Peter and the Kuroneko (War of Contractia)

by Dixon, TJ

  “I doubt anyone could possess my mages after all the training they have gone through.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure. Regardless, hurry up.” Lucy tells her.

  (Sor)

  “Come in.” I say as someone knocks on the door. My senses are too much of a mess to tell who it is. Emi is standing guard but she is tired and likely to mess up if I need to rely on her. Unfortunately I am far worse so I have no choice but to rely on her. The door has no magical protection though, so there is no point trying to use it as a shield.

  “Hello.” Captain Highwood says as she enters the room.

  “Hi.” I say weakly from my bed.

  “Show me that ring.” Captain Highwood says approaching me. I make no move to do so and just stare at her suspiciously. She however throws aside the sheet covering me and grabs my wrist with her left hand. I gasp as she touches me but she ignores my pain and touches the ring with the middle finger on her right hand.

  “Let go of Sor.” Emi says angrily and takes a step forward.

  “Be silent and do not interfere.” Captain Highwood says sharply.

  “I will not allow you to harm Sor.” Emi says taking another step forward.

  “I am not going to harm Sor, but if you take one more step towards me I will harm you.” Captain Highwood says softly. She releases my wrist. “This ring was created by a skilled alchemist. She wasn’t skilled enough though. Use it like you did earlier even once more and it will break.”

  “I know that.” I say. I would shrug but I don’t have the energy. I didn’t exactly know it would break, but I did fear it would.

  “Fortunately for you I know someone capable of removing your curse. I will accept the ring in trade for her help.”

  “Sorry, but no deal.” I tell her and she frowns.

  “Why? A perfect healing for a flawed ring is a very good deal.”

  “I cannot part with this ring. The enchantment may keep me alive, but the ring is very precious to me.”

  “More precious than your own life?” She asks in disbelief.

  “Yes.” I say firmly.

  “Why?”

  “Do you know what the stone in the centre is?” I ask.

  “Yes, a black soul gem, but it is cracked. Only slightly, but that is enough to make it almost worthless.”

  “My mother’s soul is trapped somewhere within that stone. Even if it costs me my life I will free her. If using the ring again will break it then I cannot do so, because doing so would send her to hell.” I say firmly.

  “You believe those children’s stories?” Captain Highwood laughs.

  “I do not simply believe them. I have seen the proof.” I tell her.

  “What proof?” She asks sounding interested.

  “I have seen within the stone. Its magic is very similar to dimensional magic. Similar, but not quite the same. It is close enough though for a master of dimensional magic to see within. Everyone killed by the demon that forged this stone still lingers within. I was almost trapped inside myself when I looked within it.” I tell her.

  “Just who are you?” Captain Highwood asks suspiciously.

  “I am Sor of the Silver Flow.” I tell her proudly.

  “Daughter of Mercury of the Silver Flow?” She asks a little taken aback.

  “Yes.”

  “I never heard anything about Mercury’s death.” She says frowning.

  “She was killed at the start of the war. Her company conquered seven worlds of the Fallen Angels, but she died whilst conquering the seventh. The enemy’s army of demons was defeated but at the cost of her life. I saw the other day that her death has been squandered by the fools in charge nowadays. All seven worlds are back under the enemy’s control.” I tell her bitterly.

  “Your words could almost be considered an insult to the Queen. You had best not let anyone else hear them. You never know when the inquisitors are around.” Captain Highwood says.

  “Whatever…” I say but my words have robbed me of what little energy I had left so I can barely keep my eyes open.

  “Is this girl your slave?” She asks pointing at Emi.

  “No, she is simply indebted to my family. She is my bodyguard and nothing more.” I say. “I am tired. Please let me sleep.”

  “There is one other person who may be able to help you.” Captain Highwood says thoughtfully.

  “I do not need charity and I have nothing to give.” I say with a sigh and now my eyes are closed and I am close to sleep.

  “If what you say is true though, he may be able to save your mother’s soul too.” She says and I wish I could answer but the dark hands of sleep claim me.

  I wake alone and in pain, surrounded by darkness as usual. I struggle through the dark depths of my soul until I reach my body. I breathe a sigh of relief as I find I am still alive. Then I open my eyes and glare at Emi who is standing there looking tired as anything. It must be late morning now and the glare of the sun hurts my eyes.

  “Get some sleep.” I tell her irritably. I have recovered enough energy to protect myself whilst she sleeps.

  “But…” She starts to protest but after seeing the expression in my eyes she nods. “Before I sleep though, don’t you want to know who Captain Highwood was talking about?”

  I frown for a moment and then remember what she is talking about. I blink and glare at her. “That should have been the first thing you said when I woke up!”

  “It sort of was.” She says helplessly but I wave aside her petty complaint.

  “She said you should speak to Peter of the Wind. She wrote down an address and said your skills would be payment enough if his mission is as dangerous as she suspects.” Emi says.

  “That boy… Why does it have to be him?” I ask depressed.

  “I don’t know.” Emi says.

  “Well get some sleep. I’ll wake you in a few hours, but that’s as much as you normally get anyway.” I tell her.

  “Thank you.” Emi says sounding relieved.

  “Don’t use pointless words though, or I’ll wake you with cold water.” I tell her with a glare. She nods and quickly gets into bed. She uses magic to improve her sleep. It is the only way she has coped for over a year at the academy as my only bodyguard.

  There is a knock at the door only minutes after Emi has fallen asleep. It is pointless to wake her. She has too little power and is too tired to make any difference in a fight right now. I sigh. “Come in!”

  “Hello!” Yu Kii says and then sees Emi asleep. Yu Kii looks tired herself. Looking at Emi she whispers. “Sorry.”

  “She’s not going to wake that easily.” I say with a shrug. “What did you want, rude girl?”

  “I wanted to thank you for your help finding Emma.” Yu Kii says sounding genuine.

  “I didn’t do it for you so thanking me is pointless.” I say with another shrug. “If you don’t need anything you can leave us alone.”

  “Aren’t you lonely or bored?” Yu Kii asks me.

  “I don’t get lonely. That would be pointless. I suppose I am bored, but more so since you came in here and disturbed me.” I tell her bluntly hoping she’ll get the point and leave me alone.

  “Why did you tell me about Emma before and why did you help her?” Yu Kii asks simply ignoring my point.

  “I was bored.” I lie. If she hears about Emma saving me it will lead to awkward questions.

  “You obviously pushed yourself really hard last night and this morning. There’s no way you did it because you were bored.” Yu Kii says. She’s always seemed blindly trusting but it seems even she isn’t dumb enough to believe my lie.

  “Mind your own business and get out of my room, rude girl.” I tell her with a deep sigh, because I can’t be bothered to think up a better lie.

  “I’m sorry, and thank you again for your help.” Yu Kii says whilst bowing deeply. Then she finally leaves so I don’t bother telling her it is pointless again. Besides, it would be pointless to keep repeating it and I hate doing pointless things myself
more than I hate other people doing them.

  The morning passes slowly but I recover some more of my energy even awake. Only a little though. I wake Emi for a late lunch. It will help us recover our energy so it is important to eat. Obviously I can’t taste the food thanks to the curse, but Emi says it is good so at least she can enjoy it. The important thing is it isn’t poisoned. Nobody has tried to assassinate me for almost half a year but I shouldn’t let my guard down. This trip would be a perfect opportunity to kill me away from the protection of the academy.

  After we finish eating we return to our room and get changed into more suitable clothing. I choose my favourite battle armour. It is cloth but enchanted to provide much greater protection than the uniform the academy makes us wear. To a casual observer we look like a couple of commoner girls in matching black shirts and shorts. My shoes are black too of course. The contrast of black against our blonde hair, pale skin and blue eyes looks good, but it is the comfort and protection that I like about it.

  The only thing that would seem odd is that it is a very cold day outside and these clothes seem much better suited to a hot summer’s day, or at least a warmer day than today. With the enchantment though, we of course don’t need to worry about the cold.

  “Ready?” I ask Emi nervously.

  “Yes. I’m sure that we aren’t going to have to fight Peter though.” Emi says.

  “It isn’t likely so I imagine you’re right. If I had to assassinate a student on this trip though, I’d choose today. It is our day off when we are most likely to relax. Having seen us exhaust our energy like we did would only sweeten the opportunity. Staying here would deter an assassin, because they are likely to be caught or at least seen by other guests or staff. We are lucky we weren’t attacked earlier thanks to that, but the day you let your guard down is the day you die, or more to the point the day I die. Be ready to fight the moment we leave this room.” I tell Emi.

  “Not everyone is out to kill you.” Emi says.

  “No, but it only takes one assassin and one lazy or naive bodyguard.” I remind her with a glare.

  I actually like Emi a bit, but that makes her less useful. I must sometimes remind myself as well as Emi that she is nothing more than my bodyguard. If I get too attached to Emi I’ll be unwilling to sacrifice her to save myself should the need arise. I can’t let myself get that soft. My life doesn’t just belong to me. Not until I have saved my mother’s soul that is. After that I can consider luxuries such as friends, but not until then. It would be great if that time is about to come, but I can’t assume it is.

  “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” Emi says with a smile. I sigh.

  “You’d better not. Now are you ready?” I ask again.

  “Yes, I’m still ready.” Emi says with a confident nod.

  “Then let’s get this over with. I only hope he really does need our help and can help us in return. I hate the idea of asking that awful boy for help.” I say shaking my head and then opening the door. We’ll walk to save power. I would waste it all with just a single port, and that would be deadly foolish.

  Thankfully the corridor is empty so we get as far as the stairs and even down them without meeting anyone. Reception is empty too, which is weird. There should at least be someone at the desk. Alarm bells are ringing in my head but perhaps they just got called away. I don’t sense anyone and neither does Emi so we continue cautiously.

  The streets are really quiet. Ok, most people will be at work, but the Academy of Contractia in Portalis is the second largest in all of Contractia and there are at least a hundred smaller schools for girls who aren’t mages. Those students should all have the day off like we do. Some jobs also involve being in the streets. I don’t see a single street seller despite seeing at least one every time I so much as took one step out of the inn from the main entrance. Just what is going on?

  At the main city square it is as busy as always, but even here the mood seems sombre. I see an Information Exchange and take a quick look inside to satisfy my foolish curiosity. It is the first place that seems crowded. The queue is almost to the door.

  I’m not going to waste time and money buying anything but I take a quick look at the main board. I gasp as I read the main title. ‘Minerva Falls to Elven and Demonic Armies – Her Majesty and the Royal Guard Deployed to Portalis’. I read the words five times to be sure.

  “Does that say what I think it does?” I ask Emi still doubting myself.

  “Yes.” Emi says quietly and clearly shaken.

  “An army of elves? Putting aside the demons and Minerva… an army of elves?”

  “Yes.” Emi nods and her words are almost a whisper.

  “When was the last time that an army of elves was used?” I ask really just to myself. Emi shakes her head. The only time I have ever heard of an elven army was before they were conquered by the Fallen Angels. I don’t ever remember reading or hearing about an elven army being used by the Fallen Angels. Not even in the last war.

  “Maybe we’re reading it wrong. Perhaps there were just a few elves in the demonic armies.” Emi says but I shake my head.

  “Impossible. Demons and elves can’t fight in the same army. It would be a bit like how some water and fire users get in each other’s way.” I say. “It must have been a small army of elves though. I hate wasting time and money like this, but we’d better get a copy of the news-slate. I can’t stand not knowing the details of something so important.”

  “They’re sold out.” Emi says and I curse. Of all the times to run out. We could wait for them to make more but given the queue it will take forever.

  “We’d better go.” I say with a sigh. “Don’t let your guard down.”

  So we leave and I am relieved to be outside that busy place. I hate busy places. It doesn’t take long to find the house Peter is supposedly staying in. It is a huge dirty looking grey brick house. I sense a powerful protection on the door. It is subtle and would evade the senses of most mages but it can’t evade mine. There is a rusty black iron bell with a rotting rope attached to it.

  “You ring it.” I tell Emi.

  “Ok.” Emi says and pulls the rope. The bell rings very quietly but I can tell it has triggered an enchantment. We wait and I have to stop myself from fidgeting. The truth is I am very nervous.

  “Yes Captain… Oh…” Peter says opening the door. He is wearing enchanted black trousers and shirt. It is clear he expected Captain Highwood. “I guess it seemed a bit too quick.”

  “We have a matter to discuss with you. Can we come in?” I ask sounding very formal.

  “Yes. I’m sure I recognise you, but I can’t quite place you. Anyway come in and we can talk inside.” Peter says with a frown on his face. We enter and Emi closes the door behind us.

  “I’m Sor of the Silver Flow. This is my bodyguard Emi.” I say. It is true we haven’t spoken before. I can’t afford to be rude or to risk offending Peter no matter how much I dislike him.

  “Ah, you both won the competition last year.” Peter says with a nod. “Since you came to talk to me I assume you must know who I am but I’ll introduce you to the others when we get upstairs. Follow me please.”

  We follow him up the stairs. I don’t know whether he is just confident or foolish to show his back to us. It leaves him very vulnerable but as I need his help I can’t take advantage of that. I wouldn’t anyway since I hate unfair fights. Not everyone thinks like that though.

  The stairs are bare wood that has clearly seen better days. Even the carpet in the hall is rotting away. Everything about this place makes me want to leave but that is not an option. The stairs creak as we walk up them. The landing is also bare wood.

  The door is missing but the room Peter leads us into looks comfortable enough. The carpet was clearly created using magic but it looks a bit like fresh grass and even has the same smell. The desk is an old wooden desk but it is made from good wood. I would guess it came from the Black Forest given its colour and age. All the best black wo
od comes from there. There are a few black wooden chairs but they are empty and pushed into a corner.

  There is a small winged woman who is clearly cursed. She flies right up to my face but what shocks me most is the elf standing at the desk. His stare unnerves me. Who wouldn’t be unnerved to see an elf staring at them!

  “Are you Mercury’s daughter?” The flying woman asks abruptly.

  “Yes. You knew my mother?” I ask surprised, taking a step backwards.

  “Knew? Did she get herself killed?”

  “Yes, she died at the start of the war.” I answer.

  “A pity. She’s just the sort of mage Contractia needs. So did you inherit her title?”

  “Yes.” I say proudly with a nod.

  “So you can port between dimensions?”

  “No.” I admit. “I have the skill but not the strength.”

  “So you’re just another worthless imitation.” She says and I open my mouth to protest but close it again before I can ruin my chances. “I guess even a poor imitation of the Silver Flow is still worth more than most mages though. Wait… It is a strange one, but that looks like a curse. Is that why you lack strength?”

  “You can tell?” I ask surprised. I’ve rarely met a mage who can sense my curse. Sure it doesn’t take a genius to see the symptoms but even most mages assume I am just sick.

  “So why did you come here?” She asks sounding serious.

  “May I ask your name first?” I ask a little off balance still.

  “I am Lucy Athena. This over here is Dairon and you have met Peter already. Now your names.” She says and it is clearly an order not a request.

  “I am Sor of the Silver Flow and this is my bodyguard Emi.” I tell her.

  “The Silver Flow needs a bodyguard!” Lucy says through her laughter. She lands on the desk and I nervously edge towards it. I don’t really want to get too close to the elf.

  “Dairon doesn’t bite, though I do occasionally.” Lucy says seeing my caution. I silently curse. Showing weakness was a mistake. “So what did you want?”