The Mystics Of Valenthia

12. The Enchantress

I twisted and turned in my bed. It wasn't my bed in the suite and I could feel it. My eyes fluttered open and focused on the ceiling. The same carved ceiling from Day one. I sat up on my bed. I was in the infirmary. I looked out of the window and saw that it was still dark with a few flecks of sun rays scattered. The sky did look beautiful. I pulled away my blankets and sat at the edge of the bed, just about to go out when I heard the voice.

"I don't remember the Sanator discharging you out of here yet."

I froze at the sound of his voice. Turning to look at him, I replied, "I am not in the mood to argue, Carter."

"Neither am I. So just shut up and go to sleep. It is too early even at the Warmage Academy to be up already."

"Why are you up? And most importantly, why are you here?"  I asked, staring up at him.

His wounds had been healed completely. No one would even dream that not just 24 hours ago he was in a duel with a psycho. He wore a crisp white shirt and blue jeans. His hair was a mess as usual but his eyes were alert, showing that he was up since a long time.

"I....I am...You know what? Why must I answer you?" He seemed to be irritated.

It was pretty evident that he was trying to whip up a lie but I didn't say so. Besides I had other pressing issues in hand. Like how not to make my growling stomach audible. Sure, I was hungry and craving waffles but somehow I didn't see this as a good opportunity to ask for some. So instead, I asked another question which was burning inside me. (No pun intended)

"How did you know that I was with Surripio?"

"Well, after the hour was up we came back to the palace. I was expecting you to be among the crowd; but noticed at once that you weren't there. I was worried and realised my mistake of leaving you alone in the forest. I informed Ferdinand that I will be back and sprinted out of the palace to the place where we separated. This time I followed your path. Minutes later I found myself staring at the black mark of a disc with spikes on the ground and I knew. Surripio always leaves a mark. And everyone knows Surripio's hideout, so yeah. You know the rest." He said without pausing to catch his breath.

"Who is this Surripio person, really?"

"Was," he corrected.

"What?"

"Surripio is now a past tense. He is dead."

He said it without a tinge of pity or sorrow in his voice.

I stared at him for an eternity before whispering, "Did I...did I murder him?"

I knew it would counted as a rhetorical question because the answer was obvious. Before he could answer, I said, "I murdered him. In cold blood."

"Technically it was fire. So hot would sound apt."

"You think this is funny? I murdered a man, Carter! I murdered him by burning him and that was ruthless! And you know what is worst? That I feel nothing! I murder a man, I am supposed to feel something. Pity, sorrow, guilt, anything! But all I feel is numb. As if it was nothing. This isn't normal!" I choked.

"Hey," he said softly while sitting beside me. I couldn't bear to face him and fix my gaze on my dangling feet. "He was a bad guy. Bad guys ought to get their punishment sooner or later. Surripio just got his."

"But..but I killed him. His punishment shouldn't have been death. I killed him. I..." I burst out into sobs. I couldn't control it any longer. I was disgusted with myself. Such abhorrence! I hated myself for what I did. I felt Carter put his arm on my shoulder, pulling me closer. I hugged him and cried in his shirt saying over and over, "I killed him." more for my sake than his.