“Y-yes.” I didn't bother to ask how he knew about my relationship with Karin. It was almost impossible to miss from my reaction. “I don't know where the soldiers took her, but I should still be able to find her through the secondary bond. If it can continue to supply me with mana, it's possible that I can trace the astral energy to its source.”
“If AEGIS went to all that trouble to get her, they definitely aren't going to part with her easily,” Amber noted. “We're talking about infiltrating a seriously high-security compound. They'll be guarding their prize heavily, you can count on that.”
“We know.” Meilin sighed and leaned forward toward her sister. “Obviously I wasn't privy to this part of the organization, but I'm not so ignorant that I don't expect it to be very dangerous and difficult. That's why we came to ask for your help.”
“Okay, you've said your piece.” Amber's tone was flat. “What's in it for us?”
“Information. Luna collects and preserves arcane knowledge from all over the world, but I know that your information on astral emulation systems is lacking. If they took Karin for the reason I think they did, the facility where she's being held will contain all sorts of knowledge that Luna would normally have no access to.”
Amber's lips twisted in a grimace. “We'd certainly love to be able to build our own Spell Engines, but this is a lot of risk for an information raid. Not to mention Luna usually doesn't go around attacking people to add to our libraries.”
“I have something else to offer.” Meilin met her sister's gaze steadily. “I will help you fight the demons.”
“You'd pledge yourself to Luna?” Amber demanded, her tone incredulous. “What makes you think we would even want you working with us to begin with, dear sister?”
Meilin held a placating hand up. “Amber, please. We all know that something very bad is headed our way. These creatures are just the beginning; I can feel it. Arcane houses all over the world are closing ranks and hiding away, even the more bloodthirsty ones. Spirit hunters and mages are being targeted by these demons. AEGIS has suddenly turned on its head with no explanation.”
“You don't have to remind me. If the demons keep hitting this place, we're going to have to abandon this facility and disperse, go underground. Luna can't afford to let them whittle us down to nothing in an attritionary war we can't win.”
“If we can rescue Karin and manage to re-establish our mana bond properly, we'll be able to fight them on equal footing,” I reminded her. “The more she and I destroy, the fewer will exist to harass Luna.”
“You're not really getting me all that excited here.” Amber's tone was bone-dry. “Look, Luna isn't like your AEGIS. We don't have the weight of infinite government resources and funding backing us up. I'm sorry, but I don't think the risks are worth it.”
“Amber, just give us a—”
I held my hand up to stop her. “No, Meilin, she's right. We don't have much to offer Luna at all.”
“Not to mention your girlfriend might never recover,” Amber pointed out.
“I will not allow myself to think that.” My eyes narrowed into emerald slits as I felt my ears lay back against my head. “Karin will wake up. She has to.”
The Swordlady of Luna shrugged and glanced at Elias. The tall, dignified leader of the entire Luna organization seemed to be lost in thought. No one spoke for a long moment, but I could tell that Elias was busy analyzing the situation.
“Amber, I understand your misgivings,” the Archivist began, “but I believe we have little choice but to help them. We are indeed standing on the edge of darkness. The arrival of the demons, this unusual mage and the recent instability inherent in binding invocations… I believe all of this is indeed related to a weakening of the boundary.”
Amber nodded. “A lot of our major rivals suddenly pulled out of the game over the past few months. It was weird, we didn't get it at first, but then I saw it for myself during a scrap with a summoner of House Kohn—the jerk's pet shardwight just vanished in the middle of the fight. Most invocations are working fine, but summoning magic is fucked.”
“I knew that some summoners were losing control of their specters, but I didn't realize it'd gotten that bad.” Meilin rubbed her temples and let out a frustrated groan. “I suppose that explains the sudden defensive posture of the arcane houses.”
“That is our theory as well,” Elias confirmed. “Much of the power of these clans comes from the specters they bind to their will. Without their most potent weapons, it is no surprise that they are fearful. Summoners cannot rely upon their specters and the demons, guided only by their own chaotic urges, are appearing in greater number.”
My ears twitched and I glanced at Meilin. “The balance of power… how many of these arcane houses owe their political and economic standing to the might of their summoned specters?”
“Enough to cause a significant economic disruption. This isn't good.”
“Shouldn't you be glad the specters are breaking their bindings?” Amber queried. Her tone was only slightly sarcastic. “I mean, that was your job before, right? All that stuff about protecting humanity from evil?”
Meilin fixed her sister with a narrow-eyed glare. “Yes, under AEGIS I did work to destroy specters and protect humanity from their corruption. However, we did it carefully, with full consideration for the economic and political consequences of taking down any given arcane house and whatever assets they controlled.”
It was obvious that another argument between the two sisters was brewing. I thumped the heel of my palm on the table to turn everyone's attention to me.
“Let's stay focused on what we need to do now. Karin needs our help.”
“Fine by me,” Amber agreed, leaning further back in her chair and placing her hands behind her head. Despite my attempt to refocus the conversation she still seemed intent on doing whatever she could to annoy her sister.
“Very well. The first thing we must do is locate Karin Ashley.” Elias turned his attention to me. “Misaki, this is your task. Once you locate her, Luna will dispatch scouts to gather as much information as possible so that we may plan our assault.”
“I'll do that right away,” I promised. “How long do you think it'll be before we can begin the operation?”
“It may take some time, but we will proceed with all due haste.”
“After the initial scouting reports reach us, we can tweak our tactical plan as tight as possible and go right away.” Amber's hand rested on the pommel of the Shattered Sword and her eyes went cold.
“We'll hit them fast and hard.”
quiescence
The door to the guest quarters slid open. The dim glow brightened as the sensors detected a presence, bringing the room into focus. Beds were made and a basket of fresh fruit had been set on the small table. The room was so clean I could detect no evidence that Meilin and I had even slept here.
I was alone. Meilin went off somewhere with Amber, ostensibly to continue laying the groundwork for the combination rescue operation and information raid. I didn't like the risk that the secondary objective added, but there wasn't much I could do about it. We needed Luna's help and that assistance came at a price.
My ears twitched as I sat down on the bed and started removing my boots. New boots were never very comfortable and the balls of my feet were protesting their mistreatment. Meditating into a focus state never came easily to me; the last thing I needed was yet another distraction preventing me from clearing my mind.
I stood up and sealed the door, ensuring that I wouldn't be disturbed, not even by Meilin or Amber. Dimming the lights, I positioned myself in the center of the small guest room and sat on the floor in a lotus position. It bothered me intensely that I had to spend so much time and effort meditating to sharpen my mental focus in order to perform anything beyond a simple cantrip.
There wasn't anything I could do to change it; at least I still could work more difficult magic with such limited access to astral energy. I closed my eyes and let my b
reathing slow, feeling my ears droop just slightly. My tail slowed its usual swishing, curling around and coming to rest on the floor. Keeping it still was one of the hardest parts of achieving this sort of razor-edge concentration.
The trickle of mana that sustained me flowed instantaneously, regardless of distance. Astral energy didn't obey the natural laws of this world. I was no expert on the subject, but I knew that the rules of the astral world differed greatly from those of the material world.
Despite the fact that the mana came to me without traveling through time and space, I could somehow still discern its source. I couldn't feel anything, but I knew my body was trembling and sweat gathered on my brow. Working magic without the framework of an invocation would be difficult and exhausting even in ideal conditions.
Painstakingly, I bent a line of force here, rerouted a connection there. I had no concrete data to work with, only an insistent pulling as the trickle of fresh mana tugged at my consciousness. I altered the natural pathways it took through the universe, fusing them together to form a longer conduit.
The feeling of attraction increased in strength steadily and then started to plateau. I slowed my efforts and concentrated on perceiving the infinitesimal point where the plateau started to dip again.
There!
I stopped and pushed just a tiny mote of mana into the conduit I'd created. That tiny mote, shaped by the invocation I began to cast, would yield up images, sounds, smells. The sensory data, combined with Luna's extensive database, would lead us to Karin.
Information flooded into my mind. I could smell… diesel fuel, still used for certain applications, generally vehicles that travel far away from the beaten path. Beneath the heavy chemical smell was a bracing cold and dry quality to the air that suggested high altitude. I could hear the call of birds, the slightly discordant song of nature… and the sound of humans talking and working.
The vision expanded and I could see. The facility was burned into my mind—a small but defensible complex located high in the mountains. There was a single large building constructed of concrete and steel. It was much older than the prefab buildings set up around it. From the sizes and arrangement I suspected at least one of the four prefabs served as barracks for the garrison. Several black-painted humvees were parked on a packed dirt surface nearest the largest prefab building, likely some sort of multipurpose equipment depot.
My mind began to darken slowly as the power contained within the mote of mana faded away, expended in the casting of this impromptu spell-weaving. I opened my eyes and took a deep breath, getting to my feet a little unsteadily. The digital readout on the wall told me the entire process took nearly four hours. I felt shaky and weak, but I expected this and made prior arrangements. On the small dining table was a tray containing a high-protein snack of spicy dried beef and whole hard-boiled eggs.
I sat down and ate quickly, not really tasting the food. After I finished my hasty meal, I downed an entire glass of water without stopping. The dizziness had already started to fade away, but I knew I'd be out of commission for the rest of the evening no matter what.
I woke the guest room's computer terminal and tapped a key combination in. A few seconds later, Amber's scowling face appeared on the screen. Her expression became neutral once she recognized me.
“I know where Karin is. I should be able to identify the location from satellite photographs.”
Amber was visibly impressed. “Just like that, huh?”
“I'm making it sound easier than it was,” I muttered, my tone sour. “Get all your satellite data for mountainous regions within a 500 kilometer radius of these coordinates and over 1500 meters in elevation. I'll find it for you for sure.”
The Swordlady stared at the numbers I'd entered into the terminal. “That'll take a bit. I'll get back to you when we've narrowed things down a little. Why don't you—”
“I'm going to sleep now.” I yawned hugely. “Wake me up in the morning.”
“Wait, Misaki—”
I turned off the video terminal, not bothering to let her finish. Time wasn't on our side, surely, but I'd be no good to anyone if I was too exhausted to function. With considerable effort, I heaved myself off the chair, trying to get to the bed while taking off my clothing at the same time.
Somehow, I managed to reach it before collapsing.
adversity
Two days passed since the first strategy and planning session—and I was growing more and more anxious.
After I located the place where Karin was held, my part in the first phase of the operation was finished. The Archivist Elias sent word to his scouts to gather as much information about the target facility as possible. Amber and Meilin kept busy preparing for the assault, but there was nothing more I could do until the mission began.
I was in one of the training halls, facing a practice dummy, my eyes narrowed and my ears laying back as I prepared to unleash destruction upon the target. Motes of spell-flame appeared above my hands and I mentally commanded them, sending the bullets of magical fire racing toward the dummy.
There was a staccato series of tiny detonations, blasting chunks of foam off the dummy's inner frame. Small fires licked at the squishy polymer, melting it and causing molten black plastic to fall to the floor.
“You know, those are for unarmed combat practice,” a sarcastic voice came from behind me. Amber walked through the double doors of this particular training area, casually leaning against the wall as she regarded me with amusement. “We'd really appreciate it if you didn't set any more of them on fire.”
“Sorry… it's just…” I trailed off. Amber knew full well why I was so frustrated and placed a strong, sword-callused hand on my shoulder.
“I know you're feeling helpless right now, Misaki, but there's nothing more you can do. You've done your part brilliantly; now we know where to strike. Our scouts should return within the next twelve hours. We'll have everything we need to start the mission.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to let the tension and anxiety slide off of me like raindrops. It wasn't helping.
“I would definitely put you to work if I could… but you aren't physically strong, you don't have enough knowledge to help the medics or the technicians. I'm sorry, Misaki, but we just don't need your help right now.”
If Amber was trying to reassure me, she was certainly doing a terrible job at it. My tail dropped low and swished very slowly. I could hear her boot heels clicking on the hard floor as she approached, but I didn't bother to turn to look at her.
“You going to be okay?”
I forced a smile and nodded. “I'll be fine. I'm just… really worried about Karin. I love her so much, so you can guess how I feel…”
“I know.”
The Swordlady stretched her burly arms above her head and let out a sigh. I watched her warily, certain she'd come here for a reason but not exactly sure what that reason might be. Her sense seemed slightly off and perhaps a little too overly casual.
“You came here for a reason,” I observed.
“Well, yeah. I'm concerned about you. We're about to fight alongside each other, but I don't think you're in the right headspace.” Amber's tone was warm enough to take the sting from her words. “I can see you're stressed almost to the breaking point, that being torn away from your lady love has just about crushed you.”
I shrugged at her blunt assessment, neither confirming nor denying.
“Look, when I'm stressed out, a good sparring match always helps me out a lot. Really clears my head, gets the blood flowing and the muscles moving. Gives me something to focus on, something here and now, physical and primal.”
My ears perked up slightly as I felt a stirring of interest. I wasn't entirely convinced what she suggested would actually help, but I got the feeling that she was nervous, too, and getting to go at it for a bit might help put us both at ease.
I walked over to one of the nearest sparring mats, a dense foam square roughly six meters across. Kneeli
ng down, I unlaced my boots and tugged them off, setting them down near the edge. Amber did the same and the both of us stepped onto the mat with our feet bare.
“Protective gear?” I asked, though I suspected I knew the answer already.
“Nope. It's not good training if you don't feel the strikes you can't dodge. You're trained in unarmed combat, right?”
I nodded. It had been a very long time ago, but I was well-trained. “The women of the Sakurai clan were trained in hand-to-hand, short blade and naginata techniques. I was no exception.”
Amber snorted. “Weapons 'suited' for a woman, huh?” She unstrapped the heavy swordbelt from her waist and set her Relic on the ground near her shoes. “Wonder what those stuffy old men would say about me.”
“I'm sure they'd be absolutely scandalized,” I remarked sarcastically, dropping into a guard stance. When it came to unarmed combat, I was hardly a master, but I did spend many hours drilling with the other women of House Sakurai. When the men went off to fight their wars, defense of the home was left to their wives and daughters.
Amber didn't bother entering a stance but instead came right at me in a charge that leveraged her considerable weight advantage. She was much taller than me, with longer limbs and thus longer reach. I was more than a little surprised she would throw away such an advantage and close to grappling range.
Planting my feet wide, I met her charge head-on. My fingers closed around the wrist of her leading fist and pushed it wide, attempting to lever her up onto my hip and use her own momentum against her.
It didn't work. Amber's grin became feral as she halted her charge and broke my grip with contemptuous ease. Stepping back and away, the left-handed Swordlady struck with her right hand. I tried to duck out of the way, but I was too slow and her open-palm blow caught me forcefully on the shoulder.
I grunted in exertion as I struggled to maintain my balance. The gleam in Amber's eyes told me that she knew my strategy—the arrested charge had been a ruse to try and discern what techniques I'd use. Much of my hand-to-hand training had focused on utilizing my opponent's force against them.
Dimension Fracture Page 14
