She knew she couldn't tell the truth. Her secret, her telekinesis, had to remain hidden. The Anti-magii Coalition, Elara's words, the very reason the men had been there, all pointed to the fact that her power was a dangerous, hunted thing. She took a deep breath.
"I... I was asleep," she began, her voice a small, trembling whisper. "I heard a noise outside. I went to the window to look. Then a man was behind me. He… he just grabbed me. He put his hand over my mouth and took me to the wagon."
She looked down at her hands, her mind racing, weaving the lie she had to tell. "Inside, I saw Ethan. The men... they said they were taking him. They said their boss wanted a new Magii. But then... then they started fighting."
"What did they fight about?" Captain Vorlag pressed, leaning forward. His eyes, sharp and intelligent, were looking for inconsistencies.
Xu Mei remembered the dialogue she had overheard in the wagon, the words that now felt like a curse. "They... they argued about which of them was going to get a reward for capturing him. They got really mad. They started yelling at each other. They said it wasn't fair."
"And then they drew daggers?" Director Anya asked, her voice soft with worry.
"Yes," Xu Mei said, her voice gaining a little more strength, a little more conviction. "One of them took out a dagger, and he... he stabbed another one. The other men got angry, and they started fighting too. It was so fast. So loud." She paused, remembering the quiet brutality of Ethan's actions, and her voice broke. "We just hid. We were so scared."
Captain Vorlag watched her, his expression unreadable. "And you saw nothing else? No one else helped you? No one was there?"
"No," Xu Mei said, shaking her head vehemently. "Just us. Just Ethan and me."
The captain sighed, leaning back in his chair. The story was flimsy, but the terror in her eyes was real. He couldn't bring himself to press a seven-year-old girl any further. He looked at Director Anya and gave a small, defeated shrug. "It's the only story we have. The men's bodies were found with their own weapons. It's plausible that they turned on each other."
When they spoke with Ethan, his account, though less detailed, corroborated Xu Mei's. He spoke of being beaten, of hearing shouting, and then a confusing blur before he woke up with Xu Mei. He had no memory of taking the dagger, no memory of the horrific act. His mind, in its self-defense, had locked away the trauma.
The town, for its part, accepted the official explanation. The children were hailed as heroes, survivors of a grim, tragic ordeal. The men were identified as a small-time mercenary group with a history of banditry. The truth, however, remained a silent, shared secret between Xu Mei, her conscience, and the ever-present, shimmering window that only she could see.
…
Two days later, the true reason for the incident became clear. A representative from the Magii Order arrived from the capital city, Dragon City. Lilith, a young woman with sharp features and even sharper eyes, stood in the orphanage's main hall, her shimmering silver wand clutched in her hand. She was an Apprentice Magii, but she carried herself with the confident authority of a Grand Wizard.
She dismissed Captain Vorlag's findings with a slight, scornful smile. "A mercenary dispute? Captain, please. I could smell the mana signature from a mile away. It was a botched abduction by the Anti-magii Coalition. These men, though perhaps not official members, were acting on their orders. They were here for the newly awakened child."
Lilith then turned her attention to Ethan. With a flick of her wrist, her wand glowed with a soft, pale green light. She held it over the boy's head, and the light seemed to pulse with an almost intelligent life.
"His mana core is strong, but unstable," she said, her voice professional and detached. "The trauma of the abduction and whatever happened in that wagon has left a mark. There's a lingering scent of uncontrolled, chaotic fury. He needs to begin his training immediately. We can't have a new Magii with a core this volatile running around. He needs to be taught control."
She then looked at Xu Mei, her sharp gaze pinning the girl in place. "And this one? The Heumane child who was also taken. Did she show any sign of powers? She was present during the struggle, correct?"
Director Anya, sensing the implicit danger in Lilith's question, stepped forward protectively. "No, she is not a Magii. She is a brave little girl who was accidentally involved in this matter. She was only a casualty."
Lilith's gaze didn't waver. She stared into Xu Mei's eyes, as if trying to peer into her very soul. Xu Mei, remembering the hatred in Elara's voice, the coldness of Lilith's professional demeanor, instinctively pushed her own ability deep within her. The shimmering window, her constant companion, seemed to shine like a defensive wall in her vision, a silent, hidden protector.
[Detecting Mana signature], the status window showed.
[Apprentice Magii… middle level…]
Xu Mei's mind was distracted upon reading those words. It made her think that the young woman before her might look powerful, but she is only an apprentice mage. Her telekinesis has reached such a level, maybe the young woman is not as strong as her. But she did not want to show this as she tried to hide it in her heart.
Lilith's scrutiny lasted for what felt like an eternity. Finally, she gave a small shrug.
"Very well. The records show she is Heumane. Her mana signature is nonexistent. But I will say this," she said, turning her attention back to Director Anya and Captain Vorlag. "The Anti-magii Coalition's presence is growing. They're getting bolder. We need to find them, and we need to stop them. Their ideology is a cancer, and they are actively hunting new Magii."
Lilith turned back to Ethan. "The Magii Order will assume full responsibility for this child. I will take him to Hollow Ground School on Heart Island. His training will begin immediately. He will be safe there, protected from the likes of the Coalition."
Ethan, silent and still, simply nodded. The boy who had been so boisterous and full of life was now a quiet, haunted shell of himself. He didn't protest, didn't ask questions. He simply accepted his fate.
However, when he looked at Xu Mei, he showed a hint of thankfulness and confusion.
"Is Xu Mei not a magii?" he thought.
He had heard what they were saying and what the young magii told them that Xu Mei is just a normal girl. But he could not help but recall what had happened in the carriage. Although he could not see it, he could feel that it was all done by Xu Mei. The reason for this is that he had seen her moving her hand as if casting a spell or something.
But he did not want to say something as he was already grateful to her for helping him escape this tragedy.
Lilith, with a final, dismissive look at the gathered group, took Ethan by the hand. He gave Xu Mei one last, long look, his eyes filled with a grief and a silent terror that she would never forget. It was a silent goodbye, a plea for understanding, and an apology all rolled into one. He was gone, a silent victim of a war he never asked to be a part of.