CHAPTER 16: LOOKING FOR CLUES

The house was small, but very clean and tidy. There seemed to be nothing that was unnecessary inside. The front room was connected to the kitchen in the back. The whole area was an open flat. Aside from the bathroom and bedroom, there were no partitions. The couches were brown and looked very soft. Knowing Grell's apprehension, Amaya performed a basic cleaning spell on the whole place before making any more move to investigate.

The front room serving as the living room was spacious and the furniture was simple yet tasteful. Aside from the long couch, there was a wooden coffee table and two armchairs. There was also a big bookcase which had been emptied aside from a few decorative ornaments. Grell scoffed looking at the barren house. Save for the bigger furniture, there was nothing.

The bedroom was also sparsely decorated. Only a big bed with two bedside tables on each side and a big wardrobe. The bed was still made but the wardrobe was empty save for a few hangers. The bathroom was also empty. The kitchen was in the same condition. There weren't even a remnant of cleaning supplies, ingredients or even used condiments. Everything was spotless.

Grell sat on the kitchen stool, looking around while Amaya was staring into the fridge which had been emptied out. The both of them were actually quite amazed at the meticulousness of the house owner, not even leaving a single leaf.

Amaya then sat cross-legged on the couch and closed her eyes. Her fingers feeling the air and a flash of blue appear on her fingertips, forming a little blue light ball. Grell, watching her closely, felt the surge in the air, and having felt Amaya's magic enveloping the whole house, Grell's heart calmed down.

Amaya probed every inch of the house, trying to find even the smallest trails of magic. The more she probed, however, the deeper her frown got. She was bewildered. She was also in disbelief. Grell, who had been watching, found that Amaya's state became increasingly wrong and he hastily got up from the kitchen stool and with large strides, he approached Amaya and crouched in front of her.

"Amaya?" he said her name in a whisper, carefully stretching his hand to touch Amaya's.

Amaya opened her eyes. Her face was gloomy, and her fingers were now pressed into a fist, digging into her palms.

"There is a trace of earth magic being used in this house," Amaya informed Grell who then looked at Amaya, stunned.

"Earth magic? Not black magic?" Grell asked, perplexed. Amaya nodded, "But…."

How could that be? Why would earth magic users be residing in this village? Weren't this village's residents dark masters? If not, why would they live so close to the dead land? And what about the fairies and spirits? Why didn't they attack these villagers? There were no signs of violence in this village. Not even a scuffle.

"They weren't…. Black masters?" Grell asked incredulously.

"They were normal magic users…" Amaya said slowly, also in slight disbelief, "citizens of the Kingdom… Kalas people…" she said and she almost fainted from the dizziness that suddenly attacked her.

"My Lady?" Grell hurriedly supported her as she tried to stand up. 

"Do not relay this to anyone else," Amaya told Grell who nodded readily and in understanding, "Let us go to the stage, I want to check once more," she said and tugged Grell to move forward. Grell was frowning, but complied nonetheless, gently supporting her out of the house and towards the stage.

Sitting cross-legged by the cauldron, Amaya once again manipulated the magic at her fingertips and searched for the remnants of magic in the entire village. It took slightly longer than when she searched the house, and with her abundant magic, the other people who came with her all went silent and basked in the warmth of her magic enveloping the entire area, stopping whatever they were doing.

When Amaya was finished, the last ray of sunlight had just disappeared, plunging the entire village into the darkness. Only a sliver of the moon's light shone above their heads. Kiin and the three warriors, having dealt with the bodies of the fairies, were already starting to light some torches and lined them up along the pathway across the village.

Amaya stood up and turned around to face the worried-looking Grell who had never left her side even for a step. He held out his hand and took her hand into it, trying to find comfort for his turbulent heart.

"There are traces of black magic…" Amaya started, staring straight at Grell, "but there are more traces of earth magic," she told him and Grell's whole body stiffened.

"What does it mean?" Grell asked, wanting to scream but his voice was instead as hoarse as if he was suppressing something.

"It can mean many things… The most dreadful…" Amaya said with a sigh, trying not to brew negative emotions in her heart.

Without hearing her finish, Grell already knew, "if they were really citizens of Kalas…" What could they do? What would they do?

Kalas had its own set of laws, granted. Just like how it was in the human realm, in the magic realm, privacy was also a matter of great importance and none  took it lightly. How would they find out which resident got entangled with black magic unless Amaya probed their magic with hers? But that would be an invasion of privacy when the other party wasn't informed. That was the only way unless they showed themselves and declared they were standing on the opposite side of Amaya's.

"But, are they really citizens of Kalas? Seeing how complete this village is, it felt like it had been lived in for a long time…" Grell said thoughtfully.

They both went silent for a little while until a commotion was heard at the entrance of the village. Grell and Amaya walked slowly towards the place and found that their first group of reinforcements had arrived.

Amaya greeted them all and followed them to get settled. Some warriors were tasked to cordoned off the entire area, making sure that no one would unknowingly enter. Afterwards, Kiin brought the warriors and protectors to the biggest building that had been transformed into their headquarters and started to plan their next move.

Amaya and Grell conveyed their suggestion; to proceed to the portal with some warriors and protectors while the others stayed behind and waited for the research team from the Kingdom and helped them gather as much evidence as they could. Kiin nodded in agreement and carefully chose some people to go with Grell and Amaya to deal with the portal while he would stay behind and oversee the entire operation on this side.

After the meeting was over, Grell walked with Amaya to the house they would be staying in for the night. They walked slowly and silently. As they reached the house, Grell suddenly stopped and turned to Amaya.

"What about the matter with Kalas citizens? Aren't you going to talk to Kiin about it?" Grell asked, feeling slightly confused as to why Amaya didn't relay her findings to the others in the team.

Amaya shook her head, reaching out her hand and pushed open the small wooden gate and entered the courtyard. She looked around and found a wooden divan under the apple tree and headed there. She sat down and looked up towards the bright moon hiding slightly behind a dark cloud.

"I still have not yet been able to wrap my head around the idea that Kalas citizens, someone who possesses the earth magic nonetheless, are colluding with black masters," Amaya said slowly with a hint of sadness.

"Then what do you want to do?" Grell asked, almost bewildered, "give them the benefit of the doubt? Was the dead land not enough?"

Amaya shook her head, tugging Grell's hand and had him sit beside her before turning to her dear friend and cupping his face gently. "That is not what I meant," Amaya told him. "We should first wait until the research team and investigators arrive and find more clues. It will still not be too late by then. We also still have the portal to deal with," she explained to Grell slowly and gently, patting the back of his hand to soothe his turbulent heart.

"I understand," Grell said finally and stood up, holding out his hand for Amaya to take. "Let's rest. You still have to perform the cleansing ritual tomorrow," he said, clearly displeased. Amaya chuckled towards the displease.

"The ritual will only take half a day at most," Amaya said casually as she entered the house. Her and Grell's belongings had been sent here when they were in the meeting and she unhurriedly looked for a change of clothes. "After that we'll take two days to rest before heading to the portal," Amaya told Grell who was still staring at her with a frown. Amaya smiled and got up, patted Grell on the shoulder before heading to the bathroom to freshen up.

Grell grumbled and headed to his own luggage and took out his own sleepwear before sitting cross-legged on the couch, clearly annoyed. He waited until Amaya walked out of the bathroom a while later, having bathed in the warm water she conjured herself and soaked her fatigue away. She recycled the water and urged Grell to also soak for a while before they rested for the day.

From tomorrow, there will be many things they have to do. It was best that they properly rested when they should and when they could.