Vindictive
Noah and Valia made some early plans for their departure and then left Covington's. She had been unsupervised for too long, and suspicions would arise. They split up with raised spirits, having a sense of what they wanted from the future and knowing they each had someone they could depend on. For Noah, he felt a weight lifted from his shoulders. Normally, explaining the complexities of his existence only happened on his deathbed, and anyone who did believe him tended to be a bit unhinged. Now he had met someone who saw him as he truly was, and with a spring in his step, he headed to the Knight's Sheath to see Madam Cyrilo.
"You seem rather chipper," she said, speaking to him in her study.
"Really? I hadn't noticed. I guess I was just excited about today. You have those notes ready?"
"I sure do." She reached into one of her desk drawers and pulled out a leather-bound book. "I will say, it was a bit entertaining to look through my old notes. I kept smacking myself in the forehead, embarrassed at the things I used to try. Take good care of them. I'd rather that book be burned than fall into someone else's hands."
Noah stashed it in his coat pocket. "Don't worry, I know how to keep things secret. After all, I..." He trailed off as the room began to tremble. An earthquake? No, the sounds Noah was hearing, an inorganic shriek, along with windows shattering from the force of a shockwave; they were sounds he was familiar with. Noah instinctively jumped from his chair and bolted to the door, slamming it shut. "Cyrilo, get down!"
Outside, the door to Cyrilo's bedroom was ripped off its hinges as a thunderous wave of scarlet flames surged through the building. The door to her study was flexing from the air pressure, and Noah could feel the heat leaking through. This was no ordinary fire; it was a magic explosion. Over the roar of the flames, he could faintly hear the screaming and commotion from the lower floors as staff and clients alike tried to escape the inferno, with many failing. It was as though every surface in the building had caught fire simultaneously. Cyrilo grabbed a scroll from one of her drawers and unraveled it, pointing it at Noah.
"Noah, open the door." He reluctantly complied, letting a storm of blinding light and heat enter the room. "Raging Torrent!" Cyrilo cast, unleashing a water jet from the scroll like a firehose. She sprayed down her room, but despite her efforts, the scarlet flames didn't seem hindered by the water at all and simply evaporated it all away. "These flames are enchanted to resist water!" Cyrilo cursed as Noah slammed the door shut. Just that few seconds of exposure had filled the air with smoke and turned the heat up to stifling levels.
Noah took her desk and braced it against the door, preventing a backdraft when he then smashed open her window. It was a straight drop down to the ground, and there were no ropes or ledges he could use to climb. Outside, he could see men and women streaming out of the first floor, many of them on fire and howling in pain and terror. Their screams were drowned out as a great rumble moved through the Knight's Sheath. One of the supporting walls in the parlor was buckling from the explosive birth of the inferno and putting. The unbalance was causing walls and support beams, already being eaten away by the flames, to rip apart, and send furniture sliding across the slanting floors. In minutes, the whole building would collapse like a house of cards, but for now, there was an opportunity. The building was leaning away from the direction of Cyrilo's window.
"Cyrilo, take your cat form and cling to my back. I'll get us out of here!"
She shrank down and latched onto his coat, and Noah climbed up the slanted floor to the window. With a dagger in each hand, he hoisted the two of them out onto the side of the building. Now that it was leaning, he could control his descent, and slid down the exterior while using the daggers to slow and steer his way down. Flames were surging from all the open windows like burning oil wells, and he had to roll from side to side to avoid falling in and getting incinerated.
Every second, he could hear and feel the Knight's Sheath coming apart underneath him and was soon forced to stop. He had reached the split where the upper portion of the building was tearing away from the first floor as it leaned, and a wall of flames was rising from the opening, one that he could not get by. He had no time to think, as the wall he was sliding down was beginning to disintegrate, and he could feel the heat seeping through.
Then, over the crackle of the inferno, he heard the crying of the guitar. Despite his burned fingers, Daniel was playing the chords to DragonForce, causing the wall of flames to part before him. "Through the Fire and Flames," Noah said with a chuckle. "Cyrilo, sorry about this."
"Sorry about wha--"
He grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and threw her like a furry football at Daniel. Before the flames could rise back up, he slid down and jumped off the side of the building, rolling as he hit the ground. Despite his best efforts, the landing was painful, and he dislocated his shoulder in the impact, but he was alive and managed to get to his feet. He turned around, watching the Knight's Sheath finally crumble and go up in flames.
There were no more screams, as anyone still inside was either dead or beyond saving. The surviving men and women were weeping in agony, their bodies charred by the flames. Among them was Bella, and holding the hand of her dying friend as Rita tried to save her. Like her, many had gotten out with just some singed hair, but they stared into the flames with hollow eyes, their minds bleached by trauma.
"My home, my girls... years, decades of hard work..." Cyrilo said, held by Daniel.
"Don't worry, we'll be back on our feet in no time," he replied.
"How could this have happened? Who did this?"
"Prince Galvin."
Cyrilo, Daniel, and Noah turned to Lucius, limping over with his head and arm wrapped in bandages. "You saw him do it?" Cyrilo asked.
"No, but one of his friends was here earlier. He left when Noah went upstairs, and soon after, someone in a mask burst in with a scroll and set off a huge fire spell. Cyrilo... I'm so sorry. If I had been faster, if I had just..." The towering bear of a man couldn't finish his sentence and fell to his knees in tears.
"It's not your fault, Lucius." Cyrilo turned her feline eyes to Noah. "YOU. You did this. My home was destroyed, my girls maimed and killed because you had to instigate the prince!" Noah didn't respond, just continued to stare into the flames. "Damn it! Even if we know Galvin did it, we can't prove it, and between the king and his bitch mother, he'll never see any punishment for it!"
"He will," Noah said as he popped his shoulder back into position. He didn't look away from the flames, continuing to stare at Cyrilo's office, where all of her research was turning to ash. Priceless knowledge on magic and curse-breaking, now gone.
She turned to Noah with fierce eyes. "What did you just say?"
"Tend to the girls, focus on getting them sheltered and taken care of, and then start trying to resume business in another location. Like Daniel said, you'll be back on your feet in no time. As for Galvin and the others, leave them to me."
Four maids, six courtesans, and eight customers were killed in the fire, and more than a dozen other people were wounded. Having originally birthed Colbrand's fire brigade, the power of water magic was now rendered useless against the enchanted flames. Daniel tried to put out the fire with his music, but he only had the strength to slow its fury, and the Knight's Sheath was reduced to ashes. Noah spent the rest of the day helping out wherever he could, getting the girls clothed, fed, and sheltered while Cyrilo handled the knights and city officials flocking to the scene. She tried to tell them that Prince Galvin was responsible, but everyone either refused to believe her or became selectively deaf. Even if she could prove it, no one wanted to make an enemy of a prince, especially if this was the kind of retaliation they could expect.
A week after the Knight's Sheath burned down, Noah left the academy to visit its new location. However, he made several stops along the way, gathering various materials from in town. Some were bought, and others were scavenged. He finally arrived at a mansion in the city's rich district. While the original Knight's Sheath consisted of floors upon floors of rooms, towering over everything around them, this building had only three floors and was instead spread out horizontally. It was large enough to accommodate the courtesans and their customers, but it lacked much of the charm. The original sign, albeit slightly charred, now hung over the door. Luckily, business was taking place, and he could see johns going in and out.
With his several heavy bags of materials, Noah entered and was greeted by one of the maids. These were orphan girls who didn't turn tricks but helped with upkeep and handing out drinks while dressed in prim and proper maid uniforms. Most of the courtesans had worked initially as maids when they were young, and once old enough, were offered the chance for a "promotion."
