"So bro, you're saying 'proud' means protruding out from something in archi language?" Liam asked, fascinated.

Claire nodded grinning. "Yes. Like, umm, you can say that a nail is 'proud' of the plank if you see it sticking out of the plank. Or something like ... hammer that 'proud' nail. It means you want to hammer it down to level it with the plank and such," she added. Claire could see his blue green eyes sparkling in the sunlight, amused. She could tell he was running the cogs in his mind to refurbish the idea.

"So like, I could say - my fingers are proud of my palm or my head is proud of my torso?"Liam chimed wriggling his fingers and giving a boxy smile which made her chuckle. Claire nodded affirming.

They had been in the forest for a while now. While she intended on putting this chance into good use by getting to know more about what the Phoenix had in mind for them, so far all they talked about was absolute gibberish. She knew that was sipping away the precious opportunity that luck had provided for her but her mouth was revolting against her mind. Fascination and conformal tenacity were a combination that Claire had witnessed very little in people of her field. Most of her fellow architecture majors just chewed on the knowledge and puked them in the exams and this very fact was keeping her rambling. That was her point of engrossment.

Usually, Claire was a hardcore introvert but she felt different with Liam. For some reason, warming up to him took her no time at all, something that she was really worried that she would not be able to do at all and extract any information given the fact that she was an exceptionally sensitive social being. But the conversation felt so natural with him. She could talk with him as casually as she could with Derek and Xen which was another reason she was not even trying much to divert what they were talking about. She went on and on about all the weird quirks of architecture, all the double-edged words that went both ways.

Yeah! Readout those reasons to Satan in the afterlife when you'd be discovered dead here somewhere and sent to hell

"So like is there a magical spell you guys use when making blueprints?" Liam asked excitedly which broke her faze, " like you know, secret code language? cuz that would be so cool! Imagine there's a secret cult of full blast architects, underground, gushing secret words like writing 'Proud nail!' on paper but secretly it meant - today! We shall rise!!!" Liam said putting his both hands up in the air with a smolder to put on a dramatic effect to his childish theory.

Claire laughed. She did not get how did they suddenly enter into a dark underworld conspiracy theory from talking about boring architecture terms. It was like he could talk about anything from anywhere.

"Is there?" Liam narrowed his eyes with a sloppy grin on his face.

" Stob! No," she said with a chuckle.

"Of course, you won't tell me. Otherwise, you gotta sacrifice a virgin goat to a moon god or something to keep the world from falling apart, " he grimaced, motioning throw of fake tears in the air.

" I'm just a freshman in Wilmore High. I don't know! Maybe they do take you in the secret inner circle of crazy architects once you climb up the ladder, " she added trying to mimic his tone.

There goes another one of my info

Claire rebuked herself.

Or they know all of these already. They must. They are the Nix after all

" Shame! Since you got packaged here as a sophomore. We would never get to know anymore," he shrugged shaking his head.

" How did you guys decide on it though? To place us all in the second year that is? I mean, Xen is a third-year really. His sports ladder works differently than ours. He'd be repeating a year then. "

" Don't know bro. Maybe they went - oh she looks too cute to be a third-year but too less glossy to be a freshman. So let's just put her in the sophomore year. Oh! And the boys are gonna whine without her. So let's put them in the same class. Yayy! Everyone's happy! " Liam yipped.

Claire looked at him. She could not decide if he just tactfully dodged the topic to avoid leaking information or it was just his usual cheeky side being cheeky. In either way, she decided against pressing the matter. She did not want him to put his guard up in case it was the latter and lose her only chance of gaining any information that she could. Though she doubted that it was the case.

Suddenly Liam yanked her arm which made her stumble.

Ouch! Hot

She looked at him, flustered by this sudden action but he was looking at the ground.

"You know what won't be cute bro? If we blow ourselves up and rain from the sky. Not a pleasant sight I must say," he said motioning to a thin metal wire which was barely visible amidst all the dry leaves on the ground.

He sat on his knees and pointed at the arrangement. " You see. This is called a tap wire. It's connected with the two mines that we came to look for here. But one faulty tug on it and we're gonna go flying. Bet they don't teach this cool stuff in archi," Liam finished, giving a smile.

This was not cool at all

Claire's heart was beating like a drum against her chest. She dropped down on the ground while Liam brought out a pliers from his satchel and carefully observed the wire. She could not believe she was just about to blow the whole place up and kill themselves while he was so casually sitting there. Her chest started feeling tight and suddenly it felt like there was not enough air in the world.

I was not...he did...

Her mind started fogging with all the what-ifs that did not happen.

Liam noticed the sudden change in her demeanor. It took him few moments to contemplate what just happened. He did not make any sudden move at all rather sat there calmly with a reassuring smile as if he was dealing with a fragile flower which could wither at any sudden movements.

"Hey, it's okay. It's totally okay. I'm here," he whispered in a soft tone," see? this line is completely innocent if not touched."

Claire looked at him and back at the wire. She placed her hand on the chest and tried calming herself down but her heart was pounding. She desperately tried breathing in, filling up her lungs with all the air in the world but her lungs were not responding to her plea. It was then when it hit her nose. A strange garlic smell.

Arsine!

Liam's face twisted in realization. "Cover your nose! Now!" he yelled clamping his own. But that took Claire by surprise. Claire panicked. She panicked which she should not have. She jumped back flabbergasted and felt a thin, cold metal against her skin. Her eyes went wide realizing what she had just done.

Click.

The next few moments seemed to play in slow motion in front of her eyes. Liam leaped at her and spooned her into a ball, two mines exploded on her two sides with a deafening bass and a strong surge of energy threw them across, flying.

They went tumbling down hitting highs and lows as fumes blasted around them at a diabolic speed. They hit the ground hard with a drag. It took her few moments to realize what had just happened. She tried peeking outside but Liam's arms were still wrapped tightly around her frame. She could hear his heart thumping fast.

Liam slowly loosened his embrace, his head hanging low. Claire's legs were still shaking. He got slowly up and patted off the small flames here and there on his charred clothes.

The scene in front of her took away the remaining of any spirit that she had left in her. It was drizzling over the forest. Smokes and dust were spiraling up the sky like a blanket of yellow smog lingered around them. While it was a surreal shade of green on this side, it was scorched uphill where the fire was running wild. She slowly rose up on her feet with quivering lips.

There was a plain land here!

I just.... blew up half the forest!

She turned around and saw Liam staggering towards some cave with a thin stream of water coming out of it. There was something abnormal about the way he was carrying himself. Like something was missing. But worse than that, It looked like he could collapse down any moment. Claire shook her head. She had done enough damage with her mopping already. She tried focusing her attention on Liam.

Right now he needs assistance

She quickly ran to Liam's side and put her hand on his shoulder to support him but he just grabbed her arm and threw her inside the cave. She turned around, confused. And scared.

Something is off

Claire jumped out of her wit as a purple flame barked up to life at one corner of the cave painting the wall in a ghostly shade. In that she saw Liam standing at the mouth with his head held low and shoulders drooping. The sudden change in his persona startled her. He took a staggering step towards her and she backed by one.

Soon Claire was standing against the cave wall with Liam towering over her, too close into her comfort zone. His breath fell against her neck, shaky and shallow. Claire gulped. She did not see where this was heading but a red siren was blaring in her mind.

She put on a frail effort of ducking to her side and run but got blocked hard by his hand even before she could pivot. She looked up and staring back at her was a celestial pair of amethyst eyes, his look intense and cold. Claire flickered her eyes shut instantly. Images of the Nixs torturing her villagers came flooding down in her mind with the same intense looks in their eyes and thousands of possibilities of her body being discovered disfigured in the cave sprinted in her mind.

This is not happening

Liam lowered his mouth to her ear and muttered slowly in a breathy tone " If you utter one word about what happened to a single living soul, I'd have to ki-"

Claire hitched her breath and waited for something sharp to pierce her body and send bolts of pain sparking in her body. Instead, his body slumped down on her petite frame.

That was it. That was her breaking point. Claire's legs caved in and she fell down with a shudder. She still could not process the validity of all the events that took place and kept chanting to herself that it was all just a dream. She did not just blow up a forest and was not just going to be murdered. She was going to open her eyes and wake up in her dorm drooling over her notes from a long slumber. But nothing of that sort happened. She opened her eyes and still discovered herself inside a ghostly cave with a Nix dead on her shoulder who just saved her from burning alive but was preferably going to kill her a few moments back for something she had no idea about. She could not gauge anything that was going on.

Her mind pulled her back from spiraling farther as she felt a warm liquid slowly drenching her shoulder.

He's bleeding

Dead men don't bleed