Guardians Of The Arcane Chronicles

Chapter 2: Guardian Business

The duo stared at the corpse for an uncomfortably long time. Gaius breathed heavily as the holes in his chest began to seal themselves, covering up the light under his skin that managed to peek through for a few seconds. He could feel Felix trying his best not to burn another hole through him with his confused stare.

Gaius did not blame him. After all, no magi can heal themselves so quickly without a healing potion, and all magis bled red just like most metas did. The Sorcerer turned his attention to the room before Felix could poke his nose into his unusual anatomy.

"Hey, shouldn't we be going after Angelo?" Felix asked.

"I highly doubt she's going to be a match for the rest of our team if she goes anywhere near the hostages now. So what are you waiting for?"

Felix stood outside the door to relay the message while Gaius walked into the dark room, pretending as though he had not just heard Felix mutter "How rude..." under his breath. He could not care even if he wanted to; the throbbing in his chest was getting unbearable with every step he took. The Sorcerer quickened his pace, following the forceful guidance of the magic energy that dwelled within him.

The room was strangely empty, which made the spellbook sitting in its middle all the more conspicuous. The tome was flipped open, and a bloodstain cut through the undecipherable symbols drawn on its yellowed pages. Gaius picked it up.

And immediately fell to his knees as an abnormal surge of magical energy seemed to travel back and forth between his fingertips and the book. The oscillating pulse of magic gradually stabilised itself as he pulled himself back to his feet.

"Hey."

Gaius almost jumped, and he silently turned the book invisible before sliding it into his pocket. He turned around, staring at his colleague who had apparently floated in without a sound. He tried his best to keep his thoughts empty. If the rumours were right, Meta Felix Pagonis also had the ability to read minds. And he'd be royally screwed if Felix saw what just happened.

"The hostages have been rescued, but Lucia Angelo managed to escape. C'mon, let's rendezvous with the others."

There was a pregnant silence.

"You alright there?" Felix tilted his head. "What're you doing in this dark place anyway?"

"I was... looking for evidence," Gaius mumbled. "But I couldn't find any."

"Eh, let's leave the investigation to the constables." His colleague casually floated out of the room.

Gaius breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

~ ~ ~

"Can't believe the criminal escaped. I knew we shouldn't have left two teenagers to do the work. What a waste of our night."

Felix scowled, looking away from the Mage either too oblivious to notice his obvious presence, or purposely trying to rile him up. For some reason, he was hoping it was the latter. And the magi seemed determined to prove him right.

"That Deusdedit guy fights weird too," Palladius sniggered. "What kind of magi casts spells with his bare hands? So crude and inelegant. He's like-"

"A meta? Like me?" Felix stood up aggressively. "Y'know, you may not be a criminal but you better stop acting like a hero. You did jackshit while we were out there risking our lives. I didn't expect you to be capable of gratitude, but the least you can do is keep that foul mouth of yours shut."

A deathly silence fell over the airship as Palladius walked up slowly to him. He smiled slightly, leaning into the unflinching boy.

"Watch your words." His voice dropped to a menacing whisper. "I can fling you across this ship without moving a muscle, filthy meta."