Eryn looked up to see Wayne and Elias appearing around the corner.
"So there you guys are," Wayne said, catching everyone else's attention.
The girls had all escaped the huge crowds of the party and hid out in San Jing and her sister's personal courtyard, where it's closed off to the guests. "Come sit down!" San Jing said, gesturing at the empty seats at the huge table they sat around.
Wayne took the seat across from Whitney and Elias sat down next to him, placing his hands under the table to hide his messed-up sleeve from Eryn.
But she saw it anyway.
"What happened to your sleeve?" she asked.
Celeste looked up from her plate. "What?"
Wayne glanced at Elias. "Oh, he almost killed someone, that's what happened," he said casually. He coughed into his arm and Whitney noticed the cold sweat coating the back of his neck.
"Is that true, Elias?" she asked, sitting up on her seat. She frowned and darted her eyes between the two boys.
Elias glanced down at his arm and placed it back up on the table, realizing there was no use trying to hide it now. "Um, yeah," he muttered, picking at the crisp edges of the blue cloth.
"Then what's wrong with you?" Whitney questioned, poking her brother at his side. "What did you do?"
Wayne scowled. "I tried to stop him, that's what. Hell, he scared the crap out of me. I had to burn his arm to get him to stop."
San Jing and Lan Jing snorted. Wayne? Scared? That's something new.
Eryn released a breath, clearly concerned. "What the heck were you thinking, Elias?" she hissed. "How could you do that?"
"He came at me first and put me down, then he threw my crystal in the water," he grumbled, still holding the pendant tightly in his left hand. "It's not my fault. I didn't start it. He asked for it. Literally."
Celeste placed down her chopsticks and leaned forward, intrigued. "Tell us. Who was it?"
"Shane Wang," Wayne answered, crossing his arms.
"What?" Whitney exclaimed. "Who invited him?"
San Jing shrugged. "I don't know. I'm pretty sure Father wouldn't put him on the guest list. Maybe it was one of his friends that were invited, or maybe someone invited his father."
"Who's Shane Wang?" Eryn asked.
"His father is the captain of the city's garrison," Celeste told her. "He's also a disciple at Infernal Spirit Sect. Everyone knows that since he keeps bragging about it when he's home."
"Sect?" Eryn repeated, confused. "What are these sects?"
Wayne grabbed a piece of cake and bit into it. "Well, these sects are where people train their talent. Many powerful people belong to these sects. They also have sorts of military power and are sometimes needed by the Imperial family."
"Shane Wang belongs to the Infernal Spirit Sect, which is one of the second-rank sects. There's the first, second, and third rank. The first rank is the one and only Mystic Sky Sect, which leads the others. In the second rank are the Dark Feather Sect and the Infernal Spirit Sect. Finally, in the third rank are the Cold Moon Sect, the Hero Sect, and the Black Rain Sect. Of course, there are more, but these are the top."
"Each of these sects is led by a grandmaster. There are also teachers and elders, who help the grandmaster lead and train their disciples. Most of them are pretty well-known and powerful."
Eryn gave her brother a look. "Well, you're in trouble now, aren't you?" she said flatly.
Wayne shrugged. "Eh, like he said, he wasn't the one who started it, and there were many witnesses, so it's not likely they'll come after him."
Ying sat at the far end of the table. "Oh, you'll see," she said. "They'll come...just not for the reason you guys think."
The whole table fell silent as they blinked at her.
Lan Jing leaned over to her sister. "What's that supposed to mean?" she whispered.
She shrugged. "Don't ask me," she hissed back.
Ying got up out of her seat and left.
She knew they were coming, and she had to leave. She knew they needed Eryn and Elias, but she also knew they were looking for her, the Pheonix.
But she didn't want anything to do with these martial sects...especially how they've failed her father...
______________
It was starting to get late, and many of the guests began to leave for the night, leaving only a few wandering around and helping the servants clean up.
San Jing and the others left the courtyard to the atrium, wondering if they should help.
Master Jing brightened up when he saw them coming. "Oi! Birthday girl, you should go see the presents that you've got!" he beamed. "Come, come!"
He led San Jing away to the tables, and suddenly, Chen and Changming came running up to them. They were extra excited when they saw the twins.
Elias stiffened in surprise as the seven-year-old clung to his leg, looking up at him with a cheeky grin. "Hi, big brother!" he squealed.
"Ming! Get off of him!" Celeste scolded her youngest brother, prying him away from Elias. "Sorry," she said awkwardly to him.
Changming wriggled in her grip as she picked him up. "Where's your brother, Channing?" she asked, looking around for her fifteen-year-old brother.
Chen pointed out the door. "Mom said he ran out with his friends," he said.
Celeste grumbled. "Ugh, again? Does that mean I'll have to take him back?"
"I don't know..."
Madam Liu suddenly came running up to them. She took the boy from Celeste's arms and took Chen by the hand with her free hand. "It's bedtime!" she announced, taking the two boys along.
They protested. "No! We want to stay!"
"Be quiet, we're going home!" Madam Liu insisted. She turned to Celeste. "Do me a favor and find Channing. That boy keeps running off, he has no limits!"
Celeste rolled her eyes. "Okay..." she mumbled, heading for the door.
"Bye, Celeste!" Whitney called after her, rocking back and forth on her heels.
This left Wayne, Whitney, and the twins standing alone in the center of the courtyard again. "What now?" Whitney asked.
Eryn raised an eyebrow. "We clean, of course."
"..."
The three of them did as they were told and went to help pick up the trash and sort the cups and dishes, giving a hand to the maids.
By the time they were almost done, Master Xia appeared from inside the halls followed by Master Bai, Edison, and Evelyn. "Ah, so you were here cleaning up," Master Xia said. "Master Jing would be grateful. It's about time to go now, how about you just leave the rest for the maids?"
Wayne, Whitney, and Elias all glanced at Eryn.
Eryn straightened up at looked around. Seeing that there were only decorations left hanging up, she agreed. "Alright, then," she said, brushing off her hands. "Let's go."
They headed out the door and noticed that the carriages were missing.
Wayne whirled around, looking for his father. "Father? Where'd the carriages go?"
Master Xia grinned quite mischievously. "Hehe, actually, I sent them home. Don't you think it's good to have a nice walk every once in a while? Look at the night sky! Ho, ho! Beautiful!"
Wayne raised an eyebrow as Master Bai walked alongside his father, Edison and Evelyn on his heels. "And...Uncle Bai...?"
Master Bai laughed nervously. "Ahaha...I happened to send my carriages home as well," he said awkwardly.
Wayne made a face while the twins rolled their eyes. Who would buy that? Clearly, the two Masters were trying to create another chance for another interaction between the twins and their biological father.
Still, they walked on through the night streets in a small group.
The twins walked ahead with Wayne and Whitney, who was chattering away endlessly about anything random that comes up to her mind. But they didn't mind, as it filled up the silence.
Edison trailed closely behind the four, awkwardly trying to find the right moment to fit in with them, eager to somehow join into their conversation. It was hard, for they didn't even seem to realize he was walking behind them. He was like an ant trying to catch the attention of four giants.
Evelyn trailed behind the two family heads while they walked, refusing to say a single word.
It was all fine, perfectly fine as they walked through the streets until Elias looked down at his pendant that he reattached to his belt. It was activated again.
He glanced at Eryn, who was also looking down at her white crystal hanging around her neck.
The twins glanced around. Was there something wrong?
But it was only them out on the road.
Elias glanced back down at his crystal and realized that it wasn't buzzing or pulling towards any certain direction like it did the past two times. It only glowed softly, hanging loosely from its chain.
They continued to walk, aware of their surroundings, but the crystals remained the same, merely just glowing.
They reached an intersection, the point where the two families had to split ways now.
"Ay, see you tomorrow, Old Bai," said Master Xia, giving his friend a pat on his shoulder.
Master Bai smiled. "Yes, see you."
Wayne and Whitney bowed politely as the Bai's turned to leave.
"Eh? Where are the twins?" Master Xia wondered, searching around.
Master Bai sighed almost sadly. "It's fine, we'll be going then." He left with Edison and Evelyn and disappeared down the street.
Master Xia shook his head. "I thought it would work, this time..." he muttered.
Wayne turned around to see Elias and Eryn already halfway down the street, and he ran to catch up with them. "Hey, wait up!"
He caught up with them and went in front, walking backwards to face the twins as they were talking.
Eryn snorted as she watched him stumble over a pebble. "So, they're gone?"
Wayne regained his footing and continued to walk backwards. He nodded. "Yeah, they've probably already reached home," he answered, scratching the back of his neck. "I think that-"
Elias and Eryn both stopped in their tracks and Wayne felt himself crash into something as he took another step backwards. "What the-"
He turned around to and looked up to see two old men staring down at him, both dressed in significant colored robes. They both stood tall and had one arm crossed horizontally under their chests while the other rested at their sides.
One old man had a wrinkly face and had a long, gray beard, ten times, the one Master Xia had. He was wearing light blue robes with swirling patterns that ran down the seams of the cloth.
The other one had long, black hair with a few strands of white sticking out here and there. He was wearing striking black and red robes and considerably skinny.
"Hello, Wayne," the one with the long beard said warmly.
Wayne stepped back to stand with the twins, who seemed equally surprised. "Who...who are you?" he asked.