This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange - Chapter 817: Mining Memories

Chapter 817: Chapter 817: Mining Memories

The large extended vehicle (enough to hold 10 children) hummed smoothly along the winding road to the manor, its spiritual-energy engine purring like a contented beast.

Jax gripped the wheel with one hand, his other drumming a rhythmic beat on the dashboard, while Garret sat shotgun, arms crossed over his massive chest, staring out the window with his usual stoic expression.

The Newman siblings filled the back seats, their voices a cacophony of post-school chatter that bounced off the vehicle’s interior like playful echoes.

“Milo, seriously, how do you even stay awake reading that stuff?” Jax called back, glancing in the rearview mirror at Milo who was still studying on the ride back, with a grin that split his face. “I mean, just the words on the cover of that book sounds like a spell to put me to sleep!”

Milo, rolled his eyes from the middle row, while continuing to shuffle through his notes. “It’s not that bad, Jax. If you understood half of it, you’d see why it’s important. Besides, someone’s got to keep up the family brains—Kain can’t do everything.”

Jasper, one of the fourteen-year-old twins, snickered from beside him. “Yeah, Milo, keep dreaming. You were probably just sucking up to the teacher again. ’Oh, Mr. Hickory, tell me more about the Star-Channel Theory!’”

Jasmine, Jasper’s twin sister, elbowed him. “Shut up, Jasp. At least Milo’s not late because he was flirting with half the high school wing like someone I know.”

The ten-year-olds—Parker, Sunny, and Charlie—giggled from the back, with eight-year-old Melody sandwiched between them, her small hands clutching a drawing she’d made in class. “Did Jasper get rejected by all of them?” Sunny teased, earning a glare from Jasper.

Garret let out a rare chuckle, his deep voice rumbling like distant thunder. “Kid’s got priorities. Better than Milo’s—books over babes? Tragic.”

The laughter swelled, the siblings piling on with more jabs, their energy infectious. But to Gabriel, it was all distant noise, like static on a radio. He sat by the window, staring at the blurring landscape, his mind replaying the encounter at the gates.

Airalai’s violet eyes, her calm smile, the way her presence had churned his stomach with a deep, instinctive aversion. Who was she? Why did she feel… familiar? The envelope held by Cherry looked to him like a ticking bomb waiting to explode.

The transport pulled into the manor’s driveway, gravel crunching under the tires. The siblings spilled out, still laughing, Milo defending his “intellectual pursuits” while Jasper and Jasmine bickered over who was more popular.

Key raced Melody to the door, while Parker, Sunny, and Charlie trailed with mock complaints about “being the babysitters” having to bring Melody to and from class, only to be ditched by her in favour of other siblings once they got home.

Jax and Garret exchanged a nod, Jax cracking one last joke about “delivering the chaos crew safely,” before heading off to report to Darrius.

Gabriel lingered by the vehicle, his hand in his pocket, his gaze flicking toward Cherry, who still held the envelope tight against her side. Cherry paused at the door, noticing his hesitation. “Hey, Gabe, you coming? Or are you planning to camp out here?” Her tone was light, but her eyes held a flicker of concern, noting that his demeanour had been off the whole ride back.

He caught up, pulling her aside once they were through the doorway, away from the noise of the others heading deeper inside. Gabriel ignored everything around them, his focus fixed entirely on Cherry and the envelope in her grasp.

“Cherry, about that envelope…” he whispered, glancing over his shoulder to ensure they were alone.

She crossed her arms, her mischievous grin fading. “What about it? The lady said give it to the Director.”

Gabriel shook his head, his gut twisting again. “Something’s off. That woman… Airalai… she felt wrong. Like I’ve seen her before, but not in a good way. My stomach’s been churning since she left. We should give it to Kain instead. He can handle whatever’s inside.”

Cherry hesitated, biting her lip. “You’re being paranoid, Gabe. She seemed nice—kind and beautiful, actually.” Her cheeks tinted pink for a moment, although it was shallow to admit, the halo effect was working overtime to give Airalai a great first impression.

“But yeah, if (and that’s a big if) there is something wrong, Kain’s the one to deal with it. Director’s not as tough as he pretends.” With a reluctant sigh, she pulled the envelope from her pocket and pressed it into Gabriel’s hands. “Fine. You give it to him then.”

They found Kain in the study, poring over a holographic map of the Celestial Empire that was sent to him and marked by Collin with all of the current locations in the Empire their beer business had infiltrated. Currently, it looked like a sea of green, indicating that nearly every big city to small town had at least one beer distributor for Kain’s business.

Kain’s brown hair was tousled, dark circles under his eyes from his sleepless night, but his gaze sharpened as they entered. “Gabriel, Cherry. What’s up?”

Gabriel handed over the envelope, explaining the encounter quickly—the beautiful woman with purple hair, her calm demeanor, the request for the Director. Cherry chimed in with details, her voice steady but with a hint of unease now that Gabriel’s worry had sunk in.

Kain took the envelope, his expression neutral as he slit it open with a finger coated in spiritual power. He read in silence, the paper crinkling softly. His face didn’t change, but a cold aura seeped into the room, the air growing heavier, like a storm brewing. The siblings exchanged glances, Cherry shifting uncomfortably.

“Thanks for bringing this to me,” Kain said finally, his voice calm but edged with ice. “I’ll handle it. Go get some rest—you both had a big day.”

Cherry nodded, giving Gabriel a quick punch on the arm. “See? Told you it’s probably nothing. Let’s grab some snacks before dinner—I’m starving.” She headed out, her steps light, the incident already fading from her mind.

Gabriel lingered, his feet rooted. The envelope’s weight was gone, but the unease lingered.

“Kain,” Gabriel said, his voice low. “There’s something else. That woman… she felt familiar. Like I’ve seen her before. I don’t remember details, but… it could just be my imagination. Forget about it…” He waved his hand and turned to leave.

Kain looked up, his expression growing serious. “No, Gabriel. It might not just be your imagination. Airalai… she’s connected to the people who kidnapped you. I’d hoped her role was less direct, more behind the scenes. But if you recognize her…” He trailed off, his internal thoughts swirling.

Kain knew she was part of the Black Dawn, but experiments on kids? He had thought —hoped—she was more of in an administrative/managerial role, not hands-on in the torture of innocent people.

A tiny portion of him even held onto the belief that she may not be fully aware of the Black Dawn’s more cruel actions despite the information brought back by Darrius and Malzahir being that she oversaw a laboratory…Perhaps that lab wasn’t one of the worst ones? Or they hid the human subjects from her too?

’If she’s attempting to reach out to the Director directly now, pulling on heartstrings with old stories… she will likely just go around me to make contact with the others. I can’t hold her off much longer. I need to know exactly what she was involved with.’

Kain set the letter aside, his cold aura receding as he focused on Gabriel. “If you’re okay with it, I’d like to use Bea to dig up some memories that may be repressed. To see if you really have met her before, and in what context…”

Gabriel didn’t hesitate. “Do it. If she’s from the lab, I want to know.” He’d trusted Kain with his life before, much less his memories. Not to mention that Bea entering his mind was nothing new; she’d been a frequent inhabitant in his mind when he’d bee recovered from the lab unconscious and when Kain was still trying to figure out a way to cure him from the artificial core they’d implanted in him.

Kain nodded, summoning Bea with a soft pulse of energy. “Ready?” Kain asked.

Gabriel nodded, closing his eyes. Before his mind was pulled into a deep ’sleep.’

Gabriel’s breath held as the first fragment surfaced—a beautiful face, violet eyes, and the same gentle smile.

But then the scene widened. Shadows of steel tables, the muffled sobs of children echoing through the dark, and the faint smell of antiseptic mixed with blood clawed at his senses as he immersed himself in the memories uncovered by Bea.

Gabriel’s body twitched as the memory sharpened, the smile on Airalai’s lips no longer serene but curving with unsettling purpose. He felt again the press of restraints against his wrists, the weight of eyes watching from behind glass. A whisper—familiar yet indecipherable—brushed his ears, promising comfort even as the image of a syringe gleamed under dim light. Gabriel’s breath began to be ragged as he became immersed.

Watching the memories alongside him, Kain leaned closer, dreading what might come next.