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Chapter 1

Northeast entrance to the Central Plaza, Cornell Academy, City: Three Prongs Fork, Republic of Shantu, Continent: Barat, Year 2050, Planet: Grimoire

Smoke darkened the skies where a fire had broken out amid three sprawling outlier dormitory houses that were also makeshift warehouses. They represented the culmination of almost five years' worth of accumulated credits that just literally went into ashes.

Now volunteer mages either put out the fire or went after the culprits. three students in particular were furious. Those dormitory houses had been their homes ever since they'd enrolled in the Cornell Academy five years ago!

Therefore, justifiably enraged Jennifer, Holly, and Ambrose Payne were busily tangling with the culprits. It hadn't taken them long to catch them either. It wasn't as if they'd hidden their actions. That was the most baffling thing they'd encountered in the whole process.

"How many more culprits are there?" Jennifer called out through a communicator.

"About seven more." A calm masculine voice informed them. It was Sherpa. He'd gone to the more southerly entrance. It seemed some more culprits tried escaping down that direction. "Fortunately, our mutual friend, Grifton is unharmed even if his wares weren't."

"Aww man and I'd wanted to see the finished products," Anara murmured. "Oh well, at least we were able to put out the fires and salvage a bit of the production."

"That's good to hear," Sapphire mentioned. "I don't know if Daryl or Harper heeded the demand to show up here."

"Neither of them answered," Ambrose informed them mildly. "I can't say as I blame them though." A sigh escaped him. "Evidently, they'd take exception to this latest emergency and balked."

Sherpa grunted. "Well, not like it matters." He stated calmly. "It is for the better if they're not involved in this matter."

That was true. At least two of the siblings had to remain out of trouble. If it was the two firstborns of each set of multiples, that was for the best. Anara wiped the sweat from her face. She grimaced as soot and ash mixed into the sweat. Messy. They would definitely have to change what they were wearing if they wanted to appear presentable in public once more.

"This turned into quite the ordeal, didn't it?" That didn't really surprise Anara.

"I think what bothers me most is that these guys didn't resist that much." Jennifer frowned. "It is as if they wanted to get caught."

That made their guts sink.

There was only one explanation for that.

The real culprits were still at large.

"Damn, but this is getting ridiculous." Ambrose fumed.

"Well, let's just haul these creeps to justice for now," Jennifer suggested.

Holly was looking over one shoulder. "Uhm, hate to break it to you, but I think we're considered part of the trouble." She seemed resigned.

"That is utterly incomprehensible," Jennifer grumbled.

"Oh well, at least we're no longer part of the cleanup crew." Holly shrugged.

"I know, but the question is, were Sherpa, Anara, and Sapphire also dragged into the trouble as well?" Ambrose wondered.

Sure enough, it seemed that they were. However, they also didn't seem too concerned as they patiently answered questions regarding their involvement while apprehending the obvious criminals.

None of the siblings resisted being hauled into the probation office. It wasn't their first time being escorted in either. In fact, they were quite notorious since they were also well-known fighters when needed.

On the flip side, it meant that they were also the first suspected as the instigators of certain kinds of circumstances, such as the fires, something that they took exception to quite strongly in this case.

Ambrose sighed and took the initiative in this case. "Officer Brinton, we didn't arrive there until about ten minutes after the blazes began spiraling out of control." He looked warily at the man. "Did someone have the gall to report us as the instigators?"

Brinton glanced at Ambrose. "Nope, we decided to get you out of there before some numbskull tried to break your heads while you were dealing with the decoys."

Oh, that shocked all of them.

"By the way, where are Harper Frost and Daryl Payne?" Brinton surveyed them with a frown.

The siblings exchanged glances and shrugged. Anara rubbed her nose. "I believe Harper was in a workshop, finishing the last touches to his final project." She finally told Brinton. "As for Daryl, I don't know." She shrugged. "We're making a point of just giving ourselves space and privacy to live out our lives as we please here."

"Hmm," Brinton studied them with skepticism. "You should know how disruptive this kind of atmosphere is to your specific ability, right?"

Anara grunted when she realized her nose was bleeding. "Obviously, yes, when this happens." She shrugged when he scowled at her.

"So why did you choose this method of direct interference?" He was confused by her action.

A sigh escaped Anara as she contemplated the best way to answer him. At last, she simply told him. "The best way to develop immunity, besides layering multiple shields," Anara held a bit of cloth to her nose as she tilted it forward. "I've discovered. Is to plunge into the midst of chaos and find the source directly." She sneezed, grimaced, and discovered that the bleeding stopped.

When the others nodded in agreement, Brinton rubbed his jaw. "So, what you're all telling me is that through varying levels of empathy, you're able to find the source of trouble?" He was clearly dubious about that claim.

"Well, no, but it is the most effective." Jennifer caught his attention. "Another way of looking for the source is searching for dark shadows through disturbance of leylines or connecting with elementals."

Now Brinton finally caught onto what they were alluding to. "So, you're able to communicate with spirits, and elementals, and even connect with other sources of power?" He tapped his pen on the table. "All right, enough time has passed. I think I can let you go." He consulted the time. "Though I would highly recommend that you all go directly to the support dormitory that has opened up to house those of you whose homes burnt down."

Sapphire and the rest didn't waste time. They bowed politely and thanked Officer Brinton and he let them go without further warnings.

All in all, it had been quite an eventful afternoon, and the day hadn't ended yet.