by D. S. Craig
Picking up on my surprise, he grinned at me. “On the battlefield, even the slightest bit of information can mean the difference between life and death. Our unit is an elite one, so getting in is extremely difficult. As a result, our numbers are smaller than we’d like, but we also don’t have to worry about leaks. Everyone in the Shadow Dragon Brigade can be trusted.”
“Well, considering who your leader is, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” I swatted at a piece of paper as I recalled my treatment by the commander. “With a personality like his, I’m sure your applicants are rather limited.”
“Haha! Well, you’re not wrong there,” the man laughed as he finished writing up his letter and sealed it. “Alright, I’ve got all the information I need. If the archdemon is involved, then I expect the boss will accept your request. Are you sure you can handle the party yourself?”
I hopped off the table and headed for the door. “Yeah, we’ll be fine. After all, it can’t be any worse than facing off against Thel’al. And this is our chance to redeem ourselves.”
The man eyed me skeptically before letting out a sigh and moving to open the door. “Well, if you say you can handle it, then that’s fine. Don’t hesitate to call on us for help if you need it.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Actually, how would I even do that?” I wasn’t planning on asking for their help, but it couldn’t hurt to be prepared.
He paused and thought about it for a moment. “Well, for now, just have that little master of yours cause a big enough spectacle, and we’ll come running.”
What kind of plan is that?! What are we supposed to do, just blow the roof off the place? I stared at the man for a moment before letting out a sigh. With reckless tactics like that, I could tell this group took after their commander. Still, I doubted we would need their help, so I decided not to bother scolding him.
With the help of Dag and his team secured, I headed back to the school. There was still a lot of work to be done, and we were running out of time. The memory of the sea of slaughtered magical beasts flashed before my eyes. Pushing down the anxiety I felt, I steeled my resolve. Elliot’s party was in a week, and this time we were going to protect everyone.
* * *
When I arrived back at the academy, it was late afternoon, just around the time classes should be coming to an end. I wanted to meet up with the others and get back to training, but there was one last person that I needed to recruit. Arriving at the training grounds, I scanned the crowds of students and instructors heading in every direction until I found my target. On the far side of the field stood Lani, talking to a pair of her students.
Skirting the crowds as best as I could, I made my way over to her and arrived just as their conversation ended. “Lani, you got a minute?”
She looked around for a minute before finally finding me sitting behind her. “Oh, Astria. Sure. What do you need?”
“Let’s go somewhere else to talk.” I looked out over the students still hanging about the field, remembering the baron had an informant here at the school. “It’d be better if others didn’t hear this.”
Lani’s gaze grew serious. “Alright. Let’s head back to my private quarters then.”
Without waiting for me to respond, Lani headed across the field in a brisk walk. The urgency in her step caught me off guard, and I had to trot along to keep up with her. At such a quick pace, we arrived at her room before long. Upon entering, she closed the door behind her and turned to look at me, her expression stern. “What has Lesti gotten herself into this time?”
So, that’s what she was worried about, huh? I couldn’t help but be amused by how well she had Lesti figured out. Still, now wasn’t the time to bring that up. I needed Lani to be focused on our conversation. Jumping up on the bed, I started explaining everything that was happening with Rose, and how I had enlisted the Shadow Dragon Brigade’s aid.
“All that has been going on, and she didn’t tell me anything?” Lani’s shoulders slumped. “Why do I feel like we’ve taken two steps backward?”
“I don’t think you need to worry. This isn’t like before, where Lesti didn’t want to rely on you. In fact, it was her idea to ask for your help.”
I tried my best to comfort her before she fell into a complete depression or, even worse, got angry. I felt a shiver run down my spine at the thought of taking the brunt of her anger on my own. “Besides, even if we had reached out to you earlier, was there really anything you could have done?”
Lifting her gaze, she smiled wryly at me. “I suppose that’s true. At any rate, what did you need my help with? It sounds like you’ve got everything under control from what I can tell.”
I shook my head. “There’s one loose end that could mess everything up if we’re not careful. The baron has some spies and informants here at the school.”
“I see.” Lani’s eyes lit up a little, and she caught on to my point. “So, you’d like me to figure out who they are and make sure they don’t catch onto your plans.”
“That’s right.” My chest started to thrum in appreciation with how quickly Lani caught on. “This will all be for nothing if the baron moves Rose’s family or calls off his attack on the party.”
“That would be quite the problem.” Lani stood there pondering something for a moment before continuing. “Still, I’m not sure that I’ll be able to figure out who the spies are in such a short amount of time. I haven’t looked into this Baron Arvis character before.”
“Don’t worry. We don’t actually need to know who they are.”
“We don’t?” Lani looked at me like I was out of my mind.
“Nope. After all, they’ll probably reveal themselves. Think about it. To learn anything useful, they’ll have to keep a close eye on Rose. That will make them stick out like a sore thumb.”
“Ah, right,” Lani replied. “You said the baron forces her to keep her distance from the other students. Still, there are times that I won’t be able to keep an eye on her, so we’ll have some blind spots.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
We both sat there in silence for some time, each pondering how we could fill in the gaps where Lani wasn’t available. While our group didn’t have any classes right now, we needed to use that time to train if we wanted to be ready in time for the party. We’d have to ask someone else to do it. Preferably, someone who would be able to go unnoticed.
“I’ve got it!” I stood up excitedly, tail flicking wildly. “We can have the headmistress’s familiar cover the times where you aren’t available.”
Lani chuckled at my reaction, causing me to sit back down and try to control my tail. It still swished back and forth despite my best efforts. I had good reason to be happy, After all, everything was starting to fall into place. As long as nothing unexpected happened, we would be able to get the better of Thel’al this time.
“At any rate, could you ask her if she’ll help?”
“Of course. Leave it to me.” Lani brought her hand to her chest, eyes practically sparkling. It was blatantly obvious that she was delighted that she could help Lesti out once again.
I hopped down from the bed and rubbed against her leg, purring slightly as I made my way to the door. “Thanks, Lani. It’s a big help.”
“Don’t mention it.” She walked over to open it for me. “Just be careful. With Thel’al involved, there’s no telling what could happen.”
“Don’t worry. We won’t make the same mistakes as last time. This time, we’ll win and save Rose and her family.”
With a satisfied nod, Lani opened the door, and we went our separate ways. Everything was in place now. All we could do was wait and keep training ourselves to prepare for the battle to come. Praying it would be enough, I went to find Lesti and the others and fill them in on everything that was going on.
* * *
“So, that’s what you’ve been doing all day.” Lesti looked at me with a bright grin on her face. “I figured you were up to something when you ran off like that, but
this way more than I expected. Great work, Astria.”
We were in the classroom we always used for our evening study sessions. By the time I had arrived, the setting sun was casting long shadows across the room, and the girls were already hard at work. Elliot was missing, but I expected that was thanks to Dag and his unit getting in touch with him.
I purred contentedly as she scratched behind my ears and praised me. “Don’t mention it. I figured that we would have to do at least this much if we were going to beat Thel’al this time.”
“Mm. We just have to work hard and get stronger now.” Aurelia pumped her fists in a rare display of enthusiasm. Fang, seeing his master so pumped up, ran about in circles excitedly.
“I-I’ll do my best as well.” Rose, meanwhile, seemed anxious. “All of you are doing so much for me, I need to do my best not to hold you back.”
“That’s the spirit.” Lesti smiled brightly at her for a moment before looking back at the tomes she had been studying, as if pondering something. “Still, there’s got to be more we can do, right?”
I could tell from her expression that she was worried. The last time we had tried to stop Thel’al’s plans, the archdemon had been one step ahead of us. In the end, we had managed to barely save Fang, and even that had required outside intervention. I wasn’t about to let that happen again.
“Actually, I have a few ideas there.” I turned my gaze to each of the girls, in turn, finally stopping on Rose. “It’ll require the use of your ability, though. Are you okay with that?”
“Of course,” Rose replied without hesitation, meeting my gaze firmly. “Nothing would make me happier than for the ability which has caused my family so much suffering to be used to save them.”
“Great.” I turned my gaze to Lesti. “We’re going to need your expertise here, too. There’s a spell I want you to try making. Just to warn you, it’s going to be a bit different from what you’re used to.”
“Leave it to me.” She puffed her chest out and grinned at me with all of her usual confidence. “If there’s a spell that you can think of, then I’ll find some way to make it a reality.”
“Great, then that just leaves you two.” I turned my attention to Aurelia and Fang. “I was thinking we could combine the abilities that you’ve both been developing. If we start now, we should make it just in time.”
“Mm. If you’re teaching us, then we’ll definitely be able to do it.”
“Alright, let’s get to work then. We haven’t got any time to waste after all.”
Everything was officially set in motion. All that was left to do was execute our plans. With all of us working together, I was confident we could handle anything Thel’al and his minions threw our way. But there was still a bit of unease at the very back of my mind that I just couldn’t shake. Trying my best to ignore it, I started our week-long training session.
Finding a Spy
Lani glanced over at the nearby first-year class as she gave her tournament preparation lesson on the training grounds. It was rather hard to keep an eye on Rose’s situation and teach simultaneously, but she was managing well enough. She had carefully positioned herself to watch over the other class while addressing her own students. Thankfully, it seemed like no one had caught on to what she was doing so far.
It had been a few days since Astria had asked her to keep an eye on Rose, but so far, she hadn’t seen any trace of Baron Arvis’s informants. Anyone who did manage to approach Rose would probably stick out like a sore thumb. Outside of the time she spent with Lesti and the others, the girl was always alone. None of her classmates acknowledged her, and her teacher rarely called on her to demonstrate any spells. It was like she just faded into the background.
“And still, she doesn’t even try to reach out.”
“Did you say something, Instructor Lania?” One of the students who had been practicing her earth attack spells on the practice dummy called out to Lani, having apparently heard her muttering under her breath.
“Ah, no. It’s nothing.” Lani smiled at the girl, shaking her head. “That was an excellent Stone Spear spell, Natasha. It should serve you well in the tournament if you’re careful about when you use it. The casting time leaves you somewhat vulnerable to counter attacks after all.”
“I see. I didn’t realize.” The girl smiled back at her and gave a brief, elegant curtsy. “I shall keep that in mind. Thank you, instructor.”
“Alright, who’s next?” Lani called the next student up to show their progress, but her mind quickly drifted back to Rose. As far as Lani could tell, the girl wasn’t happy about her situation. Most of the time, she looked utterly miserable. Yet, she didn’t seem to put any effort into changing things.
It didn’t happen often, but even Rose had to participate in her class sometimes. In those moments, Lani felt like she got a glance at what she was really like, and as a teacher, it was frustrating to watch. On those rare occasions, Rose would simply go through the motions. Her spells weren’t weak or anything of the sort. But they never improved, either.
Despite her lack of effort, she always wore a pained expression whenever she was called on. It was an expression that Lani knew all too well. Just a few years ago, she had seen it whenever she had looked in the mirror. Back when Lesti was struggling with her parents’ death, Lani didn’t feel like she could do anything for her, no matter how hard she had tried.
That feeling had slowly eaten away at her on the inside. Even now, she regretted not being able to do more for Lesti back then. It was easy to see how Rose might be feeling something similar. After all, her family was being held hostage, and she was powerless to do anything about it.
Regardless, there was nothing that Lani could do about that right now. She’d have to leave that to Lesti and the others. For her part, she would make sure to catch the baron’s spy and keep Rose safe. After all, Astria had asked her to do just that.
* * *
Later that evening, Lani was making her rounds of the campus. Classes had ended some time ago, and most of the students were now in the dining hall. However, there was one student still outside, toiling away despite the rapidly setting sun. Sweat dripped from Rose’s forehead as she continuously worked the land under her feet.
Normally, Lani wouldn’t have taken this route, instead patrolling the halls of the main building. But she had seen Lesti and the others in the dining hall and had overheard them, mentioning Rose had turned down joining them for dinner. Thinking something might be wrong, she went to check on the girl and had found her here, wearing the same troubled expression from earlier that day.
Unlike before, there was the faintest hint of determination. Whatever emotions were weighing on the young girl’s shoulders, she was trying to battle them in her own way. With a slight smile, Lani began to turn and head back toward the main building. That was when she saw it.
From the shadows on the far side of the field that Rose tended to, a pair of piercing yellow eyes watched the girl. At first, Lani thought that they were nothing but an illusion or figment of her imagination. After all, eyes had to have a body, and she couldn’t see one. But slowly her mind began to make more sense of what she was seeing, and a faint shape formed in the shadows.
Lani’s blood ran cold at the sight of that shape. “It can’t be.”
Not wanting to panic Rose, Lani took a wide path around the garden, trying her best to get out of the girl’s line of sight. As she moved, the yellow eyes she had spotted before locked onto her and began to follow her movements. Just as she cleared Rose’s line of sight, she dashed toward the creature as quickly and silently as she could. The beast turned and ran off to the rear of the academy grounds, but not before Lani swore it shot her a toothy grin.
Giving chase, she followed the creature toward the deepest parts of the grounds, far behind the abandoned annex building. This part of the academy was rarely visited by both students and teachers and was overgrown with tall grasses and brush. The creature dove into the grass and disappeared from L
ani’s sight, but she didn’t give up the chase, following it by sound.
A few moments later, she broke free from the tall grasses and found herself standing in the shadow of a large tree. The dog-like beast sat at the base of the tree, staring back at her with a mischievous grin. It was much larger than Lani had expected, about the size of a wolf, with much longer limbs. Its dark grey fur blended with the shadows, nearly rendering it invisible to the naked eye, but its pale-yellow eyes stood in stark contrast to that darkness. Behind the creature, four shadowy tails with barbed ends flicked through the air.
Once she saw them, Lani was finally sure. The creature sitting before her was one of the most notorious beasts in the world. The myths and legends about them even rivaled those of dragons like Skell. Before her sat a Rift Stalker, a creature that could defy the laws of time and space; the harbinger of doom.
Lani steeled herself, preparing to try and capture the creature, but before she could, a male voice rang through her head. “Now, now, there’s no need to look so tense. I didn’t come here looking for a fight. I’m just following orders.”
“What? You?” Lani stared wide-eyed at the grinning Rift Stalker in front of her. “Rift Stalkers shouldn’t be able to use telepathy. You’re a familiar?”
“Yep. That’s right.” The voice in her head sounded surprisingly young, perhaps only a little older than Lesti.
“Since you were watching Rose, I can assume you’re Baron Arvis’s familiar?”
“Right again. You’re quick on the uptake, aren’t you, miss?” The Rift Stalker then did something rather strange—it bowed, though it wasn’t the type of play bow you would expect from a dog or a cat. It was a strange, almost human gesture. “The baron calls me Shadow, but I rather dislike that name. It seems too much like something you would call a pet. I would prefer it if you called me Zeke.”
