MARK OF A KNIGHT

Ciliam Edward. A young Kion bartender who lived on paychecks. Outside the bar he was himself, a timid male with an anxiety complex, but when he got behind that bar, he was magnificent.

On the first night of our stay in the hotel, he gave us a wonderful show that made mixing drinks look like an incredible profession. He had this confidence on his face that gave you the impression that he would protect you with his life! But looking at him now, there was no doubt that all that glitter was not gold.

"How did he do it?" Lemon asked, her face looked serious enough.

"Plain sight," he replied.

"Plain sight?" We asked simultaneously.

He nodded, looking sideways, scratching the back of his neck and his eyes still dancing nervously. We looked at him as if he had gone crazy, then we looked at each other and turned our backs against him for some minutes.

"This guy is obviously on drugs," Lemon whispered.

"He wasn't on drugs when he served us drinks yesterday," I replied.

She was about to say something, then she stopped and looked at me, then she exhaled.

"Let's just get this over with."

At that we turned, looking at the Kion with a smile.

"What do you mean by, 'plain sight,' Ciliam?" I asked.

"He killed the man in plain sight, but no one could see him except me."

"Okay, that's it!" Lemon said, dropping her jotter and standing up abruptly. "What the hell are you talking about?!"

What the hell was he really talking about? Kions had only one ability as far as the whole world was concerned and it had nothing to do with seeing the unseen.

"I saw him, the Oppayean is a Time Jerker."

"What in the world is a Time Jerker Ciliam?" I asked, rubbing my nose bridge.

"A person who pause time for a specific amount of time," he replied.

"A speedster?" Lemon asked.

"No. A speedster is a speedster, a Time Jerker only jerks or pauses time."

"So how did you see him if he supposedly paused time?"

He looked at me, his eyes dilated. "As the blue guardian, you should know why."

My heart flipped over.

"The blue guardian, what is that, like a video game title or something?" Lemon asked.

Did the whole world know about this guardian stuff? How in the world did he know I was a guardian, better still how in the world did he identify me as the blue guardian?

"What makes you think that I…"

"Try less to deny it," he replied, adjusting his body on the chair he sat. "That's why lady Ratchina is here right?"

"You know Ratchina?" I asked, walking closer to him. "You're a knight."

He nodded, avoiding eye contact with me, his eyes wandering round the room while he nervously scratched his arms. I stared at him for a while, then I hissed, walking to the door.

"Where are you going?" Lemon asked, standing up from her chair. "What's going on Ezra."

I opened the door, sticking half my body out the room as my eyes searched for Ratchina. They found her, and as expected, hers were already staring at me with a stern look on her face.

"You," I said, pointing at her. "Get in here."

She exhaled, walking towards me. I opened the door wide enough for her to walk past me, then I closed the door behind me.

"The butler attendant?" Lemon asked. "Seriously Ezra, what's going on?"

I walked up to her and held her shoulders, sitting her back down on the chair. "Remember back in Yolo Central, after Hexagon when I told you about my system and my dad?"

She stared at my eyes, then look sideways at Ratchina and Ciliam. "You mean the system dream? The system that didn't activate after your six hundredth try?"

"That's just it, it wasn't a dream, everything I told you was true."

"Ezra," she whispered holding my face. "What's going on, why are you bringing that up now?"

I held her hand against my face, then I pulled it off gently.

"You're about to hear some crazy things," I replied looking at her in the eyes. "And whatever you hear, I want you to know I didn't deliberately keep them from you, and I'm not and will never be the person they're about to describe me as."

I rose up and looked at Ciliam and Ratchina with a glare, taking her attention towards them. Ratchina's serious look did not waver and Ciliam was still a nervous tick.

"Ezra," she said with a rising tone. "You're scaring me."

"I waited to see a reaction from you," Ratchina finally said, taking the seat the Kion offered her. She crossed her legs and continued. "When I first laid eyes on the Nigerian, I knew instantly that he was a knight, one of yours too."

"What?" I asked.

"Mr Osas had the mark of a blue knight," Ciliam said.

"A mark I expected you to see immediately you laid eyes on the man," she added. "You know nothing about your duties as a guardian, still a weakling."

"Hey!" Lemon exclaimed, standing up. "I might have no clue what in crazy world of Yolo is going on here, but if you dare call my partner a weakling again, i swear I'll—"

"Silence!" Ratchina commanded. Immediately, Lemon lost her voice. She was mute.

"What the hell did you do Ratchina," I exclaimed turning to Lemon. "Return her voice immediately!"

"Soon enough," she replied standing up. "Activate your system child, if you cannot see the mark of the knights outside the training arena, how do you expect to defeat the Null Standing?"

"The Null Standing?" I frowned looking at her.

"You don't know about the Null Standing?" She asked, genuinely surprised.

I looked at the Kion, he returned the looked, with a wrinkle on his forehead, then I looked back at her. She exhaled.

"What the hell has your father been teaching you?!"