The next day, Kaede led us to Ahio's home. We walked for a good thirty minutes into a part of town I hadn't frequented often. While I'd explored everywhere I could, after the novelty wore off, I'd stuck to the places I'd known.
Gone were the vendors and their shops. In their place stood groomed gardens, stately mansions and the occasional grocery store. A scent of flowers hung in the air. The top floors of one of the hospitals peaked over the rooftops. Where I lived, the apartments hid them from view. Cobblestone streets morphed into paved roads to cater to large carriages. For every child's laugh, here, a hundred birds sang.
Kaede stopped in front of a tall wooden gate. A house much larger than my own in the other world stood higher still behind it. She flipped a lever on the walls, and a bell rang loud enough within the house for even us to hear.
A square-faced lady with an apron over her clothes rushed out of the house.
'He's making my ears bleed, asking if you're here yet,' said the woman, tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear. She swung open the gate and grinned. 'Are these your teammates, Kaede?'
We greeted her as Kaede introduced us.
'Well, I'm Ahio's mum, nice to meet you guys.' She ushered us into a trimmed lawn with shrubs of several kinds lining the walls. Daisuke, Tsubasa and I hung back as Kaede and Ahio's mum led the way. Tayo gazed at the house with wide eyes and ears perked up.
'How's he doing now?' asked Kaede. 'My dad saw him on his shift at the hospital. He said he was still out of it late last night.'
'Oh, he's fine enough to complain about everything now. Doesn't seem too shaken up.' The glint in her light blue eyes flickered away as she turned to face us. 'I don't know how to thank you. Of all the foolish things to do... but I'm glad he's home safe.'
'What did he do?' asked Kaede.
The woman scoffed as she opened the front door. 'Just ask him about it. I gave him an earful this morning. Never sending him out with his cousin again. That one needs a lesson too.'
If this was about the donkey, I disagreed. Foolish he might've been, but Ahio did save it in the end.
His mum left to the kitchen, muttering about checking up on a roast. Whatever it was, it smelled delicious. We followed Kaede upstairs, and she barged into one of the rooms by the landing. Glancing at each other, the rest of us shrugged and followed.
Inside, a painting of stars and planets on a night sky covered the walls. A large window let in sunlight into every corner. Unlike what I'd expected, not a chair, pen or sock was out of place. Weren't all rich kids messy?
'Kaede, do you know how long I've been waiting for you?' said a voice on the far side of the room, where a comfy four-poster bed was. For all his bravado, Ahio's face was pale and dark circles ran around his eyes. A thick cast enveloped one hand, and a bandage wrapped around the other. He grinned at us as we entered. 'Did you report the bandit?'
Kaede sat beside him and sighed. 'Yes. We were taken to the Minister's office actually. It turns out the bandit's known for kidnapping kids.'
A frown tugged on the corner of my mouth as the Minister's warning to not tell anyone crossed my mind. I hoped this won't bite us back someday.
Daisuke and I plopped on the bed by Kaede's other side, while Tsubasa pulled over a chair by the study table. Tayo hopped onto the floor and sniffed around the room under Tsubasa's watchful eyes. Swinging his bag off, Daisuke lugged out the heavy book he'd had yesterday. Even this close, the letters on the cover were so faint, I couldn't make out the title.
'The Minister called you in?' asked Ahio, eyes wide.
Kaede nodded. 'And he hasn't managed to track down the other kids either.'
Daisuke riffled through the pages, murmuring a page number too soft to hear.
'I can't believe he hasn't asked the seer for help,' Ahio said.
I cocked my head. What little I'd read about seers painted them as a rare commodity, though they actually couldn't see the future as once thought. Regardless, who wouldn't want someone who could track down anything, from a murderer to gold, on their side? Yet not one book gave a living example.
'A s-seer?' asked Tsubasa.
'Well, I don't know if it's public knowledge, but my family does business with him.' Ahio ran a hand through his messy hair. 'Heard he wasn't a very nice guy though.'
Kaede shrugged. 'Maybe he has, but we weren't told. The Minister said it was a high-profile case. You aren't supposed to know about this either, so don't tell anyone. Not even your parents.'
'Wow. And who knows what would've happened if... if... huh, I'd never asked for your name.' Ahio said and nodded at me with a grin.
I smiled back and forced down my theories from yesterday. 'I'm Tahro. It's nice to--'
'Found it!' Daisuke said and laid the book on Kaede's lap. She jerked, but I slapped a hand on the sheets before they turned. Tiny letters coursed all over the page, save for a little drawing of a ring. Made of grey metal, an engraving of scriptures I'd never seen before circled its surface
'W-what is it?' asked Tsubasa.
'I'd been thinking about how that man disappeared,' said Daisuke. 'He couldn't have run fast. I couldn't find any footprints leading out of the clearing except the ones the special grades left. And if he'd jumped up into the trees that quick, we'd have heard him.'
My eyes widened. I'd never thought of these before.
'So it has to be something else. Well, I had a hypothesis and loaned out several books to research it yesterday morning.' He smirked. 'And look what I'd found.'
We drew closer to read the paragraph above Daisuke's finger.
Although evidence of the kinesis ring is hard to come by, as with any witch artefact, enough is known to confirm its existence. Each ring is scribed with the runes of only two different places, allowing a witch to teleport to either spot from anywhere. To use it, a witch must channel their inner spirit through the ring and flip it so the rune of their desired place faces up. Some rings have been known to store energy, for children who have not yet learned to control their inner spirit.
Ahio jumped up. 'You think he's a witch? I thought they were extinct.'
Daisuke kept his smirk. 'Maybe they aren't.'
Something didn't add up. If it was a ring, why wasn't he wearing it? But an image of the man reaching into his pocket flashed in front of my eyes. No, it couldn't be-- could it?
'Or maybe he isn't a witch at all. Maybe he has one of those rings which stores energy.' I said.
Daisuke nodded. 'And if he's kidnapped many kids the same way, he must have several of these rings with him. Perhaps from an abandoned witch's home.'
A chill shot up my spine. My mouth was dry like cotton, as I voiced out another possibility. 'Or perhaps a witch is filling up the rings for him.'