by D. S. Craig
“Well, Zeke, I’m sorry, but I’m going to need you to come with me.” Lani crouched low in her combat stance and began to prepare a spell. “Spying on our students is a serious offense, and you’ll need to answer to the headmistress.”
“Sorry, I would love to, but I’m afraid that would be a direct breach of orders.” Zeke stood and began to walk away. “I was hoping we could chat a little, but it doesn’t seem like that will be possible, so I’ll just take my leave here.”
“That’s not going to happen! Ice Spear!”
Not wanting to give him a chance to escape, Lani launched the spell she had prepared ahead of time at Zeke. In the blink of an eye, water was gathered from the air near her and formed into a spear shape, before having the temperature rapidly reduced to freeze it solid. The spear of ice flew toward Zeke, but just before it hit him, the spear simply disappeared.
“Spell Jamming?! That late in the spell?” Lani stared at Zeke in shock.
“Spell Jamming? No, that’s not something I can do. All I did was use a little heat and electrolysis to…” Zeke stopped his explanation midway. “Right, you wouldn’t know what that is. Let’s just say that I made the water not be water anymore.”
Lani’s only response was to snap her fingers. Suddenly, another spear of ice formed behind Zeke and launched itself at the back of his head. It was a trick she had picked up from watching Frederick back when the Ice Drakes attacked the city. If it had been a few months prior, she would have never picked up on it. However, after watching Lesti use magic circles to shortcut binding her spells to keywords, she realized she needed to reevaluate her understanding of what was possible when it came to magic.
She felt confident that her attack would land this time. Not only had she cast it silently, but from an angle that her opponent wouldn’t be able to see. But one of Zeke’s four barbed tails flicked through the air, and reality distorted at the last second. The spear that had been heading for him disappeared, and alarm bells started going off in Lani’s head. She threw herself to the side just as the spear she had launched at Zeke came flying at her from behind.
Rolling to her feet, she glared at him. “So, that’s the infamous ability of Rift Stalkers that I’ve heard so much about? It’s not as impressive as I’ve heard if all it can do is redirect attacks.”
“Oh, you wouldn’t happen to be looking down on me, would you, miss?” The voice in Lani’s head suddenly gained a dark tinge as Zeke turned to face her, his eyes narrowed in anger, “If that’s that case, then why don’t I give you a taste of what I can really do.”
A malicious, unnatural grin spread across Zeke’s face, and his tails went to work behind him. The first one flicked through the air just like before, distorting reality. But unlike last time, the distortion didn’t disappear immediately. Instead, two of the other tails lashed out to the spot, sank into the distortion, and began to pull.
A sudden feeling of nausea washed over Lani as a small rift began to open in reality. It wasn’t long before it was wide enough for her to see through to the other side. At first, she couldn’t quite make anything out. Everything was covered in a purple haze. However, as she continued to stare into the rift, she soon found something staring back at her, with eyes as black as the void.
“Impossible. A demon?” Lani froze as feelings of shock and terror washed over her.
“That’s better.” Zeke’s malicious grin returned to the same strange but casual smile he had before. Then, just as suddenly as he had opened it, he used his four tails to stitch reality back together and seal the rift. “I hope you understand your place now. If I wanted to, I could open a path for those creatures right here. Still, that would go against my orders, so I would rather not.”
“Your orders?” Lani shook off the terror that had gripped her heart just moments before. She would have to give up on capturing Zeke for now, but she might still be able to get him talking and learn something useful. “Why would you take orders from someone like Arvis when you have that kind of power?”
At her question, Zeke’s smile turned into a scowl. “Let’s just say the deal we made wasn’t a fair one and leave it at that. At any rate, for now, I’ve just been ordered to report back on what the girl is doing.”
As he spoke, Zeke’s tails flicked through the air once more, opening another rift behind him. This time, rather than the purple haze that had been there before, what looked like the halls of a manor appeared. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to report back soon, or the baron will get angry. Let’s meet again soon, Miss Instructor.”
“Wait!” Lani tried to call out and stop him, hoping she could squeeze out more information. But Zeke ignored her call and leapt through the rift, quickly closing it behind him before Lani had a chance to follow. For a long moment after, she couldn’t hear anything but her own heartbeat as she tried to process what she had just seen.
She had always heard dreadful tales about Rift Stalkers as she was growing up, but had considered them just that—tales. As far as she knew, it had been hundreds of years since the last confirmed sighting of one. Many assumed that they had been wiped out in one of the previous wars. However, she was sure that’s what Zeke was, especially after seeing his power.
Turning on her heel, Lani began to run back toward the school building. This was bigger than Rose now. As things stood, every single student at the academy was in danger. She had to tell the headmistress what had happened so that they could prepare.
Bets and Tours
Aurelia and Fang both collapsed to the ground in front of me, exhausted. Their breathing was heavy, and Aurelia’s brow was covered in sweat. Looks like they still can’t use it for very long. It’ll make a lovely trump card if they find themselves in a pinch, though.
“That’s enough for tonight. We don’t want to exhaust ourselves before the big day tomorrow.” I waited for the pair to recover before we headed back inside. It was late in the afternoon, but there was still quite a bit of time left before the sunset. Normally, I would have wanted to train for even longer, but we had already been pushing ourselves incredibly hard all week long. We needed to take a break, or we wouldn’t be able to fight properly tomorrow.
Once Fang and Aurelia were back on their feet, we made our way up to the usual classroom. There we found Lesti and Rose packing up their things. Lesti looked like she was just about to fall over from exhaustion. Walking over, I rubbed up against her leg. “It looks like you managed to finish?”
She smiled at me wearily, yet still somehow managed to have all her usual bravado. “Yeah. It was a piece of cake with Rose’s help. Baron Arvis and his goons won’t know what hit them.”
“Yeah. Your invention will most certainly catch them off-guard.” Rose threw a heavy-looking sack over her shoulder, the sound of stone hitting stone coming from within. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen magic applied in this way before.”
I felt a slight thrumming sensation in my chest at her praise. “Well, it’s pretty much impossible without your ability, so that’s no surprise. At any rate, we should all go get some dinner and get to bed. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”
With everyone as exhausted as they were, none of them had the energy to argue, and we headed to the dining hall. There was a strange sense of tension amongst the group as they ate. Usually, they would all be chatting cheerfully, but today they ate their food in silence. I couldn’t blame them. I was pretty nervous about tomorrow myself.
As soon as everyone finished their meals, we headed back to the dorm, where we parted ways and went to bed early. I had expected Lesti to be restless. Yet, contrary to my expectations, she passed out in record time. Helping Rose with her task while working on improving her magic had taken its toll on her.
I curled up next to her like I typically did and tried to sleep, but found I was wide awake. Despite being exhausted, I couldn’t shake the strange, foreboding feeling in the back of my mind. But no matter how hard I thought about it, there was nothing else that we could do. A
fter several hours of this, I grew frustrated and got up. Trying not to wake Lesti, I silently made my way to the door.
Using Wind Rake, I gently manipulated the door and snuck out. I didn’t have any particular destination, so I just wandered toward the building’s front entrance. But as I was moving along, I heard the sound of quiet footsteps on the stone floor. Making my way toward the noise, I found a familiar figure creeping through the darkness.
“Rose, is that you?”
Rose jumped and began looking around wildly at the sound of my voice. Ah, right. She probably can’t see me in the dark. Even after several months of living in this new world, I sometimes forgot my eyesight and senses were now better than that of an average human.
“It’s me, Astria,” I called out to her once more, this time identifying myself. “Sorry if I scared you. What are you doing up?”
Hearing my name, Rose visibly relaxed, though she kept looking around for me in the dark. “I couldn’t sleep. I figured I would take a quick stroll out to the garden and clear my mind. What about you?”
“Actually, I’m having trouble sleeping myself. Do you mind if I join you?” I walked up and rubbed against her leg, causing her to start briefly before she looked down and saw me.
“Of course not.” She gave me a relieved smile. “I would love to have your company.”
We headed out of the dorms and into the chilly spring evening. The stars and moon filled the clear night sky, giving us plenty of light as we made our way to the garden. When we arrived, Rose stopped and stared up at the night sky. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
I joined her, taking in the countless stars and constellations. I felt a wave of nostalgia wash over me. It had been a night just like this that I was summoned to this world. Back then, I wasn’t able to appreciate the stars with everything else that was happening. Sadly, tonight was much the same. While the night sky was beautiful, the sense of dread I felt robbed me of the joy I should be feeling from watching it.
We sat there in silence for a while until Rose finally spoke up again. “You know, I haven’t viewed the stars like this in years. The last time I did was the night before the baron’s men came along and took me away.” I looked over at her and saw a bitter smile on her face. “Since then, whenever I see the stars, I can only remember the terror and fear of being stripped away from my family. For a while, I was worried that they might be dead.”
“You’ve been through a lot, huh?”
“That’s true. Still, the hardest part was being alone.” Her bitter smile faded, replaced by a more genuine one. “When Lesti and Aurelia first started talking to me, I was terrified. I thought they were going to try and use me for my ability and start some sort of power struggle with the baron.”
After thinking about what she said, I tilted my head to the side. “Actually, isn’t that kind of what ended up happening anyway?”
She blinked once then started laughing. Unlike her usual dainty giggles, this was a full-hearted laugh. The first one I had seen from her since we had met. Eventually, she got her laughter under control and wiped tears from the corners of her eyes. “I guess you’re right. Yet, I don’t mind it at all. I know that I haven’t known you for very long, but I really do consider you to be my friends. You’ve all done so much for me. It’s just a shame that I won’t be able to pay you back.”
“What do you mean?” Suddenly, I felt the sense of dread that I had been feeling for a while flare-up.
Rose looked back toward the stars, avoiding my gaze. “Well, when all of this is over, I can’t imagine that I’ll stay here at the academy. I’ll have lost my sponsor, and I’d like to spend some time with my family again.”
I stared at Rose, utterly dumbstruck by what she had said. Her words made me realize that I had forgotten to think about what would come after our confrontation with the baron. Rose’s ability was clearly useful to Thel’al for some reason. His followers wouldn’t be sticking their noses in this situation otherwise.
My mind began to race as the realization that there was still more work to do dawned on me. I was almost out of time. I only had tomorrow morning and early afternoon to make any preparations. Will that be enough time? I grit my teeth in frustration.
“Is something the matter?” Rose, sensing my frustration, looked down at me worriedly.
No, it’s nothing.” I turned and started to head back toward the dorm. “Come on. We need to get to bed. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day.”
We headed back to the dorm and said our goodnights once more. When I returned to our room, Lesti was still sleeping soundly. Jumping up on the bed, I curled up next to her and tried my best to fall asleep. Despite having so many more things to worry about, the feeling of dread I had before was gone. As I pondered why that might be, my eyes grew heavy, and I quickly drifted off to sleep.
* * *
I stood outside in the courtyard and stared at the wooden door in front of me, wondering what I should do. It was early morning, well before most people would be awake. I needed to talk to Elliot in private, so I had come over to the boys’ dorm. However, upon arriving outside, I realized that I didn’t know where his room was. Not to mention, I was somewhat conflicted about barging into the boys’ dorm. Despite being a cat, I was still a girl, after all.
Well, nothing is going to be solved by me sitting around out here. Making up my mind, I began to cast my magic to open the door. However, just as my spell reached completion, the door swung open, its thick wooden structure replaced by the sleepy face of Elliot. I tried to stop casting, but I was too slow. Without any warning, he was smacked in the face with a Wind Rake spell powerful enough to push open the heavy wooden door.
I stared aghast as Elliot tumbled backward. But before he could hit the ground, he tucked his chin, using his momentum to roll over his shoulder, avoiding any serious injury. Popping up into the low crouch, he glared menacingly at the door, his practice spear ready in his hand. Upon seeing me standing there, he paused and blinked a few times.
“Astria, what’s going on?” He stood up and looked down at me, confused. “Did I do something to anger you?”
Why are you jumping to conclusions like that?! The fact that Elliot thought I was the type of person who would come and attack him out of the blue for upsetting me irked me more than I expected. “I was just trying to open the door!”
“Ah, right. I suppose you can’t open the door normally, being a cat and all.” He walked back over and closed the door behind him. “Still, try to be more careful in the future. It’s not a big deal since it was me, but someone less trained in combat might have been seriously injured.”
Being lectured by a boy his age was mortifying, but he was right, so I couldn’t even argue back. I suddenly found that I couldn’t look him in the eye and averted my gaze. “S-sorry about that. I’ll be more careful next time.”
Elliot gave a satisfied nod. “Excellent. Now, did you need me to fetch someone for you, or were you looking for me?”
“Right.” I shook off my embarrassment and turned my attention back to the task at hand. “Can we go somewhere more private? I had something that I needed to discuss with you.”
“Well, there’s no one around at this time of the day.” He looked around the abandoned courtyard. “Why don’t we talk on our way to the training grounds?”
The idea that someone might overhear us made me a little nervous, but it seemed unlikely. It was a clear morning with no fog for a change, so we’d be able to see if anyone was following us. “Sure. That’s fine.”
We started making our way toward the training grounds. Once we were far enough away from the boys’ dorm that I was confident no one could hear us, I started talking. “I want you to help us convince your father to let Lesti become Rose’s sponsor.”
Elliot glanced down at me, his face a mask that hid his emotions. His reaction caught me completely off guard. This was the first time I had seen him act like a noble in this manner. For a few seconds, the only sound was that of
the dew-covered grass being crushed underfoot as we walked along. “I struggle to see how that would benefit my family or my people. Care to explain your thoughts?”
Suddenly far more nervous than I expected to be, I felt the strange desire to shred something with my claws. I took a deep breath and pushed that feeling aside, looking up at Elliot. “Once this is all over, there might be others who will come after Rose for her ability. That includes Thel’al and his demon worshipers.”
“All the more reason to put her in the care of the Gambriel family, no? No offense to Lesti, but we have far more resources at our disposal than the Vilia family.”
“You have a good point there.” I stopped and glanced up at him. “But tell me this. Do you think anyone in your father’s employ could keep her safe if Thel’al seriously went after her? The beast he turned Fang into barely scratches the surface of what he can do.”
Elliot paused, his carefully constructed mask faltering for the first time. Under it, I caught a glimpse of doubt. However, he still didn’t accept my proposal outright. “You make an excellent point, but you still haven’t addressed my concern. If my family doesn’t have the strength to defend her, then there’s no way that the much weaker Vilia family will be able to.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” I gazed at him defiantly. “Lesti and I could—no, we will protect her.”
Elliot stared back at me as though searching for the source of my confidence. His reaction was perfectly understandable. He had missed our last week of intense training and had no idea what we were all capable of now. We’d just have to show him then. I felt my tail start to twitch about as a rather mischievous idea formed in my head.
“It seems we’re at an impasse here, so why don’t we make a bet?”
Elliot’s narrowed his eyes at me suspiciously. “A bet?”
“Yeah. This morning, you’ll have a sparring bout with Lesti. If she wins, then you’ll admit that we’re better suited to protecting Rose.”
