Mage War

Chapter Twenty-One: The Next Day

Yue didn’t sleep at night. She had two thoughts warring in her mind. No matter how much she tried to ignore the thoughts, they always came back, haunting her. It was a never ending cycle she struggled with, one she hoped to end soon.

The first thought was of the battle with the assassins. Yes, they’d won, but at what cost? Neena had passed out yesterday, and she was in a coma now. The nurse didn’t know if she’d survive or not. Her breathing was very shallow now. Yue shook just thinking about it.

Thankfully, Xander and Poli had escaped unscathed, just like she did. Artemis, meanwhile, was very injured. The nurse was trying all she could to keep his leg from getting infected, but she told Yue that she might not be able to.

Alyx and Aster were mostly fine, but they still needed to heal. They’d killed the assassins, but her friends had gotten hurt. Some of the wounds could be irreparable. They didn't even unmask the murderer. They had been led into a trap, and had been too stupid to realize it.

She had been too stupid to realize it.

Her friends didn’t blame her, which did ease her pain a little, but it still hurt to look at her friends now, especially Neena. She looked so fragile in bed, eyes closed, chest covered in bandages, moving up and down slowly.

The second thought she had was of Joanne. She hadn’t been able to confront the girl yet, but she would have to. She didn’t know if she was sad or mad at her. She’d trusted the girl, and even came to be friends with her. She’d betrayed her, though. Had she really befriended Yue to kill her?

Then the anger would come. Joanne had been playing her this whole time. She worshiped Dautha, of course Joanne would betray Yue. Why had she ever trusted anyone in the Cult? The girl had killed Diamond! She’d killed Jos! She’d killed Rosalia! Yue would kill her.

But it was Joanne. She was so sweet, and willing to learn with her and teach her. She’d been nice and likable. Not like a murderer at all. She was sweet, a good friend, not willing to punch back if a friend hit her. Eva had tried to kill her, and she hadn’t moved a muscle. Was that really all an act? Somehow, Yue couldn't believe it. Maybe she had just gotten too attached, but how was it even possible for her to kill someone?

She just didn’t know what to think about any of this. It was a difficult situation, one she wasn’t sure she knew how to deal with.

But she had to. She would face Joanne, and get her alibi out of her. If she didn’t have one, Yue would look for evidence against her. She would have to be locked up, at least for a time. Until she was convicted or acquitted.

She didn’t want the day to start. She knew it would be a very stressful day.

Eventually, the sun started to shine. Yue wiped her tired eyes.

It was time to go to work.

— — —

Firstly, she decided to visit the hospital. Joanne could wait.

She stopped by Alyx’s room first. The girl was wide-awake.

“How are you doing?” Yue asked.

“I’m fine. Stomach hurts like hell, though.”

“I imagine,” Yue responded.

“Have you confronted Joanne yet?”

Yue shook her head. “Not yet. I’m hoping to do it after this. I needed to check on you first.”

Alyx groaned. “The longer you wait, the more time she has to escape. You have to catch her.”

“It’ll be fine. You’re more important.”

Alyx stared pointedly at her. “I’ll be fine. Joanne is a killer. You really want her going around?”

Yue shook her head again. “No. But you don’t know she’s the killer…”

“Who else could it be?” Alyx retorted. “Just go get Joanne.”

“Fine. Rest well, Alyx.”

“I will. It’s not like I can do anything anyway,” The wounded girl laughed.

— — —

Yue didn’t take Alyx’s order, of course. She went to visit Artemis next. Poli was there, holding his hand. His leg was held high, bandage marked with blood.

“Hey, Yue,” Poli whispered weakly.

“He’s not awake yet?”

“No.”

“How is he?”

“Not infected, if that’s what you’re wondering. I think he’ll make it. He's strong enough. He didn’t deserve it, you know.”

Yue didn’t know if that was true. She remembered the relationship between Astil and Artemis. There was clearly more there than Poli knew, but Yue didn’t want to debate the issue.

“He’s breathing fine?” She asked.

Poli nodded. “Unless the leg gets infected, he’ll be out of the hospital soon, although he’ll have to use crutches.”

“That’s great,” Yue said, false positivity in her voice. She wished all her friends would heal that quickly. “Did he wake up during the night?”

“Once,” Poli replied, tears staining her eyes now, “He started screaming about the pain.”

“Was the crossbow bolt poisoned?”

“We’re not sure. If it was, the poison is undetectable.”

“Well, tell him I hope he gets better soon.”

“I will, Yue, I will.”

— — —

Next, she went to Aster’s room. Aster was awake already, eating breakfast. Her arm was in a makeshift sling, but otherwise she seemed fine.

Yue asked her how she was doing, and Aster responded cheerfully.

“I’ve never been better. I feel great. I’m ready to leave.”

“Not yet,” Yue responded. “Your arm is still hurt.”

Aster waved her comment off. “I’ll be fine. How are the others?”

“Alyx is still in a little pain, but is doing well. We still don’t know much about what’s going on with Artemis’ leg. It might be poisoned. It could get infected. We just have to wait and see. I haven’t checked on Neena, but last night she was in critical condition.”

Aster sucked in a breath. “She’ll be okay, won’t she?”

Yue shrugged. “I don’t know. I hope so. I’m going to check on her after I finish with you.”

“Go,” Aster told her, “I know you want to.”

Yue smiled. “Thank you. Rest well.”

“Give Neena my love.”

“I will. I will.”

— — —

Yue tentatively knocked on Neena’s door.

“Yes?” A familiar voice answered.

Yue opened the door. Xander was sitting on a chair worriedly looking at Yue.

“Hasn’t woken up yet?” Yue asked. Xander shook his head. Yue sighed.

“She stopped breathing a couple hours ago, but she’s better now,” Xander told her. “”I really don’t know if she’s going to make it, Yue.”

“Don’t say that,” Yue retorted sharply. “She can’t die!”

“Take a seat,” Xander whispered slowly. Yue nodded, surrendering. She pulled up a chair and sat down next to Xander, laying her head on his shoulder.

“I don’t know what to do. I was this close to stopping them from…” Yue choked on her words.

“It isn’t your fault,” Xander replied, stroking her hair, “She knew the risk she was taking.”

“She…” Yue refused to call her by her name. That way, it didn’t seem like she was hurt. “She said I took care of her. What did she mean? I let her get stabbed!”

“You were protecting her,” Xander looked at her sweetly, “And because of you, she’s still alive. You may not have been able to stop her from getting hurt, but you stopped her from dying.”

“She might still die,” Sobbed Yue.

“I thought you told me to not say that,” Xander teased softly. “Don’t think of it that way. Think like this: She might still live. Don’t think of her death, Yue. It’s worthless to think of possibilities. If she makes it, she makes it. You have to keep hoping.”

“That’s all we can do, isn’t it?”

“That’s all we have,” Xander corrected, “Hope is our last resort. If one doesn’t have hope, one has nothing.”

Yue nodded, and cried on Xander’s chest. He pulled her close and she wept.

Neena needed to be okay. She was Yue’s hope.

— — —

Yue found Joanne at the cafeteria eating. She wasn’t mad currently. Just sad.

“Joanne, come with me,” She said, forcing steel into her voice.

“Why? What’s going on?” Joanne’s eyes were wild as she saw the dozen or so Magefell Guards behind Yue.

“You’re being arrested for the potential murder of Diamond and Jos. Please comply.”

“But I didn’t do it!” Joanne was scared now.

“Please just come with us,” Yue said sadly. Joanne stood up.

“I’ll go with you, but I didn’t do it, Yue! Why are you accusing me?”

The betrayal on her face haunted Yue until they arrived at the jail.

— — —

Yue was in the interrogation room with Joanne. No one was listening in, which left both of them to speak freely.

“Why am I getting arrested?” Joanne questioned. “I didn’t do anything. You know it!”

Yue sighed. “You’re the only one who could’ve done it. You didn’t have an airtight alibi. Plus, we’ve eliminated every other potential murderer.”

“But I didn’t do it. I told you. I do have an alibi. I just don’t have any proof of it! You have to believe me, Yue.” Joanne was clearly desperate, and Yue almost felt a stab of pity.

“If you’re not the killer, Joanne, then who is?”

Joanne hung her head. “I don’t know.”

“You’re the only person who could’ve done it, Joanne,” Yue said softly. “If you aren’t the killer, I’ll find him. But if you are, then you should be ashamed for using me like this.”

Joanne hung her head and cried, sobs wracking her body. Yue left, not sure whether she felt angry towards her or not.

— — —

Yue was leading a Vanguard meeting now. The day was passing too quickly. Her speech now could end up acquitting Joanne. A small part of her heart hoped that would happen. The other part worried about the consequences of Joanne not being the killer.

She had set up a three foot tall stand to be able to look at all the members of the Vanguard.

“Today,” She spoke to the waiting crowd. “We have arrested a suspect in the murder of Diamond Reinholt and Jos Kholt.” A murmur spread to the crowd, and many people looked around, searching for who wasn’t there.

“Today,” She continued, “We have arrested Joanne Ivanov.” Gasps and murmurs spread through the Vanguard. “We are not sure she is the murderer. But all signs point to her so far. If we find any evidence that she is the murderer, we will convict her.

“In the meanwhile, everything here will stay the same. If anyone has proof of what she has done, please reach out to me. If anyone can clear her name, I would like to know that as well. Thank you. That is all.”

As soon as the speech ended, many people left in groups, discussing what just happened. A few people stayed, though. They began to approach Yue, who was standing next to Xander, arms crossed.

“Are you here to convict or acquit Joanne?” Yue asked.

The twenty or so people all said relatively the same thing to her.

“I have evidence of Joanne’s innocence,” One girl said.

“She didn’t do it, and I can prove it,” Another said.

“She would never. I saw her!” Said a third.

“You know what to do,” Yue told Xander. He nodded, and pointed at half of the people in line.

“All the ones I pointed at, please come with me,” He said.

“The others, come with me,” Yue told the rest of them. Yue shared a quick nervous look with Xander before he was lost to sight.

— — —

The plan was simple: Xander and Yue would each interrogate half of the people who wanted to clear Joanne’s name. Then they would switch and interrogate the people again. Afterwards, they would compare the stories. Hopefully, that would tell them if the stories were legitimate or not.

“I saw her eating by the cafeteria with Rosalia, you know, the girl that offed herself,” A boy was telling her arrogantly. “That was the time when Jos was found murdered. I remember because she went there right after the funeral for Diamond. So did I, incidentally. So I was eating there, and Joanne was at a table across from me. She couldn’t have killed Jos. You found him dead in the woods a little after the funeral, right? So Joanne isn’t the killer. “The boy sat back and crossed his arms, as if to prove his point.

That was the same story she’d gotten from eight people. Two people had told her stories that she didn’t know if she believed. They just seemed like concerned friends doing anything to clear her name.

She was inclined to believe the story that Joanne was innocent. She herself had said that she had been eating in the cafeteria. Plus, all the people had also noticed that Rosalia had been eating there too. Was Joanne really innocent?

There was one person left to interview before Xander and her switched people. She brought the girl in. The girl had a feral look about her, clearly high. Ugh. This would not be good.

Drugs were illegal in the Vanguard. The girl would have to be punished. Yue did have to follow her investigation, though. Just in case.

“You said you can prove Joanne is innocent?”

“Yes, I can!” The girl shouted. “She didn’t do it. I know so because she was busy with Jos.”

Yue cocked her head at the girl. “With Jos?”

The girl nodded. “Doing things, if you know what I mean.”

Yue grimaced. “You said Joanne was ‘doing things’ with Jos when Jos was murdered. Don’t you think that’s a contradiction?”

“NO! I saw them. I could hear them too.” The girl seemed to get a faraway look to her. “I wanted to join them.”

Yup. This was a headache.

“How could Jos be in two places at once?”

“Magic,” The girl responded. “She killed him because he didn’t want to do it anymore.”

“You just said she didn’t kill him!” Yue shrieked. She was quickly losing her patience with this girl.

“And she didn’t!” The girl replied indignantly. “What gave you that idea? They were just—”

“I get the gist,” Yue said, “This interview is over.”

“Wait! Not yet! I haven’t told you about what Jos and Joanne did when the other girl joined. It got so much louder!”

“Shut up!” Yue warned her, standing up. “It’s time to leave.” As she started to leave the room, the girl spoke again.

“But I haven’t told you the message from Dautha yet!” Yue narrowed her eyes and turned slowly towards the girl, who was now looking at her, eyes blank, pupils hidden.

“What did you say?” Yue asked.

“Dautha is coming, Yue. You’re not safe. Neither is Zade. And most of all, neither is Neena!” The girl cackled, and Yue punched her roughly, fuming.

“DON’T YOU DARE SAY ANYTHING ABOUT NEENA!” She screamed. The girl cackled.

Yue left the room, only sparing one glance back. The girl was gone somehow. Like she’d never existed.

Yue shivered and left to find Xander.

It was time to interrogate the other warriors.

— — —

This group was much easier to interrogate. She’d already done nine of the ten and all had the same story. Joanne had been eating in the cafeteria with Rosalia. One of the people didn’t remember Rosalia was there, but the point stood.

Joanne was not the murderer.

Or at least, that’s what it seemed like. If so many people could prove Joanne’s story true, then it had to be.

But Yue wasn’t sure yet. Until she released Joanne from prison, she refused to even think about the fact that Joanne might not be the killer.

“Joanne didn’t do it,” The man exclaimed as soon as he entered. He looked to be around forty, but he was still very in shape. His muscles bulged, and he was clearly used to holding a sword by the way he positioned himself.

“Yes, I’ve heard that from over a dozen people today,” Yue responded.

“But I have the real story. She was eating in the cafeteria…”

“Yes, I’ve heard that.”

“No, but…Oh wait, you have? That’s great news.” The man looked relieved. “You’re releasing Joanne from prison then?”

“I don’t know.”

“What? But we all agree. She couldn’t have killed Jos.”

“I get it. But who else could be the murderer?”

The man bit his lip. “Not Joanne, that’s what I know. I hope you do find the murderer, though. If you need any help…”

“I’m sure to ask you,” Yue lied. She probably wouldn’t ever need his help, unless a war started, which was very unlikely. “Are you in the tournament?”

“Yes,” He said, puffing out his chest proudly.

“That’s what you can do. Prepare for the tournament. Win it, if you can. It’s the most any of us can do.”

He saluted. “Yes, maam.”

— — —

“So,” Yue asked, “What’d you get?”

“Eighteen of the people I interviewed told the same story of Rosalia and Joanne eating together.”

“Same. Three people said something different.”

“Three?” Xander asked. “There were only twenty people.”

“No, I counted twenty-one!” Yue’s voice was scary now.

“Who were the other three?”

Yue wracked her head to figure out who the other three were. There were the two who were obviously Joanne’s friends, and there was…

Yue gasped.

“What?” Xander asked. “What is it?”

“The other person…You’ll never believe what happened to me!” Yue told Xander what happened with the other person. Xander’s face grew darker the more she said.

“And this person was gone when you looked again?”

“Yeah,” Yue responded. “She disappeared into thin air.”

“That’s not good,” Xander responded. “Clearly, the murderer is onto us. I think this confirms that the murderer worships Dautha.”

“How so?”

“Well, we might oppose Dautha, but we’re not explicitly going after the Cult, are we? The only way we could be attacking the Cult is if the killer is a member of the cult himself.”

Yue winced. “We’d always thought that was a possibility. I’m glad we could confirm it, but still, it’s a scary thought, knowing there’s a Cult after us. They’re stronger than us, more numerous than us, smarter than us.”

“Hey,” Xander said, grabbing her shoulders. “We’re not alone. We have the seven of us, plus Zade’s group and all the non-Cult mages that Zade talks to. You’ll never be alone. I’ll always be here for you, even when all else fails.”

“Of course,” Yue straightened. “We still have to talk about the two different stories the people gave us on Joanne’s innocence.”

“Well, for me, one of them said that she was hanging out with Joanne catching frogs at the time, and the other said Joanne was fishing alone, although the closest fishing spot should be at the harbor.”

“Huh,” Laughed Yue, “They must’ve changed the story a bit. One of them told me a story that they were catching worms. The other did say she was fishing, but according to her, she wasn’t alone.”

“Well, case closed then,” Xander told her. “Those stories are fake.”

“So what should we do now?”

“I guess we need to release Joanne from prison. She’s just as innocent as anyone else we had scratched off on the list.”

Yue winced. “I was afraid you would say that. I don’t think I can take the shame of facing Joanne. It’s my fault she went to jail.”

Xander smiled. “I’ll go with you. It’s just as much my fault.” He offered her his hand, and she took it, beaming back up at him.

They walked off towards the center of Magefell, where the prison was located.

— — —

“So, what now?” Yue asked as they walked the glowing streets of Magefell.

“What do you mean?” Xander wondered aloud.

“Well, now that Joanne isn’t the murderer, how do we continue the investigation? We finished eliminating every name. There’s no one else. Does that mean that the killer isn’t a part of the Vanguard.”

“There might be another possibility.” At Yue’s questioning look, Xander continued. “There could be more than one.”

Realization dawned on Yue. The one thing she’d been dreading. Her eyes widened. “No! That would be horrible! We’d never be able to find out who did it!”

“Jos did,” Xander replied. “If Jos did, I’m sure we can.”

“I hope so. We’re getting closer to the tournament, but not any closer to solving this. Do you think the murders have anything to do with the tournament?”

“I think so. Think about it. The Cult wants to do something during the tournament. The killer is a Cultist, or Cultists, murdering us right before the tournament. You see the connection?”

“But why? Why murder us?”

“Maybe just because we oppose Dautha. Or maybe because…”

“It’s a distraction!” Yue exclaimed. “They think that by putting the Vanguard in disarray that we’ll just be too distracted to stop them. Well, that’s not gonna happen! We need to keep our ears open.” She tripped on a rock.

“And our eyes,” Xander laughed. Yue glared at him, and he helped her up. “If it helps, that was a very graceful fall.” She pushed him playfully and he fell down. “Hey!”

“That wasn’t so graceful.” She said, walking off.

“Are you not going to help me up? Not gonna return the favor?” Xander’s voice oozed fake betrayal.

“Nope. Get yourself up.” Yue told him. She kept walking, and heard footsteps behind her. Soon, Xander was walking beside her again.

— — —

They arrived at the prison, and proved to the guard there that they belonged to the Vanguard, He was quick to let them in.

“Are you here to release the girl?” He asked.

“Yes sir, she has been acquitted.” Yue told him.

He winced. “That’s not good.”

“Better than her being a murderer.”

“I suppose so,” He said, taking out a set of keys from his pocket and leading them down the corridor. Soon they arrived at Joanne’s cell.

“You’re free,” The jailer said to Joanne as he opened the door. Her jaw dropped.

“I’m free? Already?” The disbelief in her voice hurt Yue.

“Yes,” Yue told her shamefully, coming into Joanne’s field of vision. “You are free to go. I want to apologize. I shouldn’t have accused you. I am so sorry. I don’t know what I can do to repay you.” She hung her head.

Joanne looked at her sadly, but didn’t respond.

“We should get back to the Vanguard,” Xander told them. It’s getting late.”

Joanne nodded curtly and set off, Xander and Yue behind her.

The return trip to the Vanguard was awkward. Joanne refused to speak to Yue, and Yue and Xander couldn’t have a normal conversation with someone who ignored them right between them. They all fell silent fairly quickly.

Some people gawked at three members of the Vanguard walking side by side on the street, but all turned away at their cold gazes.

Yue wanted to offer Joanne her sincerest apology, but she already had done that and Joanne had ignored her. Hopefully, this would go away soon, and Joanne would be back to her chipper self. Yue was praying that she could repair her friendship with Joanne.

Could Joanne still be the murderer, though? If there was more than one murderer, it was possible that Joanne did it with a few of her Cultist friends.

No. Yue shook her head. Unless every person she interviewed had been a part of the plan, and she doubted it, then it couldn’t be.

They returned to the camp, and all went their separate ways. Xander went to his barracks, while Yue went to eat. Joanne went somewhere else. Yue didn’t bother to check. If the girl wanted to be alone, that was her right.

Yue was lost in thought all dinner. She didn’t know what she was going to do anymore to find the killer.

She only knew one thing:

They were back to square one.

When it was time for her daily meeting with her friends, where Xander would leave to meet the Cult, she found Deserey looking for her.

“Have you heard the good news, Yue?” Deserey asked. She seemed more excited than normal. These days, she mostly just stood around crying or looking sad. She didn’t really feel like talking to anyone. It was good to see she was doing better, although Yue was burning with curiosity to know what this news was.

“What?” Yue asked. “What’s the good news?”

“I’m the first to tell you?” Deserey asked. “That’s great. I love to be the bearer of good tidings. Anyway, in case you haven’t heard, the Wolf is coming back! Tomorrow!”

Yue felt a tingle of excitement.

The wolf was coming back tomorrow!

Suddenly, things looked a whole lot brighter.