Chapter 1775 - Recurring Problem (Part 1)
Kelia's appetite never seemed to wane but her plate kept filling itself so she didn't care. After a while, when the pain was completely gone and her hunger under control, she started to question the nature of her miraculously convenient new friend.
"Are you my fairy godmother?" She asked.
'Your fairy godfather, to be precise.' Dusk replied.
"Yeah, right. Then where have you been my whole life?" Kelia said with a sneer.
She was one of the many orphans of the Empire. She had no idea if her parents had died or if her mother had abandoned her. All she knew was that once she had turned eight and the light in her eyes had remained deep orange, her life had been turned upside down.
The Empire took great care of its kids, hoping they would grow to be powerful mages. The orphanages were state-of-the-art facilities where the kids were well-fed, schooled, and nurtured.
Those whose eyes didn't turn deep yellow or at least bright orange by eight, however, were deemed regular people and transferred to way less comfortable institutions. Despite all the laws protecting the children from abuse, the fate of the magicless orphans mostly depended on luck.
Kelia was one of the unlucky orphans who had run away, preferring the streets to an even worse fate at the hands of people whose love for children was as twisted as their minds.
'Look, we can argue all day about the past or enjoy the present. Don't you feel better?' Dusk asked.
"What do you-" Only then did Kelia notice that her rags were clean, the bruises were gone and that she could see the pink in her nails for the first time in weeks.
"Did you do this?"
'Yes, and that's the least I can do if you keep me around.' The Horseman replied.
"What if those guys come back? Can you protect me with your magic?" Kelia didn't know whether to be scared of the talking stone or the idea of what would happen to her without its help.
'I can protect you with my magic, but I'd rather teach you how to protect yourself with your magic.'
"I wish." She sighed. "If I had a shred of talent as a mage, I wouldn't be here."
'That's what ignorant humans believe. I can teach you the most powerful of spells. I can give you more money than you can spend. I can make sure that you always have a soft bed and a hot meal. All you have to do is to let me in.'
The red crystal glowed as Dusk projected in Keila's head images of her possible future with him.
"You are no fairy godfather." She said after a while. "You are a cursed object."
'I am Dusk of the Red Sun and I swear upon my name that nothing I told you is a lie.'
Keila knew that the offer was too good to be true. The Empire used fairy tales to pass magical knowledge upon the children and the first thing they learned was to never trust an easy source of power.
In the stories, the evil mage always used forbidden magic or a cursed object to fuel their nefarious plans. The hero, instead, had to work hard and practice to become powerful, teaching the children that true power, like wisdom, couldn't be granted, it had to be earned.
Keila looked at her twig-like arms while her tongue unconsciously passed over the empty spaces in her mouth. She was almost thirteen, the age when a girl was supposed to develop curves, yet she was as short and thin as the day she had escaped the orphanage.
She thought with envy of her friends at the old orphanage. Thanks to their innate talent, they had already enrolled in an academy and were bound to live the rest of their lives in luxury.
The Empire had warned her of the risks of forbidden magic, but it was the same country that had abandoned her in the hands of monsters whose faces were the only thing human about them.
A country that for the last five years had forgotten about her, leaving her to starve and rot on the streets of Gima.
"I accept." The red crystal turned into a liquid that seeped through her hand and flowed toward her chest.
Keila felt no pain as she became one with Dusk and her core awakened.
***
Griffon Kingdom, City of Belius, at the same time.
Lith was barely conscious when Protector and Nalrond brought him to Kamila's apartment. The arrays of the city had blocked the flickering of the shadows that had scared Derios' night clerk and stabilized his condition.
"Great thinking, Kamila." Protector said. "Here his powers are dampened, relieving the burden on his life force."
"Not on the couch!" She yelled when she realized they were about to drop Lith in the wrong place. "Bring him to the bedroom. It's the only place Lith enchanted to resist his weight in case something like this happened before we broke up.
"I don't want to explain to my downstairs neighbor why there's a hole in his ceiling in the middle of the night."
"Where are you going to sleep, then?" Nalrond asked, receiving a scowl from Protector.
"Good question. The couch, the floor, or maybe I'll just stay awake." She sighed.
Nalrond had no ID so she had to accompany them back to the Gate and vouch for him before returning to the apartment. Kamila had expected Lith to grieve and blame himself for what had happened, but when she arrived, he was already asleep.
She sat by his side, checking that he was alright and caressing his sleeping face until he calmed down and the scales turned back into skin. Then, she used that moment of privacy to take the Camellia out of her briefcase.
Kamila had never let it die and now she always brought it with her.
She imprinted the flower, having the care to hide it where Lith wouldn't find it the morning. Then, she took a quick shower to clear her head and relax before bringing a few woolen blankets to the coach.
Kamila had just turned off the lights when someone knocked on her door.
'First Manohar's death. Then Lith went crazy. Is this night ever going to end?' She took her communication amulet, ready to call for reinforcements, and a few wands before looking through the peephole.
"Phloria, is it really you?"
"Who else am I supposed to be?" The tall woman on the other side of the door said.
It was way past curfew and most cities were on full lockdown to track the undead who had projected Orpal's declaration of war. Yet there were few doors that the name Ernas wouldn't open, no matter the circumstances.
At that point, Kamila trusted no one. She pressed Phloria's rune on her amulet and only when the person in front of her answered the call did Kamila open the door.
"Seriously? Are you that paranoid?"
"Orpal tried to kill my sister disguised as her ex-husband so it wouldn't surprise me if he tried to get to Lith disguised as a friend." Kamila replied.
"You have a point." Phloria nodded while showing her a stone ring at her finger. "Solus asks your permission to take human form."
"You brought Solus with you?" Kamila was flabbergasted.