The Foolhardies - Chapter 224 The Message

“Sometimes I think you have the most rotten luck, Dean,” Arah noted after she’d read my story.

I nodded in agreement as there have been one too many close calls in my life this past year.

“It’s not all a loss,” I answered.

“The Claw burning the one place we could find clues in wasn’t a total loss?” Arah reminded me. “How so?”

Right at that moment, Aura was walking toward us and I noticed the rolled up scroll in her hand with its unbroken seal.

I got up from my seat next to the fire, but I remembered to answer Arah’s question right afterward.

“We figured out which group of teens they’re after,” I answered.

“Who? Tell me,” Arah asked impatiently.

I reached out a hand to receive the scroll from Aura.

“Sophomores… they’re looking for one of us,” I replied in an ominous tone.

“How in blazes would you know that?” she asked as she too got up. “Did you read the signs in the fire or something?”

I knew Arah was making a joke, but I actually thought she’d hit near the mark on that one.

“Actually, I did, yeah,” I chuckled.

I inspected the seal in the scroll. It belonged to the Council which meant I was probably getting new orders. This made me sigh deeply as sudden orders often meant something wicked this way comes.

“I watched the fire raging inside the records room for a full five seconds before I decided to gamble on luck and activate Eagle Vision,” I explained. “Lo and behold, the golden glow that appeared whenever I needed insight lit up a file cabinet for three Sophomore classes… including ours.”

From the corner of my eye, I could see Arah shaking her head at me.

“You didn’t think to use Eagle Vision while you were in there the first time?” she criticised.

“I know, I know,” I shrugged. “I’m pretty beat up about it too… I really need to use that ability more often so I can get the hang of it some more…”

“You should be using it all the time,” Aura cut in.

“Exactly,” Arah agreed. “Who doesn’t use the most effective investigative tool in their bag of tricks?”

I frowned at the pair of them.

As these two got closer and closer, they’d gotten into the habit of ganging up on me whenever I made a booboo. It wasn’t helping my confidence at all.

“A little help here, Ty,” I called to my friend who’d remained in his seat and staring into the bonfire.

“I’m not getting in between you and A-squared,” he said.

That was a mistake, one I was very happy he made as neither girls liked the nickname Ty and I had given them. And while their wrath had now turned on him, I broke the seal on the scroll and examined the contents written within.

At the end of my examination, I let out a long and troubled breath. “As if I didn’t have other things to worry about…”

“Looks like we’re heading home,” Aura noted.

Home, it was her word for Hoodwink Tower, which, funnily enough, was how I thought of the place too nowadays. Over the past few months, I’d grown to feel at home in that once derelict tower and the town growing around it even more than the home I grew up in which to me had become a cold and lonely place full of lost memories and ghosts.

Aunt Lena was barely home because her job had long hours, and I barely rest my head on my pillow before I’m whisked away to the Fayne. No, home was no longer home for me. It hadn’t been since Luca vanished.

Speaking of Luca, I hadn’t seen much of my brother tonight, and as I wondered where he was hiding, Aura tapped on my shoulder to get my attention.

“Darah’s coming to inspect Hoodwink,” she noted.

I nodded wordlessly as I always dreaded seeing my old master. She tended to boss me around like no one else could, and although she tolerated my affable way of doing things, more often than not, my actions end up getting me smacked in the head by one of her fists. And a punch from Ironfist Darah meant a world of hurt for whoever got hit — me.

“The timing’s odd,” Arah added. “Why would they want us to pull out of the demilitarized zone now just for an inspection…”

“Dain’s unit is coming to replace us,” I said.

“I know, but we were supposed to man this post for another month,” Arah reminded me. “It seems odd to change orders now especially when all the clan borders are on high alert.”

Arah’s words brought home the fact that the Trickster Pavilion was currently in the midst of an internal feud, one born from the betrayal of one of its most celebrated generals.

Garm’s replacement hadn’t been chosen yet, and with no Marshal of the West to keep the order in the Westmarch, the clan’s western region was slowly devolving into a state of lawlessness. To counteract this vacuum, more and more seasoned soldiers had been dispatched to the west, leaving our borders in the south and east weakened somewhat.

Even great generals like Darah and Grimthorn had to periodically travel from their respective posts to the Westmarch in order to show strength to those who would take advantage of the new status quo. It was most likely the reason Darah wanted to visit Hoodwink, although I suspected there was more to it. Like Arah said, the timing was strange.

“We’ll have to prepare for your aunt’s arrival,” I frowned.

“I’ll take care of that when we return to Hoodwink,” Aura said with a smile that always took my breath away. “So you can focus on the situation back on Mudgard…”

“Thanks,” I whispered while I attempted to smile back. The best I could manage was a lopsided grin that, strangely enough, just made Aura’s smile grow even wider.

Seconds past while we gazed into each other’s eyes, and I swear that we might have done it all night if Arah hadn’t cleared her throat pretty loudly.

I looked away as my cheeks began to burn. Then I turned to face Arah who I knew was staring at me with judgy eyes.

“Spread the word… we’re pulling out of the wall as soon as Dain’s guys get here,” I ordered.

“Roger, roger,” Arah answered, and although she hadn’t said anything, I could swear that the grin playing on her lips was a promise that much teasing was coming soon.

Arah left first, and as Aura went to follow after her, I gazed wistfully at the back of her golden hair and wondered just how that last interaction could have gone better.

Maybe if it was just the two of us and the stars were out in full and I had a basket of her favorite food, maybe then.

“Stare at her any harder and you might accidentally cast Basilisk’s Eye on her,” Ty chuckled at my side.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, man,” I lied.

“Sure you don’t,” he tapped me gingerly on the shoulder. “And I’m not the Chosen One.”

The very next day after class I was in the middle of a meeting with the other members of our class’ Wrestling Match Planning Committee, and while Rufus droned on about safety measures, my mind was adrift with the memory of golden locks and starry skies.

“Maybe I should steal a page from Luca’s book and just go for it,” I wondered.