Morningstar

Shin is running along with his teammates. They are following Icarus. That gunshot. That scream. It wasn’t a scream that someone makes when they are scared or shot accidentally. It was a scream that someone lets out when someone might die.

They enter through the forest until they come to a clearing. Many people are standing around, watching something between them. Shin and everyone else stop running once they approach. Icarus pushes everyone else, making his way to the middle. Shin decides to follow him.

In the middle, there is Jas. He is sitting on the floor. His hand is going to his other arm’s biceps. That is when Shin notices it. Jas doesn’t have his right arm. He is bleeding. Shin looks around. He spots the arm a couple of feet away. It is disfigured. The hand is intact, but the rest has blown off parts, which are scattered around.

“What happened?” Icarus asks as he lowers next to Jas.

That is when Shin noticed that Quin is kneeling next to Jas. “His shotgun backfired.” Backfired? Is this… Shin looks for Killam. He is smiling. No way. Was this his prank?

“Shit,” Icarus says. He looks around. “Where’s the arm?” He finds it as soon as he ends talking. “There’s no way we can reattach that. You know what to do?”

Quin nods. “On it.” She stands up and runs away.

Icarus stands up and begins to remove his gray cloak to reveal his black clothes underneath. That is the first time that Shin sees his clothes underneath the cloak. He has many belts on his chest, waist, and legs, each one with daggers, knives, and pockets with other things.

“I need you all to give us space,” he yells. “Get away!” Shin sees Slier and East moving, pushing everyone back. Icarus then tears apart his cloak. He throws the rest of the cloak on the floor and remains with a long strip. He kneels again next to Jas, who has his head between his knees. Icarus then ties around Jas’s arm the strip and pulls hard before creating a knot. That should stop the bleeding.

“Got it,” Quin says as she runs back. She is holding a bag and a box of matches in her other hand. She hands the matches to Icarus and throws the bag besides him.

“I need a stick or a branch or anything that might burn for a while,” he yells. Shin sees everyone looking for something around them. He places the matches besides him. He looks through the bag until he pulls a small hack saw.

“Hey, hey, Jas?” Quin says, kneeling besides him. He rises his head. She punches him on the temple. He falls on his back, knocked out. “Better?”

“Better,” Icarus answers. Quin moves closer to Icarus. She holds down what remains of Jas’s arm. Icarus then proceeds with the saw. Shin sees a couple of people turn away, but his eyes continue watching Icarus cut the exposed bone that remains. He then releases the saw. “Where the stick?” Someone hands him a stick. He throws it aside. “Need one sturdier.”

Someone hands him another stick, which seems way stronger than the other. Quin moves. She grabs the matches, pulls one out, and turns it on. Icarus extends the stick and she burns the tip. She throws away the match and the box and returns to grab the arm. Then, Icarus proceeds to burn the arm. Shin knows what he is doing. He is sealing the arm, stopping it from bleeding.

Some people also turn away. What Shin doesn’t like is the smell. It smells of burned meat, which is something that he associates with food, not with someone being burned alive. It takes Icarus a while to burn the whole end of the arm. When he is done, he shakes the branch so that the fire dies out as Quin hands him a roll of bandages. He quickly rolls it around the arm, covering it completely.

He sits down when he is done. He sighs. “It will hurt him once he wakes up.”

“Like hell,” Quin answers. She looks at him. “This brings back memories.”

“Not pleasant ones,” Icarus answers.

She chuckles, even though Shin thinks that it was clear that Icarus was not joking. “Thanks,” she answers, referring to his help with Jas.

Shin then moves towards Killam. He smiles as he sees him coming. Shin pushes him away from the group. When they are away from earshot, Shin glares at him. “Was this you?”

“Like it?” Killam asks.

“No!” Shin says. “I wanted a prank, not to blow his arm off!”

“You should have specified,” Killam says.

“It should have been obvious!” Shin almost yells, but he lowers his voice. “This is against the rules of Morningstar! If someone catches us, we’ll be instantly killed!”

“Relax, no one will know that it was us,” Killam says. He places a hand on Shin’s shoulder. “Just enjoy your revenge.” He then leaves.

Enjoy his revenge? This was not the kind of revenge that Shin had in mind.

***

Lexan is walking back to Draconic with Icarus and his team. He was one of the few that remained away when Icarus was trying to fix Jas’s arm. He was even holding Vil’s wrist because she wanted to see what was going on and Icarus needed space. Wither, on the other hand, didn’t bother trying to check. He didn’t want to see.

“Tell me that none of you had anything to do with what happened to Jas,” Icarus says as he stops in front of Draconic. He turns around to scans the faces of everyone. “If someone in this team had anything to do with it, Morning will punish them. And not only them. He will punish us all as a team.”

“And what could be the punishment?” Fey asks.

“Death,” Icarus answers.

“What?” Tilray asks. “Isn’t that a bit extreme?”

“Not at all,” Icarus says. “Whoever did this, blew off the arm of a student, and not any arm but his dominant hand, his shooting hand. They have made him unable to use their weapon. They have decreased the chances of him winning the trials, and not only him but his team too. Whoever did this has pretty much doomed him.”

“So, are you telling us that if anyone of us had anything to do with it, we shouldn’t say it?” Rin asks.

“I, as your mentor, cannot say that,” Icarus says, but he doesn’t deny it either. What would Lexan do if he had something to do with it? Would he remain quiet? He swallows when he realizes that his old self would.

“But, wait,” Agrion says, “are you saying that his was no accident? Are you saying that this was sabotage?”

“It was sabotage,” Icarus says. “A gun would not backfire that easily.” Agrion nods. “Leaving that aside, what are we going to do today?”

“Well, I suggest that we find what that clue of the labyrinth meant,” Slier proposes.

“No,” Icarus says as he shakes his head. “That would be a waste of time. They gave us the clue today. They are sure that we won’t crack it. We can–”

“Icarus,” someone says. Lexan turns to find Quin. Her group is nowhere to be seen. “Morning requests our presence. He also said that Shin must come.”

“In the middle of practice,” Icarus says. It sounds like a question, but Lexan knows that it isn’t.

“Yes,” Quin answers.

“Slier, you are in charge,” Icarus says as he walks away. Shin follows him.

“Roger,” Slier answers. She moves aside and everyone turns to her. “Well, now that I am in charge, we should… Oh, we are going to test our balance. I remember mentor Kemba using a field filled with thin wooden columns. Follow me.”

Lexan follows Slier, but he looks back at Icarus, Quin, and Shin walking away. What has Shin gotten himself into?

***

Icarus doesn’t talk to Quin nor Shin on their way to the yellow cathedral where Morning lives. His mind is already running. He has made the connections. Jas is friend of Ollie, who happens to be Shin’s girlfriend. Maybe something happened between them, and now Jas might think that Shin was the one to sabotage his gun. But no, that doesn’t seem like Shin, but it does seem like something that Killam would do.

When they arrive, they enter the building. There is a table near the middle of the huge room with Jas lying unconscious. Sonny, who is Morning’s servant, is checking up Jas’s arm. Morning is standing in the middle of the room with Ollie. When they approached, Shin kneels in front of Morning. Quin only takes a bow.

“You may stand up,” Morning says. “Do you know why I summoned you, Mr. Tae?”

“I do not, lord,” Shin says.

“Are you aware that what happened to Jas was not an accident but an act of treachery?”

“I thought so, lord,” Shin answers.

“Do you have any idea how this might have happened?” Morning asks.

“I do not know how it happened, my lord,” Shin answers. Icarus knows that Shin is picking his words carefully. He doesn’t want to lie to Morning.

“Curious,” Morning says. “Miss Kane believes that you have something to do with it.”

“With all due respect, lord, I did not sabotaged Jas’s gun,” Shin says. “I have never even touch it.”

“Is that so? I believed that I said that Miss Kane believes that you have something to do with the incident. It doesn’t matter if it is indirectly or directly.”

Icarus decides to intervene. “Lord Morningstar, Shin said that he did not sabotaged the weapon. Why is he being questioned further?”

Morning smiles at Icarus without showing any teeth. “My questions were directed to Mr. Tae, not you. I would prefer if you stay in your place.”

“You are talking in the place of Ollie,” Icarus says. “Clearly that is an ambush to my fellow mentee. I, as his mentor, can speak in the place of Shin.”

“Are you willing to speak in Mr. Tae’s place?” Morning asks. “Are you willing to abide by the regimentations set?”

“I do.”

“Very well,” Morning says. “I ask again, does Mr. Tae had anything to do with the incident?”

“As Shin said, he did not touch the shotgun,” Icarus says. He is sure that Morning can somehow detect lies.

“You do know that if anything that we find says otherwise, you will also be receiving the punishment that Mr. Tae will receive?”

“I do.”

“Are you still willing to speak for him?”

“Are you insinuating something Lord Morning?” Icarus asks. “It sounds as if you are sure that this situation was Shin’s fault.”

“Do you address Lord Night the same way that you address me?” Morning asks. Icarus might have hit a nerve.

“Night’s my lord,” Icarus says. “You will have to excuse me if I worship Lord Night more than the lord in my presence.”

“Even after the scars that he left in you?”

Icarus’s breath catches. He knows. How does he know about the scars that Night created? “He had his reasons.”

Morning remains looking directly into Icarus’s eyes. He is searching for something. He is searching for a sign of weakness. “You are all dismissed,” he finally says. Shin, Quin, and Ollie bow and they all leave the cathedral with Icarus.

Icarus begins to walk. He continues making his way towards Draconic. He sees Shin open his mouth, but Icarus rises a hand stopping him. They should not speak right now; anyone can hear them. After minutes of walking, Icarus stops.

“Th-Thank–”

“Don’t,” Icarus tells Shin. “Do not thank me. One second more in there and he would have pulled the words that he wanted to hear from you. Do not tell me how you did it. Do not even admit to me that you did it. I know what you are capable of, and I know what Killam is capable of.” He returns to walking.

“Why did you stand up for me?” Shin asks. “I have not made your life easy ever since you killed Urho.”

“Do not get flattered,” Icarus says. He knows that he is in a bad mood. “I would have done this for any of my students. You are my responsibility until graduation, and I swore that I would lead you all alive. Just think next time about the consequences that your actions have.”

***

Slier is smiling at Icarus. She has always respected him. The first time that she saw him was at the main hall. She remembers the way his aura intimidated everyone. She knew in that moment that he was strong and that she wasn’t going to hunt him in the first trial. Even though she knew that already, she and East wanted to see what he was capable. They remained close to him until the trial started and when it did, she couldn’t stop staring in amazement. She swore that he could fly because she had never seen anyone jump that high nor move so swiftly.

“What?” Icarus asks as he moves his eyes from the book to her.

“I am sorry if this may be too blunt, but you never cease to amaze me,” she says.

He lowers his book. “How so?”

“The way that you worked with Quin to stop the bleeding of Jas’s arm,” she says. “You arrived to help her, and she didn’t argue. You two understood each other by small words or even gestures. You even predicted each other.”

“You and East will be the same in a future. Even if you don’t see each other in years, you will still be able to understand each other.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, I know that this is personal, but did you two know each other from Nightlight?”

“Slier,” East warns.

“You don’t have to answer,” Slier quickly adds.

“No, it is all right,” Icarus says. “I did.”

“Was she… Was she the friend that died?” Slier asks.

“She is,” Icarus says.

“What?” Slier hears East ask under his breath.

“The story that I told you about the best friend that I was in love with and how Night killed her is not completely true,” Icarus says. “Yes, I was in love with her, yes, Night caught us stealing, and yes, I took the blame. But the truth was that she and few others were working with the assassin of Nightlight’s first trial. They wanted to do some pre-killing before the trial, and I was chosen. I don’t know if I was chosen by Quin herself or if Night or the assassin chose me.

“Quin and Night left me to bleed out and die. But I managed to survive after so many whippings and a shattered leg. Quin, along with others, worked with the assassin in his trial to kill as many as possible. She even tried to kill me again.”

“And you survived,” East says in disbelief. Icarus nods.

“But how did you survive the other trials with your shattered leg and your healing wounds?” Slier asks.

“Luna, Night’s servant, healed my leg after the first trial with her gift, not my wounds,” Icarus says.

“What?” East asks.

“Do you mean that…. Luna is a witch?” Slier asks. Icarus nods. “Could Sonny be one?”

“I don’t doubt it,” Icarus asks.

Slier exhales. She has a scar on her back that Morning created, and she doesn’t like to talk about it. Not even East knows how she got it. She is ashamed of it. How many scars does Icarus have? How many is he ashamed of people looking at them.

“And you worked with Quin to save Jas…” East says.

“When it comes to surviving or saving someone’s life, you have to forget about anyone’s personal problems,” Icarus says. “You have to forget about grudges. That is what I am trying for our team to do. Forget their differences when it comes to surviving.”

Slier looks at the book in front of her. If Icarus can work with someone that has betrayed and tried to kill him, why can’t they all, who have never tried to kill each other, work together?