3. Clara Rodcliffe

Cedric walked through the city, pondering all the possibilities. His first step had been to consider old friends and girlfriends, and Clara Rodcliffe was his top choice. She was an attractive and intelligent girl but also quite unstable. She had a childlike charm that Cedric had always found irresistible. Many happy nights had been spent with her. But that was all he knew about Clara at that moment.

As he walked, Cedric held the baby in his arms, carefully not to wake him and cause silent cries. The little one was expressing distress over the situation and a desire to go home, but Cedric also knew he was too young to grasp the true gravity of the matter. Lysander was born with a special charm that made everyone drawn to him, allowing Cedric to carry him without arousing suspicion. But he knew it couldn't last much longer.

When he reached the end of the street, he stood in front of Clara's house. It was a small wooden house with a backyard parking lot and a garden on the left side. As Cedric approached, he could see Clara through the living room windows.

Cedric knocked on the door with a certain hope on his face; it was the first opportunity of ten, he could have good luck at that moment.

Clara had changed a lot since the times they had been lovers. Now 17 years old, she had short curly hair, and her eyebrows met in a continuous line over her nose. She had a slim figure, and her face seemed empty, as if there was nothing inside it. When she saw Cedric, both repulsion and anger were expressed in her gaze.

"Clara," Cedric said, "I apologize for coming here. But I need to talk to you."

Lysander started to cry quietly in his arms, and Clara approached to observe the baby. She then said, "Finally, karma did something good. Now you'll have to take responsibility for this, Cedric."

After that statement, Clara closed the door in his face without Cedric being able to say a word.

Cedric walked to the nearest square and sat on a bench. There, while Lysander played with his hands, he looked at the list of old girlfriends inside his jacket. He crossed out Clara's name with a hint of reproach. She couldn't be Lysander's mother, not after being caught off guard.

As soon as he crossed out Clara's name, his hand moved to another old girlfriend named Camila Lancaster. She was a charming and sexy girl with long, wavy hair and bright green eyes like pearls. At 28, she owned a nightclub called El Sátiro in the city center. Camila had a life full of men and was prone to maintaining relationships without emotional commitments. She seemed perfect for the situation, given her aversion to responsibilities.

When he was with Camila, he had felt a kind of captivity, as if she attracted him and kept him in her sphere of influence. That feeling reminded him of being the prey of a spider, which is why he ended things with her. And at that moment, Camila was at the top of his list.

Suddenly, an explosion echoed in the distance. Smoke began to rise, and people started running in the opposite direction of the smoke. Lysander started crying more intensely. Cedric hugged him and said, "Don't worry, little one. We're close to home."

From the beginning, Cedric blamed the dark wizards.

"These lunatics are starting to attack during daylight," he said, standing up and carrying Lysander on his chest as he ran toward his home, seeking to protect the baby from any danger.

Cedric felt internally guilty for Lysander. If it weren't for the baby, he could have fought the dark wizards and saved the city. If his mother hadn't left him in a basket on his doorstep, he wouldn't be running away like a coward.

When he reached his home, he stood in the backyard and looked up. Smoke continued to billow from the bombed building.

Cedric looked outward, where the smoke began to dissipate and formed patterns in the sky. His hands were tied behind his back. He would be reproached at the Wizard Academy and reproached by his friends.

There was an agreement among all wizards: if a dark wizard attack started, everyone had to go and help. That was the code, that was the rule. Now Cedric couldn't follow it because if he did, he would lose Lysander. He had to find a way to resolve the situation without endangering the baby.

He thought of Camila and El Sátiro. That was where she probably was. Maybe he could talk to her and unravel something about Lysander.

Cedric thought about his pending tasks: finding Lysander's mother and defending the city against the dark wizards. He had to choose between one and the other, but he couldn't decide which was more important.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***