by Andrew Rowe
I pressed my head against the dirt in supplication. I hoped it would be enough.
Katashi flickered closer. As he reappeared above me, I could feel a burst of pressure push down on me from his aura, and not merely on my body. I could feel the mana within me constricting. The visage’s mere presence was twisting my power, paralyzing it.
I trembled in abject terror.
Authority figures generally didn’t scare me. I had no hesitation about mouthing off to someone like Teft. But if I made a mistake here? Not only could Katashi annihilate me outright, he could kill everyone I cared about with another gesture.
“Why have you come to me? You may answer honestly.”
I raised my head just slightly, to make it easier to hear my reply. “I was hoping to stop the attacks.” And, with a sliver of bravery piercing through my fear, I managed an addition. “And my friend over there is dying. He’s a Dalen.”
I didn’t know much about House Dalen, but I did know that they were the ruling house of Dalenos, and that Katashi was their patron visage. I didn’t know what Jin’s connection to them was, but I hoped it would be sufficient.
“I will tend to one of my flock.”
I felt an almost palpable sense of relief as the words rolled over me and the pressure faded.
When I looked up, Katashi was no longer hovering above me. He was near Jin and Marissa.
And Marissa, bless her bravery, was standing defensively over Jin with her fists raised. She must have been too far away to hear my conversation with Katashi.
Katashi tilted his head downward to examine her.
I envisioned a thousand ways he could make her die.
My steps were feeble, but they carried me closer as he spoke to her.
“You would stand between me and this one?”
I don’t know how, but Marissa stood unfazed by his voice, her back unbowed by the pressure that had torn my mind to nothing.
“Begging your pardon, m’visage, but if you’re meanin’ him harm, I’m a’fred so.”
“You are aware of who I am?”
His aura brightened as he spoke. I could feel the pressure even from a distance then, sapping away my will to even stand.
Marissa remained unbowed.
“Aye, m’visage. You be Katashi, sir. Not meaning to be rude, but I’m a Guardian, sir. I’d stand between my friends and the goddess herself.”
Katashi floated down, his feet touching the ground. He stepped close to her, his face nearly brushing against hers, their eyes fixed together.
And then he stepped back, folding his hands in front of him, and bowed at the waist.
“There is no cause in this world more valuable than the desire to protect another. You have proven a worthy companion to this one. He walks a difficult path. I am pleased that one such as you will be at his side.”
Katashi knelt, pressing his hands against Jin’s chest. “Breathe.”
A wave of white light flowed from Katashi’s hands to encompass Jin’s entire body.
And Jin breathed in. Marissa raised her hands to her mouth, falling to her own knees to grip Jin’s hand. She turned her head up to Katashi. “Many thanks, m’visage. For your kind words, but more, for saving my friend.”
Katashi released his hands from Jin’s fallen form and stood. He turned his head back to Marissa. “Worthy one, speak your name.”
Marissa bowed her head. “Marissa Callahan, m’visage.”
“Marissa Callahan, reveal your attunement to me.”
“Yes, m’visage.” Marissa didn’t show the slightest hint of embarrassment as she unbuttoned the top buttons of her uniform, opening it up to display the center of her chest.
Her attunement was over her heart.
Katashi’s hand glowed again as he spoke. “Marissa, you will need greater strength to protect your friends from harm. You have already begun to walk this path on your own, but I will grant you a sliver of my strength in acknowledgement of your bravery.”
A flicker of blue fire appeared on his finger as he reached forward — and drew an extra line on her sigil.
And for the first time, I saw an attunement change.
Marissa gasped, clenching her fists. Her entire body trembled and she screamed into the air as an aura of crimson fire poured out of her.
No, not crimson.
Carnelian.
She’d reached the next level of her attunement.
The aura persisted around her even as she bowed her head. “I thank you again, m’visage, for your kindness. It is undeserved.”
He glanced back to her for one more moment. “Our business has concluded.”
And then he was in front of me again, with no sign of how he’d crossed the intervening space. I’d seen teleportation before, of course, but this was effortless. I couldn’t imagine even Professor Orden moving in the same way, without a single telltale gesture or word.
I was wise enough to kneel immediately this time.
“Cadence. I tire of speaking with humans, even if there is a virtuous one among you. You spoke of a wish to stop the attacks on the city. I am not inclined to do so. You may attempt to persuade me, but I am not in a patient mood.”
“If you will forgive a question, why are you attacking?”
Katashi waved a hand dismissively. “Your kingdom’s leaders are aware of their failure. But you are but a child, and I will forgive you for the inquiry. My brother is missing. Conspirators among your people hide him from me. This is unacceptable.”
I frowned. I knew Tenjin hadn’t been seen recently in human society, of course, and that Katashi being here was unusual. I’d suspected that Katashi was pulling a coup, if anything.
I hadn’t considered that he might have been worried about his own brother.
“I...sympathize with that more than you might realize, great one. I have spent the last five years hoping I could find my own brother in the tower. That has been my principal motivation in life.”
Katashi offered no reply. He simply turned his head aside.
A moment of humanity, perhaps?
I needed to capitalize on that if I could. “If you will stop the assault, I will vow to do everything in my power to help find your brother, just as I have searched for my own.”
Katashi looked down at me. “Protection is a worthy cause, as I told your brave Guardian. And I sense there is a degree of truth in your offer. You would make an effort, though not with all of your will. I do not fault you for only having a mortal’s resolve. But your vow is insufficient; you are but a child.”
The visage folded his arms. His expression seemed...tired. “These attacks will drive the conspirators out of hiding. I have no desire to harm the innocent while battling the wicked, but that is a price I am willing to pay to discover my brother’s location. The longer I wait, the more likely my brother will be harmed.”
I...understood his feelings on that matter all too well.
Katashi shook his head, turning to leave.
“Wait. Please, wait, great visage. I want to help find your brother. Do you have any idea who might have taken him?”
Katashi spun, the segment of his aura closest to him igniting into fire. “Oh, I know quite well where to begin my search. Her name is Vera Corrington. You helped her escape. I am aware you were deceived. That is the only reason I have not destroyed you.”
I lowered my head. “Thank you for your magnanimity, visage. Please forgive my foolishness.”
“You wish for forgiveness? You wish for me to stop these attacks?”
His hands clenched into fists — which, of course, were also on fire. “You ask for much, Cadence. And I am not known for my forgiving side. But there may yet be a way to earn what you ask for. In freeing those prisoners, you may have gained their trust.”
Oh, I did not like where this was going at all.
“You will bring Vera Corrington to me, within the tower. If you agree to be bound to this, I will give this city a reprieve. If you should fail, or try my patience, I w
ill resume the assault. And heed my words; this strike showed great restraint on my part.”
He paused, glaring down at me, his eyes burning with — you guessed it — fire.
“You have seen how many of my winged ones merely gather around the tower; next time, I will send them all. You have seen a scattered few of my ground forces; next time, I will bring every one. You have seen the damage done by a child of the serpent; next time I will bring the Serpent herself.”
I shivered involuntarily, remembering when I’d seen Seiryu in the tower. The God Serpent’s eye had been larger than my entire body.
Mizuchi, one of Seiryu’s children, was already demolishing this section of the city without difficulty. I couldn’t imagine anything managing to even slow Seiryu down. “How much time will I have?”
“You will have one week to find her and bring her to me. She must be alive. I will await you in the chamber in which we first met.”
I winced. “That’s...not much time, great visage. I’m sure you’re aware that my resources are limited, and if you’re right and there are people in our government working against you—”
“This is not a negotiation.”
I extended my right hand. “Then we have a deal.”
Katashi grasped my hand in his and I understood that my gesture had been a mistake when my flesh began to burn. “The Pact is Sealed.”
When he withdrew his hand, I had a mark on the back of my palm.
It was not an attunement. No, I was not nearly so lucky.
It was a brand.
The sigil of Katashi had been burned into my skin. A reminder of our pact — and, more than likely, the sign that I’d been bound with some kind of divine geas.
There were several things horribly wrong with what had just happened.
I’d just agreed to do something I might not be capable of doing and the consequences would hurt far more than just me if I failed.
Moreover, I’d just agreed to hand over someone to an angry visage who might have nothing to do with his brother’s actual disappearance. Vera had stabbed me in the back a little, but she didn’t exactly deserve a visage’s anger if she hadn’t been involved — and I didn’t see much chance of her surviving either way.
I had a pretty good idea of where to find Vera, or at least a place to start. That inventor I’d seen months earlier was named Aloras Corrington. The likelihood of there being multiple people in the city with the surname Corrington, both from Caelford, that were completely unrelated... well, chances were slim.
That was the worst part of all. I knew that because it was fairly obvious — and that meant other people would have figured it out, too. Katashi had told me directly that higher ups in the city knew about this already. The chances that no one in their inner circle had considered asking another Corrington about Vera’s location was also extraordinarily low.
Which meant, more than likely, that someone with power was deliberately hiding her.
I felt my hand burning deeper as Katashi’s wings stretched — and he flew into the cloud of winged figures above, and then through them toward the top of the tower.
They followed immediately, soaring skyward until they disappeared from view.
And as I glanced toward the city, I saw the Mizuchi’s massive form dislodge itself from another building to soar upward toward the sky.
Katashi had kept his side of the bargain.
I wasn’t so sure I’d be able to keep mine.
Chapter XVIII — Reconiassance
I stood staring at the retreating spiral of gargoyles and karvensi, lost in thought until I noticed that one of them was coming down, rather than up.
Vanniv landed next to me, and then turned his own gaze upward with a smug grin. “Hah! See that? Just a few minutes and I’ve got ‘em all running!”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m pretty sure that’s not why they’re leaving, Vanniv. Also, flying, not running.”
He waved a hand dismissively. “Semantics. The point is that they’re fleeing from my majesty and might.”
I rubbed my forehead. “...right, right. Let’s get back to the others.”
Jin was already standing by the time we reached him, although he looked a little wobbly. Marissa silently helped steady him, but Jin waved her away. She looked like she was almost ready to collapse herself.
I slowed down for the two of them. “Jin, how are you feeling?”
Jin grimaced. “The healing was thorough. I am well.”
That was a tremendous relief. “I’m glad to hear it. Let me know you feel any resurgence of pain, though.”
He gave me a hasty nod, looking a little uncomfortable. I was still concerned, but it was clear he didn’t want me to press further.
Marissa stumbled, nearly falling, and Jin had to catch and steady her. She blinked, looking about as surprised as I was. “My head feels swimmy.”
“You probably overused your mana. You need help walking?”
She paused and then nodded. “If you don’t mind terribly.”
I slipped an arm under her shoulder and we continued walking.
The rest of the group was steadily making their way toward us. Teft still looked unsteady, nearly tripping more than once. I’d never seen him anything other than completely collected and in control. The sight was disconcerting.
Especially since Mizuchi had taken that much out of him with a single attack, and one that wasn’t even directed at us. Just how much of a gulf was there between that serpent and an ordinary monster?
I knew intellectually that monsters from higher up in the tower were supposed to be progressively stronger, but the sheer difference in scale was mind-boggling.
I could still see the vast creature flying toward the top of the tower. On an impulse, I activated my attunement for just a moment.
Mizuchi’s aura was a deep green. It was the first Emerald-level aura I’d seen in person. Mother had called herself an Emerald, but I’d only seen her aura in a vision through someone else’s eyes.
I knew Orden’s tunic was supposed to carry an Emerald-level enchantment, but I’d never been able to see the aura. Presumably her Illusionist abilities were keeping it hidden.
Emerald. I glanced at Teft, confirming my suspicion that his aura was a golden yellow. Citrine was on the higher end of what I’d seen within the school. I suspected Orden’s Illusionist Attunement was in the same range.
Only two levels below the monster and he’d still barely been able to defend us from collateral damage.
If Katashi decided to unleash Seiryu, the God Serpent, what chance did any of us have? As powerful as Mizuchi was, Seiryu was hundreds of times more massive. Total mana generally correlated to the size of a monster. I doubted the entire force of our military could stand against Seiryu for more than moments.
I shivered, turning to look at the area where Mizuchi had been attacking. Bodies everywhere. Some still moving, but most lying still. Dozens of dead. Maybe hundreds. I could only see one area that had been attacked, there were undoubtedly others.
If I wanted to prevent the death of thousands, I had some serious work to do.
Vanniv flapped his wings, clearing the distance to Sera in a few moments. “Ah, my Summoner, you push yourself too far! You must be more careful.”
Sera folded her arms. “Concerned, Vanniv, or do you just want something?”
“Can’t it be both?”
Sera sighed. “We’ll finalize the details of your contract soon. For the moment, we need to go help triage any survivors over there.” She gestured toward the line of demolished buildings where Mizuchi had struck.
I nodded to her, grateful that Sera was thinking about the wounded like I was.
Teft shook his head. “Absolutely not. We are going straight back to the university. It was a mistake to ever allow you children out here. What happened with Katashi? I couldn’t hear everything you were saying from a distance.”
I folded my arms. “Katashi is leaving for now. The danger has passed. We should b
e able to go help the injured safely.”
“Incorrect, Corin.” He pointed upward. “What do you see?”
I didn’t want to take the bait, but I scanned upward anyway. “The complete absence of a weather shield.”
Teft nodded. “And what do you think might have caused such a thing?”
Patrick trudged up next to me, interjecting before I had a chance to reply. “Giant monster serpent, obviously.”
The professor sighed. “The ‘giant monster serpent’ never left this area, Mister Wayland. And the shield has several redundant mana generators, located throughout the city.”
“Meaning sabotage,” I cut in.
“Quite. Sabotage on quite an extreme scale. Katashi himself would not bother with such an action. If he wanted to eradicate the city, he could do it himself. Rather, this implies an opportunistic action from a third party. One that was either already poised to strike as soon as anything gave them a good window, or alternatively, one that was aware that Katashi was about to launch an assault.”
Patrick frowned. “Who could have known that Katashi was going to come out here with monsters?”
I had some ideas about that. “Katashi said that there were people in high places that already knew what he wanted. He seemed to think he was being deliberately obstructed by someone in our government. He used the term ‘conspirators’.” I waved in the direction of the academy and the group started walking. Near the back, I could hear Sera talking quietly to Vanniv, presumably solidifying their arrangement.
Teft ran a hand through his hair. “That’s not surprising, but it’s dire news if it’s true. We’ve been on the brink of a war with Edria for months. This could mean someone supporting them has infiltrated our government. We need to get you to safety, then I need to know everything Katashi told you.”
“Resh. Traitors?” Patrick mumbled. “This just gets worse and worse.”
I clenched my fists at the possibility. Fighting monsters was horrible enough. I didn’t like the idea of harming any kind of living creature. War against other humans?
It was disgusting to me that someone could justify that idea. But it was also all too typical. I couldn’t stand how little human life meant to so many people.