Identifying the Dead

"Get them! Those are the ones that the advisor wants!"

"Keep running!"

Aayla, Jacki and Daren ran through the ruins of another building. Rubble and dust rained down from above as a fireball whizzed by over their heads. After explosions started at the far end of the barrier, all of the agents seemed to disappear.

"Which idiot did that?! We're supposed to CAPTURE not KILL!"

Unfortunately, the team just happened to run into a patrol that hadn't seemed to get the same memo that the others did. That patrol called their friends, which snowballed into the current situation. Their pursuers from the True Order outnumbered them at least three-to-one.

More buildings began to crumble as spells went wild. This part of the city was nearly leveled. The places to hide were disappearing. Aayla, Daren and Jacki had no choice but to continue running. An excellent tracker had joined the enemy, rendering Aayla's petty tricks obsolete without Chris's teachings to supplement them.

Just as they rounded another corner, the cracks in the sky exploded. Like a broken window, the barrier collapsed as shards of it broke away. Sunlight from the outside shone brightly. Sounds of the city rushed in again, along with the firm stomps of hundreds of boots.

Before either side could react, the clouds above instantly darkened and swirled with rage. Lightning blasted down from above and struck the ground. Strike after strike hit the ground, accurately striking at the groups of True Order agents.

The entire area formerly covered by the barrier was now covered by a mini forest of lightning trees. The sky was blinding for a brief moment. Only a few seconds had passed since the storm started yet the lightning strikes stopped.

There were no more enemies left behind them. Not even piles of ash remained. Oddly shaped scorch marks on the ground were the only proof that remained of their existence. The angry clouds still menaced the city from above.

"Young master!"

Several armored figures flew over to the team's location. Aayla recognized them as members of the Halcyon Guards. Their allies had finally arrived. She couldn't have been more relieved. Before she could relax, Jacki dragged both of them behind cover.

"Both of you stay down. We don't know how many of the enemy remain."

The guards quickly arrive and surrounded the area. They seemed even more tense and violent tempered than usual. Even the soldiers who came to reinforce them stepped back from their glares. A pair of medics in army uniforms stepped forward to check for injuries.

"How are you all feeling? Any injuries?"

One of the guards snapped. "How do you think they're feeling?! They just got chased around by those rat-like brutes. Hurry up and use healing magic on the young master!"

"Yes, yes. Please excuse me, sir."

The medics quickly started working under the oppressive gazes of the Halcyon Guards. Their uniforms were improperly buttoned on. They appeared to have been suddenly 'volunteered' for this mission. Still, the medics worked quickly and diligently.

After they finished, the guards threw the medics out and focused on Daren. Aayla quietly bowed to the medics in thanks. They simply waved goodbye and were escorted away by the surrounding soldiers. The team leader stepped forward to check on the team.

"One… Two… Three… Where's Christopher? What happened here?"

"The True Order set a trap, and we fell right into it."

The team leader set up a magical barrier around them. "Please tell me every detail, young master. The rest of you better chime in as well!"

"We were returning to the blue zone after capturing some troublemaker, that drunken harasser that caused fights all throughout the bars of the city. When we arrived, an officer came out and asked us to escort the man to a prison in a different area."

The lead guard furrowed his brows. "To a different area? Why?"

"The one that we were taking the troublemaker to was full."

The guards somehow turned even more serious. For troublemakers like the one they caught, there were several large holding cells. Those cells were constantly over capacity. Adding that trouble maker shouldn't have a problem. If it was, then they would have cuffed him to the cell bars instead of putting him inside.

Based on the guards' expressions, Aayla confirmed that something was definitely wrong with that police officer who diverted them.

"Then what happened?"

"There was an accident on the road in front of us on our way to the other prison. We were ambushed after taking a shortcut through an alley. Chris got separated from us at that point. The True Order pursued as we ran. Aayla's artifact allowed us to lay low for a little while."

The team leader asked several more questions before grabbing a soldier. The poor man was bombarded with information then sent off on a mission to deliver a message. That soldier silently wished that his parents had given him wings so that he could deliver the message faster.

A middle-aged woman descended from the skies a few minutes later. The guards seemed to restrain themselves in her presence. With a wave of her hand, the soldiers were dismissed from guard duty and started to search the surrounding area for other survivors.

"The commotion is mostly resolved now. I see that you all have found your young master. Is this all of the members of his party?"

"No, City Lord. Christopher Vear is still missing."

"Hmm. I'll have my people keep a lookout. Let's get these young ones back into the blue zone for now."

**********

Back in the blue zone, officials frantically ran about everywhere. The True Order had set up a powerful barrier inside the city to kidnap someone without their knowledge. If they didn't find a good explanation, then getting fired would be the least of their worries.

The Halcyon Guards escorted Daren to the City Lord's mansion along with Aayla and Jacki. The City Lord wanted to talk with them personally after the situation stabilized. That moment she was too busy leading raids on suspected insurgent lairs all over the city.

Panic spread throughout the city. Public order and safety cratered as the civilians scrambled to gather food and supplies before locking themselves in their homes. The City Lord paraded the captured agents throughout the city to calm the public.

Later that evening, the City Lord summoned the Halcyon Team to the military's command center. They were guided to a private room. Two bodies draped with white shrouds were placed on tables inside. Two soldiers stood guard next to them.

The Odala City Lord arrived just after the team did along with a coroner. The military commander accompanied her. After dismissing the lower ranked soldiers and most of the Halcyon Guard, she began to speak.

"Amidst the wreckage of the area that the True Order sieged, we found two bodies. They should be acquaintances of your young master and his companions. I want them to take a look to confirm the identities of the bodies."

Daren's face paled as he looked at the sheet covered bodies on the table. Was Chris underneath one of those sheets? The team leader thought for a moment before slowly nodding his head in agreement. The commander pulled back the shroud from the face of the first deceased.

Noticing Daren's increasingly pale face, Aayla decided to go first. The first face was pudgy with blond-hair and mottled green skin along his neck, left shoulder and face. Though a bit thin, that appearance reminded her of Marc Lupton.

"This one looks like the leader of the party that ambushed us. I think his name was Marc Lupton. What do you think Jacki?"

Jacki stepped forward and carefully studied the corpse's face. "I agree. That definitely looks like that weasel. Was he poisoned? The skin and veins along his left side look abnormal."

The coroner nodded as he wrote the name down onto form. "Yes. We've matched the poison to a dagger and bottle found at the scene of his death. This young man was in a serious fight before his death. What about the other?"

A pale faced Daren carefully looked at Marc's body then agreed with Aayla and Jacki. He stepped back and couldn't bring himself to look at the next one. Jacki seemed much more reluctant to check this body's identity as well. Both feared who they would see lying lifeless on the table.

Aayla once again stepped forward to check the body. The commander pulled back the shroud from the face of the second deceased.

"It's not Chris. He has blond hair, not flaming orange hair."

When the flaming orange hair came into sight, Aayla let out a sigh of relief. The face seemed a bit familiar, but fortunately it wasn't someone she cared about. Jacki pushed passed Aayla to check. She wiped away the tears forming in her eyes when she saw the body's face.

"Young master, it's Lysander Foryl. It's not Chris. It's not Chris!"