Page 20 of Forging Bonds: Part One

"They always kept us entertained, though," Doc adds. "I miss it."

River's smile is sad, "Not as much as me."

"Hopefully, we will get him back soon," Ransom says, determination in his tone.

"Something I should know about?" Sully asks, "Or more accurately, something that Draith should know?"

I shake my head, "Not yet. We need evidence first."

Sully nods, completely understanding what I'm talking about, he should, he has known Draith longer than I have and was the one that taught me that rule.

"Understood," he replies and then looks at River, "I'd love to hear what Coen got up to, he was always one of my favorites, it's been far too long since I have seen him."

River nods, "I think it's been too long since anyone has seen the real him," he pauses for a moment and then grins, his eyes lighting up with laughter already. "Okay, so there was this one time when Ransom was running out of the potion that accompanied the spell, and we didn't have enough time to make more before Raiden's lessons."

"I remember that," Raiden says. "I told you guys not to worry about it, but you all knew that one of the reapers had made it their mission to get me kicked out and had up his game recently. Coen outright refused to let me attend classes without someone, so he took the potion knowing that there was a strong chance that it would wear off while he was still in the Reaper lessons, and he would get in some serious shit."

I smile, "Yeah, that sounds like Coen."

River nods, his knee bouncing again, "Yeah, that's it. The potion lasted the whole lesson, but as you guys were crossing over from the reaper side, that dickhead cornered you with like eight of his friends." River carries on explaining, and Raiden nods, smiling sharply, and River continues, "Before they could lay into you, the potion suddenly wore off, and Coen punched the guy straight in the face without any fucking warning and knocked him out cold. The others were so fucking shocked that Coen had appeared out of nowhere that they all froze and gave you guys a chance to get to us."

"We were already on the way because Coen had messaged us," Evander says. He chuckles, "I will never forget how quickly they changed their fucking minds when they rounded the corner and saw us all standing there and more than fucking ready for a fight."

"They forgot that unlike everyone else, we weren't fucking scared of them," Doc grins.

"Reed let a flare of power loose, and they fucking turned tail and ran," River grins.

"That's fucking awesome," I grin. I can just imagine them freaking everyone out, and I can picture the exact smile that Coen had on his face as he punched the fucker.

But what really makes me smile is that they all did it to protect Raiden and make sure that he didn't lose his place at the academy.

They're not just friends, they're a family, and knowing that Coen used to be a part of that, I am even more confident that Kylen and his team have done something to him. I have no idea what, but I will find out.

Sully chuckles and says, "If you guys are feeling better, then you should probably get going. I know that Ty is waiting for that flash drive."

"We actually had a couple of questions for you," I say, as I try to get back onto the here and now and away from murderous thoughts involving the Draconian Team.

Sully nods, "I thought you might." He leans back in his chair, "As always, I will try to answer what I can, but I can't make any promises. The silencing spell covers more than I realized, and I have a feeling that the extent of it wasn't disclosed to your parents because the person that commanded it to be cast knew that they wouldn't agree."

I smile. I like that. It's nice to know that if my parents knew that I would be kept in the dark at this stage in my life when I'm thirty-odd fucking years old that they wouldn't have agreed.

"That's good to know," I reply. "Just answer what you can."

He nods, "That I can do."

"First, the Choosing," I start, "we figured that the best way to get the information that we need as quickly as possible is to talk to a Warrior Team. We know that it's difficult to talk to the ones that were formed in Choosings that have happened since the realm closed, but we were wondering if you knew of any Warrior Teams from Trieneliea that may be willing to help us?"

Sully frowns, "I can reach out, but don't get excited. Any of the Warrior Teams that I knew have moved to the fringes of our society. They want to be left alone. Even if I can get someone to talk to you, the chances that they can help are slim. Every Choosing is different, it's tailored to the specific teams that are involved, and it changes every time."

"That makes sense actually," Raiden says. "The Choosing is broadcast to any supe that wants to watch it. It always has been. If it were the same every time, then anyone who has watched the Choosing would have an advantage that previous contestants didn't have, and it would also mean that it would be able to be manipulated."

"Exactly," Sully agrees with a smile. "The magic ensures that it can't be changed or manipulated in any way."

"Okay, I understand," I reply as disappointment dims my smile. We knew that it was a long shot that we would even be able to find a Warrior Team, butI was hoping that if we did, they would be able to give us some sort of advice now that's not looking likely that it's going to happen and we're still going to go into the Choosing in the dark.

"I'll still try. They might be willing to offer some advice or tell you what happens after the trials, what the rooms are like, or something. None of that is broadcast. When it's over and the scroll has made its decision, the teams go into the temple where the scroll resides, and something happens in there to tell everyone the decision. No one is sure exactly what happens. The winning team is announced from within the temple, but that isn't shown to anyone but those in the room," Sully explains.

"That's interesting," Reed replies, looking thoughtful.

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