Chapter 8 Whisper Of Truth

The butler left his master in high spirits to attend to the orders of the men whom he found interesting. He should treat them warmly as per his master's request. He came out from the kitchen and wore his business smile then greeted the customers.

"Thank you for ordering, will you be eating the bread in here? If you do, we also serve coffee and tea while you enjoy your food," he offered since his master wanted to observe them more.

Siron's group was a bit surprised when they heard that they could eat the bread in the shop so they agreed to the butler's offer without thinking much about it. Each of them got a cup of coffee then the butler escorted them to a three seater table in the corner of the shop.

"Please make yourselves at home while I go and prepare your coffee and bread and while waiting, you can try our blueberry cookies, courtesy of our baker," he placed a platter of freshly baked cookies on their table which successfully caught their attention. They did not even ask a question as to where the butler got the cookies when he was not holding anything.

The butler left them on their own while he prepared their orders. Cygnus watched as the man was carefully placing the bread they chose on the plate. He even wiped the edges of the plate where crumbs were scattered.

"You really are good at doing this," he commented after the last bread was plated elegantly.

"Indeed I am master, so please observe them as much as you like," he nodded then he gave his master a smile. He carefully lifted the tray and left to serve them their food.

Siron watched in anticipation when he saw the man with their orders in his hands. The butler placed the tray on the table and served them their food.

"Enjoy your coffee and bread," he waved his hand then bowed before he left to give them privacy.

"Are we really going to stay here?" Xavion asked out of the blue afte the butler left.

"Yes, until my Master changes his mind," Siron took a bite of the bread and appreciated it's soft texture and creamy filling by nodding his head.

"The Grand Mage would not change his mind," Astrophos interjected. The man was stubborn and he managed to out run them everytime so he was sure that he will not do as the Magic Tower requests.

"Let's see if his stubbornness can work when his nephew is involved," Siron smirked. Astrophos could already see through him and the thoughts in his mind. He closed his eyes and shook his head, this time he chose not to speak any longer.

On the other hand, Jagan who was now seated on the couch in their small living room. After he confronted Siron and his group he entered the house only to be met by his nephew who silently stared at him.

"What do you want to ask?" He could only resign to his fate.

Ezio looked straight at his uncle's eyes without blinking. "Will you even answer me once I ask the questions that are now currently roaming around my mind?"

Another sigh as he nodded to his nephew's words which now led to the currently awkward situation they were in. Ezio waited for his uncle to voluntarily start talking because he did not want to push him any further.

"Those people are from the place where I used to work and they are the reason why we kept on moving from one place to another and now they found me," Jagan started. His head was bowed as his eyes were staring at the ground.

"Why are they chasing us?" Ezio asked this time because this was the right time to ask his uncle for the reason behind their every move.

Jagan was silent for a while because he was not sure how to answer that question. Ezio waited patiently and did not urge him. "That's because they wanted me to come back." He simply answered but this time Ezio was not satisfied.

"Are you a wanted criminal? Did you do anything that made them chase you all the way here? They did not even give up even after how many years," he commented as there were holes from that answer his uncle gave him. If he simply left without problems then they would be living peacefully in a different place right now but based on what had happened and from the appearance of those people, his leaving was not a simple matter.

Jagan chuckled and lifted his head to meet his nephew's eyes, "The people behind those who were chasing me might as well thought that I am criminal because I took something important from them." His gaze never wavered and it made Ezio uncomfortable. There was something from his uncle's gaze that made him uneasy.

"What-what do you meam by that? If you stole something then can't you just return it so that they will leave you alone?" Ezio deliberately avoided his uncle's gaze. He instead stared at his hands that were placed on his lap.

"If it was as simple as that then I could have returned it but I can't. I've promised that I won't hand it over no matter what happens, even if it costs me my life," his words were firm. Ezio raised his head and saw that there were no traces of his playful uncle to be found. The man in front of him was like a stone general who was not moved by anything.

Ezio felt nervous all of a sudden because of those words and the previous questions in his head disappeared. His uncle's gaze made his heart beat abnormally fast with a foreboding feeling rising within him. The teen stood up and turned around to leave.

"Is-is that so. I just remembered that I was not done watering the plants. Let's continue this conversation some other time," he started to walk away but his uncle's piercing gaze did not leave his back. He did not understand why he suddenly did not want to hear anymore answers from his uncle.

Jagan only looked at his nephew's receding back. He could understand why Ezio suddenly did not want to stay anymore. The child was sensitive to these things ever since he was young, he tended to avoid everything that might hurt him because his instincts would tell him to do so but that was not the only special thing about him. He was much more than a child who can predict danger.

"In the future, if something unexpected happens, I want you to go to that shop owner." He stood up and caught up with Ezio. He then patted the teen's shoulder, "I don't know if that man is someone good but I'm sure that he will find you interesting once you tell him his name." Then he leaned forward and whispered the shop owner's name in his nephew's ears.

Ezio did not turn around after hearing the name and instead continued walking towards the door. Jagan did not move, not until he saw Ezio closing the door behind him did he doubled over and clutched his stomach with his other hand covering his mouth to stop the blood from coming out but it was no use because it still spilled.

He did not expect that the pain of just whispering that man's full name was not even comparable to the pain he felt the first time. This time he could not even pass out even though he wanted to. He was awake and tortured by the unbearable pain, like his insides was being burned and torned apart. The metallic taste of the blood in his mouth did not disappear as it continued to flow out. He could even feel a hot liquid coming out from his eyes and nose and that's when he cursed silently while going through the intense pain.

He did not know how much time had passed while he lay on the floor bearing all the pain from a mere name when he heard the door opening again followed by frantic footsteps and his nephew's worried voice. After that everything happened in a daze, he did not even know if he answered Ezio's questions, all he knew was that he kept on mumbling.

This was the worst and he did not even know if it was worth it to receive all of that damage just to let his nephew know that man's name when he himself was not sure if the man himself will really help Ezio when the time comes. He did not know and was too tired to think about it now then after a while, the pain subsided and he could finally close his eyes.

Ezio watched as his uncle slept. He finally felt relief after tending to him and seeing that his breathing was even. He was really shocked when he saw his uncle sprawled like that on the cold floor with blood all over the place. Luckily he was strong enough to carry the man twice his size towards his room.

Slowly, he wiped the dried blood on his uncle's face then changed his sweat soaked clothes into fresh ones. There seemed to be no external injuries and as far as he knew, his uncle was healthy. Before his mind could wander even further, he stood up and left the room. He'll leave the explanation to his uncle once he wakes up.