Malcom smiled dryly at those words. He then took a deep breath before he said, "No. I came because someone invited me."
Maximo frowned, his gaze a little decent than normal. However, the contempt he felt for Malcom was still there very much.
He looked at Malcom for a moment. He then closed his eyes after placing his index finger and thumb on the corner of his nose as if thinking thoughtfully, "It's Jonah, isn't it? He must be the one that called you... I don't know why he feels the need to discuss things of high importance with you."
Malcom shrugged his shoulders before he smirked maliciously, "He wants me to be part of his team. Maybe that's why."
After hearing that, Maximo frowned before he began walking purposefully in the direction of Jonah's office as if he did not see Malcom at all.
Malcom couldn't help but feel some satisfaction at ruining Máximo's day. He started breathing hard once more as the thirst for blood that he knew very well was slowly manifesting itself. Thankfully, the craving for blood was still minimal. Not enough to overwhelm him.
Nevertheless, it was something he did not need to bother at that moment, especially when Satin was near him and hated his presence. The feeling was mutual.
"Does your arm hurt, Marked?" Satin suddenly asked while looking at him with an unreadable expression.
Malcom frowned. He had no proof, but he was sure it had been the bastard Satin who had hurt him.
He looked at his hands, and they were completely healed, but that was normal. Several days had passed since the incident.
"Yes. All that power and they could barely break my arm... a sad Marked like me. My attacker was half stupid and incompetent," Malcom replied, his tone laced with mocking.
Malcom loved provoking people that he was already so good at it. There was no doubt that only a few people could match him in that fact.
As expected, when Satin heard those words, his anger grew. He glared at Malcom, murderous.
Satin walked towards Malcom. "Maybe next time he will be successful!" He said coldly.
Malcom grinned widely. "I doubt there is a next time. My attacker was a coward now that he knows that people are watching me. He will be too scared to try!"
His petulant gaze made Satin walk towards him, but at that moment, Beatriz stood between them.
Her body was considerably smaller than Satin's. Still, her gaze was enough for the other to step back without saying anything.
Satin glared at Malcom one more time before he snorted and left.
Beatriz released a sigh of relief. She then looked at Malcom displeasure, "Do you have a death wish, boy!?"
Malcom shrugged before he said thoughtfully, "Everyone asks me that recently." He then waved goodbye and left.
Beatriz was nice, but in Malcom's mind, all the things that happened kept fluttering.
Despite the fact that his trip had been denied, he planned to find his own way to help. It did not take long for his own plan emerged to slowly form in his head.
There was a way to find Nora, and now he would set that plan in motion.
Feeling displaced was not a feeling that Malcom was a fan of. Also, the idea that he was just there in his house, despite knowing that the Virtues and the Flawed would go to rescue his friend, had always agitated him.
Rising from his bed, he looked through his things and found one of those magical treasures that weren't too useful for combat.
He had kept it because its role might come in handy at some point, and that moment had come.
Pirrad's magnifying glass was a magical object capable of identifying magic residues. When you saw some residue of magic, automatically, the image of a person appeared in the magnifying glass.
Malcom could determine if Nora had been somewhere and who would be the person who had it with that object.
Suddenly, he felt a strange heat on his collar. Just as it did, in his mind, Skyler's voice rang out.
"Hello, Malcom," she greeted softly.
The boy smiled, and taking the necklace, he said casually, "It is a strange thing to hear your voice in my mind."
"If you take it in your hand and close your eyes, you can see me," she replied with a playful tone.
Malcom did as she said, and the clear image of Skyler sitting on a bench in a different place appeared.
"Where are you?" He curiously asked.
"In my training room. I'm trying some things," the smiling young woman said brightly.
"How diligent!" Malcom answered while an idea formed in his head, "If we are not talking and I try to see you, could I do it?"
Her eyes widened in surprise as if the question from him was not expected at all. "Yes, of course! That is how I found you when you were attacked near the hospital, remember?"
Malcom was surprised as well. He cleared his throat and awkwardly said, "Maybe I should stop wearing the necklace when bathing…."
Skyler felt the blood rush to her face and blushing. How could she answer such a thing?
"What will you do today?" She replied instead, clearly changing the subject.
Malcom smiled, seeing her reaction and looking at the magnifying glass. He replied, "I will go back to the lair where we got the church members. I think I can discover something. I have the perfect magic treasure for that."
She frowned, then said hurriedly, "You should have told my brother. Let me tell―"
"Maybe, but no need," Malcom quickly interrupted, "They'll follow one lead, and I will find others."
Skyler looked at him incredulously and then said thoughtfully, "It's okay! But let me go with you. I'll finish my training in about two hours, and I'll see you there, okay?"
Malcom nodded, and the young woman giving him a smile cut short the communication.
The Marked spent two minutes looking at the magnifying glass in his hand, and his impatience grew to such a level that without being able to wait another minute, he got dressed.
The magical treasure in his boots and jean pants, a white short-sleeved t-shirt, and his beanie hat, his knife hung on the back, and he was ready for action.
Taking three decks of cards was what he usually carried with him. With these decks, he has 150 spells stored between traps and attacks.
For purposes that would defend him in case of an attack, he had never needed more than that amount, not even in the explorations, so with that, he felt safe. When he was completely ready, he left his house.