Ashley Falcon
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Chapter 148: Pro tip: Always give a warning note before you set a hotel on fire. It’s good manners.
🕑 Added 2022-04-08 00:00:52 +0000 UTCI stood up as Roxxy’s voice crashed into my ears, rushing towards the door with William. Gold squawked, flying alongside us, heat brushing against his feathers.
The door had already been opened, Gerial disappearing through it.
[Mana Sense].
The moment I entered the corridor I saw the source of the heat. Amanda's door had swung open, five flaming fingers sticking through it.
It was one of the claws she'd used against me in our arena fights. And against Oubliez.
My skill expanded across the hotel corridor, and I could see fire mana crowding the surroundings, held off by water mana expanding from inside the room.
Roxxy was fighting the flames.
William was right behind me. We both edged close towards Amanda’s door, and I saw a figure standing the the doorway, hands raised and repelling the flames of the claw.
It was Gerial.
He looked over his shoulder as we arrived.
“Hey Andros, could you snug out the flames with some dirt?” His tone was calm.
The air around me shifted as he manipulated it and I took a step back.
A wave of water washed over me before I could activate my spell. It overpowered the claw instantly, swamping the flames until they were gone.
Then the liquid went inside the room, swooping past Gerial and overcoming the flames.
“Excuse me gentlemen, I couldn't help but overhear an incident.” A voice called out to us. “I do hope you don't mind the help. I'd rather the hotel didn't burn down.”
A man stepped beside me, and I did a double take.
It was one of my guards.
He was wearing casual clothing and a hat. He bowed slightly as my gaze drifted over to him. I’d told the guards to make sure my friends were safe this trip.
Apparently this qualified.
"Thank you so much." I spoke.
The fire was dead, the surroundings clearing up. With the flames gone I could clearly see five gouges that tore through the door and out the other side.
"What happened here?" William frowned.
Gerial lowered his hands, and I saw that the inside of the room was filled with burnt patches. In the middle was Amanda, gazing at the entrance in confusion.
Roxxy was on the floor behind her, looking up at Amanda with wide eyes.
Water and connection mana emanating off her. She’d been fighting the flames that Amanda had created.
Agni was on Amanda’s shoulder, wings flapping and chirping up a storm.
“Are you okay?” My voice reverberated through the room.
I strode up to Amanda. There was fire mana oozing out of her, dissipating harmlessly into the air. There was also something else there for a brief instant before it disappeared.
It was a mote of connection mana.
"I— I saw someone there.” Amanda shifted to face me. “At the entrance. I thought it was like last time.”
I looked back at the entrance, but there was nothing there.
She'd been thinking of Oubliez. The last time there had been an invisible person in her surroundings, it had been a moment to fight first and ask questions later.
My guard gave me a reassuring nod. They were already looking into the matter.
“Let’s calm down and rest for a moment." I looked around the room. "I'll let my grandma know about this.”
I turned to Roxxy and let out a sigh of relief. She was still on the ground, her clothes crumpled but not burnt.
“Are you hurt?” I leaned toward her.
Roxxy shook her head. I raised a hand toward her, and she accepted it. I pulled her off the ground.
She looked tired. Putting out the flames had drained her of her mana and stamina.
“I'm so sorry.” Amanda spoke.
Roxxy gave her a single glance, her expression unreadable.
“I need some time to rest.” She spoke.
Roxxy strode past me, and I heard William and Gerial shuffle aside to make way for her. She didn't look happy and seeing the room I couldn't blame her.
Only moments ago, she had been surrounded by flames.
“I’m going to get my grandma." I said to Amanda. “You should rest in my room.”
Amanda nodded mutely and I helped her outside the door.
I caught her staring at her hand as she entered my room.
William and Gerial went to talk to Roxxy. Both to comfort her and to get her version of events. I walked over to my guard, and we made our way down the corridor.
“Master Silver.” My guard bowed low. “We have secured the floor. Nobody will enter or notice a disturbance until you call for them.”
"Thank you for your help." I smiled at him. “May you please tell me what happened?”
My guards were constantly watching me and my friends, and nothing would get by them. I would get my grandma eventually, but I wanted to get a hold of the events that had occurred first.
The guard hesitated.
"Nobody was seen entering or leaving the room." His tone was uncertain.
He was worried about my reaction to the report.
“You can talk freely.” I encouraged him.
Not all of my guards were comfortable talking to me directly. That would have to change if they were going to be accompanying me every day for the rest of my life.
His demeanor changed and he nodded.
“I can confirm nobody was spotted entering or leaving the floor.” His voice was steady. “Miss Mitra cast her spell approximately six minutes ago, causing flames to sweep through her room. Your friend reacted immediately, conjuring her water to fight the flames.”
That went against Amanda's account of events.
“Amanda said that there was someone in her room.” That thought rang alarm bells in my mind. "Is it possible that someone slipped past the perimeter?"
My mind specifically went to Oubliez.
Then another person entered my thoughts. Two people. Gesti Bob and little Bob had both been invisible to others when I met them.
Amanda had said that she had seen a kid earlier on, and this time she had seen a man.
My guard shook his head, the gesture almost imperceptible.
"We are able to see through that type of invisibility, the skill is known to us.” He glanced around the corridor. “It is not possible to emulate the invisibility of the monster you encountered.”
A bead of sweat dripped down his forehead as he spoke. He didn't want to criticise me, but he still had to rebutt my theory. This was his worst nightmare.
"I understand." I nodded. "Don't worry, I'm not going to get mad at you for doing your job."
My guard was right.
I knew how rare monsters were. More importantly, each one was unique in their abilities. Oubliez’ symbol was kept on me at all times, a chunk of wooden flesh floating lifelessly in my inventory.
It was unique and would never be replicated again by another monster.
The guards had also seen through Bob’s invisibility when he'd been talking with me.
"Did Bob look like any Gesti you know?” I asked.
Gerial had said that the description hadn’t matched any of them, but my guards had seen Bob first-hand.
"No, sir.” My guard responded.
"Then, in your opinion, what could've happened here?" I glanced back at Amanda’s door.
It was charred from her attack. A single claw had been shot without hesitation into the entrance.
Amanda wasn't the kind of person to be trigger-happy with her skills. It was already strange enough that she had seen someone, let alone immediately attacked them.
"There is a possibility that she is suffering from hallucinations." My guard shuffled uncomfortably. "It is not uncommon after a monster attack to imagine that it is still alive. Small flashes may occur, causing her to believe it is truly in the room with her, and stir up memories and emotions that lead her to attack first and ask questions later.”
I paused.
That sounded awfully familiar to post traumatic stress disorder. I didn't know enough about PTSD to say for sure.
"Before I speculate further, perhaps it is best to question the witnesses to the event.” My guard spoke.
There had been someone else in the room with Roxxy and Amanda.
Agni.
She was inside my room with Gold and Amanda. I knew that the phoenix could see through illusions and her testimony would help me get to the bottom of this..
"You're a wise person.” I smiled. “Is there anything else you'd like to report?”
“I would like time for us to explore possible skills that could have affected Miss Mitra.” My guard responded.
"Of course." I gave him a pat on the back. "Thanks for the help. You've been amazing."
He froze at the contact, and I saw a smile cross over his face. Then it disappeared and his professionally neutral expression returned.
The time passed quickly after that.
I sent my grandma a text and she stared at the room in confusion. I outlined the events of the night to her, but I could see she wasn't convinced.
It wasn’t normal for someone to set fire to a room out of nowhere.
"I'll see that we find a new room for her." My grandma promised. "However, this can't happen again.”
She was firm in her answer.
Even if I was her grandchild, there was a limit to what could be done in the hotel. Setting fire to it was that limit.
From my point of view that was more than reasonable. I was surprised that she hadn't kicked out Amanda immediately. I was prepared to argue on my friend’s behalf.
After multiple reassurances that Amanda wouldn't set fire to my room my grandma finally let me go. I walked into my room.
Inside I saw Amanda on the sofa, staring blankly at the wall ahead of her. There were tears at the corners of her eyes, frustration and confusion finding an outlet to escape.
Agni and Gold hopped around her, trying to comfort her.
I closed the door behind me, and her head shot up. There was a relief in her gaze as she spotted me, and I gave her a small smile and a wave.
"How are you feeling?" I spoke.
The words felt awkward coming out of my mouth. I was tiptoeing around her, and she knew it.
"I just burnt down a hotel room." She grimaced. "I don't feel good."
Amanda watched me carefully as I walked up to it and sat down beside her. She pulled back slightly, and I could see she was afraid of something.
"You're not going to burn me." I said confidently.
"I almost burnt Roxxy.” Amanda bit her lip. “I don't even know why.”
"You said you saw someone." I leaned back into the cushion. "What did they look like?"
Amanda hesitated.
Her fingers drummed nervously against her leg as she thought back to the incident and her hair flared up with the shade of orange I'd come to associate with stress.
"It's okay." I moved closer to her. “Nobody got hurt, and my grandma didn't mind.”
That last one may have been a small lie.
Amanda took a deep breath and I saw the signs of meditation activating. That was a wise decision.
I gave her time to collect her thoughts and accept her emotions.
A small bundle of feathers crowded my vision as Agni jumped onto my lap, gazing up at me and letting out a chirp.
Empty.
I understood the single note clearly. I was starting to get used to the idea of concepts and thoughts being transmitted rather than words.
Agni was giving me her account of the events.
My heart sank at her words. She was confirming what my guard had said. The room was empty. Agni looked down at the ground and her glow dampened.
She knew that what she was saying would look bad for Amanda. Gold hopped beside her and flapped his wings.
"I thought I saw someone." Amanda's voice was firm. "A man."
My head shot up toward her and I saw her looking at me with clear eyes.
“I'm certain I saw a man." She reaffirmed. "I overreacted. Instead of talking I shot a claw straight into him. And when it didn't hit him, I spread flames across the room to find him. Oh Fue, what if I’d hit him and he was an innocent person?”
I could see the distress in her eyes, even after she had meditated.
Amanda genuinely believed she had seen a person inside her room. Agni hadn't, my guards hadn't, and Roxxy hadn’t.
Who should I believe?
It didn't matter.
I raised my hand and gave Amanda a pat on the shoulder, much to her surprise.
"First things first.” I smiled. “Nobody got hurt, and we’re here for you. For now, I'd like you to let me know every little detail that you remember. Is that okay?”
I didn't want to push her, but it was important for her to try and remember everything while she could. If she left it too late, then she might forget important details.
Amanda nodded, her features brightening.
"There’s not much to tell.” She began. “We were sitting on the sofa and talking about the ice-cream incident.”
Her cheeks reddened but I didn't stop her from talking. There were more important things happening than a little spilled ice-cream.
"Roxxy asked me what you’d done to make me so angry.” Amanda tilted her head. “And I told her that you'd done nothing. I have no idea why I did that.
Actually, I didn't get the chance to tell her.” She frowned, raising her hand. “The moment I was about to, I saw someone at the door and reacted instinctively.”
From there she recounted the events as I had seen them. Roxxy had shouted, and defended herself with water magic, and we'd cleared the room of flames.
There was nothing out of the ordinary, but at the same time all of it was suspicious.
My mind ran through the possibilities.
I couldn't help but go to the obvious suspect.
Bob.
The man I'd met this afternoon, invisible to everyone around them.
It was true that my guards could see through his magic, but that didn't mean they were infallible.
Noble households had a habit of cultivating powerful skills and hiding the information from the world. They didn't give away all of their trump cards for their enemies to know.
The Gesti had the resources of an immortal household at their disposal. Even if he wasn't one of their family, he could have been sent by them to make sure I accepted the claim.
Would they harm my friends to get to me?
"Now you look more concerned than I do." Amanda's voice floated into my ears. “Isn't this usually the time when you say we should do something to relax?”
I looked at her and chuckled.
“I'm a person of many surprises and reactions.” My lips parted into a smile. “And you're right. We should relax.”
Agni and Gold chirped in agreement and Amanda sank back into the sofa.
I could tell the events were still on her mind, but both of us knew that we weren't going to get to the bottom of the mystery in a single moment.
I’d memorised her entire testimony, and I was sure that she would be doing the same.
"What have you got in mind?" I asked.
"Me?" Surprise crossed her features. "Okay—”
Amanda’s voice trailed off, leaning forward as she thought over her answer.
She was taking it a lot more seriously than I thought she would. Relaxation was clearly a stressful and meticulous activity for her.
The sudden movement of her hand broke me out of my thoughts.
“What's your favourite colour?” Amanda blurted out.
Her cheeks reddened as her voice rebounded through the room. She'd shouted the words into the air.
“I couldn't think of anything else.” She said.
My smile widened and I chuckled.
“Red.”
The conversation quickly devolved into a question-and-answer session as Amanda probed me about different things in my life. She had already said all she could, and I could see she was at the end of her rope. The conversation helped us both relax.
My favourite drink? Water.
Favourite spell? Mana Sense.
Favourite animal? Deferred answer for a later time because Gold’s ego would inflate if he heard the answer.
The conversation never grew deeper or more meaningful, but Amanda had hit the jackpot for a relaxing activity. I asked her questions as well, mostly copying the ones that she asked me first.
By the time my grandma had prepared her room we both knew a fair bit more about each other.
I wouldn't have guessed before today that her favourite colour was blue.
In hindsight, it had been obvious.
"Thanks." Amanda walked towards the door, Agni on her shoulder. "I feel like I'm saying that a lot more lately."
"That's why you're my noble manners teacher.” I shot her a smile. “Thanks for the conversation.”
She smiled and closed the door behind her. My grandma was showing her to her room.
I yawned, the time had passed faster than I thought it would.
It was already well past midnight.
My mental stamina had been stretched out to the limits with everything that had happened today. The mana storm, claim and room burning were each enough to give me a headache by themselves. I had all the pieces now of the incident, or most of them, but my mind was too tired to think properly.
I needed to rest.
Gold was already asleep in the bedroom, a perch brought in for him.
What time does the cultivation room open? I wondered.
It would be nice to wake up early and try it out.
There was a knock at the door.
I paused as the sound of knuckles on wood tapped in my ear. They were soft knocks that wouldn't disturb the others if they were sleeping.
Had Amanda forgotten something in the room?
I walked up to the door and swung it open.
“Hey, did you—”
A wave of blonde hair and cherry red pajamas greeted me.
“Hi.”
It was Roxxy.
She massaged her arm as she stood at the entryway, her eyes cast downward.
“I’d like to talk.”
