Shade's eyes glowed in red as his grip on the man's arm tightened, making the man let out horrible screams. Rage filled Shade's guts as fires formed out of both hands, burning the man's arm into crisps. The fire crawled down to the wooden floor and began rising to the ceiling.
"Shade! Calm down!"
It was only then that Shade realized what he did. Link pulled Eirin and Coleen out of the lodging, and the next thing they knew, the huge flame swallowed the whole building, and only the crackling sound filled their ears. The flickering glow of the flame reflected in Eirin's amber eyes creating a mesmerizing interplay of warm, radiant hues.
"How in the world did this happen?"
The old chief was in disbelief as he gazed at the scorching flame swallowing the building, leaving nothing behind but ashes. Some of the villagers helped extinguish the fire, trying to salvage anything, while the four students stood as the village chief reprimanded them.
"See? There are people here. More than enough to fill the whole village," Shade said calmly as if he was not the reason why they were being scolded.
"It's not the time for that" —Link nudged Shade's arm and turned to the old chief— "I'm sorry for the mess we caused."
The young man boldly held themselves accountable as he bowed his head to the old man. There's no way they could get away from this so easily if the academy learns of what happened.
"The four of you must leave the village... IMMEDIATELY!"
The old man was fuming as he pointed his cane at the young man.
Coleen and Eirin exchanged glances, worried of what's about to happen to next. It was not surprising, the old chief reacted normally. Who would want to keep these troublemakers in the village after they burned a whole building down? Normally, no one would.
"But we have to search for—"
"THIS INSTANCE!"
Link was astounded after the old chief screamed at him, cutting him off with his hoarse voice, also causing the villagers to look their way. It left the four students no choice but to depart from the village.
"We were lucky they didn't compensate us for all the damage done. Great job, Shade," Coleen said with her arms crossed. The young man did not react, causing the girl to feel infuriated. "What are we going to do now? Why would you even burn the whole place? You should have just burned those men!"
Coleen continued shouting at Shade while clinging to Eirin's arm. The four of them walked their way to the forest on the left side of the village. "Now we're forced to sleep outside with all these bugs!"
Shade ignored Coleen's words as he sat on top of the humongous rock, his eyes beaming with anger. What could be making him so angry? That question lingered inside Eirin's mind longer than it should have.
"We should set our camp now," Link said as he placed all their belongings on the grassy ground while sighing. Despite that, he doesn't look surprised at all. As Eirin followed him with her gaze, a thought flashed into her head. The young man appeared as if he had expected everything as he was able to salvage all their belongings before the fire could destroy them.
'I don't know if I should feel amazed, or should I pity him for always being around Shade Cromwell?' Eirin thought as she stared at the fire in the middle of their camp.
Even while sighing, Link's face was as bright as the stars while he prepared stew for everyone. However, he soon noticed that Eirin had been in a daze, staring at the fire without moving or saying anything. Eirin rubbed her arms, and she winced, only seeing the mark on her wrists left by those mercenaries.
'It's fine... it's over... they're gone.'
The teenage girl heaved a sigh as she closed her eyes, trying to stop her hands from trembling.
"Ei."
Coleen held Eirin's trembling hands. Her eyes were brimming with worry, but she could not utter any words, afraid of making things worse. The young girl wondered how she could make things better for Eirin. Eirin stared at Coleen's bruised cheeks after the mercenaries tackled her, but Coleen acted as if it was nothing as she smiled.
Eirin pursed her lips as she traced the bruise on Coleen's cheek with her fingertip. "I'm sorry, I couldn't protect you." The guilt of not being able to do anything haunts her, and seeing her friend wounded aches her heart.
"Don't worry. None of what happened was your fault." Coleen caressed Eirin's hand while smiling from ear to ear. "It was Shade's fault," she giggled, causing Eirin to smile.
"And besides, I should be the one protecting you since I already know how to use my flair."
"Do you, now?" Shade butted in.
"Sh-shut up! It's your fault that we have to sleep outside. The least you could do is keep your annoying thoughts to yourself." Coleen rolled her eyes.
"Now, now. Let's all calm down and discuss our mission again while we eat," Link interrupted before an argument exploded again between the two. "Shade has something to say to the group."
The young man's forehead creased as he crossed his arms. "Why me? Can't you just tell them what I told you?"
The hesitation Shade showed caused Coleen to raise a brow. "What is it? It's not like you to hesitate— no, you don't know how to hesitate at all." Link suppressed his laughter while he held Shade back before he could get closer to Coleen.
"Fine, I'll say it. It's because— pfft!"
"Link!"
Eirin's eyes widened as she stared at Shade's tall stature after he stood up and called Link's name. Despite his scary appearance, his ears were red as a cherry. What is getting him so flustered?
"It's because—" Link cleared his throat. "The Phoenix we are trying to find is indeed Miss Scarlett Jenkins, just like I thought of."
Coleen's mouth went agape, and silence filled the air causing Eirin to exchange glances between the three. 'Is this a big deal?' she thought, waiting for their reaction.
"No way... that Scarlett Jenkins? The legendary healer that revived someone from the afterlife?"
Eirin blinked thousands of times. "Is that even possible?" The regal appearance of the red-haired woman she and Shade met earlier flashed in her mind.
Coleen's winter gray eyes sparkled as she looked at Eirin in awe. "Exactly. It was impossible, but she made it possible.
Shade frowned as he shook his head upon witnessing Coleen's excitement and the confusion on Eirin Luxfield.
"She's locked somewhere deeper in the woods. And to be completely honest with you guys, I think there's extremely wrong with the villagers," Link said as he sat in front of the two girls. "I am more than glad that we had the chance to get away before things escalated." He heaved a sigh.
Was that the reason why Link wasn't affected when they were kicked out of the village? Everything's starting to make sense. Hearing all that reminded Eirin of what happened during lunchtime.
"I—" Despite the hesitation, Eirin swallowed the huge lump in her throat. "I also saw someone coming out of our room earlier."
Coleen stood. "Eh? Who did you see? When did this happen? Was I inside the room as well? How come I didn't see anyone?"
"Calm down," Link said after noticing how Eirin started biting her fingernail and he heard Shade click his tongue. 'I don't need any more pissed Shade moments today,' Link thought.
"It was one of those men with beast-like ears. I couldn't understand why he went into the room, but when I got inside, Coleen just woke up and everything looked fine," Eirin explained.
Link looked up and caressed his chin. Upon hearing that, he mentioned the things he observed from the few villagers he encountered.
"First, I wondered why most of the villagers, especially those that looked more human than the others, hid themselves inside their houses in broad daylight but were active from sunset till dawn. I even saw some strolling through the village after our bath. You also saw them, didn't you? They were helping extinguish the fire made by Shade," Link said.
Peculiar, indeed. These people are not wholly beasts, yet they act more beast-like than others.
"The chief's not entertaining any questions either. I think, maybe they're just not fond of humans like us, or maybe... just maybe, they're hiding something. I mean, it would be more suspicious if they're not after Shade met his mentor locked in the forest like that."
Who would have thought that the simple mission of bringing the Phoenix back to the academy would cause them such distress?
Silence surrounded the four as the cold night breeze blew, scattering Eirin's hair all over her face, and extinguishing the fire in the middle of the camp.
"Shade! Put on some fire, it's freezing," Coleen complained, holding onto her twin tails as she moved closer to Eirin. "Hey, I said—"
Coleen's eyes widened after Link covered her mouth and they all froze after Shade stood up. He looked behind his back. The silence caused Eirin to slowly stare at the young man, and she witnessed how his eyes glistened in the dark. Fearing something in the woods, Eirin moved closer to Coleen, so close that they could feel each other's heartbeat.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"
Shade flicked his finger, bringing back the fire, illuminating the dark forest and revealing what it was that arrived at their camp.