Peter and the Kuroneko (War of Contractia)

by Dixon, TJ

  “Fine, look wherever you want and then get out of my house and look for my niece somewhere she might actually be. Just you though, not the girls. To think you lost track of her whilst under your care.” Emma’s aunt says sounding just as angry.

  Professor Schwarz looks everywhere but can’t find Emma. I suppressed my urge to remind Professor Schwarz to remove her shoes when she started looking and Emma’s aunt didn’t dare remind her. We use our senses whilst she is looking around the house but can’t find any sign of Emma either. Professor Schwarz returns to us and looking Emma’s aunt in the eye says, “If you see her then accompany her to…”

  “Yes, I know where you are staying with her. Let me know when you find my troublesome niece. Now, goodbye.” She says the last part as if to say ‘get out of my home’.

  “Yes… goodbye.” Professor Schwarz says and from her tone and expression she is still clearly suspicious. We leave though, because Emma doesn’t appear to be here.

  “I don’t trust that woman.” Sor says as we leave.

  “I wish Peter were here. He could tell whether she was lying.” Rin says.

  “Really?” Professor Schwarz asks surprised.

  “Yes. Where do we look next?” Rin asks.

  “Can you sense any more port traces?” Professor Schwarz asks Sor.

  “If I had I’d have told you before going into that dirty home.” Sor says.

  “Does anyone have any ideas?” Professor Schwarz asks and it is clear she doesn’t.

  “No.” Sor says with a sigh. “Those two must know that troublesome girl better than we do.”

  “I have no idea where she is. She’s been doing things on her own the whole trip. Like Sor though, I don’t trust that woman.” Rin says shaking her head in frustration. Then everyone turns to me.

  “Sorry.” I say shaking my head.

  “Let’s check the inn again to make sure she hasn’t returned whilst we were looking for her.” Professor Schwarz says but she doesn’t sound like she believes it is possible.

  “Wait, I’ll check with Hermes.” Rin says and her eyes glaze over slightly. After a moment she shakes her head. “She’s not returned yet.”

  “How…?” Professor Schwarz asks but it is Sor who answers.

  “That’s an interesting item you have there. Communication magical items of that level are really difficult to craft. Did your mother make it?” Sor asks sounding genuinely interested.

  “No. My father used to make them, but this was a gift.” Rin says.

  “Who from?” Professor Schwarz asks.

  “I’m sorry but I can’t tell you that.” Rin says apologetically.

  “Is your father dead, or does he just not make them anymore?” Sor asks.

  “He was killed.” Rin says sadly.

  “I’m sorry.” Sor says sounding genuinely sorry. It really doesn’t sound like Sor at all. “I’ll see if I can find any link to Emma. Unless she has ported again though, I’m not going to be able to find her.”

  “I’ll check with the city guard. The rest of you please stay together. If Emma has been harmed you may also be at risk. Even if she hasn’t been, the streets of Portalis are not the safest place at night. Dark alleys especially.” Professor Schwarz says. “It may take a while to get the city guard to cooperate, but I’ll be back as soon as I can. She is a first rate mage student, except for her dimensional magic so they can’t just ignore her.”

  Once Professor Schwarz has ported away, Sor leads and we follow. We try to sense Emma but not being Peter our chances of finding her this way are slim to none even at the best of times. We look with our eyes too of course but unless we happen to stumble upon her we’re not going to find her like that either.

  It is a couple of hours later when Professor Schwarz returns. She does so with a few tired looking city guards. Only one is a mage. I doubt they will be of much help but I refuse to accept that it is hopeless.

  Dawn arrives and we still haven’t found Emma. This is our day off now so we only have today and tomorrow to find Emma before we have to return to the academy. We return to the inn tired and dejected.

  “Yu Kii?” A small girl asks as we arrive at the reception.

  “Yes, do I know you?” I ask confused.

  “I’m Haru Kii. I’m now your sister in soul as well as body.” She says bowing to me. It takes a moment to realise what she just said.

  “Haru… Kii…” I say in amazement. Putting aside the fact that she is now my soul’s sister as well as my body’s sister, I ask. “How did you get here?”

  “Captain Highwood brought me here. She’s staying in the inn until tomorrow morning.” Haru Kii says.

  “Captain Highwood of the Old Guard?” Professor Schwarz asks stunned.

  “Yes. Her company helped us out at the temple. Ara Kii threw me through the portal at the last moment and… Captain Highwood says the temple was attacked after we left.” Haru Kii says.

  “Is it coincidence that you happen to be staying at the same inn as us?” Professor Schwarz asks.

  “No, Captain Highwood heard that you were staying here when she was at I, E, H something.” Haru Kii says.

  “At IEHQ. It is fortunate we went there then. We had to give the location we were staying at and the list of everyone’s name on the registration form.” Professor Schwarz says. “She must have signed in right after us though, or the page would have been turned over already. Will you be returning with us, Haru Kii?”

  “Yes, if you’ll let me.” Haru Kii says.

  “We’ll need to get the paperwork sorted, but it should be fine.” Professor Schwarz says with a nod. Then she turns serious. “Captain Highwood can probably help us find Emma. She is an elite mage with a whole company of Contractia’s best mages under her command. She also probably has connections at IEHQ. They could probably track her down instantly if they tried. With the war on though, even for Captain Highwood it could be too much. I hope she is willing to help us. Haru Kii, can you take us to her?”

  “Yes.” Haru Kii says with a small bow.

  “Thank you.” Professor Schwarz says. Haru Kii leads us to the fifth floor where Captain Highwood is staying. There is only one room on this floor. Professor Schwarz knocks.

  “Come in, it’s not locked.” A young woman calls out to us. Professor Schwarz leads us into the room.

  “Are they your students?” The young woman asks pointing at us.

  “Yes. Unfortunately I have a student missing at the moment.” Professor Schwarz says.

  “Is it Yu Kii?” The young woman asks sounding worried.

  “No, this is Yu Kii. The missing student is called Emma and was last seen at her aunt’s house. I was hoping you might be able to help us.”

  Chapter 8 (Multiple)

  (Sor)

  I cannot help noticing the pitying looks Emi throws my way. It annoys me, but the truth is that I am almost at my limit. That brat Emma saved me though, so I have to see this through to the end for the sake of my personal honour. Actually I don’t really care about honour, but I hate feeling indebted to that brat and this is a good chance to pay it back. So I volunteered to go with everyone again. Professor Schwarz isn’t a fool so she suspects something, but she doesn’t stop me.

  This time Professor Schwarz uses a wide area port again so I don’t need to waste energy porting. Yu Kii and Haru Kii remain behind but everyone else who was with us before insists on going again. Captain Highwood not only accompanies us, but has ten mages from her company come too. Some are experts at tracking magic and others at combat magic. Naturally we go to the last place Emma was seen. The black slave seems shocked to see so many mages on the front door but there is nothing he can do to stop us entering.

  “Captain Highwood?” Emma’s aunt says in surprise.

  “Sasha… Sasha Bloodworm? What a surprise to find out this is your home. Is Emma your niece?” Captain Highwood asks.

  “Yes. Has she still not turned up?” Sasha asks and I can tell she seems much more nervous than th
e last time we came here.

  “No. We suspect she may be in danger so we will be tracing her from here, since this is where she was last seen.” Captain Highwood says. It isn’t a request but she keeps it polite.

  “My niece will be so embarrassed when she learns how much trouble she has caused.” Sasha says. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you found she was out drinking all last night.”

  “I hope that is all it is, but you seem mighty unconcerned about your niece.” Captain Highwood says with a frown.

  “She was always causing trouble so I just can’t imagine she is really in danger.” Sasha says.

  “Even troublemakers can be in danger.” Captain Highwood says. “Karen and April please start your work.”

  “Yes, captain!” They both say with a quick salute and then close their eyes. They remain still for a while.

  “There are traces of a girl’s presence entering this house but not leaving it. There are no signs of her presence now. She must have ported from here.” One of the women says.

  “She didn’t. If she had I would be able to detect the port even if it happened weeks ago. It was only last night so there is no way she ported from here.” I contradict her.

  “I don’t see how you’d detect a port from a week ago, but if that really was true it would be a problem. The only way she could have left here alive is porting. If she had been killed here though…” The woman says with a frown.

  “Are you accusing me of killing my own niece?!” Sasha asks angrily.

  “We’re going to take a look around.” Captain Highwood says ignoring the question completely.

  “Who do you think you are to just come into…?” Sasha starts to shout but Captain Highwood looks her in the eye and Sasha is suddenly unable to talk. It doesn’t seem like magic so I assume it is just fear.

  “I am a captain of the Old Guard. You should know that, since you used to work for me. You may have left the guard, but I am sure you remember the authority the Queen bestowed upon me at the same time we were all granted immortality. Or Sasha Bloodworm, perhaps your memory has grown rusty?” Captain Highwood asks. Sasha shakes her head and Captain Highwood smiles but there is nothing pleasant about it. It reminds me of a hungry predator that just spotted easy prey. The two mages from before are busy tapping and placing their hands on walls.

  “There’s a hidden door here. The enchantment is extremely subtle and uses all five, no, six types of magic. Even life magic was used… I doubt any mage could detect it without direct contact.” One of the mages says.

  “Thank you Karen. Life magic though… That is interesting.” Captain Highwood says and then looks Sasha in the eyes again. “Sasha Bloodworm and slave of Sasha Bloodworm, in the name of the Queen I am placing you both under arrest on suspicion of treason.”

  “Slave, now.” Sasha says urgently but sounding much calmer. The black slave raises both his hands high in the air and for the first time I see a genuine smile on his face. He reminds me of a wolf licking blood from his lips.

  Even an idiot could tell he is about to use magic but I recognise his two words. The other mages shield and raise port blocks thinking it is just a normal attack or a desperate port. They can attack later, but for now shielding is enough. The fools don’t realise he is about to use life magic. They even heard there was life magic in the enchantment. Why am I always surrounded by idiots?

  “Release!” I shout pointing the middle finger of my right arm at him. The ring contains the power that keeps me alive, but I can survive briefly without it. Emi can recharge it and it is the only attack I have worth calling an attack.

  I’m too late though. Even as my fire magic incinerates the slave I can tell it is too late. Death feathers spread out from his ash and fly towards us. No mage other than the Queen can shield against those feathers. I tried once before so I should know. They may not be as bad the ones used by Death Birds or Fallen Angels, but even weak death feathers like these are too much for a shield.

  The port blocks drop as the other mages feel the feathers. They aren’t such big fools that they could fail to realise what those feathers are. I sense Sasha port away and so I port everyone else outside the house. They were going to port anyway, but some may have been too slow.

  I collapse backwards hitting the ground hard. I feel Emi pour power into the ring and I breathe a sigh of relief. I look at the ring. I can probably use it like that once more, but only probably, so I can’t take the risk even if it is my only means of survival. Damn the cheap alchemist who charged me a fortune for such a flawed enchantment. It saved my life when I was at death’s door though, so I can’t complain that vigorously.

  “Someone trace Sasha’s port!” Captain Highwood shouts furiously.

  “She went to the Circle of Portals.” I whisper but only Emi can hear me.

  “Circle of Portals!” Emi calls out.

  “Damn!” Captain Highwood says as she ports. Her other mages have ported too.

  “Emma?” Rin asks Professor Schwarz desperately.

  “Wait here. The feathers should be gone by now but there could be other dangers.” Professor Schwarz says and before Rin can protest enters the house cautiously. After a minute she ports back with a tired looking Emma in her arms. I can see red marks on Emma’s wrists and it is clear she is unable to walk and barely able to move but she doesn’t appear to be in any danger.

  “Emi, port me back.” I whisper.

  “We’re porting back.” Emi says and ports us both back before anyone can say anything. She knows better than to touch me for the port. “You could have stayed. I’m sure everyone was very grateful for your help.”

  “Whatever. Now port us back to the room like I meant you to in the first place.” I tell her coldly. Why waste time porting us to the reception area? I hate it when people waste part of my life doing pointless things. Emi should know better.

  “Ok, sorry.” Emi says and ports us both back there. The room is thankfully empty. Everyone is out having fun on their day off, which gives me a chance to rest in peace. Phew!

  (Peter)

  It seems like we’ve been in Portalis for ages but we finally have all the ingredients we need and an alchemist skilled enough to forge it. I would have liked to use Rin’s mother, but her specialty is potions not enchanted jewellery. At least this avoids her becoming a target. The Queen had to recall a whole company of the Old Guard to allow me to use this alchemist.

  “Hello Captain Highwood. You’re a little late.” I say with a frown as she finally arrives.

  “I was dealing with a traitor. She got away, but at least her niece was saved. Anyway the Queen tells me that you need an item forged that requires my skill. She wouldn’t tell me the details. I had to bring my whole company back here so I hope it isn’t something worthless.” Captain Highwood says sounding annoyed.

  “Do you recognise these?” I ask and show her the four black soul gems we collected from the demons we killed in the Black Forest.

  “How did you get those?” She asks with a gasp.

  “We killed four demons.” I tell her and she frowns.

  “How many mages did you use?”

  “It was mostly me and Dairon. Actually mostly Dairon. I just distracted the enemy. Dairon killed them. Lucy and Hinata were there too but they didn’t do much.” I say.

  “A good thing too.” Lucy says landing on my shoulder.

  “You look familiar.” Captain Highwood says.

  “And so I should! I taught you enough that I’d expect you to remember me. You would have called me Feline Dragonbreath back then though.” Lucy says and Captain Highwood gasps again.

  “I thought you died! I should have known a cockroach like you couldn’t die though. So where were you hiding and how did you get so small?”

  “I was a prisoner, but I can’t really talk about it. The important thing is, can you forge these into a spirit gate?” Lucy says saving me the trouble.

  It was Lucy’s idea in the first place. Despite her feigned ignorance ba
ck when we left the academy she was the only one who knew the plan, and still is. Even now I don’t know more than the current stage. A young boy like me wouldn’t have a clue how to deal with someone as slippery as David. Lucy on the other hand has plenty of experience dealing with all sorts of enemies.

  “Yes, I can but I also need drake blood.”

  “We have that.” Lucy says. We managed to get some from our club’s hunt. We didn’t tell them, but Rin’s mother passed it on to us. “We also have the spine of a fire goblin.” The fire goblin was about the same size as Lucy, but it was a dangerous foe thanks to its potent fire magic. Extracting the spine without it breaking and before it turned to ash with the rest of the corpse was also difficult but with a careful port I managed to. It was the last thing we needed. It took ages to track one down by the ruins of the old forge.

  “And rare herbs.” Captain Highwood says.

  “Which can be found in the Sky Garden. You have the Queen’s permission to use whatever you need.” Lucy says with a bored yawn.

  “I also need blood from the human who will use it.”

  “Hinata here will be using it.” Lucy says with another yawn. “Take as much blood as you need from her.”

  I had assumed I would use it, or maybe Dairon would. I never imagined Hinata would. I look at Hinata and I can see fear and shock in her aura. She remains composed outwardly though. I had refused Lucy’s suggestion to ask Hinata to join us, but when Hinata volunteered I changed my mind. Was this why Lucy wanted Hinata?

  “I suppose it makes sense to use a weak human.” Captain Highwood says nodding. “Hinata, I don’t need much and it shouldn’t hurt. There is no need to be afraid.”

  “I’m not afraid.” Hinata says sounding calm.

  “That is good. You’re a brave girl.” Captain Highwood says with a smile. “So what sort of demon are you fighting?”

  “Our enemy is far more dangerous than a demon, but there’s no need to tell you the details. Just make what we need and take precautions. He can possess mages so never rely on just one or two guards. The drake blood is in five vials in that bag and the spine is in a jar next to them. Take Hinata and everything else you need. Come back with our soul gate.” Lucy says sounding serious.