Chapter 20: A Traitor In The North
Inside the infirmary was filled with the smell of mix fresh herbs.
Grace was still screaming and crying because of the pain from the dragon fire. Her scream echod in the infirmary drawing the attention of the healers.
Professor Maras shoved a chair on their way aside. His grip were on Grace’s uninjured arm and Reynold was supporting her on the other side.
"Healers! Dragon-fire!" Maras yelled.
Two women in white-and-gold dress rushed over instantly. Their eyes were wide, immediately scanning the sticky, black residue clinging to Grace shoulder and sleeve.
"By the flame, a Cinder-Plate burn!" one healer gasped, already moving to Grace’s side. She had short braided black hair and her hands were already bringing out faint blue energy and she placed the glowing palms near the wound.
The other healer who is taller and older said. "Get her on the treatment slab! Get the Lunar-Bloom poultice and Winter-Ash solution, now!" she ordered two attending assistants.
Grace squealed as the blue magic touched her.
"It hurts! Make it stop!" she sobbed, clutching at Reynold’s sleeve before the healers gently maneuvered her onto a stone slab in the centre of the room.
Reynold sighed as she stepped away, giving the healer the space to do her thing.
The smell of dry herbs hit Reynold nose making him to twist his nose.
Professor Maras turned, his attention on Reynold.
"Cadet," he said, his voice softer now, "you did well. Very quick thinking. That roll saved her from far worse. Thank you." He tapped his shoulder. "I’ll oversee the rest. You are dismissed. You don’t need to stay for this."
Reynold wanted to stay and wanted to see the girl okay, but the smell of the dry herb was about to make him puke. He was on the verge of disgracing himself.
"Understood, Professor," he muttered.
He turn on his heel and rushed out the door, taking in the clean air as he stepped into the courtyard.
The evening sun was already out.
However, the atmosphere in the courtyard was a different kind of negative energy.
The usually busy and chatting courtyard was filled with murmurs and cries from the students.
Many faces were pale, eyes were wide and fixed on nothing in particular. Some of the cadets, mostly girls were openly weeping on a friend shoulder.
What the hell is happening?
Reynold stopped dead, scanning the scene.
The dragon incident was terrifying but it was not terrifying enough to trigger this widespread panic all over the academy.
This scene definitely has nothing to do with the dragon incident. It was more like some of the students were grieving.
Reynold frowned as confusion showed on his face.
What the hell was going on?
Just then, a girl with auburn hair, her expression was the same with most of the students. She walked quickly past Reynold, heading toward the main dormitories.
"Hey! Wait!" Reynold called out, reaching out and stopping her with a gentle touch on her arm.
She paused, turning back to him.
"What is happening?" Reynold asked, letting go of her arm. "The whole school looks like someone died."
The girl raised an eyebrow, the look on her face was more like: You actually don’t know?
The girl sighed. "The Aetherclaws broke through the border."
Reynold stared. "Broke through which border?"
The girl frowned. She wanted to cussed out Reynold for being clueless.
"Our border. The North Border," she explained. "They crossed the line. Word just came down that they have invaded the villages right by the Dragon’s Tooth Mountain. Look around," she swept a hand across the weeping crowd. "The ones crying are the ones that have families there."
Before Reynold could even process the words and before he could ask a single follow-up question, the girl was already moving again, pulling away and walking toward the dorms like she was not in the mood for his silly questions.
Reynold was stunned. The Aetherclaws crossed the border.
His mind immediately began spinning as he tried to make sense of it.
Their border was not an ordinary border, it was very secured by the Warden Wards. The Wards was a powerful defence that was put up by the Top magic users. To bring it down, it would take top magic users months or perhaps years to bring it down.
"Impossible," Reynold muttered under his breath.
The Aetherclaw tribe were strong, no doubt, but they were magic-less. The only way they could have pulled this off was with a catastrophic amount of inside help.
There is a traitor in the North. The thought send cold shiver throughout Reynold’s body.
Reynold shook his head, dismissing the idea.
"Stop it. No Magic User would ever align with the Aetherclaws. They despise them. We all do." He sighed. Too much had happened today. A near-death by a dragon, and now an invasion.
He needed to eat.
He turned and headed toward the cafeteria, making a beeline for the rice section.
"Takeout, please," he told the server, a kindly, plump woman with flour dusting her apron. "And a lot of it. I’m taking it back to my room."
"Just don’t make a mess of the dorm, dear," she said, scooping a some portion into a heavy, wax-lined container. "Dispose the packaging properly. We don’t need pests, understand?"
Reynold nodded, took the takeout, and started walking back to his dorm.
He slide his nameplate on the door and it opened showing the the small, shared common area.
His three roommates that were rendered almost interchangeable by what happened today were seated there.
They looked up guiltily as he entered.
They let out a nervous smiles. "H-Hi, Reynold," they stammered.
Reynold just stared at them. They had spent the entire day ignoring him, making him feel like an outcast.
Reynold did not even bother to answer them. Holding the warm container of food, he walked straight past them and into his own room, closing the door firmly behind him.
It was now his turn now to ignore them.
Meanwhile, in a private dorm reserved for students of exceptional standing and exceptional background.
Nymeria had just finished dressing. Unlike the other students, she had a luxurious suite to herself, a big bedroom, parlour space, kitchen and a private bath.
A soft knock sounded on her door. She walked over, still pulling a velvet drawstring tight on her simple and elegant blue robe.
She pulled the door open and stopped, a genuine surprise look showing on her face.
Standing in the hallway were two figures. One was a tall man. The Viceroy of the North, and who is also her father. Beside him was the academy’s Headmaster.
"Dad," Nymeria breathed out, her tone softening immediately.
Her father smiled. "Hello, daughter."
She pushed herself forward, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.
The Headmaster cleared his throat.
Nymeria instantly released her father and straightened, giving the Headmaster a respectful nod. "Headmaster."
"Nymeria," Her father murmured, his expression becoming serious. "You heard the news, of course. The Aetherclaws near the mountain."
"I did," she confirmed.
"That’s why we’re here, daughter. We need your help."
Nymeria’s brow furrowed. "My help? With what?"
The Headmaster stepped forward. "One of the Aetherclaws warrior was captured near the border line. We need to know what he was doing there, how they managed to compromise the Warden Wards."
Her father added. "He won’t speak. We need you to go into his mind."
Nymeria’s expression turn into a frown immediately. She raised her hand and touched the thin, cool metal band encircling her neck. The same metal band she had been hiding with her uniform for the public not to see.
It was a council-mandated limiter, meant to stop her from using her Mind Magic.
"Dad," she said. "The Council seriously forbade me from using the mind magic. They think it is ’too dangerous.’ You put this collar on me, have you forgotten?"
Her father stepped closer. "I have not. But this is a matter of our security. The Council has granted a temporary, one-time lift for this matter. They understand what is at stack. The collar is authorized to be removed for the duration of the interrogation."
Nymeria let out a slow sigh.
"Okay" she finally said. "Give me a minute to change into something better."
She went back into her room and quickly returned wearing a white academy uniform, her long braids hair pulled back tightly.
Her father nodded in approval, then, using a small, specialized key, he unlocked the metal collar.
The cold pressure around her neck vanished and was replaced by the emotions of the two people in the dorm with her.. She was also feeling the emotions of the nearby students outside the dorm.
Nymeria shake her head as she quickly put up a wall, blocking out the emotions.
"Shall we, then?" she asked, already walking toward the door.
The Headmaster followed the father and daughter down the hall and out to where an official carriage was waiting.
Only when they were safely inside did the headmaster step back, watching the carriage roll away.