The Whisper of the Nightingale

Chapter 57: Darkness Descends

As Javelin walked away from the frozen wonderland that was the academy's grand garden, a cold wind swept over him, causing him to shiver and instinctively tighten the animal pelts around him. He steadily made his way towards the nearest outpost of transporter birds that would take him to the Mansion Tier where his friends were waiting.

Since the Day of Light was around the corner, all classes had been cancelled for self-cultivation and not a soul was out and about in the freezing winter weather. However, it was unlikely that Javelin would have noticed them even if there had been any around; all he could think about as he plodded through the snow was his latest conversation with his roommate, Rave Night.

'He lied,' Javelin thought over and over again. 'Why is he still keeping secrets from me?'

At first, Javelin had been convinced that while Raven surely didn't tell him everything, what was told was truthful. After years at sea with his father hunting bandits, Javelin had grown fairly skilled at spotting lies and Raven had never come across as deceitful to him before.

However, as the two of them spent more time together, Javelin would sometimes get the feeling that his roommate wasn't always telling the truth. He couldn't put his finger on what it was - outwardly Raven seemed just as forthcoming as ever - and yet, every now and then, Javelin somehow just knew something was wrong. For a long time he thought he was simply imagining things, but now he knew that this wasn't the case.

It so happened that a friend of his father's had come to Sky City, about a week back, and had wanted to meet. Coincidentally, that friend had been traveling with a group of mercenaries who kept bragging about the six-year-old boy genius they had taken in under their wings and helped enroll at Sky Academy. The friend had been very curious to know if the rumors were true and Javelin had quickly realized that it was Raven's uncles who had been the traveling companions in question.

"According to my father's friend, Night's uncles returned days ago. . . ." muttered Javelin as he just barely brushed past a lamppost he wasn't paying attention to. 'What didn't he want to tell me? Could it be related to Singer somehow. . . ?'

In a momentary burst of anger, Javelin kicked his foot deep into a nearby snowdrift, causing the snow to explode in every direction. "Argh! Doesn't he understand that I get how impossible it is to force Singer to meet me? Why lie about it!" Javelin shouted out into the air with frustration, but no one was there to hear him.

Grumpily he continued his journey. There was a growing knot in Javelin's chest and he wasn't sure what was bothering him more: the fact that whatever secrets Raven kept most likely had to do with Singer, or that Raven felt the need to keep them at all.

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Meanwhile, Raven hadn't moved from her spot in the snowy garden. She had once more entered into her meditative state, slowly filling her lungs with the piercingly cold air and using her spirit essence to rotate this cold sensation throughout her body. Every cell in her body quivered - nearly freezing beyond repair - before they relaxed again, revitalized and slightly more taut than before.

Part of the reason Raven had declined Javelin's invitation was because she expected her brother to report back from his spying within the next couple of hours - they had been putting a lot of pressure on the Talons' financial endeavors as of late, and it could only be a matter of time before they would have no choice but to turn to their hidden allies for help.

The other reason Raven opted to stay behind was that recently Raven had felt a few changes in her spirit core. When she fought with her full strength, as Singer, she sensed a slight pulsating vibration in the spiraling red vortex at her center; she was close to stepping over the line and becoming a high Adept. If not for the fact that Raven would be giving her spot in the Spirit Hall Tower room to her brother, she was certain that the ceremony of the Day of Light would have advanced her firmly into the high Spirit Adept level. As it was, Raven was instead eager to push her cultivation along with the aid of the cold weather.