The phantom's identity came as a shock to the detectives on scene. Rage turned to disgust when the chief's status as a dark Necromancer came to light. The department knew that it would take a long time to outlive the shame.
A patient of the paramedics, Max watched the two girls give their statements, only allowed to leave after what seemed like forever. Now that the ordeal had been dealt with, they wanted nothing more than to crash back at the inn.
Laurel had been the first detective on the scene, her eyes, watery from holding back her tears. The man responsible for her best friend's death was gone. Justice had been served. The vendetta had been fulfilled. There was no anger, no hate, just relief and exhaustion. Unburdened, she finally took her eyes off the chief's cold corpse, her focus now on the teenagers under her command.
Max, Liliana and Amy were free to leave, but found Laurel in their way, ready to escort them back. Words were left unsaid as the trip to the inn was quieter than the deepest crevices of hell. Eventually, Amy broke the silence and asked how the police had confirmed their whereabouts.
A few miles away from Ironforge, the abandoned warehouse was isolated and away from public eye. It was off the main road and not a place you could find unless you went looking for it. There was a reason why it had been the Phantom's go to place to conduct business.
Laurel's answer left the trio puzzled. "An anonymous tip." She said, "A note appeared on my desk, confirming the Phantom's current location. It was a long shot, but we had nothing to lose. Imagine my surprise when I saw you guys come out."
Max wondered if the tip had anything to do with the mysterious entity he and the cloaked swordsman had sensed. Just thinking about the chief and the man responsible for stabbing him made his head hurt. The girls hadn't heard it, but Max was sure that the chief was about to say 'the Minister', the man who had desired to grasp Liliana, the one indirectly responsible for bringing him to Asterisk. "Shit! Things just got a lot more complicated." He silently cursed, scratching his head and rubbing his temples. With no evidence, there was no way to prove anything.
At the inn, it didn't take long for the trio to fall asleep. While the rest of their night was peaceful, the same couldn't be said for the rest of Ironforge. News of the Phantom's death spread like wildfire and it wasn't long before his identity was leaked. The law enforcement department became the centre of gossip while simultaneously losing the trust of the citizens. It was hard for the city's officers to get through a day without being victimized by strings of hushed criticism.
A lot tougher than they looked, Liliana and Amy appeared at the station the next day, unaffected. Smiling brightly, they were ready to get back to their internship despite the offer of exemption. Max, alone, had voiced his desire to rest, but had been dragged along despite his constant grumbling. He wanted nothing more to do with the police, but secretly admitted that it had more to do with his bias against all law enforcing agencies than it did with the recent perpetrator's identity.
Unlike before, Laurel was happier and more relaxed. She greeted them with a smile. Max felt goosebumps from her sudden politeness.
With their onerous chore in the archive room completed, Laurel assigned them to join the officers on patrol, giving them the opportunity to also explore the town. Occupied with a handful of other miscellaneous tasks, the trio had little time to spare in the second and last week of their assignment.
Back at the Academy, Liliana and Amy had to report to their homeroom teacher. Max took opportunity to quickly slip away. He rushed towards the dorms, disappearing from their sights before they could voice any objections.
Along the way, Max bumped into Jason. Their exchange of light pleasantries once again reminded Max of his friend's taciturn nature. It wasn't long before the duo sank into silence.
***
Duke Stratford sat leisurely on his couch with a report in hand. "So you really are monitoring the kid, Joseph." He chuckled and discarded the report. "Why can't you be a little less predictable?"
Summoned, Carl Stratford's subordinate stepped into the room. His attempt at genuflecting was stopped with a wave of the Duke's hand. The man reported, "A Grand Master was tailing the boy. There was no way for me to approach him."
"Walker's shadow forces…" Duke Stratford nodded, his lips arching into a light smile. "This is also fine. Now, we have the time to assess his worth. Only the right pawn when sacrificed at the right time can help its king rule the board."
The Empire's current situation was rather delicate. With two of the four Dukes at odds with each other, it wouldn't be strange for this discord to deteriorate into an internal war. However, several years had already passed since the spark of enmity between the Walker and Stratford households had transformed into raging flames, and yet the two families continued to remain in a stifling stalemate.
While the power wielded by each Duke was great, that behind the Royal family was even greater. Despite never directly intervening, the Royal family's very existence served to warn the two Dukes from acting impulsively.
Not only did the two noble families have to be wary of the Empire's Saint, but they also had to consider the bigger picture. With the constant skirmishes with the Dominion, the Empire couldn't afford a moment of weakness. A true battle between two equally matched blue-blooded families would be catastrophic and would leave the Empire in shambles.
For the sake of the bigger picture, the two Dukes were forced to keep their differences on hold and settle for a passive aggressive stance. Though neither admitted it, both parties recognized the strength and necessity of the other for the Empire.
***
Duke Walker felt a headache like never before. His face crumpled, he massaged his temples as he looked at the old man before him. "How long has it been since she left?"
The castle's head butler replied without a hint of hesitation. "Not more than ten minutes."
The gray haired man had no affinity for mana. Despite his looks and his age, he was fitter than a horse, contrary to many people who were over sixty years old. He had just arrived to inform Joseph of his wife's departure.
Rare as it was, there were times when the Duchess would leave the castle premises. The Duke's exaggerated reaction left the butler perplexed. "Is there something you require from the madam?"
"No, it's fine Davis. Thank you. You can go now."
As the head butler, Davis was privy to a certain amount of information, but not everything. He knew better than to pry and simply left after a bow.
"Shadow, how did Sarah find out?" Joseph questioned, another resigned sigh escaping his mouth.
Eight years had passed since his son's death. By concealing the truth, Duke Walker had given his wife a false sense of hope, but even this hadn't been enough. His cheerful wife, with more energy than the people in the castle combined, had been reduced to a shell of her former self, drowned in melancholy, smiling and laughing only in their daughter's presence. The love and care that the Duchess couldn't give her son was given to their sole remaining child.
Joseph was more than troubled by Max's emergence. As much as the truth about their son's death, knowledge about Max was the one thing the Duke wanted to keep away from his wife. But his attempts to postpone the inevitable had been reduced to dust.
"It…"Shadow hesitated. "It was her personal maid."
"Oh?" Joseph wryly smiled. "What did you remember?"
"I spotted her in Ironforge. At the time, however, I was certain that she hadn't seen them, but it seems that I was mistaken."
"Why was Kate there?" Joseph had been meticulous in his arrangements, ensuring that his daughter's assignment was located at the periphery of his jurisdiction.
"She was visiting an acquaintance." Shadow replied awkwardly.
"Really, that's quite the coincidence." Joseph glanced upwards. "So Kate did some digging of her own and told Sarah. It would explain why the two left in such a hurry."
"..."
"I suppose it might not be a bad idea to prod the boy directly. But more importantly, now, I need something to placate Sarah." He chuckled and stretched his arms. "Our wives are really a handful, Shadow."