(x) Irregular Magic

chapter 20 - where were you, Hamel?

Luciel watched with apprehension as Hamel left the guildmaster's study. He was unusually pale, and instead of sniping at him, Hamel just walked past without a second glance.

Disturbed by this unfamiliar Hamel, Luciel hurried to catch up. "What'd he say?" he pestered, hoping to get something out of him.

Not a single response.

Luciel trotted, frowning. "Hamel, c'mon, say something!"

Hamel suddenly whipped around and grabbed Luciel by the collar, ramming him up against the wall. His eyes flashed dangerously, promising the boy a painful thrashing if he continued to prattle. "I'm not in the mood," he hissed, and released him.

The youth crashed to the floor, stars spinning in his vision. "Hamel?" he called after the man's retreating back.

Thanahim's words reverberated in his head with each step he took, like a tune that refused to leave.

I know who killed your father.

Things were slowly piecing together. At first, none of it had made any sense. When the news that the guild head of Havendom had been killed, Hamel had rushed back. Scarcely a week in, he had been told to scout out the Kvaluna Tomb. Which he did, reluctantly.

But now, he had put enough of the puzzle pieces together to see the picture that was starting to form.

No way would his dad have been taken out by a few thugs from a rival dark guild. Amill Zanatos was tough, tougher than Hamel would like to admit. It had been the 'Brance's doing. For years, the Adhilimbrance had been pushing their plan to eliminate all guilds in favor of a different magical structure. In most of the continent this alternative structure was already in place. Now there remained only dark guilds, with all legal guilds disbanded. Havendom had been a constant thorn in the 'Brance's side. Under the leadership of his father, Havendom had been over two hundred mages strong. The guild had been a bustling center of magical activity and trade. People came from all over the world for job requests. Now it was a mere stump of what it used to be.

On that front, the Adhilimbrance had succeeded. By assassinating the guild head, they had crushed morale. Without Amill to lead the guild, their resolve would crumble into nothing. Hamel didn't like to admit it but it had worked. When he had first come back to Ilenoir Quarter, he had been astonished at how few members had stayed. No one had expected Amill Zanatos to fall.

Under the Adhilimbrance's new Standard, mages who went after others would be prosecuted and put into prisons. There was no way to prove Amill's murder was carried out by the ruling magical powers.

Well, there were rumors. But rumors didn't hold up in their "court of laws."

After listening to Thanahim's plan, Hamel reached the conclusion that despite how he seemed on the outside, the new guildmaster wasn't totally incompetent. His plan—if it was successful—would be a two-sided victory. Not only would the Adhilimbrance's claim on the magical guilds shatter but they would reemerge with Havendom at its head.

Hamel gritted his teeth so hard he felt the impact rebound­­ in his jaw. Now wasn't the time to worry about how the guild would make a comeback. If he was being honest he couldn't care less about Havendom and how Thanahim would lead it from now on. All that mattered was how he would avenge Amill's murder. Those 'Brance bastards were going to regret what they had done.

"Is everyone accounted for?"

Thanahim Anaklustos glanced around the round table and nodded with satisfaction when he saw most were in attendance.

"The meeting will begin now." The guildmaster took a seat, hands resolutely gripping the edge of the dark, heavy wood. He was tightlipped and pale. Yet the look in his eyes conveyed a solidity that caused Hamel to understand at last why he had been chosen as the seventh guildmaster, of all the others who had been there longer and might have been considered stronger. He was sturdy, and seemed rigid enough to be fair.