“Hmm. I feel like I have an answer right on the tip of my tongue, but for the life of me it won’t solidify. I will think on it for later, for now, we need to get moving. With your reconnaissance of the black area, I am even more convinced heading in that direction is a good idea. Perhaps we will meet up with Kimi and the others.”
Maria turned her attention back to the girl, Joan. For her part, Joan was staring at Nimli entranced, her hand reaching forward to touch the spirit, only to pull back as if afraid. “What of you Joan? Will you come with us?”
“Yes.” The word was a breathy whisper, her eyes saying she was not completely listening. “You are angels, the Lords divine servants. I shall follow you wherever you go. Priest Louvrand said God had a plan for me. I feel this is part of that plan.”
“Then let us go, we are wasting time here.”
Maria led the way down the ladder, Joan following close behind as Nimli settled on Maria’s shoulder. Jasmine saw Maria whisper something to Nimli, who looked at the little girl and nodded her head. The spirit flew up once more, doing a few circles before landing next to Joan’s left ear. That simple act seemed to put the girl on cloud nine, leaving a foolish grin permanently plastered on her lips.
Outside, Maria knelt next to one of the soldiers she had killed, rolling him over and inspecting his face and armor.
“So these are Emishi huh? They don’t look like much. For some reason I thought they would look-- I don’t know-- more menacing.”
Joan shook her head in negation. “Those aren’t Emishi. Those are samurai. By the insignia on his breastplate he, was part of the Reikon Touzoku”
“The what?”
“The soul stealers. One of the squads that work under General Tamuramaro. They usually come to protect our town from the Emishi attacks though. I don’t know why they would attack you, they are the good guys.”
“You’ll find good is a relative term. Evil tends to hide behind smiles and kind words.”
Maria headed off towards the east, the direction the soldiers had galloped off in. While her words had been directed at the little girl who followed closely on her heels, Jasmine felt she had been speaking about her and Isabelle. Jasmine shared a look with her life mate, who still looked like death was only a step away. She knew ’Belle’s thoughts were of a similar frame. While ’Belle had expunged the last of the sickness from her body, and gotten enough strength back to make basic ice weapons, she was still weak. Jasmine slipped under her arm, lending her support as the two of them followed Maria into the woods.
Watching her back, Jasmine once again saw Maria in a different light. At that moment, Jasmine didn’t see Maria Santalada, the failure mage. She saw Maria Santalada, potential Grand Wizard and daughter of a Grand Wizard. And it had nothing to do with the power given to her from using the Ageless Sorceress persona.
Chapter 26: Animal Instinct
Milly was always surprised at the variety of flavors humans came in. Women tended to be juicier, with a sweetness to their meat, while men tended to be more chewy with a bland aftertaste. Warriors were the worst, their meat was always tough, and the aftertaste reminded her of old shoe leather. She had never tried children, but she assumed they would taste even better than women. Milly would probably never know though, since even she was not so cruel as to kill and consume a child. She had done so when she had been just a common raptor, but now that her intelligence had advanced, she had to deal with personal morals.
Milly ripped the ribcage open, plucking the heart from its entombment. After biting into it, she threw her head back, enjoying the slimy sensation of it sliding down her throat. Organs were always the best, no matter what type of human it was. The heart and brain were delicacies she liked to save for the end of her meal.
She placed a foot on the soldiers head, applying even pressure to crack open the skull without destroying the meat inside. It had been so strange to see this man, or someone who looked just like him, appear out of nowhere moments after she had killed him. He had looked directly at her, and his own corpse which she held, before just walking away like nothing was wrong. She had no explanation for this oddity, but given time Milly was sure she would figure it out.
Just as the skull fractured, Milly sensed a presence heading in her direction. She sent out a quick probe, but their was no strong thoughts or emotions for her to read. For a brief moment she thought she recognized this presence, but in the next, the static of all the other nearby minds clouded that feeling. Milly gave a hiss of displeasure, altering her outward appearance to look like a blood-soaked woman. Leaving what little was left of the body, she sat down against the wall of the alley with a shocked expression plastered on the face.
She had chosen this dead end alley specifically because it was so out of the way in a desolate area of town. The only downside was the fact it had no easy escape routes. At least she had been able to eat undisturbed. Would it be better to kill this presence if they came in to check, or to act like a terrified woman who had stumbled upon the remains? If it was a soldier, she could try to rip more information from his mind like she had this one and just leave the body. After eating almost two hundred and thirty pounds of meat, she didn’t have much of an appetite. All she could really do was play it out by ear. There was still thirty minutes before she needed to meet up with Bree, so Milly had time whatever way she decided to play it. Perhaps luck would be on her side and they would walk right past.
Milly watched the shadow at the end of the alley stop, blocking the moonlight. The presence turned and walked towards her slowly, almost as if it had known she was back there from the start. The shadowy male figure stopped a foot away from the remains, studying her handiwork impassively. Milly found it strange he didn’t react, it was abnormal from what she understood of humans. Milly decided to attack the moment he was in range, this man was dangerous. When he lifted his head to meet her eyes, Milly suddenly realized why his presence felt so familiar.
“Hurry up and finish your meal. I know how testy you can get if you don’t have your treats.”
The feelings of joy rising in her chest as Francis turned his back to wait, was better than any delicacy she could ever eat. She barely registered the fact she was on her feet and pulling the brain meat from the skull. The sweet taste that sent shivers spreading through her body was just a blip that couldn’t surpass her happiness. Francis was next to her once more. The only person who truly understood and accepted her. That would stand behind her on anything, even if she walked to her death. Her meal finished, she headed for the mouth of the alley, Francis falling into step beside her.
“Change your appearance, don’t want anyone asking questions about your bloodstained clothes.”
Milly couldn’t blush, but her face did get hot. She knew better than to make such a silly mistake. Altering the female image, Francis put his hand on her head without looking. His fingers scratched her eye ridges, right where it was always itchy from flaking scales. To anyone watching from the outside, Milly knew it would look like he had his arm wrapped around her waist. Milly half-closed her eyes, letting her mouth drop open while enjoying the feeling. He always knew all the right places to scratch without her having to say anything.
“I’m glad your safe Mil’. We hadn’t heard anything from you in so long, I was afraid you were dead.”
“Please, when the time comes, you know it is you who will kill me.”
“I know. But that will be a long time from now. A lot can happen between now and then.”
“Perhaps not as long as you might think. I had another relapse. Ten minutes this time. You know the sages said fifteen would probably be the limit. After that, the primal mind will take over and I won’t be able to come back.”
“That still means we probably have at least three or four more years together. That is, if it keeps advancing at the same rate.”
“True.”
Milly was quiet for another block, just happy to be next to Francis once more. “I’m glad you’re all right too Fr
ancis. I was worried.”
“You, worried? Did hell freeze over?”
“There is no scientific proof that hell exists. Nor that it is hot even if it does. But yes, even I am allowed to worry from time to time. I am not a machine.”
“It is a figure of speech you overgrown lizard, and you well know it. I am just surprised to hear you actually voice such concern. That’s unlike you.”
“That is overgrown bipedal lizard, you troll in human skin. So what if it is unlike me. It is also the first time we have been separated for so long. Am I not allowed to express what it is I am feeling? You are the one that tells me time and time again that I do not express myself enough.”
Francis chuckled, ending the sound in a drawn out sigh of contentment. “Ah, it is good to have you back. It hasn’t been the same without you.”
“What, Kimi not smart enough to replace me?”
“Nothing and no one could replace you, my dear. Kimi might be as smart as you, though I honestly doubt that. Her smarts seem more practical, more suited for strategy and tactics. I doubt she could recite Pi to the tenth decimal without changing into another character. Or spout off a thousand and one random bits of information without pause like you can. She learns, observes, then links it all together in ways I do not understand to come up with an answer just like you. But in terms of IQ, I think you are smarter.”
“You are just biased because I am your partner. I am not all that intelligent, even with my increased IQ. I am still a raptor with a limited cranial capacity. The human brain is much larger in comparison with more room for growth. Those other persona’s of Kimi’s are still a part of her. As such, they too should be factored into her overall intelligence. That being the case, she is smarter than I.”
“So what if I’m biased. You are still smarter.”
With a grin stretching her lips, Milly butted her head into his side lightly, dropping the subject. He reached down and scratched her eye ridges again. After a minute he dropped his hand to her neck to rub up and down, causing some molting skin she couldn’t reach to fall away.
“So how did you get to this echo? And are the others here as well?”
“I guess you have been out of the loop for a while. A lot has happened and we’ve figured some things out about this place. Well, Kimi mostly figured it out. For starters, we are all on the same time line.”
Frank continued to fill Milly in on all the random bits of information they had picked up and deduced. Much of it, such as the three factions, the leaders of these factions, and the customs of this Heian period, were not new. She had already extracted much of it from the minds of the surrounding people, and learned the rest by observing and overhearing. But what he was saying about the time lines and the echo people was new. It sounded crazy and far fetched, but it was in line with what she had observed.
“Kimi and Amy are with the General, acting as advisors and bodyguards.”
“Bodyguards? From what I can tell, this period does not think much of women. A female would be killed on the spot for claiming to be a warrior.”
“Bodyguards from the supernatural front. These people believe every little thing has a demon or a spirit residing in it. Curses, the displeasure of the gods, and the like, are real to them.”
“They are real though.”
“Not here remember. But Kimi and Amy claimed to be witches and showed off a little power, proving that claim. Convinced General Tamuramaro they could protect him from the evils cast by his enemies. And because he had just witnessed real magic, he believed his enemies could in fact send curses his way. It helped that Kimi used hypnotism and power of suggestion to make him more readily accept them.”
“Then why are you not with them?”
“Kimi’s idea. She said I was a trump card.”
“A what?”
“A secret weapon. The General doesn’t know that I am around, he thinks he is only dealing with the two girls. She said if things go bad, I can surprise them and help them escape. Meanwhile I’m acting like a glorified spy and information dealer. I’ve been feeding information to the Emishi who resist the peace talks so they can disrupt the negotiations. Vletch infiltrated that group, so it makes things easier. That is actually where I was headed when I sensed your presence nearby. I might not have the ability to read and sense minds like you do, but I will always know when you are around.”
Milly stepped closer to Frank, giving him another sideways head nudge. She didn’t feel the need to say anything, her actions were words enough.
“What about Maria and her group?”
“Kimi introduced them to the Emishi working with Tamuramaro not long ago, also in the capacity of supernatural bodyguards. She said, and I agree, that having people stationed in all three factions will make it easy to brew a war. Since they would never suspect people working from the inside to undermine everything until it was too late. We’ve been using the odd way the world seems to jump forward in time to make them all believe days have passed and not just hours or minutes.”
“Does she have a plan as to how to break the deadlock? From what I can see, and from what I learned, it’s not going to be easy.”
“She does, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”
“It must have something to do with a child then. Anytime a child is involved it leaves a bad taste in your mouth.”
“You’re right. The resistance group is going to assassinate the Jara. One of their numbers is going to then take his place at the negotiation table. Only Kimi and Amy are setting it up so when the new Jara attempts to assassinate the General, he will kill his seven year old daughter instead. Not to mention I might have to kill other children as well.”
Milly nodded in approval. “Smart. The General might return to negotiations with a new Ebisu after he killed the assassin, perhaps torturing him first to learn of the plot. But these Japanese people are very big on family and honor, at least in this period. So the murder of his daughter would have more impact and leave him with a burning desire for revenge. Closing his ears to the Emishi people in the process.”
“That’s what Kimi said anyway. And I am the one setting it all up from the shadows. I will be the one to assassinate the current Jara and help the new on infiltrate the ranks. And ultimately, I will have to be the one to kill the girl if the new Jara fails.”
“Can you do it?”
“Honestly? I don’t know. Killing a child is--- it’s not the same as killing an adult. Even knowing that I, and everyone else on Aerth, might die if I don’t, doesn’t make me any more confident in my ability. Even knowing the girl will come back to life and all of this will become some weird nightmare, doesn’t change that.”
“I will take the burden from you if you want me to.”
“I know, and I might ask you to.”
“Speaking of little girls, what about that Jeanne, or Joan, we need to protect for the condition?”
“Safe. She is protected not only by Maria and her group, but also around two hundred Emishi soldiers. And another four hundred of the General’s men if it comes down to it.”
“And the disease?”
“Contained as far as we can tell. Neither Jasmine, Isabelle, or Vletch have felt or sensed anything wrong with their powers. All three of them have been working on me every chance they get. Soon I’ll be able to take these bandages off my chest and be as good as new.”
Milly took another look at Frank, realizing for the first time he was no longer sporting bandages over one eye, he also had short cropped blond hair growing from unmarred scalp. She had never cared about outward appearance, focusing on each individual mind to differentiate one human from the next. And Francis had always been Francis, the solid presence that was always at her side.
“They’ve done a good job in such a short amount of time.”
“You didn’t even notice until I said something, did you?”
“Not in the slightest.”
Frank chuckled. “Yeah, between all the girls and Vletch, and th
e advanced flow of time, my wounds have been taken care of nicely. Kimi couldn’t do much directly, but she gave Vletch medicines to make with his mediator power, which he then gave me.”
A single story house came into view. It looked just like every other building she had seen so far, with paper thin walls, and ornate curves. But unlike the other houses they had passed, this one had a large group of people inside. It sent her danger senses tingling. Milly knew deep down that trouble resided inside that house. She was about to warn Francis about the danger when she realized he was heading for the front door, pulling a hood up over his face as he drew closer.
“Let me do the talking and just stay quiet. If you know the customs, you know how these women act.”
Frank rapped on the door three times, paused, then rapped another two. Milly felt the mass of minds behind the door focus on the sound. The violence in each one was so thick it was almost visible to the naked eye. Her ears picked up the faint sound of weapons being pulled free as two minds headed towards them. The door cracked open, an eyeball looking out through the crack.
“Yes, may I help you?”
“Have you seen the horses dancing in the fields?”
“Horses don’t dance.”
“They can if you teach them.”
The door closed once more and her ears picked up weapons being sheathed after one of the minds ran back to the group. Within moments the two of them were ushered inside and the exit shut quickly. The hairy Emishi motioned for them to follow, stepping deeper into the building. Within moments the two of them were met by fourteen pairs of eyes, only one of them Milly recognized.
“Vletch said you would come gaijin. We have been waiting. What news do you bring us this time?”
“Sakuroda has gotten wind of the attempt on his life. He has doubled his guard and has his pet witches on alert. Me and my men can open a window of opportunity for you, but it won’t last long. If you can be at the Oni-Yami shrine near the east gate in ten minutes that is. Otherwise you won’t get another chance until after the treaty has been signed.”
Out of Time the Grand Quest Page 30