Fire's Mage (Book One) Kyoko of Fire Country

Chapter Twenty-Two

Winston knew that Kyoko could look after herself. He knew that Sheikh could look after himself, the only person he knew wouldn't be able to hold their own in a fight was Adrianne.

Melissa, Charis and Dominic had given him reports on her progress, even Rosemary had given reports about how her Sealing Magic had been improving, along with her knowledge of poisons, through he couldn't get a report from the Akkub Clinic where she volunteered her time. So it wasn't like she had eaten something that'd kill her in the time she had been gone.

Even Sheikh has been improving well, if the reports he had gotten from Melissa, Dominic and Dania had told him. He was grateful that his friends were willing to help him, since he needed that time to make Adrianne see that the world wasn't a fairytale, that things didn't work out the way you wanted them to.

That didn't stop him from worrying, it was just he couldn't leave Stanley and Adrianne with only one guard. Adrianne's progress was delayed to the point that he'd say Clasrissa was doing better in terms of improvement, and his daughter was still being taught to read and write. So he couldn't say enough words about how proud he was of Kyoko and Sheikh's improvement since Team Six was formed.

They had trained when Adrianne tried to hold back with her whining, putting his hand up and placed it against the faint red barrier. Strong enough to stop a bandit in their tracks, maybe a Warrior under B-rank.

It also meant that his student wasn't died, dying or mortally injured. Which was why he could stay so calm, even as Adrianne and Sheikh slept.

Not everyone could see it, he had been taught how to see the faint colour of a barrier or seal. Shimmering reds, blues and violets always in the corner of his sight.

Winston still wasn't pleased with how long Kyoko had been gone for, they were meant to check for traps and bandits sitting in wait for them to fall into said traps. Or waiting to silt their throats in their sleep.

"There's nothing of interest to report," Kyoko told him, her words pulling him out of his thoughts.

"It's been nearly three hours," he told her, she looked slightly disappointed in something.

"I thought I had something," she admitted as she landed on the ground, relighting the fire that had gone out awhile ago. Resealing her staff into her charm bracelet, which set loosely over her leather bracelet. "Turned out to be an old massacre of a sight. Couldn't tell if it was a battle scene or a scene of a massacre. Doubt it'll be written anywhere."

"So you looked?" he asked her, narrowing his eyes at her bracelets. "Nothing of interest."

"Nothing of interest to the mission," she correct. Unsealing three pieces of paper, showing him the drawings. For Sealing Magic, he had been told complex seals needed a steady hand, along with drawing any crime scene. "I found a sword, but I haven't found anything that'll put Mr White's life in danger."

"A sword?" he asked.

"Looked like it didn't belong to the site," she told him, pointing to a newish looking sword in her drawings. He had seen those swords on the Demon Terrors, a pair of brothers he hadn't seen in years. "They must have dropped it."

"Warriors don't just drop things," he told her. A Warrior's weapon was their lifeline when they were away from home, the thing that brought them back alive, brought them back to their friends and family.

"Adrianne." Kyoko looked amused, but still, she sighed and looked towards the tent that Adrianne was sleeping in. Taking the pictures from his hand before sealing them away. "Or they've been killed or forced into dropping it. Who knows?"

"I'll be waking Sheikh and Adrianne for their shift," Winston told her, Kyoko nodding her eyes never leaving Adrianne's tent, the extra one that he had packed. "You need to get some sleep, you'll be sharing the next shift with me."

"I'll wake Sheikh," Kyoko told him, huffing as she went towards it. Slowly undoing her braids as she looked at him, an annoyed look on her face. "I trust Adrianne as far as I can throw her."

Sighing, he went to Adrianne up. Mother always said that the only way to learn a skill was by doing it, hopefully, she was right about that one.

/B\

Kyoko woke up with a feeling of dread in her chest, it was far to close to that day, The day she had lost Grandmother Sapphire, along with Big Sister Emerald, the day that Sheikh had lost his entire Clan.

It was a day that she couldn't forget, the reason that man and his friends stopped killing people who'd ran into the forest. Was because of the forest fire that started the moment Grandmother Sapphire's body hit the ground, six people may have died in that fire, but it had saved seventy-six innocent lives.

Grandmother Sapphire had always been a tough old woman in her eyes, moving to Doiteain during the Second Major War with her two daughters. Living on the streets until she found a job and brought an apartment.

Kyoko could remember her giggling when she told her, about how no one had noticed when she sneak in through the hole in the wall. Told her stories about enemy forces trying to sneak in through Red Light, but never making it to the main street, since the locals would catch them in dark corner and killing them before they knew what was happening.

Red Light was a maze of old and new buildings, only those who lived in Red Light was about to avoid getting horribly lost as new buildings were built for those who had came in through the wall without any notching from the main part of the village.

Grandmother Sapphire hadn't been the only one she and Ruby had lost that day, but Ruby's mother as well. Emerald had died so that Ruby would be allowed to live, she had found her older sister underneath her mother's cooling body.

Sheikh was silent, even as breakfast was passed out. He seemed to be as lost in his thoughts as she was, no one spoke and that perfectly fine with her, since she didn't know if she'd try killing the person who spoke to her, or break down crying.

Not everyone will love you, Grandmother Sapphire would tell her, handing her a cup of peppermint tea. Made from the peppermint that she'd grow in pots in the living room, a smile on her face as she messed up her hair. Some might just hate the look of you, but dear, you're the one who decides whose words will hurt and whose words will annoy you. And whose words will only be forgotten as time moves on.

/B\

Sheikh was glad that no one was talking, even as they slowly made their way to Ice Country. He couldn't be thinking about what happened six years ago, and then what happened a year after that as lantern of black and grey floated into the sky.

He missed mother and father, he missed training with Leela and Amna, even if he didn't understand why they went off the deep end and decided to test themselves against the rest of the clan.

Memories of that night were slowly coming back, he didn't remember Leela being a Mage, nor did he remember her ever using magic where he could see. That she could use Spirit Magic, and use it well for someone who was never trained.

It had been terrifying, she had been giggling as Amna stood behind her, with her arms cross and her hair covering her face, not doing anything to stop her best friend. Their cousin.

He had been ten years old, spirits had danced around the compound and tearing the flesh off dead bodies. He had woken up the next day without a clue what had happened, memories of that week were gone, like they had never been there.

He hadn't been able to tell Talia what had happened, he remembered fainting, and coming to long enough to throw a rock at his older sister, not knowing if he had made his mark. Since Leela had been behind him the moment the rock left his hand, hitting him in the back of the neck with the bottom of her sword.

He wasn't going to get any sleep tonight, none. Not with those thoughts circling his head, dead eyes looking at blankly. Life gone from those he had loved most.