Blood Will Tell

XIV

The sun had not yet risen when three Radien Stallions took to the sky and later convened at HQ. In fact, it was far from its time to rise, with the sky still a heavy veil of midnight black. One might wonder why a group would choose to meet at two o'clock in the morning, but unfortunately for some, there was no other time at which they could converge.

It was 1:45 a.m. when Arden's car slowed to a halt in her designated parking spot: a lot in the basement of the administration building. It was a convenient spot too, for it was located a few paces from the elevator. Arden climbed out of her car, closed the door, and locked it. She checked her phone. The meeting was in Room 209.

She strolled towards the elevator and pressed a button. As she waited, she sifted through her thoughts. There was no doubt that there were guardians who wanted Edin removed from his role immediately, or perhaps they had been wanting to even before the latest incident. She wondered how they would react once they found out that their wish could not be fulfilled.

The doors slid open and she rode the elevator to the second floor. She arrived at the meeting room a moment later. The room was dimly lit, and there was only one other person: a fair-skinned man who appeared to be in his thirties, with slick black hair and dark monolid eyes. He was seated on the left side. His elbows rested on the tabletop as clasped hands supported his chin, and his gaze fell on the table as he pondered. As she entered, he turned his head to look up at her.

"Arden Mægenstern."

"Riven Bioreth," she greeted him. She took a seat.

"Have you seen Norman yet? We're supposed to start in ten minutes."

"He should be here soon. He told me he's on the way."

There was a brief silence.

"You were there along with Norman when he had his test, right?"

"Indeed I was."

"Did you notice anything... off about him, if you know what I mean?"

"Off in the sense that he was bloodthirsty, not at all. Quite the opposite. He looked deathly scared of a beast that was shorter than his knees."

"I see."

"Why?"

"I was just wondering. I've never seen him fight like yesterday before, until that incident."

Riven tilted his head. "The majors at Irien told you about it, yet you refused to believe them."

"I've watched over him for nearly three years, and he had never acted that way, until..."

Their conversation drifted into silence. Arden lifted her hand to her mouth as she yawned, then dipped it into her pocket to fetch a thumb-sized vial. She popped it open and gulped down its contents.

"A potion?"

She nodded.

"How much sleep did you get last night?"

"Roughly three hours."

Before Riven could respond, the door swung open to reveal the third participant of their meeting. Norman marched to the empty spot at Arden's right. "Good morning, Arden, Riven," he greeted.

Arden responded with a short salutation, while Riven only acknowledged him with a nod. They waited for him to settle into his seat.

"As it has been stated in the message that we've all received, we're here to discuss an issue involving one of the recruits," Riven began, casting sideways glances at Norman and Arden. "The Guild has concerns about Edin's bursts of bloodlust and unnecessary violence. For the safety of everyone, he must be dismissed from the Guild."