You know...it's a tad frightening walking into a dimly lit interrogation room which has only one table, two chairs, a single lamp on the ceiling and probably the most bizarre young man sitting at the table. His pale skin seemed to almost glow in the pitiful amount of light which reflected off of his blue eyes and black hair. He watched patiently as I sat down and turned on the recorder.
"Subject twelve twenty-one. Interviewed by Perkins. January seventeenth two-thousand eighteen...."
"Is that really the year?" the subject asked. "My, my you all are behind, aren't you?" I looked at him, trying to read his face, but getting nothing from the evil smirk he had on his face.
"You know," I began, opening the very thin file we had. "If you'd just cooperate, you could've been back to wherever you came from weeks ago." The young man huffed and flipped his hair out of his face. "You're suspicious of us?"
"Call it an occupational hazard of mine," he sneered. "Where I'm from, a little paranoia goes a long way." I flipped through the notes of those who had come before me, looking to see if any of them had gotten a name from the guy. "I'm impressed that they got enough to fill that much on me."
"Don't underestimate people, Mister Hellstrande," I admonished him. "They pick up on more than you'd realize...."
"And I pick up on even more than they could ever know," he countered, leaning forward a little. "For instance, I noticed the ring on your finger is just a tad tarnished and your finger is slightly swollen around it. I would assume that you've been married for quite a few years. The calluses on your hands indicate you worked in a trade before coming here, or perhaps you picked one up as a hobby." I sat up a little straighter, surprised at his calm tone more than the fact he was right. "You also burned your hand this morning spilling a fresh cup of coffee on it."179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡftsPV6KrTu
"This isn't about me," I interrupted. "This is about you." I continued to look through the file. "Says here you showed up out of thin air...walked right out of the side of a building with a massive sword in your hand...."179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgOgJdTAxeg
"What if I did?" I looked into his eyes, trying to maintain contact, but finding it hard. Something swirled behind those eyes...something I wasn't sure I'd want to get to know. 179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDhu1mVcdb
"That seems an awful strange for around here," I continued. "And that's why we're here...monitoring strange and paranormal phenomena."179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUa6cYRrosm
"So, you've kept me in this room because I'm a sorcerer," he huffed, looking away and leaning back. "Typical...all of you are so afraid of what you don't understand...." Something about the way he said that sounded like there was more to what he was letting on. "Don't try to understand me...just let me go and I'll be out of your hair."179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYLlrKJGr6
"Sorry, but I can't do that," I explained. "However, the sooner I tick off a few boxes, the sooner you can get out of here and get back home." The silence that followed prompted me to get on with it. "Dante Hellstrande...an odd name."179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm33hSJfAdl
"An old family name," Dante supplied. "From my father's side...." 179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEa7ZjxRx2a
"And where are your parents?" Dante didn't say anything for a while. I was prepared to simply scratch out that line before he spoke.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrjgKitZOg
"Dead," he answered. "Killed for something they didn't do...by the man who took me in."179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDtgNb8dFRr
"Any other family?"179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡexk61nWn0j
"I had a brother," Dante continued, shrugging. "Not sure what happened to him, though...he wasn't there...." Again...a lot more weight behind those words than I imagine he'd let on. 179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9QnNY4vh24
"You said you were a sorcerer," I pushed on. "You've had your magic since you were born?"179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB2Z77d2GID
"Trained by the local college," he supplied. "But I had to spend the past...four hundred or so years training myself. Give or take a decade." My pen stopped at the casual mention of centuries passing for this apparently young man. "Surprised at my age?"179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo0LCFsVBch
"You look like you're eighteen," I began. "How the hell can you be centuries old?"179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKvd7iskwpf
"You figure it out, Brainiac," he snapped back. "Yeah, I might be one thousand eighteen years old, but that doesn't mean that's how old I am for you...." There wasn't even a heartbeat between my question and his retort. Maybe what I saw behind his eyes wasn't something to be worried about. "Listen...I get that you guys need to know some basic things about me, but I've got a kingdom to attend to and a life I need to live."179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXHSKBl7B59
"Of course," I answered. "Know that, if you ever wind up here again, that you might have to go through a sort of customs, alright?" Turns out that looking away from Dante was a bit of a mistake, because when I looked back to say that he was gone. "Well then...."
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