To hell and back

When tensions are high you look for a way...

We got back to the manor with no trouble and I took that as a small victory.

Sure, I did not expect for another attach to happen so soon, but still the chances that someone would decide to finish the job in a non magical way.

Once the gate of the manor closed behind me, it felt as if a weight has been lighted from my back as I felt myself relax a bit. The chances of us getting attacked here are way lower and no longer would I be the main defender, here at the house there was at least a few guards, that would take care of physical things if worse came to worse. Now I just hoped that whoever was after the girl, did not realize who I was.

"You are home early."

"Daddy!"

The young Birdy jumped into their fathers arms as he appeared from behind the corner as we walked inside.

Ignoring all the stares I walked through the living room and sank onto one of the expensive couches. At the back of my mind I knew that Petro will have a heart attack if he sees me acting so casually in the presence of the family we are serving, but right now, I could not care less. Dealing with all this without my magic was beyond exhausting... well that and the adrenalin rush I had from fleeing for my life was now settling and all the energy started to turn into exhaustion. Damn, this human thing is exhausting and so annoying.

"What happened?"

The old man asked as he realized that the look on his daughters face was not one of joy, but fear. Well that and his wife looked as white as a sheet. A moment latter I felt everyone eyes turn to me. I guess they were waiting for answer from me, so I slowly sat up and explained without looking at anyone as I pulled out the broken charm bracelet that I had given to the young girl.

"There was a magic attack against Bernadeth so strong that it broke my strongest charm. I did not expect something of this magnitude to be possible on this side of the wall..."

My mind was raking over all that I found about magic on the other side of the wall and how this was even possible.

"Magic like this..."

I took a moment trying to find the right words to describe what happened and the seriousness of the situation without giving away my own past.

"It should not be able to exist on this side of the wall. It's not just some common hex or something... but something a lot more serious and dark."

"But you stopped this attack, you will keep our daughter safe?"

The older woman's voice filled the air as her desperate question just hung in the air, waiting for my response or any sort of confirmation to her desperation.

But I was not sure how to answer her.

The truth is that I still considered the possibility of leaving before it all got messy and I could get stuck in the middle of it all. I had no wish to get stuck in the crossfire of whatever is going to happen here. Without my magic, I was way to vulnerable and I knew that whoever was behind it, was most likely from the dark kings circles. Meaning there is little to no chance that we had not meant on one occasion or another. So I could get recognized... but at the same time leaving a person like that to roam free on this side of the wall was too dangerous for the very same reasons... so it might be better for me to deal with them on my own terms.

"I can't make no promises as this will require a lot more then I have right know, both knowledge and material wize... I can't even figure out how could anyone do magic here..."

The room fell silent again and I saw the girls parents stare at each other for a few moments. It looked like they were having a silent conversation, but then the old man pulled out his phone without another word and walked out off the room. With a confused look on my face I turned to his wife.

"If this as bad as you make it sound we need reinforcement and there is only one person in this kingdom that is well versed in this sort of things.."

"Mother... do you mean..."

But before the girl could finish, the old man returned with the news that the person they called in here will be here soon. The only issue is that he returned with Petro, who was staring daggers at me, so I did not get the chance to know who they called in. Before Petro could lose his mind over me seating while on couch while there was not only one, but all family members present in the room, I got to my feet and moved across the room.

"Sir, there is an unfamiliar car in the driveway..."

Ah s**t, I forgot about that...

"And I see that the lady and young miss had returned, but I do not see young Sara..."

Oh s**t, Sara...

I completely forgot about her int he minds of all the chaos at the ball.

"Miss Cali, why don't return the car to their rightful owners and get young Sara home with the family car."

The older woman gave me a short look and I took the excuse to leave before Petro got his hands on me. I had no wish for the overly long talk down about something as stupid as sitting.

"Yes, my lady."

I gave her and the rest in the room a short respectful nod as I turned on my heel and left the room.

And for the first time in what felt like forever I was alone.

It was a strange feeling as over the last few days I got used to being surrounded by the noise and presence of the staff of the house or someone from the family. From the moment I stepped through the door of the house, there was always someone a few steps away from me, which was a big change to the life I used to lead back in the dark kingdom, where I was alone most if not all the time.

So only now did I realize how much I miss that peace of being alone. In a way it was like I could finally let my mask drop and I could breathe.

This time in a much more calm manor I got into the car and drove back to the house... and now that I think about it, it was not such a good idea if the person casting the attack was still there. So getting back into the house was not something I had any wish to do. To my luck no one noticed the car missing and I could just park it in the same spot that I took it from.

Once I got out of the car, I spotted Sara talking to the driver with a worried look on her face that changed into a more relaxed one the moment she spotted me. I did not give her the time to question me too much as I wanted to get out of here as fast as possible as lingering here, at the scene of the crime felt like just asking for trouble.

On the way back I told the young girl that the young miss needed to get home fast and that was enough of answer for her. I am pretty sure she dropped the subject just because she wanted to talk about the ball instead, so the whole way home she kept on talking about all the gossip she managed to gather. I had very little interest in the gossip, but I could not help but watch her with a genteel smile on my face as she described stuff with the most honest passion.

When we finally returned home, I was greeted by the young bird who grabbed my hand with excitement.

"We had been waiting for you."

Was all she said as she dragged me to the sitting room I had left them in before, but there was one more person sitting there right now... a person that made me stumble as pure fear filled my stomach.