Chapter 71: Boiling Point

Syryn had killed fools for less. In his time as a demon lord, Syryn had murdered people just for the reason of existing. He had revelled in butchering his enemies and acquaintances alike. Standing now before a shivering avian who had been drenched in rain for hours because 'Syryn had locked him outside,' the alchemist wondered how he had allowed himself to fall so low. Even a scheming weak bitch like Lumi was running loose in the house when Syryn could just end it once and for all with a snap of a neck. His eyes were pinned to the avian like he was looking at a corpse.

"You locked the door without checking if we were all inside?" The fire mage's frustrated voice ground Syryn's gears. Of course, it was Magnus who found Lumi passed out on the doorstep, soaked through like a drowned puppy at the crack of dawn. Salem would have been the one to discover Lumi if his circadian rhythm hadn't been disturbed by that 4-day poison brewing marathon that he had partaken in.

Syryn hadn't checked each room for its occupants before he had locked the house down for the night. How could he have suspected such a low level set up against him? It was genius. "No, I didn't check."

Lumi had been carried into the kitchen by Magnus. After warming him up from the heat of their fireplace, Lumi had awakened to tell his tale of woe to the fire mage.

"You can't be so careless Syryn," the disapproval in his tone further incensed the younger mage who felt like he had was being blamed unfairly.

"And why the hell was he out at night, not having informed anyone when he knew what time the doors were locked?"

"I didn't know.." Lumi shook his head and miserably answered. His cheeks were red from fever and even the blanket around him - which belonged to Magnus - could not stop his shivering.

"You're a liar and I should just cut your tongue out."

"Syryn," Magnus' tone was cool. "I don't understand why you're so antagonistic towards Lumi. I found him unconscious by the door and I know he wasn't pretending. Maybe you should ease down and stop picking on him."

Syryn wasn't sure whether he wanted to kick Magnus in the face or laugh. The fire mage was being so cleverly manipulated by the avian and there was nothing that Syryn could say that would absolve him of the crimes that the bitch bird - Red's nickname for Lumi - was piling on his head.

"Maybe you should get your head out of your ass and see him for the manipulative bastard that he is."

Luci was seated on Salem's lap, watching them fight, with a solemness that looked wrong on the child. Riha was quiet and contemplative.

Syryn saw Magnus' tight shoulders loosen and droop, letting go of his anger. It was replaced by disappointment and that was much worse. Anger burnt hot and died but disappointment had a way of rooting itself in a person's heart. "What did Lumi do for you to treat him this way?" The fire mage asked.

Syryn should have been asking that question to Lumi. Why was the avian hell-bent upon ruining Syryn's relationship with Magnus? The alchemist could have just banished the avian from their home and it was the easiest solution to his predicament. However, that would only lead to more friction with Magnus, an end not worth the exchange. As smart as Magnus was, Lumi's schemes had been watertight and executed with finesse and simplicity. The alchemist needed time to think about Lumi's motivations and how to counteract his schemes.

"Magnus, you've known me for a long time, longer than this cunt you're defending. You know what I'm like, don't you? I go straight for the jugular. Lumi here wants to convince you that I'm playing a long game of bullying but that's not my style. You know that don't you, you dumb fire mage? Get your shit together. I will not tolerate slander against my person in my own house."

If Magnus had been sinking into a fog of Lumi's making, Syryn's words were a strong gust of wind that whipped the fog away if for a moment. His eyes were bright and steady, holding Syryn's, wavering like a flame in the wind.

"I'll leave. I understand I'm not welcome in your home." Lumi pressed his hands to his eyes for a second, blocking a stream of tears. "I thought I finally found friends, and a place to call home. But Riha won't talk to me and everyone looks at me like I'm crazy. I just wanted... I.. sorry." Lumi flung aside the blanket that had covered him. He turned into a bird and took flight. When he reached the open window, the avian's wings failed him. Syryn watched apathetically as the yellow bird fell to the floor with a soft thunk.

Magnus stood rooted to the ground but he snapped out of his confusion and reached Lumi before Riha.

"Salem, can you treat him?" The fire mage asked the blonde. The yellow bird looked frail in his large palms. Its breathing was erratic, its chest rising and falling like the skin of a war drum.

Magnus hadn't asked for Syryn's help although he was their most capable healer. The fire mage had drawn a line between them. It hurt but so what? Syryn was not going to apologise or feel remorse because none of it had been his fault. He calmly turned around and left the kitchen, making his stance known to all the observers. The laughter and warmth that had permeated their home now pushed out by the hands of a stranger led Syryn to ask himself, was his friendship with Magnus so cheap?

It was harder than he thought; ignoring Magnus, pretending he couldn't see the peace offerings that the fire mage extended, pretending there wasn't a sick bird nesting in the fire mage's room - being taken care of like he was invalid - because a cold and fever were so life-threatening that Lumi was 'out' for days. Syryn despised Lumi more and more with every passing day that informed him of the bird's continuing existence in the world of the living.

"Let me guess, you're thinking about Lumi." Salem walked into the workroom wearing an apron - a clean wiping cloth in his hand and a metal bucket filled with a disinfectant in his other hand.

"Why? Do I look homicidal?"

Salem placed the bucket down on the floor. His hair was braided and tucked into his shirt so it wouldn't get in the way of his cleaning. "No, you looked hungry."

"Hungry?"

"Like a cat staring into a pond filled with fat fish. Big fat fish teasing the cat."

"This is why you're my favourite," he smiled at Salem, the first genuine smile in days.

"No, I'm your favourite because of how indispensable I am as your little alchemy slave."

"And you still stay."

"I said slave, not an employee."

Their banter continued as Salem dipped the cloth in disinfectant and got to work.

"I discussed it with Riha," the half-elf began after a lull in their conversation. "We talked about why Lumi might be acting up."

"And?"

Salem hesitated as he chose the right words for what he was about to say. "Riha thinks that Lumi might have some kind of obsession with me."

Syryn's raised brows promoted the half-elf to continue. "It's the way he kept staring at me from the day he was brought here. Riha noticed and so did I. He looks at me like he wants to swallow me whole."

The gears were turning in Syryn's head, already reaching the conclusion that Salem was hinting at.

"It all began that day he found us here, in a position that might have given him the wrong idea about what we were doing."

Syryn snorted. The bird certainly did get the right idea about what they had been doing.

"So he's jealous and taking it out on the good feelings that I share with Magnus. Is that what you're telling me?"

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"There could be other reasons for his behaviour but this is the simplest explanation we had for it."

"What other explanations have you thought of?"

"Maybe he's just.. crazy? But it doesn't explain why he chose to attack you out of any of us."

Syryn sighed, "what kind of a monster have we brought into our home?"

"A jealous one."

There was no gloating in Salem about being the object of someone's passionate obsession. He seemed rather put off by it.

"Riha is sorry about bringing Lumi. He wants to apologise to you after he is able to do something about Lumi."

"It's not Riha's fault, is it? He felt sorry for the bird and brought it here thinking he could somehow help him. Let him know that I'll handle Lumi myself. It's gotten real personal now."

"What are you going to do?"

"Observe and retaliate. Don't you worry your pretty head, Salem."

"I look forward to it then."

Lumi was back to doing chores because he had no money to pay Salem for the medical treatment, and he hoped that he could work his debt off. The hardworking bird could be seen cooking in the kitchen, mopping the halls, wiping down the dust-covered furniture, watering their plants, and even aiding Salem in the alchemy chamber. When Syryn saw the blonde smiling warmly at Lumi as the bird passed him a jar of dried snake glands, he was struck by a desire to throttle them both. Common sense kept him grounded and he waited for the half-elf to give him an explanation.

"I want to understand him."

Syryn accepted his answer. To Salem, Lumi was just an experiment he needed to dissect and take apart, to coax an answer out of. It still annoyed him but he tolerated it. Throughout the entire drama, Alka had been absent, and Syryn desperately missed his calming presence. He wanted to be held and soothed by the plant mage whose herbal scent could wash away the impurities that afflicted Syryn's mental faculties.

Alka finally returned home but the situation had reached a breaking point when he arrived. Syryn and Magnus were facing off after the latter stumbled upon a scene that chilled him.

Lumi was on the kitchen floor, crying in pain from the burns that covered his arms. A pot of hot water was upturned on the floor and it didn't take a genius to put two and two together. Someone had splashed Lumi with boiling water and since there had been only Syryn and Lumi inside the kitchen when it happened, it had to be Syryn right?

"Lumi!" Magnus had rushed in to aid the avian. "How did this happen??"

Lumi was glaring at Syryn through his tears of pain. "What did I do to deserve this Syryn?!" This time, his cry was loud with the fury of a victim demanding justice. "If you want me out of this house then just say so! You didn't have to hurt me like this!"

Syryn was mute, impassive like a cold mountain. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. He could keenly feel the burning stare of Magnus on him like the scorching sun. When Syryn opened his eyes, the apathy was replaced by a calm sea of neutrality.

"To think that you'd even burn yourself to ruin me so thoroughly in front of Magnus. You're a real one Lumi." Syryn put his hands together and clapped slowly. "I applaud your commitment to the play."

Magnus looked at Syryn like the boy had lost his mind. In his arm, he cradled an avian with second-degree burns while his friend stood in front of them clapping and alleging that the burns had been self-inflicted. The fire mage wondered if he could go back to bed and redo the day.

"Syryn, you've gone too far this time," he said with a weary sigh.

Salem was already taking care of the burns with a focused gaze and it took the edge off the quiet anger that Magnus was radiating.

"So you're telling me that you believe I threw boiling water at Lumi?" The alchemist plainly asked.

Magnus frowned when questioned like that. Lumi couldn't have done it to himself, could he? "Why would he burn himself?"

"I don't know Lumi. Is it because you're obsessed with Salem and couldn't stand to see me cuddle with him?" Syryn's grin was mocking.

Lumi was a good actor. The bird acted confused and scared. "What are you talking about?"

"You should join a theatre group Lumi. You'd be famous in no time and get the attention you crave so much."

"Syryn, that's enough. You've made your point," Magnus coldly told him. "I'm leaving this home and I'm taking Lumi with me before you end up killing him."

Syryn's heart objected to those words by letting him feel a slash of pain that went beyond losing his best friend.

"I'm sorry.." he immediately blurted out. "Lumi, I'm sorry! Please.. don't leave." Syryn's face paled as he apologised in a blind panic. "Magnus, I'll stay away from Lumi. I won't even look in his direction so stay here with us." The fire mage had never seen Syryn so vulnerable. His best friend was bright, cocksure of himself, and acted like a princess when it suited him. It hurt Magnus to see Syryn like this.

And it was to this scene that Alka arrived. The bags in his hands dropped to the floor and he looked at their faces.

"What happened here?"

The young mage turned on his heels and left the kitchen hastily. Salem, who was worried about Syryn, passed on the healing duty to Magnus and ran after the fleeing alchemist. When Syryn opened the workroom door to let him in, the boy looked nothing like the heartbroken mage that had run away desperately.

"Syryn, are you alright?" He asked.

Syryn wore a self-satisfied smile when he answered. "Better than alright. I got to throw a pot of boiling water at him so I'm quite satisfied."

"What?"

"If I'm going to get blamed for things I didn't do, I might as well go ahead and do them right?"

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