Chapter 334 - The situation
Fynn stepped out from among the trees as Scarlett approached the estate walls, his sharp gaze sweeping over her as if checking for injuries.
Scarlett returned the [Essence of Zenthas] to her [Pouch of Holding], grimacing as she conjured a floating orb of water. She heated it with pyrokinesis and used it to cleanse her hand. What that psycho had done to his heart was nothing short of vile. The thought of ever meeting him in person made her stomach turn.
With a silent command, she had the Loci pull both her and Fynn within the estate walls, folding space to place them in the mansion’s foyer. The house spirit pressed at the edges of her consciousness more insistently than before, almost probing. It wasn’t quite an outright question, but maybe it was approaching something close.
She had noticed more of that lately. Ever since she’d begun reinforcing the Loci’s garden with the materials from the Rising Isle, not only had its power grown, but its presence too. It wouldn’t surprise her if, one of these days, it truly developed a complete will.
As for why it seemed so intrigued now, she wasn’t entirely sure, so she couldn’t give it a proper response. Its ‘attention’ had seemed vaguely directed at Nol’viz earlier, but interpreting the spirit’s impulses wasn’t easy.
Scarlett turned to Fynn, considering him for a moment. A faint furrow lingered on his brow.
“You did well to leave when I told you,” she said. “Had you stayed, we would both have been in far greater danger.”
She didn’t want to imagine what might have happened had the Angler Man had the time to worm his way into Fynn’s mind. The youth was familiar with too many of her secrets, and she wasn’t sure he had the mental defences necessary to withstand such an intrusion. It was possible his ‘ancestors’ could have intervened, but it wasn’t a risk worth taking.
Fynn studied her, then turned toward the far wall, his gaze distant, as though peering through the mansion and into the forest beyond.
“That pressure,” he said after a pause. “…Was it the creature you warned me about?”
“It was. And you would do well to avoid ever encountering it yourself.” Scarlett shook her head. “For now, the danger has passed. I suggest you retire to your quarters and rest — you have exerted yourself enough for one night.”
His frown remained, but after a while, he gave a small nod and left. She watched him go, then let out a quiet breath before reaching out to the Loci one last time. A second later, she found herself standing before the door to her office.