by Jay Boyce
“We’ll watch over it. How have you got it trapped, anyway?” The captain, who she realized she ought to get the name of by this point, spoke from behind her.
She responded softly, “Just walls of wind. I’ve found they’re good for containment so they can’t hurt other people.”
He nodded. “In that case, I can probably take care of it while you go through the portal.” She realized he had in fact registered as a wind mage before she’d moved on.
She pondered it for a moment, then nodded. ”That should be fine. I just don’t want to put anyone in danger.”
He smiled, the first one she’d seen on his face. “I’ll have other guards surround him just in case.”
“Thank you, I appreciate you trusting me at least that much.” Her words were heartfelt. She’d been given an amazing amount of trust by the people of this world, and she only hoped she’d be able to live up to it. The display from the people earlier had unnerved her and heartened her at the same time. To them, she was hope for a better world. To her, this world was hope for a better life.
By the time the last of the people had come through on the other side, the guards were in position around her prisoner. She didn’t release her own magic, figuring it would hold even while she was far away for at least a little while. No need to put them at risk if she didn’t have to. Sure, she was being extra cautious, but she didn’t want anyone to get hurt, and Dukes Liam and Donnelly were pretty high profile targets…
She took a breath, bracing herself as she stood in front of the gate. Duke Donnelly laughed at her nervousness. “Go on through. Trust me, you’ll be fine.” She could see the strain on their faces, however. She needed to do this fast, because it was draining their strength. With that in mind, she plunged into the portal.
It was a strange feeling, especially with her mana sense active. She could actually see the world beneath her as she passed, though it was vague and fuzzy, looking out through the magical tunnel as it was. It was incredibly fast, and before she knew it, she was on stumbling through the other side. She looked at the surprised people there, who hadn’t expected anyone else to come through. She smiled at them, saluting the guards a little bit as she said cheerfully, “I’m a spatial apprentice, just needed to experience this for myself.” Then she stepped back into the portal, not giving them a chance to respond.
Again, she had the strange out of body experience until she tumbled through the portal on the other side, feeling a little queasy. She took a few steps away from the portal as Donnelly and Liam let it drop in relief. “Well, that was interesting,” she said conversationally as her senses picked up on booted feet marching closer.
She looked to the edge of the square, trying to figure out how far away the guards they’d sent for were. “What are you looking at?” Duke Donnelly asked curiously.
She smiled at him, shaking her head. “We’re about to have company. I believe the guards from the wall will be here any moment.”
Still, she was relieved that her wind wall and illusion was still around the doppelganger even as she let the illusion drop now. She was doing her best just to keep her breakfast down. The fast travel strained her body slightly; she might not have noticed if she hadn’t done it twice in a row. If you were weak, it probably didn’t help. She wondered if they knew the dangers associated with the travel. People were not meant to move through wormholes, which is what she’d nicknamed it in her head due to the experience.
It was like folding space, zipping along an unseen connection. She wasn’t sure she liked it, convenient as it was.
Chapter Forty-Nine – Interrogation
The thudding of boots on stone soon became audible even to normal people, and Duke Donnelly looked at her with a mixture of astonishment and curiosity, having realized how much sooner she’d noticed them. He queried, “How did you know they were coming?”
She smiled up at him, then tapped her ears. “My hearing is keener than most. It can be a downright pain sometimes, especially when I’m eating or someone else is, but it’s still useful for things like this.” He shook his head, turning with her as the guards marched into view.
The square was mostly deserted now, consisting mainly of the guards, the spatial mages, and her prisoner. The squad was led by Count Ammon himself, and she smiled in welcome as his eyes scanned the group, pausing on her, the mages, and the doppelganger. The guards at the square let him through with salutes as he walked straight to them, the captain shifting nervously at her side.
“Duke Liam, Duke Donnely, Lady Jade, Captain Va'Norl.” He nodded to each of the men, taking Jade’s hand and bending over it.
“How does he know who you are, even though you’re using an illusion?” Duke Liam asked curiously.
Jade smiled over at him as Ammon looked at him in perplexion. “This is more or less what I looked like a few days ago when I met him.”
“You’re using an illusion?” Ammon asked. Nodding, Jade let it slip for a moment, just long enough for him to take it in before she affixed it firmly in placed once more. Ammon was gaping at her now, seemingly at a loss for words until he finally coughed and said, “Well, that’s new.”
Laughing softly, Jade said, “Yeah, I’m still getting used to it, but I’d prefer to keep a lower profile around town. It’s only useful if I don’t want people to stare.” She shrugged, then gestured to the bubble where she was holding the doppelganger. “Anyway, I had you called here because I’ve captured another doppelganger. I thought you might want to question it.”
He looked over at the man appraisingly, frowning when he saw the man yelling, but no words reaching them. “Are you sure?”
Jade smiled grimly. “Positive. Do you have somewhere more quiet that we can question him?”
Ammon shook his head yes, then no. “We do, but it won’t matter. If he’s a monster, they never talk.”
Her eyes gleamed darkly for a moment as she said, “Leave that to me. He’ll tell you everything.”
With all four of them looking at her with curiosity, Ammon nodded, then turned to Captain Va'Norl. “Erwin, do you still have the holding room in the office clear?”
Captain Va'Norl, or should she say, Captain Erwin Va'Norl nodded. Such a strange name. “We do. I’ll lead you there, if you’d bring him along.” He nodded respectfully to her. Jade smiled, gesturing so the bubble lifted and came over.
“Do you mind if we tag along? I’m curious to see this,” Duke Donnelly admitted behind her.
She turned to flash him a brilliant smile. “I’d love it if you came. I have some questions for you as well. I’d like to get a head start on my lessons.” Nodding, the two dukes followed their procession, the new guard unit closing ranks around them and setting a perimeter of safety. There were a few faces she recognized, but only because Ammon had used them for the last doppelganger raid. She’d never spoken to these ones.
They were led to a nearby government building. How did she know, aside from the guards leading her there? It was the largest and most imposing one in the square, of course. They were led inside, most of the guards remaining outside to cover the various exits. It was like a well oiled machine as they were led to a large examination room that had a few couches, chairs, and a single table spread throughout the room. There were glowstones all along the walls, lighting it up even without a single window.
Jade and the Dukes casually took seats on one of the couches, while Ammon and Erwin remained standing as she deposited the man across from them. Seemingly exhausted, he sank onto the chair she’d set him by as she released the sound barrier.
His voice was hoarse as he said, “I’m innocent, Count Ammon. You’ve got to believe me. I’m innocent. You can’t do this to me.” The hopeless helplessness in his voice caused Ammon to frown as he turned towards Jade.
She sighed, standing up and going to stand straight in front of the creature, glaring down at him. “Give up the act. I know what you are and you’re not fooling anyone.”
The man looked up at her with
almost dead eyes. “I’m not fooling you. My name is David Fenton. I’m a simple merchant, not a monster.”
She sighed. “Fine, the hard way it is.” She looked into its eyes, layering hypnotism and compulsion into her voice as she ordered, “Tell these men what you are.”
“A doppelganger.” The words popped out of its mouth without thought as it seemed to come to, shaken. Its face turned vicious as it leapt at her, hitting the wind wall. “What are you? How did you do that?” He pounded uselessly against the invisible barrier.
She stood calmly in front of it, and then, mimicking a tiny dragon, she said eerily, “Your worst nightmare.” Too bad she didn’t have fireworks to go off behind her, nor a lucky cricket. She supposed she had beautiful butterfly babies; that was close enough. She dropped her act the next moment, shrugging. “Now, you’re going to answer the nice men’s questions.”
She moved to sit down as it hissed at her, “I won’t tell you anything! I’d rather die!” It looked to be ready to kill itself, so she acted quickly.
Layering her voice with compulsion and hypnotism again, she ordered it, “You will not harm yourself or anyone else. You will answer all questions immediately and truthfully. First, you will explain how you got into the city, who you’ve killed, what your plans were, and any secrets you’re hiding.”
The thing’s eyes lost its fervor as it sat down, defeated, and began to talk, “I came to this city through the portal. It’s easier to sneak into the other cities. I came from Malartu…”
By the end, Ammon and Erwin had taken seats as well, though Erwin had gone to get a scribe so he could take notes, and he was now dutifully sitting at the table, noting the many things they’d learned about how they’d gotten into the city, as well as who to contact regarding the death of their loved ones.
Jade almost left when he got to the ‘plans and secrets’ part of his confession, feeling sick. The doppelganger’s voice was without emotion as he expounded. “I came to the city to feed and secure my young. A single body is able to feed one of us for months. Doppelgangers reproduce by impregnating other species, and all are born male. They then eat the mother to sustain life, and that’s where I come in to educate them. They’re my children.”
Ammon had cut in, “Have you impregnated anyone right now?”
The dead voice had smiled at this as he replied almost jubilantly, “Yes, I have five seeds growing!”
They had gotten the names and locations of the women, and Jade wanted to throw up. Her skin felt pale and clammy. These poor women thought they were having a child, but in truth, the child would eat them from the inside out. It was horrifying. She remembered the doppelganger she’d killed last week. Had he taken the spot of someone’s husband? She whispered to Ammon, “We need to check on anyone the last one was in contact with…”
He nodded grimly and the interrogation went on. She had hoped he would oust others of his kind, which in a way, he had by leading them to his ‘children,’ but they were a solitary bunch. There was no convenient meeting place where she could go and wipe them all out at once.
She felt tainted by the time they came to an end, deciding they had gotten all the information they could out of the thing. Ammon looked at Jade as he suggested, “You can kill it now.”
Thinking of the way the last one had died, she shook her head. “This is going to sound callous, but get an empty barrel or something. The goo cannot be pleasant to clean up.”
Ammon looked surprised, as if he hadn’t considered that. It was obviously way below his pay grade to deal with the cleaning. He nodded to Captain Va'Norl, who looked a little relieved and sent someone for an empty barrel. They returned a few minutes later. She’d felt the second stretch of itching that signified the second phase of the siphoning. It had been a little over an hour since she’d started it. At least she’d get 0.4% of the stats and skills. She’d figured out that she got about 0.2% every hour, but she wasn’t willing to let the thing live any longer just so she could steal its skills, useful as they may seem.
When two men came back carrying a barrel, she intoned evenly, “Get into the barrel.” Her voice was layered with compulsion again, and the doppelganger slowly started to climb in.
Even as he did so, he seemed to realize what was going on as he cried out, “No, I answered your questions! Let me go! You can’t do this! I have children to take care of! What will my children do?” Still, his body obeyed and climbed into the barrel.
Her voice held no emotion as she forcefully repressed her anger, disgust, and even pity. “Like you, they will die.” The man’s face was frozen in dread as she used a wind blade to behead him, her wind wall having shrunken around him so none of the gore would get outside of the barrel. Instead of blood, the body began to lose its shape, turning into the goop she’d seen before; it was the undeniable proof that she’d been correct, if the interrogation hadn’t been proof enough.
She turned away as the guards moved forward, sealing the barrel with disgust evident on their faces. Jade turned, walking out of the room, out of the building, and into the sunshine. Her babies left her hair, fluttering around her in response to her anxiety. Liam and Donnelly had followed her out quietly. No one questioned how she’d been able to control the man, or rather, the creature. Perhaps it was obvious.
She closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun on her skin. Finally, Liam coughed as he asked, “You said you had questions for us? Do you have somewhere else to be, or shall we take care of that now?”
She could tell they were treating her gingerly, as if afraid that she might break. Opening her eyes, she smiled at them before looking down at her pocket watch. It was a little after nine. “I’ve got private tutoring with Ashanna at ten in my workshop, so I should probably head that way.”
Liam looked thoughtful, then nodded. “Where is your workshop?”
Jade started, shaking her head as she laughed. “Sorry, I forgot people don’t know that. I took over the blood magic classroom at Dracona.”
Donnelly looked intrigued. “Well then, I’d like to see that. We can walk and talk.”
Jade grinned. “That sounds wonderful.” So they started off, a plainer looking girl flanked by two dukes in fancy robes. With a sigh, she let her illusion drop so she’d fit in with them. Otherwise, if she used her disguise, people would still recognize her as someone associated with the Dukes. As they walked, Jade began, “I think what I’m most curious about are the holding bags. Can you explain that to me? I wanted to make one for when I go hunting this weekend.”
They nodded thoughtfully, and Liam began to explain, “Spatial magic deals with twisting the world around us, usually by connecting one spot with another. However, we’ve learned how to create a pocket space with our magic as well. The more skilled you are and the more power you have, the larger you’re able to make this pocket space…”
Absorbed in the conversation, Jade didn’t even mind that people respectfully gave way, creating a large bubble of space around them as they speculated who the girl between the dukes was, with her crown of fellacai fluttering atop her head. “Traveler!” The word was whispered among the crowd, spreading both ahead and behind them.
They knew her face now.
Chapter Fifty – Spatial
By the time they reached the gates of Dracona, Jade felt like she had a decent understanding of how to proceed with making a bag of holding. She was slightly more ambitious than that, but she’d start there. It was a wonder she hadn’t figured it out for herself before this, given that she had all the ideas of inventory in her head from books and games. If she incorporated illusion magic…she might just be able to pull it off perfectly, since the world’s magic seemed to be limited only by her imagination, with a few exceptions.
Approaching the gate, she saw two new guards she’d never met before, which was something of a relief to her. She didn’t want to run into the dynamic duo again today if she didn’t have to. The guards were staring in amazement at her and the dukes as they approached,
and she could tell they knew exactly who they were. She wondered if that would make them lax.
“Good morning, Duke Liam, Duke Donnelly, Lady Jade. Can I see your passes?” The guard who stood to greet them did so politely and respectfully, yet he was still doing his job without just letting them pass. She was quite happy about that.
Reaching into her wallet, she saw all four men avert their eyes as Duke Liam muttered, “Yes, best to get you a bag sooner than later.”
Laughing, she pulled out her student card, noticing both of the dukes had pulled out shiny platinum passes and handed them over already. She brushed against the guard’s hand as she handed hers over, smiling brightly and holding in a laugh when he almost dropped it in surprise. He quickly checked over the three passes and then handed them back, stepping to the side. “You’re good to go.”
She slipped her card back into her wallet, tucking it back under her dress. She had to admit, she was enjoying flustering people. Everyone here was so much more proper. The fact that she actually had something to flaunt now might have played a part as well. They made archery harder, but she could deal with that if she got to feel like she was a woman and not a bean pole.
As they passed, Duke Liam asked curiously, “So how did you get the blood magic classroom as your workshop?”
Shrugging, Jade explained, “I’m not sure. I’m pretty sure Princess Camille pulled some strings for me. Well, actually, maybe it was Eric. I don’t know. They didn’t even know I was a blood mage at the time. I guess they figured it had been out of use for so long, and I was going to be on that floor all afternoon anyway, it was just…easier.”
Duke Donnelly nodded. “It has been quite some time since we’ve had a blood mage.”
Jade glanced at them, grinning. “Ironically, Duke Liam has the potential to be a blood mage. You just haven’t tapped it.”
