Radiance - The Alight Archives Book #1

67. Punctilious

As soon as the anomaly was spotted, news of the patrol's findings was swiftly dispatched to the Gray Cage. Within the hour, an official investigation had been launched. When Orion arrived at the scene, he was greeted by the sight of over twenty Gray Cloak mages, already engrossed in scouring the area. The sun's rays were hot this day, enough to make Orion forget that it was well and truly autumn; the Gray Cloaks dashed around sporadically nonetheless.

Some of the men had their flickering Glyph Wands brandished, making use of inspection-type spells in an attempt to uncover any pieces of evidence their intruder could have discarded or to confirm whether or not there was an intruder, to begin with, substantiating instead to be little more than an oversight concerning the barrier's construction. Orion's Essence told him it was the former, though he desperately longed to be proven incorrect.

Positioned on the far western side of the island, it was no surprise that such a discovery wasn't immediately detected. However, Orion was adamant about not confining Gray Cloak squadrons solely to the academy grounds. His unwavering commitment to the safety of his students and staff members meant that every inch of their floating sanctuary needed to be safeguarded at all times.

Glancing back the way he came, all of Glyph Academy could fit within a cupped hand. It appeared as little more than an amalgamation of boxed shapes, and its spires merged with the titanic cliffs it was built upon, yet, in Orion's gaze, a perfect image had been captured, and he could view the academy as little else than what his imagination perceived. It'd take half a day to reach the island's perimeter; fortunately for them, magic had gifted humanity with magic circles, specifically, those that could teleport matter.

Gray Cloak officers stopped what they were doing with jerks and stutters to pay their respects, bowing their heads at him as Orion passed, Raze and Sidney trailing him closely from behind. At first, it was an odd thing to get accustomed to; however, nowadays, he hardly paid much attention to their reverent gestures.

He found Captain Gervas—the leader of the Gray Cloaks—conversing with three of his officers, one of whom was hastily jotting down every detail being slung at him, though his pencil stopped its scribbling as the officer laid eyes on Orion, and a wave of surprise spread on his face. Grunting, Gervas spun around to bark at he who dared to interrupt his investigation...only to silence his yet-to-be-shouted insult when Orion nodded at him, the shorter man clamping his mouth closed like a trap.

"I can see you all are hard at work," Orion said, trying to disguise the growing perturbation in his voice with what he hoped sounded poised. "I won't keep you long. I only want to...get a summation of what's transpired here and be informed of any findings you've made thus far."

Raze stopped by Orion's side sharply, beaming glaring eyes. "Start from the beginning."

Clearing his throat, the scarred man motioned his officers off elsewhere, and he didn't speak until the three had reached a distance where prying ears couldn't stare. "I'm confident Lady Altair has given you the rundown by now. While it saddens me to profess we haven't made much grounds, one thing is certain."

"That being?" Raze prodded impatiently.

"This isn't an accident or some fault in the barrier's design," Gervas continued in a heavy tone, looking at them with a grimace of a disappointed dragon. "It was intentional, the act of some magic user capable of penetrating a high-level barrier. I know you've come hoping that I'd disclose pleasant news, but as of right now, we've got a dangerous predator roaming the island."

Orion heard the curse Raze whispered under his breath. "It doesn't make sense. Who would do this? Some deranged rogue sorcerer? A Follower of Dreyfus?"

"Off the top of my head, I can think of one suspect, in particular." Orion tensed as he glanced over to Sidney, who examined the breach with her inquisitive stare and a hand blanketing her mouth. "It wouldn't be farfetched, would it? I've been informed that the Arcanum has had many encounters with them over recent years."