Chapter 56   - Rage

Fury swelled inside with a force that surprised him. A rage he’d forgotten, but never quite unkindled. It had always been there, smoldering beneath the surface.

His fingers softly caressed the knife's edge in his pocket. The source of the greatest sorrows in his life was getting drunk a street over. It wouldn't take much. He could slip in and out in a single breath. A jab of cold steel straight to his heart was all it would take.

After his father’s murder, he forced himself to move forward, not to think of what happened. He had been powerless. There had been no point doing otherwise, no justice to be found.

Now the scum that killed his dad was drunk, still breathing air. He was a child, but not defenseless any longer. People would underestimate him and that vermin didn’t know he had already reached Orange.

His chances of success were high, but if he stabbed him in the pub, there would be witnesses and complications. Maybe he should wait till he walked back home and ambush him in an alley.

No one would miss one less piece of trash. Getting rid of the body would be difficult, he couldn’t move someone so heavy, but it wasn’t a big problem. With a little luck, he might have already left Greenside by the time someone found the body.

He became conscious of what he was planning.

Am I really doing this? Am I going to kill another human being?

The answer came immediately. Yes. Maybe it was going to be different when the time came. Right now, he felt no hesitation. It had been no accident. It had been a murder in cold blood. He would be doing the world a favor.

His gaze fell on Kea. Her eyes had stopped shedding tears, but her body was still moved by angry sobs. She was looking up at him. She knew what he was thinking, maybe hoping for it.

No.

His thoughts stopped dead in their tracks. Pushing his anger back down, now that he had allowed it to resurface after so long, was impossible. There was no need to do that, he just had to keep it in line for a little longer. His rational side fought his emotions before regaining a modicum of control.

What was the point of finally obtaining justice if he lost more in the process? That scum had already taken enough, he would not allow him to take anything else, not even in death.

Kai helped her back to her feet. “Come on, mom and Ele must be worried sick.”

He took her hand and started walking, but she stood still, “Kai…” a single word full of meaning and implications.

A fake calmness appeared on his face thanks to Acting, hopefully, it would help keep everything else at bay a little longer. “How many people know about the rumor that he killed our dad?”

Kea hesitated, not expecting the question. “Most of my friends probably.”

“That means their families know too or will know soon. And who knows how many other people? Most won’t give it much thought, but guess who they’ll go looking for if something happens tonight.”

Kea fell silent, a conflicted expression on her face. “No one will care if he dies. I can do it myself!” She reached for the knife in his pocket.

With an outward calm he had to fight each second to maintain, Kai grabbed his sister's other hand to stop her. They were face to face, he could read the anger and pain in her eyes as if they were his own. It beckoned him to let his emotions rage freely.

Not yet.

“Maybe they won’t care, maybe they will. Maybe they’ll think it was our mother who did it. We are not taking that risk. He is not going to take anything else from us.”

“He killed our dad!” Kea yelled, gritting her teeth. “He deserves it. I’ll do it and let everyone know it was me.”

Kai sighed. It would have been best if she just went along with him, but Kea was too stubborn for that. He leaned closer and whispered a few words in her ear.

The look on her face was confused, then conflicted.

“Trust me,” Kai said with a quiet smile. “Now we need to get back home.”

He carefully observed Kea’s expression. Only when he was sure she would not run into the pub to claw the eyes out of that trash, did he let her go.

“You promise?” She weakly asked.

“I swear on the spirits. Just be patient.”

As Kea reluctantly followed him, they silently walked home. Moui found them first. He appeared in front of them, immediately checking to see if they were fine. Kai’s palm was still bleeding, but he couldn’t feel any pain.

“What happened?”

“Nothing. Kea was playing a stupid game with her friends and wanted to show them her dagger.” He used Acting, knowing it wasn’t that easy to deceive the hunter. As reassurance, he took out the knife and gave it to him.

Moui turned towards Kea. “Is that what happened?”

“…yes.”

“Can we go home now? We’re tired.” Kai placed his hand on Moui’s arm to urge him before he could press for more answers.

“Yes, follow me. You have no idea how worried your mother is.”

They continued walking on the muddy streets of Greenside under the moons' light.

Reaching their house, it was empty.

“I’ll go tell Alana and Ele I found you. Wait here.” Moui said. A moment later, he was gone again.

Kai and Kea stood awkwardly, deciding to sit at the table in the kitchen. A silent conversation of glances was exchanged.

“Do you trust me?” He asked.

“Yes…”

He smiled slightly, allowing a relieved sigh to escape his lips.

The cut on his hand was starting to annoy him. He busied himself cleaning the wound and went to his room to apply a balm that would help it heal faster. He had to undo most of his carefully laid supplies to reach his alchemy chest and find the right flask.

Sounds of steps and voices told him the rest of his family was back. He hurried along, before they could panic again not seeing him.

“I’m here.” He said walking out of his room.

Alana and Ele were hugging Kea tightly, only stopping when they heard his voice. He was pulled into the group hug, but his body was stiff.

“I was so worried, what were you thinking going out at this hour!? I don’t know what I would have done if something happened to you.”

Moui stood awkwardly on the side. “I better go now.”

“Thank you for the help, and for keeping an eye on my children,” Alana said, standing back up.

The hunter nodded and left. “It was nothing.”

Now that she was sure they were safe, Kai could see the long reprimand building up inside his mother. Mostly toward his sister, but also toward him. He was supposed to be the one responsible and he had run after her without an explanation.

He stepped forward. “It was my fault.” The less they knew the better. He didn’t trust Kea to speak right now.

Looking at his mother, he mixed Acting with sincerity as he weaved the story of why Kea had run away for a stupid game with her friends, and how he overheard them talk. He could have stopped her, but he was still upset with her for how she acted. However, he soon regretted it and chose to run after her.

It’s for the best.

It wasn’t the most believable story, but they were all tired and no one was harmed. Alana sighed, “We’ll talk again in the morning. Now go to your room and remain there.”

To his relief, Kea obeyed without saying a word.

“You too,” Alana said, turning to him.

Kai nodded and disappeared into his room. He began mechanically repacking his things for the journey. Once he was done, he laid on his bed staring at the wooden ceiling.

His nails dug into his palms as he clenched his fists.

I just have to be patient.

* * *

As the sun peeked from his window, Kai shielded his eyes from the light, before surrendering to the fact he had to wake up. He had tossed and turned all night, sleeping maybe four hours in total. Thank the spirits, his improved race made his body function on a reduced sleep schedule.

He took out his palm-sized mirror. Dark bags under his gray eyes. He looked exactly how he felt - like shit. He practiced his smile in front of his reflection, feeling like a psychopath. He had to sell that everything was going fine. Last night's events were already forgotten. He couldn’t let his family suspect anything.

When did I become so accustomed to lying? I used to be so direct with the truth.

Now that he thought about it, even on Earth, he used to lie daily to his family about his condition to make them feel better. He knew he was dying and there wasn’t anything to be done about his disease. So, he acted cheerfully and let them think he was much better than he felt. He never considered those true lies.

Maybe he was a hypocrite. Maybe that was why it came so naturally to do the same in this life. Old habits die hard.

In the beginning it was to protect himself as much as them. But, in the last couple years, he started to lie whenever he thought it would make his family feel better and worry less.

This time the deception wasn’t a small white lie. His thoughts went back to when Alana told him how important decisions had to be taken after discussing them with the family.

Yeah, she certainly had a point. I hope she will forgive me one more time.

Taking a deep breath, Kai walked out of his room relying on Acting to guide him. He had a pleasant breakfast with his mom. She did not mention last night, but Kai noticed how her face was a bit strained. She had not forgotten, but she was trying to avoid an argument since he was about to leave for who knew how long.

“Kea has learned her lesson, she won’t repeat it again. It’s honestly my fault.” Kai gave his mother a meaningful look. “She started a competition with no way of winning. If I was… normal this would never have happened.”

Alana gave him a non-committal answer, “Mhmmm…”

Even with his imminent departure privileges, this was the best he could get. They waited for his two sisters to wake up as they shared a final goodbye.

Kai picked up his backpack and was ready to leave. “I can accompany Kea to Moui. A few more minutes won’t make a difference.”

“I don’t need a babysitter.” His sister retorted.

“Oh, I think you do.” Alana gave her a look. It was clear she had only postponed the scolding until after he left. “Are you sure you can spare the time, Kai?”

“Sure, it’s not a problem. Anyway, I know I’m leaving today, but I could invite Moui for dinner to thank him.”

His heart started beating faster as Alana considered his proposal, “Yes, I think that’s a wonderful idea. We can also talk about Kea’s mentorship.”

Kai smiled. “I’ll tell him. Now we should go.”

Kea followed him outside. “Are y—.”

“Not now.” He stopped her. The streets were already starting to fill with people going about their day and he knew not to underestimate their hearing. After just a couple levels in Keen Ears, he was starting to notice how much easier it was to eavesdrop on conversations. Who knew how many people had something similar?

“Trust me and keep Moui at our house as long as you can tonight.”

The distance wasn’t far. Before they knew it, Moui opened his door. “Not sure I would see you today.”

“Our mother wanted to invite you to dinner tonight to thank you for your help,” Kai said.

The hunter didn’t answer immediately, making Kai’s heart skip a beat.

“There is really no need, I barely helped.”

“Maybe this time, but it’s not the first time you helped us. Our mother insisted.”

“I guess I can come if it's not an inconvenience.”

Kea stepped inside; Moui was about to close the door, but seeing Kai had no intention of moving, he stopped.

“Something else?”

“I wanted to thank you for keeping an eye on her.” After yesterday, it would not be unthinkable if Moui dropped the mentorship for his sister’s reckless behavior.

“We all had our foolish moments, I’m sure she’ll grow out of it.”

“Thank you, uncle. I’ll see you… well, not sure exactly when.”

With one last wave, Kai started strolling out of Greenside. With his large backpack, he carefully avoided the worst parts of town. His paranoia was at the highest level ever. Until he reached the fields his heart kept racing.

He stayed close to the coast, to avoid stepping on crops and incurring the farmers’ wrath. When he entered the outskirts of the Veeryd jungle, the path to the estate wasn’t yet visible, but he was confident in finding it. He continued for another fifteen minutes to exclude the slim chance that someone was following him.

Catching sight of the barely visible path, he stopped and looked for a place to leave his backpack. Finding a spot between three trees, he placed it down and began his preparations.

He took out his sharpest knife from the alchemy chest and the mirror. It was the first time he tried to cut his hair, but he just had to leave it as short as possible, and his unskilled hands would only add more credibility to his disguise.

Going at a slow pace to avoid cutting himself, it took almost an hour to finish. The result wasn’t good but looking terrible made it perfect. After he changed his clothes to his most worn pair, and smeared them with a touch of dirt, he could pass for any other islander children from the poorest neighborhoods.

In his alchemy chest he had two red-tier poisons to choose from. He had never tested them before, but they should be able to do the job if the target ingested enough.

One was a liquid, the other a powder. Kai opted for the second, with a little mana he could compress it into a pill. It would unravel easily, but that was an advantage. He didn’t need it to keep the shape for long.

All that was left was waiting for the night.