18. Chapter 4

Omen's POV

I stared at the violet eyed girl with untameable, flaming red hair who looked no older than me.

Would you believe me if I said my actual age was around 200 years old? Now, that would be a story to tell; an ancient soul in a teenage looking body that was constructed out of magic.

The girl stared right back.

You might be wondering why we are having this odd staring contest.

Or a more common question would be…

Who is she?

Well, readers, this is Virginia Crowe, daughter of Amyus Crowe, an excellent horse rider and... I feel like I missed out a detail.

Never mind.

Amyus wanted Sherlock and me to meet in his cottage. So I'm here with Virginia while waiting for him to come back with Sherlock.

I broke off the awkward staring contest and decided to gawk at the insides of the house. It was albeit a bit untidy as I saw a pile of letters skewered into the wooden mantelpiece with a knife. There was a map of the local area attached to the wall with drawing pins where there were markings of circles and lines drawn in random patterns. I wonder if they were for figuring out the locations of people that Amyus wanted to track down since he is a hunter and tracker for criminals.

"You're a girl."

I nodded my head, a little absentmindedly.

"You're not going to deny it?"

I turned to her and blinked. Meanwhile, my mind was processing for an agreeable answer.

Then I shrugged, replying with indifference, "I figured I would be found out anytime soon. Your father must have known my actual gender but didn't say it. Besides, don't you agree that these clothes are a lot easier to move in?"

I winked at her. She grinned back.

"Mind introducing me the person who made your clothes?"

"Sure!"

That, my readers, was how you make a friend.

The door suddenly swung outwards to reveal the tall American with a boy next to him.

"Sherlock!"

Virginia stood up and flung herself to the boy, hugging him.

Ah right.

That's the missing detail. Virginia and Sherlock liked each other but I am not sure where they stand in terms of relationship. They never clarified nor even spoken about it… yet.

Amyus winced while looking at the two.

"Not sure if Ah should be happy or sad..." He muttered lowly.

Sherlock stood there for a moment before tentatively hugging her. I frowned at this, something about him had changed. Was it due to the accident?

"Virginia, you might want to step back a bit. Sherlock... isn't like before." Amyus advised.

Virginia stepped back when she heard those words. There was an unsure look plus a tinge of hurt when her hug wasn't similarly reciprocated.

"Sherlock?"

He took a step back from the intimidating gaze in her eyes.

"Um..." He gave a small cough in an attempt to break up the awkward atmosphere. "Have we... I mean, are we friends?"

Virginia stood rooted to the spot. Her eyes glimmered as a storm took place in there. She took a moment to gather herself before cracking a forceful smile.

"Yes. Yes, we are."

"Oh, um... hello." Sherlock replied feebly.

There was a pregnant pause in the air before Virginia told her father promptly that she was going out for a ride and swiftly left.

Sherlock sighed.

"I hurt her, didn't I?"

"It's alright, son." Amyus patted his shoulder. "It's not your... fault."

"He lost his memories…" Shiro gasped in disbelief.

"Just like what the riddle has said." Envilia continued solemnly.

I internally silenced the mesias in me and took a step forward to greet them.

"I'm sorry you had to see that Keith." Amyus apologised.

I shook my head to signify that it wasn't that bad. Amyus then introduced me to Sherlock.

"You're the one that pulled me out from the pipes with Matty, right? Thank you."

"It was the right thing to do. If it's too much to ask, you lost your memories, right?"

"Yes, I only remembered until the first meeting with Amyus. I haven't met Virginia then, right?"

Amyus nodded his head.

This would mean that Sherlock had basically lost all his memories of his adventures from the start. His current ones are his childhood all the way to the first meetings with Amyus Crowe and Matty.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through that. It must have been so confusing to have memories that do not match the present."

After all, I have experienced this.

In fact, all of the Guardians have this experience no matter how hard they try to hide behind their smiles and duties. This gaping hole in the mind that could not be found or filled was the most troubling thing. Yet our contract prevented us from searching for them.

Sherlock nodded his head, his expression unreadable. I wonder if he was doubting my sincerity at his amnesia. Well, time to go since I am not very close to them. I still need to stay close to them because of the threat from the phone call. That annoying guy from that call needed to weed out.

The circus introduced by Mia was quite suspicious so maybe I could start from there.

"Well, I wanted to meet you to see how you fare and now that you are okay... mostly. I can take my leave."

Amyus nodded his head before adding, "Would you mind going to the stables and see if my daughter, is there?"

"Will do, sir."

I closed the door and tiptoed to the stables. Quiet sobs were heard followed by the soft neighing of the horses.

"Virginia?"

"I didn't... I didn't expect that. I thought it was a simple injury. How... how could he forget me? Oh, this is Sandia."

When I reached her, she was patting her horse while still sniffling. As though sensing its owner's sadness, Sandia was nuzzling her hair gently in an attempt to cheer her up.

"You don't have to hold back, you know?" I quirked a smile while giving her a side hug and rubbing her back in circles to calm her down. "None of us would have expected a memory loss out of all things."

"I... What should I do? I don't know what to do."

As I was about to answer, the horse suddenly reared up her front legs and neighed. Virginia was caught by surprised and tried to regain control of it by holding onto her reins and soothing her down. Yet, the rattled horse kicked the stable doors open and bolted out, taking Virginia with her.

"Virginia!"

I ran out and saw the horse dashing away. Virginia was almost dragged away until she gained her bearings.

She leapt up and rode on her horse, saddle-less. I breathed a sigh of relief but narrowed my eyes and scrutinised my surroundings. If a horse was suddenly spooked like that, that is a sure indicator that there's someone in our midst who unintentionally did it.

Almost immediately, a person ambushed me from behind. Unprepared, I was knocked into the ground. But I quickly get back on my feet and faced the assailant.

The anonymous assassin crouched on the ground like a spider had a clown mask with a laughing expression. From the obvious body structure, it's a she. She was clad in a black one-piece garment that was like a leotard but judging from the hardy yet stretchy material plus padding around her vulnerable areas, it seemed like her battle wear.

"Laughing Clown!"

I recalled Sebastian's words of caution and immediately upped my senses for this unavoidable battle. I only had 3 chances to use magic for an hour so I decided against summoning out Corvus despite the severity of the danger. There must be a reason why a Laughing Clown was here.

"Keith!"

"Stand back! This is dangerous."

I hollered out without looking back for fear that she would make a move. I knew Amyus and Sherlock were a few metres behind me and protecting them from the Laughing Clown would be difficult.

There was a tension in the air as I glowered at her. I couldn't discern her facial expressions hidden under her mask. She cocked her head slightly to one side as she assessed me, the glower non-existent in her eyes.

Deciding to make a first move to test the waters, I did a calculated strike at her. In response, she leapt into the air to avoid and aimed a punch in my direction. I dodged to the side and block her punch with a kick.

Unfortunately, she retreated back to keep our distance.

"She's too nimble. Wayyy too nimble." Yang commented in alarm.

I was about to attack when a gunshot froze my movements. Another gunshot and the grass in front of the Laughing Clown flew up. She jumped back wearily. There a moment when she was stuck between deciding to continue the fight or give up. Eventually, there was a whistle and she took off.

I wasn't willing to let her go like that. Thus, I chased her down to the road where a lone carriage pulled by 2 horses stood.

The appearance of the carriage was new and sturdily made unlike those luxurious carriages made for the nobles. Almost like the function of it wasn't for luxury but for something else. The blinds were suspiciously closed despite the lack of blazing sun. But that observation flew out of my mind when my fear of her leaving remained dominant.

I was about to shout at the people in the carriage to get away in case she tried to attack them. Instead, the door opened. And the owner in the carriage welcomed her inside.

My hawk eyes automatically activated. Instantly, I knew he was the mysterious gentleman at the phone. There was extreme bloodlust emitting from him. His mocking molten gold eyes held me in place as the door closed and the carriage took off.

"Damn!"

I threw a punch on a nearby tree trunk in frustration. Amyus and Sherlock rushed to my side and gazed at the moving carriage.

"Should we give chase?" Sherlock asked.

"No." I puffed as I tried to catch my breath. "I have a feeling we will meet again. But first, Virginia's horse ran off with her because of that clown."

"Are you talking about me?" Virginia spoke up as her horse cantered towards us.

"Thank heavens." I mumbled.

"Dad, what's with that gun? Was there an attacker when I was gone?"

"Keith was targeted."

Everyone glanced at me for explanations. I gulped as I straighten up.

Why does these things keep happening to me?

"Alright. I will explain but in the house."