by Tj Dixon
I sense the faery magic that was hiding us fade and then the sky around us is filled with elves. The Goblin Cook just laughs clearly realising the elves are nothing more than illusions. A dozen or so lightning bolts shoot straight at us but I just about manage to pull us out of their path.
“Dance elf, dance!” The Goblin Cook cackles. I manage to dodge the next small barrage too. “Soon you will dance in my stew!”
“He’s too powerful.” I curse. The sky above us is filled with flames much brighter than mere sunlight so the darkness is now replaced by blinding light. The nine Contractians are surely dead by now and soon we and a whole city will be too.
As I am thinking this though a barrage of fifty huge blue beams of pure magic shoot up from the city straight past us through the illusionary elves. One beam also clips and scorches the left wing tip of the blood bird below, but all of the beams hit the swarm of blood birds above us. Next rather than lightning I have to dodge falling blood birds.
“Damn humans interrupting my snack!” The Goblin Cook curses and sends a barrage of thousands of lightning bolts straight down at the city. The city shield holds, but it seems to waver. Then a barrage of wind slices hit the Goblin Cook’s shield. It seems the Contractian reinforcements have reached us. Killing the Goblin Cook might now be possible, but the Contractians will probably try to kill us too.
I send a few wind slices of my own down at the Goblin Cook whilst he’s distracted but they bounce off his shield. Then a huge blue fireball blasts down at him from beside me. He looks up at it and laughs. It seems it’s not even a threat. Strangely though it goes straight through his shield as if the shield wasn’t even there. It not only hits him and the blood bird but burns him to ash. The blood bird isn’t burned too badly but without its rider the blue glow on its wing tips fade and the shield protecting it is gone. A moment later wind slices from below cut the bird to pieces.
“They saved the hostages!” Elucia exclaims. She’s right. The wind slices were aimed to avoid the people tied to the bird and the hostages have now been ported away.
“Now get us out of here before they kill us.” Sakura warns me. As if to emphasise her words another fifty or so blue beams shoot past us, one missing me by only half a foot.
I desperately race us away from the falling corpse of the Goblin Cook and the Contractian wind mages. The illusions race along with us. They may not entirely fool anyone, but they do at least make it harder for anyone to hit us.
The Contractian wind mages seem sensibly much more focused on the goblins than on us. They fly up into the swarm of goblin blood birds whilst evading the goblin attacks with the same nimble reflexes as the first wind mages we saw. The pure magic beams give me hope that the goblins may be defeated despite their overwhelming numbers. I just hope the attacks focus on the goblins and not on us. We are now past the fiery shadow of the blood birds so any attacks against us will either be wasted entirely or kill only us.
I breathe a sigh of relief once we are past the huge white pots we first saw when we ported in. The goblins and Contractians are a long way behind us now. We should be safe. The pots themselves make me nervous though so I keep on flying.
All of a sudden I hear a deafening crash followed by an unnatural piercing shriek. I turn my head and don’t need my magical senses to see what caused it. The shattered remains of the giant white clay lid lies on the ground in thousands of pieces beside the pot it was previously on.
Climbing out of the huge pot is a gigantic green lizard with spiked green leather wings, a green metal tail with a sharp spike at the end, white bone claws, green scales and burning red eyes literally formed of fire. It must be a hundred feet tall and its wings now beating furiously generate so much wind we are thrown down to the ground. The wind is smoky and makes it hard to breathe. It feels like fire based flight magic.
Those burning red eyes look our way for a moment, then at the city and finally at the blood birds. It lets out another shriek before launching itself up towards the blood birds. They scatter and start to port away.
I grin darkly and begin to sing. My song instantly prevents anyone from porting. The range of my song is much greater than that of a mere port block. The blood birds and goblins that haven’t ported away already are torn apart ruthlessly or burnt to ash by the lizard demon. They send fireballs but the lizard demon shrieks and emits a huge sphere of fire all around itself. The remaining enemies are all killed in just that one attack. I stop singing since it’s now only the lizard demon, the Contractians and us that are affected by my song.
“The poor hostages.” Elucia whispers wiping away a tear.
“Will it attack the city?” Sakura asks as if I could know the answer. It quickly provides one though and to my relief that answer is no. Instead of attacking the city it flies straight up until it is out of sight entirely.
“How did your fireball get past the Goblin Cook’s shield?” I ask Elucia.
“Elves don’t use fireballs and even if you did they’d be weak, right. I think it just assumed the fireball was an illusion or too weak to hurt it. I think it focused most of its shield below and only shielded from above when it thought it needed to.” Elucia explains.
“There’s no way that’s possible. Even stray fireballs from its allies would be a threat.” I protest.
“Well that was my plan. If that isn’t why it worked I have no idea. I put all my magic into that attack in case my plan worked.” Elucia tells me. Perhaps all her magic was more than she realised. That’s the only reason I can think of that can explain why her attack worked.
“It will be a while before we can port then.” I say.
“Sorry.” Elucia apologises.
“There’s no need to be sorry, Elucia. You saved us back there. Sakura, find out where and who the next enemy is.” I say.
“They’ll be shocked when they realise we killed the Goblin Cook already.” Sakura laughs. “Is it safe to contact them from here though?”
“Perhaps we should fly on a bit further.” I admit. We fly into the forest and then continue flying for about ten minutes. “This should be far enough.”
“I’ll contact the other legates. Is there anything you want me to tell them other than that we killed the Goblin Cook and need to know our next target?” Sakura asks.
“No. That’s all.” I answer. Then I turn to Elucia. “You need to rest so we can port again.”
“I don’t really feel tired though.” Elucia complains.
“I can sing you to sleep again.” I remind her.
“Fine, but where should I sleep?” Elucia asks.
“How about…” I start to say but Sakura interrupts.
“There’s no time for sleep. The next enemy is really close but it’s likely to move soon.” Sakura tells us.
“What’s the next enemy?” I ask, concerned that we may be too weak to fight it without resting first.
“A rabbit.” Sakura tells me.
“A rabbit?” I ask in disbelief.
“Yes.” Sakura nods.
“What sort of rabbit?” I ask.
“A snow rabbit.” Sakura answers.
“So does it have water based magic?” I ask.
“No. It’s just a rabbit. No magic.” Sakura answers.
“Does it have exceptional physical abilities then?” I ask.
“No. Like I said, it’s just a rabbit.” Sakura answers.
“Then why the hell did the other legates ask us to kill it?” I ask.
“I have no idea, but if we’re going to kill it we need to start moving now.” Sakura answers.
“Then lead the way.” I tell her.
“This way.” Sakura says and flies even deeper into the forest.
“What’s a snow rabbit doing somewhere warm like this?” Elucia asks.
“No idea.” Sakura answers.
“It seems strange.” Elucia says.
“Let’s just be grateful that it isn’t another legendary enemy this time.” Sakura says.
“
Hmm.” Elucia mumbles not sounding too happy.
“It’s just up ahead. I can’t see it yet but I can sense it.” Sakura tells me. I focus my senses and realise it’s in a small forest glade nibbling on grass. It seems perfectly harmless.
“I sense it too. Even if it is supposed to be defenceless let’s not let our guard down.” I say.
“Are we really going to kill a harmless rabbit?” Elucia asks.
“Yes, if that’s what it takes to defeat our enemy and save my people.” I answer.
“What if they asked you to kill me?” Elucia asks.
“They already agreed that we wouldn’t have to kill any Contractians. Anyway, you eat animal meat so why do you care about a rabbit?” I argue.
“But what if they hadn’t agreed that and they asked you to kill me?” Elucia asks.
“This and that are totally different. I feel sorry for the rabbit but it’s not even a person. Besides it’s not really any different from hunting for food.” I tell her.
“So if it was an innocent person you wouldn’t do it?” Elucia asks.
“If it was just one innocent person I would probably sacrifice it anyway.” I admit.
“We’re almost out of time.” Sakura interrupts urgently. “Either we kill this rabbit or we don’t. Decide now.”
“We kill it.” I say.
“I’ll wait here.” Elucia tells me.
“Fine. Sakura, keep Elucia hidden.” I say and advance towards the rabbit at a fast walk. I hide my presence. I’m not as good as Sakura but I can keep myself hidden from most enemies and certainly from a mere rabbit. I don’t use flight magic in case there are other enemies nearby who might sense the magic despite my best efforts to keep it hidden.
I enter the glade and the rabbit looks up as if it can see me. Then it looks down again and continues nibbling on the grass. The rabbit is covered in pure white fur. Even its eyes are white. It’s about a foot long and half a foot wide and tall. It looks perfectly harmless just like Sakura said.
“Sorry little rabbit but today is the day you die. May you rest in peace.” I whisper. I can at least make it painless though. It doesn’t deserve a painful death. So I use wind magic to draw the air out of the rabbit. It looks up at me accusingly as it tries desperately to breathe. It doesn’t feel like some dumb animal. It feels like a person, but even if it is a person I have no choice. Eventually it falls to the ground lifelessly.
I look around almost expecting to see enemies surrounding me. It feels like it should be a trap. There’s nobody around though and no sign of enemies. Was this simply a test to see if I could sacrifice an innocent life for the greater good, but if so why an innocent animal and not an innocent person? It could be because of the contract. Regardless of the reason, if this was a test I passed, but I don’t feel good about it. I would much rather fight an enemy that can fight back. It was still much better than killing an innocent person though.
I walk back towards Sakura and Elucia. Elucia looks at me sadly. Not accusing, but instead pitying me. Then there is an almighty howl from right behind me. I turn and see the rabbit standing back up. Its eyes, pointed clearly my way, are now red and its fur shimmers with blue light.
“What the hell?” I ask myself in shock. Then I breathe a sigh of relief. Perhaps this rabbit isn’t so innocent after all.
Men and women wearing white fur clothes similar to the rabbit’s fur port in all around the rabbit. Their skin is pale and their eyes are red just like the rabbit’s eyes.
“How did it die?” One man asks.
“Kill now. Investigate later.” Another man orders urgently.
“At least we got the rest inside.” The first man says with a sigh. Then all hell breaks loose.
Chapter 3 (Multiple) – One Day Ago
(Midori)
It must have been hours since I first arrived here and I’m still in this cold dark grey stone room all on my own. The only light is starlight from a small window near the ceiling about twenty feet above me. I’m currently sitting on a small grey wooden bed with just a thin grey blanket on it. No mattress or pillows or anything even remotely comfortable.
My emerald green dress from our date looks so odd in this dismal grey room. The bed is the only furniture in the room and other than the window the only exit is a thick grey wooden door but it’s locked and protected by magic. I could fly up to the window but it’s too small to fly through. I can’t port because there’s a port block up.
I was ported in here from the cave where Peter left me and then the port block went up a few second later. The mind stone was dead so I was terrified that Peter was dead. A small slit in the door opened briefly a few minutes after I arrived. There was a yellow eyed and black furred cat man behind the door. He told me Peter, Hinata, Hermes and Rin were all safe and that I was to wait here. Then he closed the slit and left me all on my own. Of course I’m still scared that he was lying but it took the edge off of my fear.
The slit opens again and this time a young woman’s face is on the other side. Her eyes are bright green just like Yu Kii and she has white hair like Yu Kii’s too, but much longer. I am certain that she is an adult but probably no older than I am so at most about twenty one years old or so.
“Are you Midori?” She asks.
“Yes.” I reply, eagerly jumping to my feet. The door opens. The young woman behind it is wearing fancy clothes which are a bit like a dress. They consist of a white layer on top and a red layer beneath. The red layer you can see where there are patterned diamond holes in the white layer as well as the sleeves which are missing from the white layer. She is standing in a grey stone corridor with a long glass window directly behind her. Outside the window is a dreary mist that matches the mood of the room and the corridor.
“Follow me.” She tells me.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“To see our gods.” She replies.
“Do you follow the Kuroneko?” I ask.
“Yes.” She answers.
“What other gods are we seeing?” I ask.
“Just one other god but I am not allowed to tell you who.” She says.
“Will my friends be there? Will Peter be there?” I ask.
“You will find out soon. Be patient.” She tells me.
“I’ve just been waiting on my own for hours with no idea what is going on, so why should I be patient?” I ask angrily.
“If you are impatient you risk angering the gods.” She warns me.
I suppose questioning her isn’t going to get me anywhere so I just follow her in silence the rest of the way. It’s just a straight line along this corridor with the long window on my left. No matter how far we walk the scene outside never changes. I wonder whether it’s an illusion but I can’t sense any magic.
Finally we reach the end of the corridor. There’s a shiny black stone door in front of us. It totally contrasts with the dull grey of everything else in this place.
“In here?” I ask.
“Yes. I’ll be leaving now. Good luck.” She says, knocks on the black stone door and turns back the way we came. “Don’t keep the gods waiting.”
“After they kept me waiting all this time.” I sigh and approach the door. It opens on its own revealing a black stone room with a large black stone throne. The Kuroneko is sitting on the throne. There are large fiery torches on the wall every ten feet or so lighting the room well.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Peter’s voice calls out from just beyond the door to the right.
“Peter!” I call out and rush into the room. I turn but to my shock it isn’t Peter standing there. Instead there’s a lizard person with green scales like armour all over its body. It has a short scaled nose, razor sharp teeth and burning blue eyes literally formed of fire. It has spiked green leather wings and a green metal tail with a sharp spike at the end. It has sharp white bone claws on its feet but its arms and hands look human. I look closer and gasp as I realise that they don’t just look human. They look like Peter’s arms and
hands.
“Yes, I am Peter even if I look a little different now.” He tells me.
“Is that an illusion?” I ask suspiciously.
“No. Other than my dwarven hands and arms this body is my real body. I got it back along with my memories when I died.” Peter tells me.
“You died?!” I ask in shock. Even if I’m not sure that this is Peter hearing that he died is enough to make my legs shake.
“Yes. I would explain but it’s much easier to share my memories with you.” He says and instantly closes the few feet between us to place his forehead against mine. His thoughts and memories flow into my mind in an instant and then he pulls away.
Tears flow down my cheeks and I fall to my knees. The memories that he shared are full of sadness, suffering and death. His time in the arena. His time as a star in the sky. In other words an angel. Being thrown down from the heavens by his father Ikarus. His time as an evil tyrant. What he wants from me. No, what he needs from me. It’s just so much to take in all at once.
“I’m sure you’ll want some time to sort out your thoughts.” Peter tells me kindly.
“You don’t have time for that.” I tell him looking up sadly.
“It is a big decision though, and you’re confused right now.” Peter warns me.
“I already decided to follow you. I already decided to love you. This is a bit like marriage so there’s no way I’d hesitate.”
“You didn’t know who or what I was. Even I didn’t know that then. Also this may be a bit like marriage but it isn’t marriage and it is a bit like slavery too.” Peter reminds me.
“It isn’t slavery though, and I will willingly follow you through the gates of hell and back again.” I tell Peter.
“I can’t guarantee that I’ll be coming back again.” Peter warns me.
“I know, but I’ll make sure you do.” I tell him firmly.
“For now though, hell can wait.” Peter reminds me.
“I know, but when the time comes I will be there with you.” I tell Peter. “For now what you need is to make me your miko.”
