Etherno

by Aaron DeMott

  “All done.” Ryogin swiveled in his chair. “It’ll take about a day to analyze the results, and I’ll let you know what we find.”

  Onin offered Kasai a hand. She took it and stepped off the platform. He felt his face heat when she didn’t release his grasp.

  “Uh—” Onin cleared his throat. “Do you still have that map of possible Natas sites?”

  “Yes.” Ryogin frowned. “I don’t have a medical degree, but shouldn’t you take it easy with that leg for another day or so?”

  “It’s doing better.” Onin lifted his left leg and wiggled it. There was still a bit of a sore feeling, but it wasn’t throbbing anymore. “But I was thinking about sending servitors out to scout first.”

  “Ah, good decision.” Ryogin rummaged around in the pile of papers, gizmos, and doohickeys that littered the top of his desk. “Here we are.”

  Ryogin handed Onin a rolled up piece of paper. Onin unrolled the sheet, Kasai and Amaryllis crowding him to look over either shoulder. The map had one or two more dots added to it since Onin had seen it the other day. Each dot also had a short description next to it. Most of them weren’t terribly helpful, listing a number of Natas or prisoners spotted, or the type of building.

  “Not much to go on here.” Onin handed the map back.

  “No.” Ryogin shook his head. “Most of this we got from interviewing the freed prisoners, and they had other things to worry about than investigating the Natas.”

  “Yeah.” Onin shuddered. Those people must have gone through a lot. “I’ll send a few infrared servitors out to scout these locations. Maybe they’ll find something.”

  He turned to leave and Amaryllis coughed.

  “Oh, that’s right.” Ryogin stood and bowed to Onin and Kasai. “Could I ask you a personal favor?”

  Onin looked over at Kasai. She blinked a few times, but didn’t say anything. “Well, you can ask...”

  “Thank you. I would greatly appreciate it if the two of you would accompany Amaryllis and I to dinner tonight. I’ve been promising her for a while, but it’d be more proper if the two of us had some company.”

  Onin turned his head to face Kasai. She blushed and looked down at her feet, but she didn’t let go of his hand.

  “I’m not going to force you to do anything, but I’d like to go if you would,” Onin whispered.

  She nodded.

  “Excellent.” Ryogin bowed to them. “I’ll see you at dinner, then.”

  Onin tied his tie for the third time and frowned at the mirror. Ryogin had sent over formal attire for him to where, and the sizing was perfect. Except the darn tie kept coming out too short or too long. He sighed and undid it yet again.

  A knock sounded at the door.

  “Come in!” Onin yelled over his shoulder.

  The door opened and Kasai stepped into the room.

  “Oh.” She paused and took a half-step backward. “I didn’t realize you weren’t done changing. I’ll come back.”

  “No, come on in.” Onin lined the smaller end of his tie up with the top of his belt. “I’m ready, except for this tie.”

  Onin frowned at the tie. It still didn’t look quite right.

  “I’ll be just a moment—” Onin turned around and forgot what he was going to say. Kasai wore a green off-the-shoulder dress that hugged her curves and fell to ankle length. Her auburn hair looked closer to red in the sunlight coming from the windows, and it cascaded down over her right shoulder.

  “Wow.” Onin cleared his throat and ducked his head. “I mean, you look beautiful.”

  “Thanks, I—”

  “Hey, are you dressed yet?” Tannin, along with Saija, squeezed past Kasai and into the room.

  Onin sighed. Tannin had the worst timing. Hopefully he wouldn’t decide tonight sounded like a party and try to tag along.

  “Hey!” Tannin stopped in the middle of the room and pointed at Onin. “When I left ten minutes ago you were still wrestling with that thing. Gimme.” Tannin grabbed Onin’s tie and started to fidget with it.

  “So why are you two here?” Onin asked.

  “We don’t have social lives of our own.” Saija shrugged, then dropped into a chair. “So we’re living vicariously through you two.”

  “Yeah, my little Onin, all grown up and going on a date, who would’ve thought?” Tannin yanked at Onin’s tie.

  “Knock it off.” Onin smacked the back of Tannin’s head. “You’re just bored cause you don’t have a party to go to.”

  Onin looked in the mirror. The tie was perfect. He shot a sideways glance at Tannin, who held a hand up to his chest.

  “That hurts; it really does.” Tannin fell over backwards onto his bed. “I’ll just die here now.”

  “Whatever.” Onin rolled his eyes. “I’ll revive you when we get back.”

  He offered his elbow to Kasai and left.

  Onin stepped out of the hover limo and gave Kasai a hand. Amaryllis and Ryogin climbed out after him. Onin stared up at the restaurant and tried to remember not to gawk. The place was three stories tall and covered with real marble. Marble columns lined the outside. Onin did a double-take. A red carpet covered the sidewalk that led into the restaurant.

  “Wow.” Kasai looked around and took a step closer to Onin. “Everybody’s wearing suits and ties. I was worried I’d be overdressed.”

  “Yeah.” Onin nodded. “From where I stand I can’t believe my eyes. I think this might be a little out of my price range.”

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s my treat,” Ryogin said.

  Onin looked at the building, then back to Ryogin. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.” Ryogin took Amaryllis’ hand. “I’ve been promising Amaryllis a proper date for a while now.”

  Amaryllis leaned closer to Onin and Kasai. “My eighteenth birthday isn’t until next week, and Ryogin-sama is very proper and respectful toward me.” She flattened her left ear against her head. She lowered her voice. “Maybe a little too proper. He says we can’t go on a date alone until my birthday.”

  Kasai smiled and took Amaryllis’ right hand in her left. Onin smiled at her. Kasai squeezed his hand, and they walked together into the restaurant.

  Ryogin gave his name to the maitre d’, who led them to their table. It wasn’t the nicest table, right next to the kitchen, but still better than Onin could afford on his own.

  “I’m sorry about the seating.” Ryogin rubbed the back of his neck and pulled a chair out for Amaryllis. “It was the best I could get on fairly short notice.”

  Onin watched Ryogin and jumped forward to get Kasai’s chair.

  “No, this is great.” Kasai smiled up at Onin as she sat. “We can watch them cook from here.”

  “And what really matters is the company.” Amaryllis turned and beamed at Ryogin, who blushed and nodded.

  Onin browsed the menu. Most of the stuff on it he’d never heard of. He looked across the table to Ryogin. “Is there anything you’d recommend?”

  “Hmm. Everything’s good here.” Ryogin flipped through the menu. “I’m particularly found of the pan-fried fish.”

  “I’m getting saganaki as an appetizer.” Amaryllis turned her menu around and pointed to an item. “It’s basically fried cheese and seasoning, it’s delicious!”

  “That looks good.” Kasai tucked her hair behind her ear.

  The light reflected the red in her hair, and Onin forgot about the menu.

  The waiter came and took their order. Everyone decided to get the fish and share a few orders of saganaki.

  “So, how did you two meet?” Amaryllis folded her hands and leaned in closer to Kasai.

  “At college.” Kasai blushed and looked down at her lap.

  “Ah, that’s right.” Ryogin unfolded his napkin and laid it across his lap. “You both attend ABG, right?”

  “Yup.” Onin looked over to Kasai, then back to Ryogin. “We both have a minor in criminal justice. So, how did you meet Ryogin?”

  “He rescued me from the Natas.” Amar
yllis placed her hand on Ryogin’s arm and gazed up at him. “I’ve told Kasai and the other girls the whole story.”

  Onin glanced over at Kasai as Amaryllis recounted how Ryogin rescued her. Kasai’s eyes met his. Her lips parted in a slow smile. She blinked and looked down at her appetizer. Onin wished he could stare into those deep green eyes forever.

  Onin cleared his throat and took another bite of his appetizer.

  “So, how did you start working for Ryogin after he rescued you?” Onin asked.

  “Well, I didn’t have anywhere to stay.” Amaryllis took a bite of her appetizer and swallowed before she continued. “So Ryogin-sama arranged a room for me in the dorms. He already needed a lab assistant, and I found the work fascinating. So between that and my gift, I was a decent help.”

  “Ha!” Ryogin snorted. “Best assistant I’ve ever had.”

  “Aw.” Amaryllis batted her eyes at Ryogin and waved her hand. “I try, and I love the job. I’ve screwed up a few times, though. Anyway, we got along well, and...” She blushed and looked down at the floor.

  “Um, I have to go to the bathroom.” Kasai looked back and forth between Ryogin and Amaryllis.

  “Oh! Me, too!” Amaryllis jumped up. “It’s this way.”

  Onin watched the girls walk past the kitchen and around the corner. He glanced up at Ryogin, then concentrated on his saganaki.

  “Good food.” Ryogin said.

  “Yeah.” Onin wasn’t sure what else to say. Amaryllis had been carrying most of the conversation so far, and Onin usually let Tannin do most of the talking when he met new people.

  Come to think of it, they hadn’t really known Amaryllis or Ryogin for very long. Onin looked around the restaurant. Nothing to really converse about. A bunch of people eating. He could see into the kitchen, but no one was doing anything particularly interesting.

  There was a vid screen setup in the kitchen that was turned to IDNN. The current story was about high waters somewhere. Wait. Onin jerked his head back to the screen when the image changed to a picture of a comet. The text scroll mentioned Caradan.

  “Hey, did you see that?” Onin pointed at the screen.

  “Hmm?” Ryogin craned his head around to see the screen. His face paled.

  “Do you think it’s going to hit?” Onin asked.

  “Yes.” Ryogin pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped at it. “But that’s not the real issue. I hope I’m wrong, but that doesn’t look like an ordinary comet.”

  Onin looked back at the screen, but the story had changed again. Something moved in the corner of his eye, and Onin looked over his shoulder. Kasai and Amaryllis walked over to them.

  “What’s not an ordinary comet?” Amaryllis asked.

  “Sorry. I didn’t want to ruin our date, but...” Ryogin’s voice trailed off and he handed his phone to Amaryllis.

  Her eyes widened and her ears flattened to the back of her head. “Oh no,” she whispered.

  Amaryllis wordlessly handed the phone over to Kasai. Onin jumped up and looked over her shoulder. The screen showed a live telescope feed of the comet. It wasn’t a rock. Well, not exactly. It was a crystalline dragon, curled into a ball. If Onin was reading the numbers on the screen correctly, it was as big as a small house. And it was headed pretty much straight at them.

  Chapter 20

  Let's Rock!

  Onin drummed his fingers on the restaurant table. He looked over his left shoulder. “I’ve redirected my servitors that are already out searching for the Natas to look in the vicinity of the dragon’s landing zone.”

  “Shouldn’t we go?” Kasai twirled her hair around her finger and looked back and forth between Onin and Ryogin.

  “No.” Ryogin took a deep breath, sighed, and sat back down in his chair. “It’ll be a few days before it lands, and we’ll need our strength. Might as well finish our dinner.”

  Amaryllis nodded, but pulled out her phone and tapped away at it furiously.

  Ryogin glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow.

  “Sorry.” Amaryllis put her phone back in her pocket. “Messaging some old friends who owe me a few favors.”

  The rest of dinner was rather rushed. The fish was delectable, but Onin kept looking out the window. Ryogin had said they had a few days but…

  After they’d finished eating Onin followed Ryogin and Amaryllis out of the restaurant. Kasai reached out and took his hand. Onin’s skin tingled at her touch. He squeezed her hand and smiled.

  Amaryllis stopped a dozen yards away from the restaurant and raise her right hand straight up into the air.

  Kasai looked over at Onin and raised an eyebrow. He shrugged.

  “Um, are you hailing a taxi?”

  Amaryllis covered her mouth with her left hand and giggled. “In a manner of speaking.”

  Something flew over Onin’s head. He ducked and whirled around. Amaryllis grabbed her staff out of the air, twirled it around, and hopped up to sit on it.

  “I’m off to collect on a few favors.” Amaryllis adjusted her position. “I’ll be back—”

  “Wait!” Kasai darted forward and grabbed her hand. “Would it help if I shared my gift with you?”

  Amaryllis slid off her staff and spun it upright. “It would.” She looked Kasai in the eyes and cocked an ear halfway back. “Are you sure you really want to?”

  “Yes.” Kasai took a deep breath and stepped closer to Amaryllis. “You said there really isn’t a downside, and if it would help us fight the Natas and all stay alive—”

  Kasai wiped a tear from her eyes. Onin took a step forward and rested a hand on her shoulder.

  “My entire life, I’ve been alone, except for the monks, until I came to ABG.” Kasai took Onin’s hand and smiled at him. “Now I have friends that care about me, and that I care about. I don’t want to lose any of you, and I haven’t contributed much so far, so yes, I do want to share my gift to help you.”

  Amaryllis pulled Kasai into a hug. After a moment, she stepped back and held her staff between them. “Very well. Place your hand on my staff.”

  Kasai grasped Amaryllis’ staff. “Okay, now what?”

  “Just say that you willingly share your gift with me.” Amaryllis cocked an ear to the side. “Technically you don’t have to say anything, but I’ve found that saying it aloud helps most people actually think and feel it.”

  “I willingly share the gifts Ard gave me with Amaryllis,” Kasai said.

  Half a second later she swayed and released the staff.

  Onin jumped forward and caught her. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” Kasai yawned and leaned back against Onin. “Just tired, like I’ve been working out.”

  Onin looked over at Amaryllis. She took several deep breaths, and her chest heaved.

  “Wow.” She looked over at Kasai. “Such power. I think I’ll only be able to use about one to five percent of that.”

  “Sorry.” Kasai hung her head.

  “Oh, don’t be sorry.” Amaryllis gave her a quick side-hug. “One percent of your power is more than enough. Ryogin-sama is an S-class, and his power is like a vast ocean. Yours is like an entire star. I couldn’t possibly hope to tap into all of it.”

  “So—” Onin dug his heel in the dirt. “Do you borrow power from her?”

  “No. I make a copy of a person’s gift, and they have to willingly allow me to do so.” Amaryllis said.

  “Oh.” Onin looked down at Kasai. She yawned, closed her eyes, and rested her head on his shoulder. What would happen to her if the Natas got ahold of her? He looked up at Amaryllis and squared his shoulders. “I don’t really understand, and I haven’t known you for that long, but if Kasai trusts you, so do I.”

  “Are you sure?” Amaryllis cocked her head to the side. “You don’t have to.”

  “Yes. I’m sure.”

  “Very well.” Amaryllis held out her staff.

  Onin glanced down at Kasai, took a deep breath, and grasped Amaryllis staff below her hand. “I willingly s
hare my gift.”

  Onin felt a surge of energy flow up through him, sort of like when he was preparing to generate a large servitor, and out into the staff.

  Amaryllis shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. “Mmm! Much like Ryogin-sama’s power.” She hopped back up on her staff and looked Onin in the eyes. “I promise I’ll use this power to help protect Kasai.”

  She turned and flew up into the night sky.

  The next morning Onin joined the others in Ryogin’s office. Amaryllis was absent.

  “Hey—” Onin leaned in toward Kasai. “Amaryllis isn’t back yet?”

  Kasai shook her head. Hopefully Amaryllis was okay.

  Onin straightened up as Ryogin stood and cleared his throat.

  “This—” Ryogin pointed to a dot on the map that was south-east of their current location. “Is an abandoned rubber factory just outside of the small town of Ainz, about 200 miles away. The dragon is expected to land there tomorrow around noon. My guess is that the Natas are working with the dragon, so we expect resistance from them as well. Onin, have your servitors found anything?”

  “Wait.” Tannin raised his hand. “A rubber factory? What kind of rubb—”

  “Nothing yet.” Onin stepped in front of Tannin. “The factory is there, and there’s signs of it being recently occupied, such as crates all over the place, trash cans full of empty wrappers, recent heat signatures, and such. My servitors haven’t spotted any people yet, but they just got to the location an hour ago.”

  “Well, that gives us some time.” Ryogin picked up a few papers and handed them to Saija. “This is the layout of the factory, and the surrounding area. There’s one for each of you. If we’re familiar with the area and the layout, that might give us an advantage, or at least neutralize theirs.”

  Saija took a sheet and passed the papers to Cerina, who handed them to Tannin. Onin grabbed a sheet from Tannin. Kasai leaned in to look at the map, and her shoulder pressed into Onin’s chest. Even her shoulder was soft— Onin blinked and focused on the map.