Heaven's Darkness (Book 2)

Chapter 9 - Ashura

"Master sent us here to make sure you guys didn't get into any trouble," Terra explained, her arms crossed over her ink-spattered shirt. "He figured the two of you couldn't be trusted to lay low."

"We didn't really expect the Praeceptor to be the trouble, though." Red eyed us suspiciously, his brow furrowed, no doubt trying to use his magic to get some information out of us.

Jeriah shrugged, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, I didn't really expect it to smell like skunks and frosting."

"It's more like skunks and red velvet cupcakes," Quint clarified, his unwavering façade back to normal. He seemed calmer than I'd ever seen him before, like a weight was lifted from his white-covered shoulders.

"Well, cupcakes have frosting," Jeriah protested, narrowing his eyes at Quint.

The five of us had made our way back to the hotel room Jeriah and I had rented. Terra, Quint, and I all sat on the edge of the rickety bed, whereas Red and Jeriah were sprawled on the wooden floor. All of us in one small hotel room sure took up a lot of space.

"So, I've never heard you talking about scents before, Jeriah," Terra said, curiosity in her beady, black eyes. "Why are you, all of a sudden?"

Jeriah pursed his lips. "It's a dragon thing."

Quint nodded. "Very few Legendaries come back with sharp, dragon-like senses. Jeriah and I have improved scent. Ashura's is just the same as a mere human's sense of smell, possibly a bit more sensitive than average."

I opened my mouth to protest, but quickly shut it. It didn't make sense to me. Aerion transferred all of his magic to me right before he died. Why didn't I have his sense of smell or his sharp sight? My hearing was lacking as well, as if I was partially deaf in one ear. That seemed strange to me.

It eased my mind, though. That meant my true form probably wasn't a dragon.

"Well, she is a mere human," Red said, a confused expression plastered on his face. "Why would hers be anything like yours or Jeriah's?"

Damn it, Quint! C'mon!

"Because her sense of smell was why Jeriah started paying attention in the first place, right?" Quint asked, his eyebrows raised at the shadow wizard laying on the floor.

"Yes, sir!" he responded, giving a thumb's up. "I assume you know that because you were spying on us. After I started paying attention, I smelled hints of ink, cherries, and bananas. I just didn't pay much mind at the time because it was kind of a crisis situation."

"I smell like cherries?" Red questioned, a disturbed look on his face.

Jeriah scoffed at him. "Why the hell would you smell like cherries? You wreak of bananas."

"But I hate bananas!" Red childishly whined. "Why would I smell like them?"

Quint interrupted their little exchange. "You're right, Jeriah. We were watching you. We arrived in town today and were quick to begin our mission."

"Ah, I see," Jeriah nodded. "I appreciate it. I wasn't sure what I was going to do in that situation. The moment I flinched, he could've just snapped her neck in two."

"Wait, Quint smells like cherries?" Red demanded, still stuck on the previous topic.

"If you two wouldn't mind," Quint began, "I would like to speak with Jeriah and Ashura alone. Go patrol around town for any trouble regarding the gang we were supposed to handle."

Red rose to his feet, brushing dirt off of his white pants. "Whatever you say, cherry-smelling man."

With that, Terra and Red both exited the room, leaving the three Legendaries alone to discuss whatever Quint wanted to talk about. He was a smart guy, so it was probably something ground-breaking and thought-provoking.