by Jay Boyce
Jade laughed, her mood cheered even more by Kaylee's open attitude. "You know me, I'm always hungry, especially before I sleep. Thank you." She hugged the other girl gently, then Kaylee quickly shooed her upstairs. She paused to use the bathroom, then made her way up to the roof. The smell of growing things up here was amazing, and her fellacai happily took off to explore as she admonished them to stay in the roof courtyard. Their cheerful okay as they zipped among the plants made her smile. A short while later, Jessica was the one who brought her food up.
"I heard you've collected a small swarm of fellacai!" Jade grinned, nodding, and several of them zipped out, circling Jessica to her delight before rushing off into the herbs once again. "Oh, they're precious!"
Jade nodded again. "I kinda fell in love with them at first sight. They called to me." Jessica was contemplating her, so she shrugged. "Anyway, thanks for bringing food. I'm starving!"
Jessica laughed. "When are you not starving? I swear, all you do is eat!"
Jade stuck her tongue out at her. "Magic and eat, thank you!"
"Very well, all you do is magic and eat and grow at a ridiculous pace." She smiled back at Jade, then shook her head. "Well, I've got to get back down there before pandemonium breaks lose, but I wanted to check up on you. Take care of yourself, you hear?"
Jade nodded, hugging the other girl before she went downstairs. Jessica even hugged her back briefly, and she was glad they were getting used to her ways, even if they were considered abnormal. She stared chowing down on her food, grateful for it. She hadn't realized it, but the healing and light and everything else had drained her a bit, though not nearly as bad as it had in the past; it was proof she was getting much stronger. Once she finished, she carefully packed the remains back in the box Jessica had brought up, then leaned back on the bench, staring up at the stars. It calmed her down, even if just a little, as she thought about the events of the day. The soothing scent of Jessica’s herb garden was all around her, the scent of living things. She held her hand up, imagining that she could almost touch the stars. Was one of those tiny dots her old sun?
She tensed as she felt an inexplicable sense of danger wash over her. She reached for her knife only to have a clawed hand grab onto her, stopping the motion. Unwillingly, her eyes were drawn up to the grinning face of the mesmer and she opened her mouth to scream, only to be preempted. “Ssssssilence, sweet one…” it hissed.
Her mouth snapped shut, her mind working overdrive to try and throw off its influence. She instantly mentally clicked on the siphon dot, watching the blue screen block off its face momentarily. She quickly clicked her options, feeling a tiny buzz as she began to receive from them.
Siphoning complete. Assimilation of Intelligence and Hypnotize from Mesmer underway.
The mesmer was still holding on to her, so she used her healing magic to take a mental look at its biology. Ultimately, it was still a humanoid form. It had wrapped an arm around her waist and was looking over the edge, preparing to jump when she struck. She called its blood from heart and brain, making them rip through their bounds and tear the muscles from within. One moment the mesmer was preparing to jump and the next it went rigid, then limp, collapsing with her still in its arms.
Thankfully, they went backwards, and she managed to scramble free without cutting herself as she ignored her new red dot. Her fellacai were fluttering along the edges of the bushes in panic, and she mentally sent the message, "I'm okay. Stay there, hidden. More people will be coming, and I don't want them to hurt you." They retreated back into the herbs as, on her feet, she went to the edge of the roof, looking down. There was a guard patrol approaching, and she screamed at them. “Guards!” Looking alarmed, they were looking for the sound of her voice as she kept going. “I’m on the roof. There are mesmer in the city tonight! Send word or whatever you do, make sure people know and that you’re looking for them! I’m betting there was more than the one I just killed.”
They paused at that last part, and she screamed, “GO! Or do you want to be responsible for more…” She trailed off, glancing behind her as she heard two soft whumps.
“Miss, are you okay? What’s happening?” One of the guards called out from below, given that she’d just stopped mid sentence.
She came face to face with two mesmer, who were studying her curiously, while at the same time glancing angrily at the dead mesmer at her feet. “Sssso, you killed our brotherrrrr?” The creepy voice was a soft hiss. “Tell usssss, how…” She was glad that she'd sent her fellacai to hide because she was afraid the mesmer would rip them apart given half a chance.
She found herself bound by their dual power, and she spoke unwillingly, “Blood magic…”
“No ussssing blood magic, then,” the other hissed, ordering her. They walked forward, each scratching a cheek to taste her blood as she activated mana sense. They seemed to glow with a sickly black aura that made her want to vomit, so she quickly turned it off. “Ssssso a blood mage tastessss ssso ssssweet.” Almost out of reflex, she clicked on choices to siphon, ignoring the fact that she was in a very dangerous situation. She could hear shouting down below and people were now running through the streets.
“We mussst go…” One of them looked at the other, then wrapped an arm around Jade’s waist while the other picked up the fallen body of their ‘brother.’ The door to the rooftop flew open and Raphael rushed through, sword drawn, only to look in sheer panic as he realized there were three mesmer with Jade. She felt them bend their knees to jump and quickly created a wind box to block them in. They jumped, only to come crashing into the wall before rebounding, quite painfully for her.
“What isssss thissss!?” one of them cried with outrage, both now bleeding slightly from their heads impacting the shield. That was when she stole their oxygen, much as she’d done with Brodie. Yanking the air from their lungs so they couldn’t give her any orders, she created a second wind wall that was more like a second skin so they couldn’t hurt her. Her head was aching with the impact and concentration needed to keep up the four different wind magics, but she stubbornly stuck with it as she was dropped to the ground.
They were trying to clutch their throats, their long nails making it hard to do so. One turned vicious eyes on her, realizing she was the source of their pain, and the nails came raking towards her. She flinched, but was relieved when the nails bounced off of her wind wall. The sound of more shouts were muffled, trapped as she was in a box of wind from the rest of the world.
She stared into the eyes of the dying mesmer as she sneered, “Rot in hell.” They finally passed out, having taken far longer than she liked or had thought would be possible. She’d basically collapsed their lungs. She let the wind wall drop, and a cacophony of noise assaulted her.
“Jade!” Raphael was the first there, his sword still out as he attempted to check her for injuries.
She pointed at the mesmer and croaked with a dry mouth, “Not dead yet.” His face hardened, and he instantly moved, chopping off the head of the closest mesmer while someone else did the same to the second and third, even though that last one had been dead already.
Sighing with relief, she glanced around, not feeling particularly safe at the moment. Raphael came back to her while the other guards were still moving around, checking the perimeter. Oddly, none of the students had come outside during the commotion. Raphael sheathed his sword, then ordered the guards, “Send someone with a message if you find anything. I’m going to get her inside before she attracts any more of the cursed things.”
She tried to squeak in protest of his accusation, but found her throat bone dry and was unable. It wasn’t like she was a magnet for them… Well fine, maybe she was, but still. She managed to kill all three by herself! It was that thought that drove it home to her, and she glanced back at the bodies and immediately started retching. All the food that she had eaten in preparation of her siphoning that night started coming up, making her throat raw with bile. Hopefully the plants she sprayed would be okay, but Raphael
was just holding her over the garden box, keeping her hair back from her face so she didn’t get puke in it. Her little fellacai had come over, fluttering around her, and she absently heard Raphael tell the guards not to attack, that they were her bonded. He must've heard from the girls.
For the first time, she’d killed not one, not two, but three sentient beings, albeit with a little help at the end. Once she finally felt like she had nothing left in her, she let Raphael wipe her face with a handkerchief he pulled from who knows where before he gently supported her as she walked slowly inside. He didn’t ask her any questions, he was just…there. He even ignored the fact that in lieu of easy access to her hair, the fellacai landed on his head.
Fearful faces peeked out of doorways as they passed, looking at them with curiosity and at the fellacai on Raphael's head with confusion. She realized they’d probably been ordered to stay in here where it was safer. The guards had probably come in yelling about mesmer and the girl on the roof. He carried her down to the common room, which was now empty save Jessica and Kaylee, who were peeking out from the kitchen. Once they saw him supporting her, they rushed forward, clucking over her and the fact that her cheeks were still bleeding.
"She threw up everything in her, so she'll need to eat more before she sleeps. Get her something to drink first," Raphael said in a gruff voice, and Jade could tell he was trying to stay calm and hold in his emotion. The girls nodded, getting to work as he helped her into the kitchen, sitting her down at a table gingerly. He commanded sternly, "Jade, you need to heal yourself."
This startled her out of the numb trance she'd been settling into. She nodded, reaching up to her cheeks and pushing the mesmer taint out of her skin before she healed it over perfectly, leaving no trace that she'd been wounded except for the small ball of blood. Holding it in the air above her hand, she absently thought, burn. To the surprise of the other three, a magical flame sprung up in the same spot, consuming the blood until there was nothing left. Satisfied, she dusted her hand off above the trash to their startled looks.
She was looking right back at them, still a bit numb as Jessica pushed a mug of apple juice into her hand. The fellacai had left Raphael and were flitting around her again, seeming to be in distress. She poured a little apple juice into her palm, holding it on the table for them as she drank the rest herself, letting the cool liquid soothe her throat. Absently, she healed that too, realizing she'd ignored it when she healed her cheeks. They gave her more juice and a plate, which she switched to using for her fellacai, sharing her drink with them. They shifted over, seeming to settle down now that she wasn't hurt anymore.
Kaylee came over, feeling her forehead and looking her in the eyes as she asked with slight fear, "Jade, are you okay? What happened?"
Jade sighed, looking down at her hands. "I…killed them, the mesmer. I saw their taint, and it was so dark, so ugly. But they aren't mindless monsters. They obviously cared for their own because they wanted to take back the body of the first one I killed. They spoke to me. They used logic, reason… They were alive and trying to survive, and I killed them."
Raphael cut in here, "It's a good thing you did. What they had planned for you was far worse than the easy death you gave them. Think of the darkness. Creatures like that don't deserve to live." He paused. "Jade, you have to remember, they were trying to kill you, and it would have been a slow and torturous death. You can't beat yourself up over this. They came to kill, so it's only right they died for it."
Jade nodded slowly. "Logically, I understand what you're saying, but I still feel sick to my stomach. Raphael…I'm worried. They sent one, and it died. They sent three, and they died. Are they going to start sending more? Will they all come after me? What if there are still more in the city tonight?" She blanched, then thought of something. "If they're inside the wall, it means guards were hurt! It means the traps didn't work! I need to go there!"
Raphael put a hand on her shoulder, calming her down. "Mike is at the wall already, and the guards are searching the city for any more. Word came that they were in the city right about the same time you called for the guards. The next patrol had been coming to warn the ones you spoke to. They hadn't been able to set up the traps, so the blood you gave them is being kept deep underground and in light so that it wouldn't attract them."
Jade calmed down a little at his words. She nodded slowly, then sighed. "Alright." Looking at Kaylee and Jessica, she asked tentatively, "Will you check up on me at dawn? I need to get an early start if I'm going to visit the barracks before classes.” Granted, she didn't technically have classes until eleven, but she wanted to make sure she had enough time as well as gather any information she could.
"Of course. We'll make sure you're up. Now please, eat. You need the energy." If they could tell, that meant it was getting bad again. She nodded absently, starting to wolf down the food against her stomach's mild protests. She needed to eat so she could still siphon tonight. She was ignoring the red boxes in her vision, knowing what they meant. She'd deal with them in the morning. Once she finished eating, they mother henned her back to her room, which thankfully, was still lit up like noonday, making her feel a bit safer. Still, she closed and shuttered the windows tightly. She didn't want anything coming in while she was unconscious.
Choosing the rest of the options for siphoning, she made sure she had more food in easy reach, changed into her pajamas, and made sure the fellacai had a nice little nest of clothing to rest in.
She clicked her choices and oblivion claimed her once more.
Chapter Sixteen – Flight
Day Seven
She woke to silence. She lay there for a moment, just taking in a deep breath, acknowledging that she’d survived another night. The blinking dots at the side of her vision told her that as horrible as last night had been, it wasn’t a nightmare. She immediately discarded the three blinking red dots, knowing what they would say. To her surprise, there were no other abnormally colored dots for her to check, just the normal notifications that she had siphoned a whole bunch of people and creatures.
She absently dismissed them, reaching over for her pocket watch to check the time. It was only five thirty, so she had plenty of time. She quietly got up, making sure not to disturb her sleeping fellacai. She grabbed some new clothes and made her way to the bathroom, choosing to take a long soak in the tub while she checked her status updates. It was one of the few times where she could just…be.
Absently, she sang softly as the song came to mind, “I’m a survivor. I’ll never give up. I’ll never drop. I’ll just work harder.” She sighed, reveling in the hot water as she finally addressed her new profile screen.
Name: Jade Winward
Age: 18
Strength: 14.17
Dexterity: 14.35
Constitution: 13.64
Intelligence: 18.56
Magic: 15.09
Charisma: 14.27
Luck: 15.76
Special Abilities: Adaptable, Siphon
Skills: Accessorycraft, Acrobatics, Appraisal, Archery, Athletics, Blood Magic, Bluff, Cold Resistance, Compulsion Magic, Contractual Magic, Danger Sense, Dark Magic, Deception, Diplomacy, Dodge, Earth Magic, Eating, Engineering, Fire Magic, Flight, Glasscraft, Haggle, Healing Magic, Heat Resistance, Herbology, Illusion Magic, Information Gathering, Hypnotize, Insight, Intimidate, Life Magic, Light Armor, Light Magic, Lightning Magic, Magic Resistance, Mana Sense, Mathematics, Mental Fortitude, Metal Magic, Modeling, Nature Magic, Navigation, Pain Tolerance, Perception, Perseverance, Persuasion, Resilient, Riding, Running, Sense Motive, Singing, Sleight of Hand, Small Blades, Spatial Magic, Speed Reading, Stealth, Summoning Magic, Tailoring, Tracking, Unarmed Combat, Walking, Water Magic, Wind Magic, Writing
She grinned happily. Her stats had skyrocketed with her siphoning last night. Strength went up more than two points, dex, con, and magic by a little more than one, and charisma by almost two! Absently, she looked down, realizing she hadn’t addressed the fact that she was so noticeably n
ot flat anymore! If she had to guess, she was around a D cup now! She stared in awe at herself, then started checking her body for other changes.
Her skin was soft, but it seemed strangely stronger than normal, like it was tougher. Beneath that, her body had filled out all around, and though she was still lean, her muscles rippled beneath the surface; she even had abs that were starting to be slightly defined! She absently flexed, watching her reflection in the water, fascinated by the ripple of muscle. Her nails seemed stronger, perfectly shined. She smiled at the surface of the water, noticing that she was now much closer to dental-commercial white. Even her hair was a little longer and, again, more lush and shiny than yesterday. She laughed aloud, splashing in the water with glee before she finally went back to her profile.
She’d gotten eight new skills yesterday: cold resistance, contractual magic, flight, hypnotize, magic resistance, resilient, riding, and summoning magic. She was a little surprised that flight had gotten on there that easily and the system hadn’t done a correction for it. Still, that made her even more excited! She couldn’t wait to try it! Wanting to check what level it was, she quickly pulled up the detailed skill sheet.
Accessorycraft
Beginner 4
33%
Acrobatics
Beginner 10
84%
Appraisal
Intermediate 5
45%
Archery
Intermediate 1
86%
Athletics
Intermediate 4
92%
Blood Magic
Intermediate 5