by Jay Boyce
Mana Sense
Beginner 1
20%
It had still shown up, though it was as if it had barely had time to register. Still, she supposed it was better than nothing. This meant two things. She could siphon from monsters apparently, and if someone she was siphoning died, it stopped at whatever progress it had already made, or something like that. She wasn’t sure, but that was her guess. She’d have to think about it more.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” The guard holding her whispered his question.
She realized she was shaking pretty badly, and he could feel the vibrations from her body. She sighed and whispered back, “I just need food, then I’ll be fine.” It seemed that was her comfort in this world. Whenever anything was wrong? Just feed her and it would go away. She felt him almost imperceptibly pick up the pace a little bit.
They stopped when they got near The Green Dragon. Stephen was standing in front of the door consulting with a couple of other people, and there were people coming up periodically, seemingly reporting, getting barked instructions from Stephen, and then leaving again. Concerned, Mike stepped forward and quickly walked towards Stephen, the guards following silently behind him, now fully alert once more. “Stephen, is something wrong? Is someone hurt?”
Stephen sighed, raking a hand through his lush, dark hair. “Mike! Have you seen Jade? No one has seen her in hours. Scott said she left the library, but she should have been back by now. We heard there’s a mesmer on the loose, and she’s likely to be a…why do you have guards with you? What’s that in your arms?” He seemed to finally have noticed Mike’s shadows.
Jade struggled a little bit, and the man holding her, whose name she realized she’d forgotten to get, but it was either Jacobs, Tanner, or Bick, though those sounded like last names to her, seemed to realize she wanted down. He gently set her on her feet and she reached up, pulling her hood down as she smiled wanly at Stephen. “Hi. You can call back the search teams now. The mesmer is dead. Can you get them to make me something to eat?”
The guards were looking distinctly uncomfortable at her way of announcing she was back, but Stephen just took a few steps forward, holding onto her shoulders and inspecting her, taking note of the bloodstains going down her face. “You’re okay?” He questioned, and she nodded. She was surprised when he then pulled her into his arms, hugging her. “For heaven’s sake, this is twice in one day, you know. Please stop scaring us.” He spoke at barely a whisper, but she knew most of the people around them had still heard it because of the way they were staring.
For her part, she just took comfort in his arms, silently letting the tears fall at last, finally feeling safe again. She hadn’t realized just how much she was suppressing her fear. Stephen scooped her up, nodding to one of his subordinates, or at least from the way he was ordering them about she assumed that’s what they were. That dude then started to relay instructions to call off the search while Stephen ignored the guards and carried her inside while she cried silently into his chest.
“You found her!”
“Is she okay?”
“What happened?”
“Where was she!?” A clamor of voices started as soon as Stephen walked through the door with her in his arms. She could feel people crowding towards them, their familiar voices making her cry harder. She knew she was a mess and she wanted to stop crying, but she couldn’t seem to.
Above her, she felt Stephen’s chest rumble as he chided, “Calm down. She’s okay. She needs to eat again, so…” He didn’t even finish that sentence before she could hear someone, most likely Kaylee or Jessica, scurrying off towards the kitchen. “All right, let’s hold off on any questions until she’s eaten.” He was obviously trying to buy her time to get herself under control, and she appreciated it, but it apparently was only going to make her cry harder, her little sobs slowly becoming audible.
“Jade?”
She hated the worry she heard in their voices. She didn’t want to worry them. She wanted to stop crying and eat. Apparently, her brain and her body were not communicating properly...
Chapter Thirty-One – Bogeyman
Jade wasn’t sure what Stephen did, but the voices stopped questioning her and backed away to continue at a low murmur amongst themselves. Stephen just sat down at a table with Jade clinging to him, and his voice was a soothing tenor as he whispered, “It’s okay Jade, you’re safe now.” He was just hugging her, letting her cry it out, his voice strangely compelling.
His calming words and presence eventually took hold, and her sobs got softer until they finally went away. Exhausted, she just rested her head on his chest, taking in the scent of him, which was something she couldn’t quite place. It had a faint spiciness to it, perhaps something like clove or cinnamon. She just listened to his breathing, trying to regain her center. She felt his chest rumble as he asked softly, “Better?”
She nodded, finally slowly pushing her head away from his chest a little bit. She could feel her face was red and covered in tear streaks, and now that she was further from him, the scents she was emitting herself grew stronger. She still had her own blood and the creature’s substance sticking to her, and she could see some of it had now also rubbed off on Stephen, which made her frown. She wanted to pull it off, but knew she had no energy to do so at the moment.
Being the only one who could see her face, Stephen snickered softly as he noticed her concentrated frown. “They’re just clothes; it’s fine.” He pulled out a handkerchief from somewhere–she had no idea where. It just appeared in his hands like magic! And then he was wiping her face off like you would a little child. Smiling softly at her, he said quietly, “One of these days, I’ll introduce you to my sister and her brood. They’re like tiny whirlwinds of destruction, and they manage to make everything sticky somehow.”
She laughed softly, giving him a small, tired smile. He was trying to distract her, and she didn’t care. “I’d like that.”
He’d finished wiping her face off and smiled back at her. “Then we’ll figure out a time. I’m sure she’ll love you.” Jade nodded, and he slowly turned her towards the table, where there was a bunch of food set in front of her. “Why don’t you eat something?” Stephen gently urged her.
Taking a deep breath, she gazed up at the people who were sitting quietly by, not staring at her, but holding quiet conversations and shooting covert looks her way when they thought they could get away with it. It was a smaller group than this morning, consisting only of Raphael, Jessica, Kaylee, and Eric. She smiled wanly at them, then decided she needed to eat before she could even attempt to explain what had happened.
Glad the shaking had gone away, she slowly began to eat, just listening to the gentle hum of their voices. The now-familiar tones of their voices were comforting, and she slowly started to almost inhale the food in front of her in her realization that she was starving again. When the food was gone, she put down her fork and took a deep breath, before looking up at them and saying softly, “All right. I’m okay now.”
Eric smiled at her. Where Stephen fit the classic tall, dark, and handsome stereotype, Eric was the bookish boy next door, who surprised you when you went swimming and you learned he’d been working out in the basement because he was ripped. His hazel eyes met hers as he smiled encouragingly, giving her courage. “Can you tell us what happened?”
She nodded, then slowly began to describe the events, from leaving the restaurant and noticing the increased guard patrol to being captured, her escape, then the subsequent death of the mesmer and healing the guard. The only thing she left out was her use of compulsion magic. When she finished, she turned more to Stephen, Eric, and Raphael as she asked, “I know it’s called a mesmer, and I’ve got some idea of what it can do. But how did you know it might go after me, and why? What was it doing in the city?”
Eric was the one who answered, albeit hesitantly. “Mesmer are generally known as mage-stealers around here. They’re nasty, vicious creatures who live on the blood of the ma
gical. They can sense the natural magic of anyone or anything, and they target anyone who has what we call high magical density. That generally includes anyone who has over a 12 in magic and has learned more than one kind of magic. The higher the magic stat or the number of magics learned, the higher the magic density in your blood is.”
Jade sighed. “So basically, my blood is like a juicy cocktail to them.”
Eric looked puzzled at her word choice, then said, “I believe that may be an accurate description? I’m not sure what a cocktail is though.”
She sighed. “It’s…nevermind, ignore that. Please go on.”
He nodded. “Very well, as you said, your blood would be a potent attraction for them. I’m not quite sure how this particular one got in, but it’s always the same. They’re extraordinarily fast and they can hypnotize anyone who doesn’t have an extremely strong mental fortitude. They only come out at night because they’re extra sensitive to light. The worst thing about them is that they do not kill their victims outright. They’re brought back to their lairs in the forest and kept alive for some time as a constant food source…” Everyone around the table looked grim, and Jade was no different.
That could have been her, kept alive in the forest only to have her blood sucked dry by hypnotic monsters. She shuddered silently and sent up a prayer of thanks to whoever might be listening that she hadn’t been subjected to that. Eric was continuing now. “We stop them whenever we can, and mount expeditions to retrieve the taken if the mesmer gets away. However, it’s been...less than successful in the past. We’ve only found one lair in the last twenty years, and the mesmer attempt a taking at least once a month. We’ve lost many good men to them, both in those that have been taken and those that have died trying to stop it from happening.”
He paused, then said quietly, “There’s one more thing that you need to know.” She peered at him expectantly, but no one would meet her eyes now. Everyone had suddenly found it exceedingly important to inspect the table in front of them, or the ceiling, whatever. She sighed.
“Just spit it out. Delaying only makes it seem worse, and I’ll have to deal with it one way or another.”
Stephen was the one who spoke from behind her. “They’ve marked you. Anyone who’s been wounded by a mesmer is marked. They can smell something on you, and they know you’ve survived, and a mesmer has died. We’re not sure how. But they take extra care to make sure those people die when they find them.”
Jade gaped at Eric blankly, who was nodding in defeat. Then she laughed, which startled everyone and made them look at her like she was crazy. “You’re...laughing about this? Jade, this is serious…” Jessica began to scold her, but Jade held up a hand to stop her.
She smirked at them, smiling as she said, “If that’s it, I’m fine. But I should probably go take a look at the people who’ve been wounded in the past tomorrow.” They were still staring at her in befuddlement. She smiled. “I’ve already cleansed myself of their taint. I believe it’s a form of a latent virus that somehow activates when they’re nearby. It wouldn’t ordinarily be classified as harmful, so unless you know what you’re looking for, it’d be hard to find and eradicate. But now that I’ve already rejected it from my system and the soldier who saved me, I should be able to find it again.”
Quietly, she muttered to herself as she reflected on the possibilities. “I don’t think it was in my system long enough to create any antibodies for it, but if someone’s had it and their body did fight it off, then it’s possible they could be used to create a vaccine that would prevent it from happening in the future… The problem is that in order to separate it, I’d need… No, it’s probably not possible at this point.” Everyone looked fascinated by her mutters when she finally came to and realized she’d been talking aloud.
She smiled a little self-consciously, then said simply, “Sorry, I can’t completely reproduce the technology of my world, but in any case, I should be able to eradicate the virus. And then…” She thought of the new skill she’d taken. Mentally, she pictured a life where she just spent her time learning magic and tinkering in her workshop, playing with friends at ease. She sighed. “When I’ve become stronger, we’ll hunt them to extinction.”
“Extinction?” Eric was always curious about the words she used.
She smiled wanly at him. “Until there are no more. Dead as a species.”
Raphael chimed in finally at this point. “It’s a great sentiment, but as Eric said, finding them is…”
Jade smiled and shook her head. “When I’m stronger, that won’t be a problem. I told you of my ability… Well, mana sense just showed up on my list. I plan to use their own weapon against them.”
“You can do that?” Kaylee looked awestruck. Well, most of them did, but she was the one who voiced it aloud.
Jade nodded. “I’m not sure what form it will take, but I’ll start experimenting tomorrow.” Along with the other bazillion things she still felt like she still needed to do. Starting a crusade against a magical bogeyman would just be on the list. It wasn’t exactly how she’d planned on spending her last free day before classes, but she’d just have to deal with it. She wanted a peaceful life, but she didn’t want to be targeted by the so-called mage stealers either. To have peace, she’d have to make an undesirable choice.
She yawned, then glanced around at the five of them. Now that she was feeling better, she wanted to sleep, but in order to do that, she seriously felt the need to be clean, and the fastest way… She considered Eric and Stephen. Whatever, the other three already knew and the jig would be up tomorrow anyway.
She grabbed a cup she’d emptied earlier, putting it directly in front of her before concentrating. Everyone looked bewildered except Raphael, who seemed to put things together first. Feeling the warm tingles, she pulled the blood and ichor away from her, making it leave her clothes clean. She turned to Stephen, pulling the blood she’d rubbed off on him away too. Left with a floating ball of blood and ichor, she let it drop into the cup as she heard Eric whisper, “You’re a blood mage too?”
She smiled apologetically at him. “It was the second magic I learned, actually. My need to be clean after healing was strong.” She heard Stephen curse quietly behind her.
Eric was just staring at her, asking quietly, “Who all knows?”
She glanced at the five of them, and then said, “Just those in this room. The other three already knew.” Eric and Stephen were both giving Raphael an ‘and you didn’t tell us, why?’ look. She smiled and continued, “I made them swear they’d keep my secret. Now that I know more, I know blood mages aren’t considered completely evil like I thought they would be, but it’s not something I’d like to actively publicize, all the same. I realize that I’m not going to be able to hide it though, because tomorrow I’m going to need it.”
She was staring at the blood and ichor in the cup, a new idea coming to mind. “And maybe...I have a way to catch more mesmer when they invade. I don’t know if it’ll work, but it’s worth trying.” She turned to Kaylee and Jessica. “I need a jar that will seal tightly. The virus is still in my blood there, and I think it will still attract a mesmer unless it’s completely destroyed.”
Looking thoroughly alarmed, Kaylee jumped up and rushed off to the kitchen. A moment later, the front door opened and a weary-looking Lucas came in, wholly out of breath. His eyes scanned the room, quickly spotting their small group as a huge grin spread across his face and he bounded over like a happy puppy.
“Jade! You’re okay, thank heavens.” He sat down and then looked at Stephen and Eric before he reported, “Two wounded on the wall, but no one’s dead. It was alone this time.” Eric, Stephen, and Raphael all seemed to release a little of the tension she hadn’t noticed they’d been holding in until just now.
Curious, she asked, “Do they normally come in pairs?”
Lucas focused on her, then glanced at Eric, who nodded in a ‘go ahead’ gesture. “Yes. We were lucky this time that there was only one. They norm
ally come with anywhere from one to four in their raids.”
Jade nodded grimly as she mused aloud, “I guess it depends on how much they need the food.” Scrutinizing them, she asked the next hard question. “How many were taken last time?”
It was Lucas who responded quietly again. “Three.”
She realized that the idea of sleeping in her dark room all alone was no longer quite as appealing. An idea came to mind, and she smiled at Lucas, who regarded her warily. Hers was the smile of a woman who wanted something. “Lucas, would you escort me to my room? I need to light it up before I’ll be able to sleep. Help me?” Her voice was sweet as sugar as she cajoled him.
The others laughed softly, and Lucas, who still appeared exhausted, sighed and nodded as he gave her a little mocking bow. “Of course, Lady Jade.”
She smiled. “Thanks.” She glanced at Stephen, who was a known dark mage. He was her friend, though she considered him more like a big brother. He’d given her a safe harbor and just accepted her. It bothered her a little that she might be afraid of what he taught.
He whispered, “It’s okay to be afraid of the dark.” She stared at him, wondering idly if he was a mind reader too.
Finally, she replied, “The dark is neither good nor bad, just another side of the coin. But tonight, you’re right. I’ll take comfort in the light.”
She hugged each of them goodnight, grateful for their presence in her life, before letting Lucas escort her upstairs. They’d light up her room, she’d pick some Siphon options while she finished cleaning up, eat some more and make sure she had stuff in easy reach of her bed, and then she’d sleep.
Tomorrow was going to be another long day.
Chapter Thirty-Two – Happy
Day Five
When Jade woke up the next morning, she was relieved. She’d made it through the night without harm, even though she’d done another decent upgrade to her physical stats. Granted, she’d still woken up after 5 hours completely ravenous, but eating before she passed out and having food next to her proved to be sufficient. She figured one of these days she would actually go to sleep without using Siphon so that she got a full night’s rest at least once a week.
