This was a bad idea.
Noah looked up at the archivist's house, a very understandable chill running down his spine.
He spared a glance at Alexis, only to find that she was looking at him.
Keep going. For her.
He knew how hard this was for her too, so he kept quiet as he followed her through the large doors.
His pace slowed outside the den; the body had been taken away, but everything else remained. He felt someone's hand on his back, guiding him away and was grateful for it.
"Did anyone check the attic yet?" Alexis asked, one hand on the banister.
Markus thought back to who was assigned to that. "Uh, yeah, but he's kinda stupid, so.."
She nodded solemnly. "Then that's where I'll be." She bounded up the stairs three at a time, leaving him with Noah.
The awkwardness between them was almost tangible. After a few seconds, Noah mumbled something about going after her and ran up the stairs, albeit one at a time.
This left Markus alone in the carpeted hallway, looking around at the classical paintings in the wall for a minute before he gave up, following them.
He reached the dusty attic with Noah (poor boy got winded two flights up) and was greeted by the sight of Alexis trying to jimmy the desk drawer open.
She strained every muscle she had worked hard for to pull it open but was ultimately defeated by a standard lock.
Markus was about to step up when Noah piped up. "Can I try?"
The guard watched as he shuffled over to the desk, sure that he would have to go next.
Noah hummed as he picked up a slim letter opener and the metal spine of a quill. He bent over the lock, slipping them in place and turned them till he heard the click.
He pulled the drawer open, casually stepping back like that wasn't a questionable skillset.
"This is so weird..." Alexis breathed as she held up a syringe. Traces of dried blood stained the inside with a note wrapped around it.
She squinted, trying to read the messy scrawl. "I think it's a name... Why does it seem familiar?"
Markus's eyes widened as it struck him. "The list. That name was right above-" His glance darted towards Noah before he could catch himself.
"Wait, what list?" He crossed his arms, more to stop shaking than appear assertive.
"Some kind of hit list-"
"Markus!"
"What?"
Alexis jerked her head at Noah, who was staring into space, frozen.
"I mean, it could've been a...blood... donor list." Markus winced at his own ineptitude.
"I drank blood."
Alexis and Markus stared at the smaller boy.
"I mean," he closed his eyes, starting over. "His fingers were covered in blood, not his, he wasn't bleeding. And when he fell, he-" Noah dragged his fingers over his mouth, recreating the scene.
"What was he doing with blood?" She crossed her arms, mirroring Noah, only to find him exchange a look with Markus.
"How is that even possible?" Markus whispered, a shimmer of fear passing through his eyes.
"What else could it be?" He countered quietly. "The blood, the patterns, this-" he gestured to the sheaf of papers under the syringe, all written in a lost tongue.
"Guys, what are you-"
"The Arts."
The room stilled as the words stumbled past Noah's lips. Alexis drew in a sharp breath, the dots connecting to form a hideous picture.
She looked at Markus, silently pleading that he would contradict him. The Arts was a highly destructive practice that had been banned nearly two decades ago after the Great War. It's revival would mean certain doom for the kingdom and its citizens. As such, no one had even tried to do so for fear of execution... Until now.
"We can't afford to lose our heads right now. There's a good chance that Arden may have been working alone." Alexis stated, the silence becoming unbearable for her. "Besides, if there was news of an Arts user, I'm sure the court would've gotten wind of it by now."
Markus's eyes darted to the side for a moment. "Yeah... That's true. It could be an isolated incident."
"Maybe," Noah turned the pages of what looked like Arden's journal , hands trembling slightly. "Then there's nothing to worry about right now."
Alexis swallowed nervously, her gut telling her that something wasn't quite right. However, her lack of sleep combined with the low of adrenaline affected her.
"Is that a goat?" She asked suddenly, pointing to the drawing in the notebook.
"Lexi, that's a horse."
"No, it has horns... Nope, horn."
"You know what, I think we're done here." Markus announced, rubbing his eyes. "Let's just regroup and think about this more clearly later."
Alexis nodded, grabbing the notebook as she followed Noah down the stairs.
Markus poked his head out the front door, checking to make sure no one was around. "All clea-"
"Commander Fero!"
Markus winced. A young guard of fifteen was running up to him, clearly out of breath. He bent over, hands on his knees before he managed a quick salute.
"What is it, Warrick?"
"Sir, there's an animal in the woods that's going nuts and Aris told me to-"
"What kind of predator is it?"
"Um, it's a, uh, it's a horse..."
Markus raised an eyebrow. "A horse... Is fighting the guards... And winning?"
"Yeah, it's not like a regular horse... It-" he hesitated, blushing furiously at what he was about to say. "It has a horn.."
He lowered his gaze, fully expecting to be reprimanded. Only, Markus was looking at the two behind him, exchanging surprised looks.
Alexis glanced at the book in her hand. "Oh damn." She whispered.
"Lead the way." Markus ordered drawing his sword as he followed Warrick.
"Should we go after them?" Noah asked softly.
"Hell yeah."