Supreme Magus

*** Verhen Mansion, a few minutes later. Lith listened quietly to Nalrond's story, nodding from time to time until the Agni finished his plea. "I'd like to come with you but I can't." His answer surprised Nalrond and Friya for more than one reason. Lith sounded sincere and there was a hint of regret in his voice instead of the grumpy annoyance they had been expecting. "What do you mean, you can't?" Nalrond asked. "I'd love to help you and bait Meln to his doom but after what Phillard told me, I don't want to leave my mother alone." Lith replied. "I've reinforced security and set up multiple recharge pods for my golems around my house but it's not enough. "I'm dealing with Awakened with a death wish and I must be sure I can make it come true. I can lend you the Eyes of Menadion. It will make your task much easier." "Easier how?" Friya snorted. "It will probably dissipate once it gets too far from the tower and even if it doesn't, Nalrond and I have no training in using it. The headaches we'd get while learning to filter the background noise would slow us down too much. "This is a battle against time, and we are over a week late for the party. We need to find the Rezar before the other Awakened or it will all be for nothing." "I too am worried about Mom, Lith, but Nalrond needs our help." Solus said. "With all the protections in place to defend Jirni, we just need to ask Mom not to leave the mansion until our return." Lith looked out the window, weighing his options. Shargein was playing in the park with Garrik, Elysia would be wherever Kamila brought her, and Kamila would be glued to Elina if he asked her to. The handmaidens, the Emperor Beasts, and many of the Ernas elite forces further secured the place. "I have to talk to my mother and Kami before giving you my final answer but consider it a yes." "Thank you!" Nalrond was so happy that he hugged Lith without thinking. The two men stared at each other like one had stumbled into the other standing naked inside the bathroom and took slow steps back. "You're welcome." Lith nodded. "Is there anyone else coming with us? Like Quylla or Morok?" "I'm not going to involve Quylla. She is very pregnant and I'd never forgive myself if something happened to her." Friya replied. "If I were to ask Morok for help, she'd insist on coming so I'm leaving him out as well." "We need a small, agile team to find the Rezar quickly and leave without drawing attention." Nalrond replied. "The fewer we are, the more the chances to look like just another group of apprentices." "Then you'd better ask Protector to come as well." Lith said. "He has a much better sense of smell than me and I bet that after living with you for years he remembers what a Rezar smells like. "The Eyes are not omnipotent. Unless we find a fresh trace of our mark, it's just an uncomfortable pair of glasses." "If Nalrond is right, the Rezar lived in Gabash for years." Friya pointed out. "Shouldn't that alone offer an excellent starting point?" "No, since everyone and their dog knows about the village and have already visited it." Lith shook his head. "The lingering energy signature of a true mage fades more quickly than an Awakened's. With every passing minute and each cast spell, the residual mana gets diluted. "If we find a piece of clothing belonging to the Rezar, instead, Ryman can use it to track down our mark. The problem is that most Emperor Beasts on the case can do the same." "Then there's no time to lose!" Friya said. "Please, do what you need but be quick. We'll call Ryman in the meantime." Lith found Elina, Kamila, and Jirni in the same room. They were all knitting baby outfits from balls of wool. Elina and Kamila worked on blue onesies for Raldarak while Jirni on a pink one for Dripha. Much to Lith's surprise, Jirni was teaching the other two women, giving them pointers on how to use their needles better. "I would have never thought a busy woman like you knew how to knit, let alone with such skill." Elina said. "Is there anything you're not good at?" "It's not a big deal, Elina." Jirni's soft smile gave Lith the creeps. "I had years of practice with needles and there's very little I can't do with them." "Sorry to bother you, ladies." Lith knocked on the doorframe. "I need to speak with my mother and Kami for a second. Do you mind leaving us alone, Jirni?" She was already up before he could finish the phrase. "I'll be in my room." Jirni put her tools inside her dimensional amulet and picked Dripha up from the crib, taking the baby with her. A snap of Lith's fingers insulated the room before he explained Nalrond's predicament and his worries. "I don't like leaving either of you alone." He said. "Not in a moment like this. I feel like a jerk." "Don't worry about me, dear. I'm perfectly safe here." Elina gently caressed his head. "I had no plans of leaving the mansion and there's nothing in Lutia that requires my immediate attention." "I don't like this either, but I like even less the idea of letting an innocent become a lab rat for entitled pricks." Kamila sighed. "This is Nalrond's only chance to learn what happened to the rest of his tribe. "There might be more than one survivor and maybe one of them was a member of his family. You know nothing can happen to me as long as I have our secret weapon." She gently caressed her womb. "Also, don't forget I'll be in Elina's shoes once Raldarak is born. You can't always be with us and we must learn to fend for ourselves. We can't live in constant fear and neither can you. "Consider this a test run of your defense system. If anything goes wrong, Raldarak will be our safeguard." "Fine, but keep an eye on Valeron at all times." Lith was still worried about his mother's and adoptive son's safety but couldn't refute Kamila's logic. "His identity is still a secret but if someone finds out, we'll be in more trouble. "The Guardians won't protect Valeron unless we return him to them." "Don't worry." Kamila chuckled. "He is almost as safe as me." She pointed at the crib where Surin, Valeron, and Elysia were playing together. Valeron tried to teach the two girls new words but only Elysia understood him. Surin just laughed at the pretty lights the baby boy conjured to keep her attention. "Elysia and Valeron are inseparable." Kamila said. "If someone touches him, they'll have to deal with her and you know what happens when our baby girl gets angry." "Let's hope you are right." Lith sighed. He kissed his wife goodbye and caressed the children one last time before leaving. "Aren't you forgetting something?" Elina opened her arms for an embrace. "I'll be back soon, Mom." He hugged her tight, and his wings followed. "Please, be safe."