The women returned a short while later, and with the help of the two enforcers, ushered Shilo through the Mage Chapter. Shilo growled to keep from crying, he was trapped and Asha was out there alone. He needed to find a way to escape. Shilo scanned the hallway, they were headed back towards the admittance office, freedom would be on the other side of the door. 

As they entered the door to the admittance office, Shilo started to perk up, only to have life slap him in the face once more. The watchman from earlier was there with another taller and brawnier blacken guard waiting by the exit door. The new guy had to be about seven feet tall and well over three hundred, if not four hundred, pounds of raw strength—and that wasn’t counting the extra couple inches of height his horned helm gave him. The guard dwarfed everyone in the room and made the officer look like a runt.

Crap, how the crap did he find someone bigger than him?

“Lovely,” Shilo muttered under his breath. “This day just keeps getting better and better.” 

Louder, he gripped, “See, I told you I’m a birth defect. That’s what blacken is supposed to look like.”

Surprisingly, a snicker escaped out of the petite woman who had pretty much been cowering the whole time.

The male enforcer emitted a growl. “I already informed you, officer, that I would deliver the boy only after The Mage Council had finished questioning him. The Council is not finished, thus your petty theft charge is null, and your claim relegated below ours.”

The watch officer nodded. He jerked his thumb to indicate the mountain leaning nonchalantly against the wall. “And that’s why I brought him. He trumps you.” The officer rolled his wrist “Unless of course, you feel your mage secrecy has more authority than his jurisdiction?”

Apparently, this guy did intimidate, and the enforcer sputtered for a second. “Bloody hell! Don’t speak to them!” 

 Yeisha waved a hand in dismissal.

He glared at Yeisha, who rolled her eyes, and then at Lytah, who smiled innocently. “I repeat, don’t answer any of his questions. Civa, don’t let anyone leave with the boy, especially not the Chancellor’s pet gorilla. I’m going to get the Archmagus. Damn it all to hell!” 

With a growl, the enforcer stormed off, slamming the door as he went. 

Once the door shut, Lytah happily chirped, “Hi ya, Jin! He called you a gorilla this time, I think that’s a step up from a troll.”

The humongous guy nodded a grunt in reply, his gaze never leaving Shilo. 

Shilo suppressed a shudder, the guy was monstrous.

“Watch him. Don’t let him leave,” Enforcer Civa mouthed. “Really, Kirlim? Why? Hell, let them take the bloody little bastard. After being in the mouthy little son of a witch’s presence, the brutes will hack lil blighter apart and then there’ll be no worries for anybody.”

“So, you do have a tongue,” Shilo said. “And a bitchy one at that.”

She let out a growl, which Shilo returned, and at the same time Yeisha snapped, “Enough!” 

Yeisha gripped his shoulder and pulled him closer to her.

“Ballsy little shit,” Civa huffed.

Ballsy? Yeah, I’ll show her ballsy. 

Shilo was scared, trapped, and had been held captive in complete boredom for hours only to argue with a pack of supposedly highly intellectual idiots about what he can or can’t do. His irritability was running high, and with everything else going wrong today, he no longer gave a flying crap.

“Now you come back?! Where were you hours ago? You stupid—” Yeisha slapped a hand over his mouth. Shilo jerked free from her and twisted out of her reach as she barked his name. Ignoring her, he stomped towards the officer of the Watch.

“Do something, dammit,” Yeisha swore at the enforcer. “It’s your bloody job!”

“Why? Let ‘em squish the little miserable son of a witch. I’m sure the bloody damn world would be a better place if they did.”

Shilo huffed to himself, Son of a witch, bitch, demon, and sometimes whore. What? Grownups can’t think of anything more original?

“You crap happy son of a two-headed shitty butt goat!” Shilo swore up at the watchman, his head not even hitting the man’s sternum. He didn’t want to even glance at the guard, his head probably wouldn’t even reach that guy’s navel.

He could hear Yeisha yell something to Jin about not harming him. 

Great, ballsy it is! 

“Couldn’t you have run your ass a little faster? Or are all those glorified muscles just for show? I mean, how the hell did a blacken joke of a runt like me outrun you? Then you just left me with that sadistic a-hole mage who zapped every time I opened my mouth! How is that doing your damn job?”

“I probably would smack the shit out of you for every bleat, you disrespectful little goat.”

“No, I would have been respectful towards you… I think. Well, you taking me would have made a lot more sense than that mage. You’re a watchman, protector of law and order. He’s an enforcer, protector of… magical crap. I’m not magic! And he zapped me! A lot! Where was my freaking protection?” 

“Protection? You?” The officer guffawed. But stopped at the sound of one of the women clearing her throat.

“Yeah, I was the thief you gotta protect people from, so no protection for me. But still,” Shilo sidestepped around the officer to move between the two men as he complained. Slowly, he inched closer to his destination. “You should’ve broken his arms before he could’ve done any magic and took me in! I hit a human, dammit! Didn’t that mean something to you?” 

“Oh, so now you say you assaulted the man? Was that before or after he caught you stealing and just let you walk away?”

“Okay fine, it was just a shove. But you still left me with that magic ass butt enforcer. Then that magic ass butt left me with this magical pain in the ass who bored me to death with her dumb scowling face.” He turned and pointed at Enforcer Civa. 

She rammed her staff on the floor causing sparks to fly from its crystal tip. 

“Yeah, shove that where the sun doesn't shine and spark it!”

“Mouthy little runt, isn’t he?” The Watch officer grinned at the enforcer. “Tell me, mage, why is he still standing?”

Shilo only half heard her reply of, “You know why,” he was too focused on edging closer to the door. Keep complaining, he thought, just a few more steps. Almost there. 

He lunged, freedom within his grasp, only to drop to his stomach, narrowly missing hitting his head against said door as the butt-end of a halberd casually jabbed him in the back, knocking him to the floor. An overly large booted foot slammed down on his tail, effectively and painfully pinning him to the ground. 

Shilo gritted his teeth, refusing to give them the satisfaction of hearing him wail.

“Dammit, Jin,” Yeisha bellowed. 

At least she sounded concerned, not like the watch officer, who at the exact same time snickered, “I think you kill him, Jin.”

Without removing his foot, Jin bent down, grabbed the boy by the collar, and began lifting him up. Shilo let out a grunt, and only then did Jin step off his tail. Shilo’s feet dangled in the air as the man brought him up face level to look him over with hard, steel-grey eyes. 

Shilo puffed out his cheeks and released his breath in defeat. No denying he was caught, again. This time he wasn’t about to kick the guy that had him, not when the huge man could easily toss him against the wall. Thoughts of his blood splattering kept his legs in check. 

The guy hadn’t said anything, just stared. So, Shilo stared back. The guard looked a little younger than the enforcer and a heck of a lot burlier. His rugged features boasted a straight nose and a trimmed beard that gave off a reddish cast when the light hit the black bristles just right—kind of like Asha’s hair. Shilo let out a groan. He hoped Asha was alright, it didn’t look like he’d be leaving anytime soon.

“He looks about right,” the man said in a deep, almost bassy, sonorous tone. 

Shilo was so glad the voice fit his appearance, as edgy as he felt he might have died from laughter if the big man had a high, squeaky voice. 

“But he’s a bit mouthier than I’d have figured. I expected more silent glares and hissing, not a bunch of smart-ass lip. You sure this is—” 

“Yes,” Lytah said, cutting him off. “Yeisha said he’s Elric’s son.”

Jin quirked his brow, his eyes darted between Shilo and Lytah as she continued, “The boy confirmed his mother was Kaya. And according to Yeisha, Kaya bore Elric Armanden’s child. You know, Elric, the man whose scientific research using unicorn blood brought about the mutation serum that created us into the hybryds we are today.”

Jin snorted, and whether that grunt was agreement or disgust, Shilo couldn’t tell. He was still trying to figure out the hissing comment.

Jin cocked his head. “Lytah, please tell me you didn’t get converted by one of those nutball Better World fanatics. You sound like you're spouting his praise. Elric, like I give a flying rat’s ass, hmph.” 

“Just clarifying the reason for everyone’s interest in this boy.”

Jin gave another grunt that Shilo was leaning towards meant disgust, however this one sounded slightly different.

“I can promise you,” Shilo said, trying to squirm free. “I’m no genius. And I have no plans of ever becoming a scientist. I had no clue that guy was my, uh, seed-donor until that lady today. And honestly, I’m getting tired of hearing about him.”

The big man smirked. “No clue, huh? Yeah, I’ll say you have no clue.” 

Yeisha cleared her throat, drawing focus to her. “As for his mouthiness, he came by that honestly from his father’s side. While Elric was intelligent with his sarcasm, his brother was crass and insolent, so I guess the trait was bound to show up. Anyways, Shilo here says there is nothing special about him and his blackness is a fluke. The Council wants Lytah to study him and see if that is the case. He is still young, so he may yet grow… muscular.”

Shilo huffed in disbelief, and so did the man holding him. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, hearing the burly man, who was just as sooty black as him, dismiss him like that hurt. Then the other blacken man grunted his dismissal too. Jin sat him down and Shilo couldn’t face either of them. He crossed his boney arms protectively over his scrawny chest, trying to hide his puniness from view.

He always knew he was a freak, but still, he hoped… 

Just then, Archmagus Arrinon and Enforcer Kirlim entered, but before the archmagus could voice his disapproval, Jin snapped, “The Chancellors will want a word with you. Report all findings to both Chancellors and all the magistrates. They will expect to hear a detailed report after the conclusion of each test with the subject in question present for their inspection. I’m sure they and their cabinet members will be interested in hearing what you have to say about Elric’s son and why his blackness means so little.”