“A little help here??” her sword clangs against a monster’s skin and bone
“Give me a second!” her partner grunted. “Εξολ-” A third creature’s nails slashed at her from behind, sending her flying before she could finish.
“Lou!” She screamed, shifting to a defensive stance. Her dirty-brown hair suddenly rustled. Not from the wind, but from the mana she was readying. A stronger gust rustled it even more, forcing the lighter parts and her brown eyes to glow an azur blue.
“Bastaaaaaaaaaaards!” she launched herself towards the chimeras, dragging the greatsword along with her.
She managed to cut the legs of one, but not much else. The largest one hit her stomach, throwing her into a nearby tree. The beasts slowly gathered around her almost dead husk, circling it like a pack of vultures. One of the smaller ones broke out of the group, poking and prodding her. The little one threw it’s limbs up, and started to make noise. Soon, the rest of the pack joined in.
At least, if she had to die, this would be one hell of a way to go out.
“Εξολοθρεύω!” a voice boomed. Red mana wisps tore through three beasts, including the smaller one, barely missing her. Her partner stood there, pure white hair and light red eyes glowing crimson. The rest of the pack were too stunned to react as her partner leisurely walked over.
“Eh, what the hell. You sure took your time.” Eva chuckled, propping herself up with her sword-cane.
“I assume you wanted me to take more?” Lou glanced at the remaining beasts. Only 4 or so left.
“Maybe. Who knows.”
“Right, let’s take care of the commission.” She put on her most sincere fake smile, holding back her curses for this girl. The two of them readied themselves, glowing from mana and doubling down on their stances.
The remaining beasts realized what kind of trouble they were in, but were too stupid to run…
“Ah!” Eva hissed. “I told you it’s fine. It’ll heal on it’s own.” The two were sitting on a dead log next to the car they took. Their uniform jackets ruined by the chimera blood.
“Tell me that after you become anything more than a Homena.” Lou retorted, not putting down the alcohol wipes. She had one hand around her neck just to keep her down.
“I told you already, it’s fine. I’m heading back-” She winced. The alcohol stung her battered up back like hell.
“And where do you think you’re going like this?” Eva hissed again. It didn’t help that Lou was running over more than one cut. “Don’t you understand who recommended you to this college?”
“Yeah. That grandma.”
“Only you would refer to the leader of the witches like that,” She shook her head, packing the last of the gauss over her cuts. “There. Put your shirt down. I’m driving back.”
“You’re driving?” She was flabbergasted. She didn’t know Lou could drive. Still, she was eager to cover her back.
“You’re almost anemic. You shouldn't be driving.” Eva sighs.
“I take it that means no drinks tonight too?”
“No. I have to fill in for a professor for tomorrow. He went on maternal leave.”
“No commissions either then?”
“Not the usual ones no.”
“Guess that means a holiday for me then.”
“No. I forgot to tell you the director has a commission for you.”
“F@#$.” She paused, letting reality sink in as Lou tossed the kit in the car. “Why is your mom like this…?”
“Ask her, not me.” She slammed the trunk shut. “Get in. I’m leaving in two minutes.”
The car ride home was pretty silent and uneventful, apart from their usual bickering.
“Thanks again. You could just have dropped the car off first though, I don’t mind walking.” Eva chimed up as she stepped out.
“My mother needs it tomorrow, so we wouldn’t have returned it tonight.”
“As long as I don’t have to deal with damage reports.” Lou rolled her eyes. Of course. “See you in class, professor Mircalla.” Eva bowed sarcastically. She fiddled with her handbag to find her keys, rummaging through old receipts and paper slips to make her way into the building.
Groceries. She remembered, right as she opened the door.
“Lou!” She shot out of the lobby, running after that black SUV, only to find it driving out on to the street.
Guess I’m taking the bus today.
Her flat wasn’t that far from a bus line that ran through the whole city, but she was quite honestly too tired to pay a visit to the town’s center. Especially this late at night. And around here, the only things that would be open were a few nightclubs and convenience stores. She did, however, know a place closer than the center-city.
“One ticket to that end-of-the-line station, please.” Eva spoke through a speaker, pointing to a map on the wall at her closest train station.
“Soul City, United Homenan States?” A cute witch dressed in the metro’s uniform answered her.
“That’s the one.”
“May I please have your I.D.?” Eva handed the clerk a photo card with her patchy and white-freckled face on it. “Are you aware that you’re going into Homena territory?” The clerk spoke in a monotonous, almost robotic voice.
“Yes.”
“Do you understand that the railway isn’t liable for anything that happens to you once you leave the station?”
“Yes.”
The witch waved her finger, small wisps of green mana triggering a small printer-like machine. A few seconds later, she was given her ticket and receipt.
“Sorry miss Eva, even though I know you, I still need to follow protocol for out-of-state tickets.” She sighed, her earlier robotic demeanor crumbling.
“No worries. Thank you Izzy.”
“No no, thank you for helping.” The petite witch bowed. “Siréne can’t stop going on about how many headaches you’ve saved her.”
“I told her already to not worry about it.” Eva chuckled. “She can be such a spaz at times.”
“You’re not wrong.” The witch admitted hesitantly. “From all of us in this city, have a nice trip!”
“Thank you Izzy, see you soon!” She waved.
“Line F to Soul city, arriving in 5 minutes. Line F to Soul city, arriving in 5 minutes.” The intercom rang out. She rushed to the boarding platform. If everything goes to plan, she should be back before the station closed with food for the next few days.
Speaking of food, her stomach suddenly made it’s existence known. There were always food vendors at special stops, hopefully one was open.
The train wasn’t anything special. In less than 15 minutes, she arrived.
“Final stop, Soul City, U.H.S. Final stop, Soul City, U.H.S. Please grab your belongings and exit in a calm and orderly manner.”
The train doors opened, and she bolted to the food stalls. To her dismay, there was only one shop open. A bloodmeal ramen shop, a pharmacy, and a café. Maybe if the homena were more tolerant, this place could have something more than just bare necessities. She almost debated going in for ramen, but her stomach pulled her by the throat. It was a semi permanant installment, meant for the bloodkin who couldn’t find food in the city when they traveled. Or so Izzy told her.
She glanced at the menu, surprised that there was an option for bloodmeal ramen with a dwarf’s garden assortment of vegetables. As far as she knew, bloodkin stomachs could only handle meat, blood, a few roots, and fruit.
“One royal beef-blood bowl, please.” She tossed a few coins on the counter, slumping on the stool, while the burly cook gave her a brief glance.
“Masochist much?” A man’s gruff voice cut through the somewhat dead tavern. His pointed ears mixed with a homen’s appearance told her he was a bloodkin himself, a rarity around here.
“Are bloody beef noodles and vegetables supposed to clash?” She snarked. She didn’t want to deal with anyone until she got some food in her. The man smiled slightly, before he broke out into a shit-eating grin.
“You’re the first person to say that to me Missy. Careful those homena don’t take you as a lab rat.” He chuckled, waving his hands sarcastically while still facing the stove. She only grunted in response. “Say, do you know why it’s called the ‘royal’ beef bowl?” She grunted again, but the man, bored from a lack of foot traffic, continues on. “Rumours have it that a certain Bloodkin royal would rather die than have ‘bland’ meals, rejecting even the finest food if it didn’t have a foreign ingredient in it. They say she’s gone as far as paying foreign cooks to train their servants, importing instant homena meals to have with a glass of blood-wine in the meanwhile.”
“If that were true, the matriarch would have cut her off by now.” She butted in without thinking.
“Oh?” The man didn’t expect this low looking bloodkin to know of the monarchy’s politics. “Why do you think so?”
“I was disowned from a common house for these tastes. If such a stigma truly exists, bleeding down from the barons who fear this taboo, would her majesty not do the same?” This was partially true. Being disowned once taught her this harsh truth of stepping out of line. It’s a long story.
“Oh ho ho, we have a rebellious one. Care to put your money where your mouth is Missy?” He put down her order of red ramen in front of her.
“I’d rather not. I have errands to run tonight.” She started to pick at her food, waiting it for her to cool enough to scarf it down.
“A shame. It’s been a while since I’ve had such a fun chat.”
“Before you go, can I get another order of these to go? They’re delicious.” She wasn’t kidding. They were really good. And cheaper than anything she’d find at home too. Hopefully this would be her breakfast.
The man sighed, putting another batch of bloodmeal ramen to boil.
She exited the Flor-Mart a block away from the station with bags of groceries. It wasn’t an interesting place, just some suburb. Her whole trip had taken her less than an hour, and she had the chance to stock up on homena products she liked. A win-win. She didn’t buy much, mostly because she wouldn’t be able to carry them all the way home. Oh! Right! Her roommate said that she wanted a certain hoodie, and there’s a Bencer’s a block down, so she might as well make a detour. Wait.. was it Cold Topic she was thinking of? Whatever. They had the hoodie in stock. Star Sailor, was it? Probably.
As she was checking out, the movement of something caught her eye. Vermin were one thing, she was used to seeing rodents and animals at night, but this was bigger than even a raccoon. Thinking it was nothing, she checked out.
On her way back to the station, she saw the shadow again in an alley. It seemed to be rummaging through the trash? She was about to continue on, but she heard a small yelp. Not of an animal, but a person. Listening intently, it sounded like somebody was… crying? She cautiously approached the source of the noise, trying not to scare the creature. It had noticed her approaching, and hid behind the dumpster. Eva continued, slowly moving forwards, until she could see past the corner of it’s hiding spot.
A young girl was crying, curled up in the fetal position. She saw Eva, but froze. There was nowhere to run. The girl had cat ears and a tail fitting her size that kept shaking, all as rosy pink as her hair.
A Fèlinat kid? Eva wondered. What’s she doing in a place as dangerous as this? She was bruised and battered, looking as if she’d escaped from something horrible. She tried to approach the girl, pat her head to show she meaned no harm, but she flinched and knocked the woman’s hand away. It then hit her where she was, and who probably did this to the poor girl.
“Shhhh. It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m not one of them. Look.” She held out her palm, “ανάπτω”
A light and warmth radiated as red wisps coalesced. Before the light could reach her, her sun-browned skin got thinner and thinner, as if her freckles were taking over her body, leaving rosy white skin peppered with browned freckles all over, the patterns of which were similar. Her hair and eyes also changed colours, appearing to be dyed pure white, with some desaturated crimson tinting her eyes and hair. She gave the girl the small ball of light, crouching down so her face could be illuminated. The cat-girl was hesitant, but allowed Eva to pat her head after a bit.
“Are you hurt?” She asked, her tone becoming a motherly one without realizing.
The girl shook her head yes.
“Where?”
She pointed to her knee. It was a deep cut, almost as if it was deliberately done.
“This might sting. Squeeze my hand if you need to, okay?” The girl nodded slowly. “Επιδιορθώνω" she whispered.
The girl squeezed her hand tightly, but loosened it shortly after. A black gunk poured out from the wound as it closed. It didn’t fully heal them, but it disinfected and sealed the deeper parts together. She took the jacket tied around her hips, battered and ruined, and tore off a sleeve. She used some of it to wipe away the black puss, and tied the rest around it as a makeshift bandage.
“Better?”
The girl nodded softly.
“Where are your parents?” Eva continued, hoping the girl would trust her.
“I- Ke’er was taken from them. She doesn’t know.”
“Your name is Ke’er, huh?” The girl nodded, content with the woman’s pats. She swore she could hear a small cat’s purr coming from the kid. She helped her up hoping she winced as little as possible, when a light was shone on them from the alley entrance.
“Freeze! Knights of the Order!” some of the men in the back were fully clad in armor, while the ones in front dawned dress wear instead. Shit. Anything but ‘distinguished’ knights.
Eva turned around, bending down to cover the child with her body. She scowled at the supposed “protectors of the weak.”
“Vile demons!” Several knights charged down the narrow alleyway.
“Ke’er, get on my back!” She barked, the child immediately following. She held her groceries tightly. Wisps of red mana burst out from her hips, forming two translucent red bat wings. “Hold on!” She flew straight up, past the roofs, and went in the opposite direction of the train station just to throw them off. She held herself low to the roofs, waiting for them to take the bait. She felt Ke’er’s chest pounding against her back, almost unhealthily fast.
They took it, and as soon as they left, she rushed her and the kid down a few blocks and back to the burned down chapel that hid the station. Thankfully, those pantsuit one’s were dumb enough to believe her. Probably newly appointed too. She thanked the gods for her luck.
At the back of the building, a few crumbling marble stairs were found, leaving a broken archway. She snapped her fingers and azul mana wisps flew out, her appearance being engulfed by patches until she was back to the normal golden skin, white freckles. Her eyes and hair followed suit. With the kid on her back and groceries in hand, she walked through it. The scenery instantly shattered, as if the door was made of glass, as they entered a small waiting room with a window in it. The station’s quarantined lobby, accessible to most in case of emergency, or while they waited for approval.
She immediately dropped her bags, and took the child off her back gently, hugging her tightly.
“Breathe kid, breathe.” She started breathing slowly herself, an attempt to calm her nerves as well. “Follow my lead.”
The kid hiccuped a bit, slowly managing to slow down her breathing. Her panic shortly morphed into tears, as she cried in Eva’s arms.
She didn’t know long the kid had cried for. It was enough for Eva to worry about her getting dehydrated. She gently took the plastic bottle she had from her bag and gave it to the kid, who drank it all in a few gulps.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” A witchling metro worker walked through the locked door to greet them. “I didn’t see you two until now. How may I help you?” she bowed slightly.
“I found this Fèlinat child within the city. It seems that she was kidnapped from her home and brought, here, so I’m not sure where her parents are.” Eva continued to hold the kid tightly.
“I can check the Metro’s records for her, though there’s no guarantees since you had to enter through the quarantine room.”
“Please do.” Eva answered.
“Though, we might have to send her up the line if we can’t find anything. Are you planning to go to the witch state? I might be able to get the conductor to look after her until she gets to a town that has a place for her.”
“Yes, I’m heading back to Teviry.”
“The college town? There should be more than enough places for her there. I’ll make a few calls to see if she can stay there.”
“Thank you.” Eva bowed slightly, worried that the worst would come for the kid.
“Don’t mention it. It’s a part of the job.” She bowed, changing her gaze to the cat-kid, crouching down to meet her. “What’s your name little one?”
“… Ke’er.” The kid spoke nervously.
“Ke’er,” The witch smiled. “what a cute name. My name’s Andy. I’ll try to see if I can find your parents, alright?”
“Thank you.” The child timidly stammered.
“I didn’t find her name in the metro records.” Andy came back through the door. “There’s good news and bad news.”
“The good news?” Eva fretted.
“The good news is that there’s space at the orphanage for her to stay in the meanwhile.”
“And the bad news?”
“Neither the orphantage or the Félinat government answered the call. My guess is they’re both closed.”
“So she won’t be able to stay anywhere tonight?” Eva frowned.
“No. Its the opposite.” The witch smiled. “I called both stations, seems that both staff trust you enough for both of them to let you take care of her. Normally, we wouldn’t allow this,” She turned to Ke’er and ruffled her hair. “But this isn’t exactly a normal situation, either.”
Eva was temporarily stunned.
“Of course, that doesn’t mean we’re giving you free reign. You’re already under the supervision of Lady Chestnut. If anything happens, we’ll know.” She handed Eva a stack of papers. “Her metro card is in the envelope there. The card alone should be enough as temporary I.D. The rest is just a paper trail in case you need it.” The witch turned to the kid with the same warm smile. “Ke’er, on behalf of all of us, welcome to the land of witches!”
Ke’er, still being a young child, fell asleep on the train ride back. She must’ve been exausted. She wouldn’t wake easily on the bus ride either. Eva practically had to carry the poor girl on her back, being so tired she would fall asleep while walking.
Eva found her keys on her first try, opening the door to the 2 bed, 1 bath she shared with a friend. She first let go of the groceries, then put the poor girl to rest in her room. Honestly she didn’t mind taking the couch. She put her groceries and take out away, and crashed.
“ …a……va!…” She rolled over, burying her head in the couch again. “Eva!”
She reluctantly opened her eyes, internally cursing the persistence of this woman.
“Eva! Why the hell is there a kid in here? And why did you get home so late yesterday?” The woman pointed to Ke’er.
Half asleep, she pulled out her phone, dialed a number, put it on speaker, and threw herself back down.
“Mmsk Chestnut,, not me,” She grumbled into a pillow.
“What the hell does Chestnut have to do with this!”
“Yes, why am I involved with this?” A voice came from Eva’s phone on the coffee table.
“Miss Director!” Her tone instantly straightened out. “Why the hell did Eva bring a Fèlinat child back to our appartment?” She was trying oh so hard to trump her anger with courtesy.
“A Fèlinat child? Does she have pink fur?” the woman inquired.
“Yes! Wait, do you know this child Miss Director?”
“Yes. She was found by Eva last night in Homena territory. When she brought the kid to the metro, they couldn’t get a hold of anybody, so they insisted the kid should stay with her for now. Anything else?”
“Wha—” Ke’er threw herself to hug the other cat Fèlinat, a familiar presence to her.
“I assume that’s a no. She should be dropping her off at a state orphanage soon.” She spoke dryly. “Rya, tell her that when I see her again, I’ll kill her for calling my personal number so casually, won’t you?”
Just like that, the woman hung up. Rya was speechless. Wait.
“How the hell do you have the director’s personal phone number Mordred???” Rya draged Eva up by the collar and shook her violently.
“’Cause she’s worried about Lou not answering…?” She slurred.
“That doesn’t give you the right to be chummy with her!! How much of an idiot are you?”
“Not much more than the usual.” She broke Rya’s grip, stretching her neck in the meanwhile, “Do you mind making breakfast for her? I don’t know what Fèlinat usually like.” Unable to resist Ke’er’s puppy eyes this early on, Eva caved, patting her head.
“Unbelievable.” Rya whispered. “Yeah yeah I’ll make her breakfast. You owe me one.”
Eva stumbled into the bathroom and glanced in the mirror. Her freckled pale skin, pointed ears, white hair and red eyes stared back at her. Bloodkin. She must’ve used bloodkin magic in her sleep on accident. She threw some cold water on her face, grabbed the ramen take-out from last night, and threw it to warm.
“Ramen, for breakfast?” Rya scoffed.
“It was almost half off compared to the places here, can you blame me?” Eva grabbed her bowl and threw herself somewhere in the living room.
“That cheap? Let me have some then.”
“bloodmeal noodles.” Eva pointed out the obvious.
“Why does all the good food you find always have blood in it? You have normal taste buds don’t you?”
Eva waited a bit before swallowing her mouthful.
“More filling. Otherwise it feels like half a meal.”
Rya gave up, tossing a breakfast sandwich to Ke’er.
“Miss Rya?” Ke’er stammered. “Miss Eva is a bloodkin, right?”
“Kinda. I don’t even know myself” Rya answered, devoid of any frustration, and even had a hint of patience.
“Then, has Miss Eva ever sucked blood?”
“I have Ke’er,” Eva butted in, giving Rya a look of ‘I got this’ that didn’t inspire much confidence. “But that’s not the point. For bloodkin, bearing your fangs is something that can get shameful very quickly. There’s a reason why we jail the creeps who go around sucking blood on the streets.”
“Oh!” The pink cat girl caught on.
“Right. Ke’er?” Rya put her hand on her head. “Unlike someone here, I have studies I need to go to. Ill see you again soon, alright?”
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
“Alright!” The sweet little girl answered.
Eva left after that as well, letting her azul mana shift her appearance back to her brown-headed self, and tying up her hair with a uniquely two-toned gemstone brooch. She ended up stopping for a coffee on her way to explain what happened to the head of the orphanage. All the while, there was a burning question in Ke’er’s mind.
“Miss Eva? What does having your blood sucked feel like?” Eva instantly spat out her coffee.
“K-Ke’er! That’s not something you should ask people!” Eva’s face was flush red.
***
“Miss Eva? Where are the boy witches?”
Eva, relieved that this pink haired child asked about the witches instead of her, sighed heavily. She waited a moment for her blush to subside.
“There aren’t any ‘boy’ witches Ke’er. Witches are witches.”
Ke’er tilted her head curiously.
“Boy, girl, there isn’t a difference. All witches are the same. They’re all ‘sisters’ in a way.”
The girl’s curiosity wasn’t fully satisfied, keeping her lost in thought. It wasn’t a deep thought though, quickly skipping along as things once were.
The two of them walked through the stone buildings, remnants from another era. They stopped at a door, a little ways away from the town central station. Eva knocked on the door.
“Yes yes who is it— Oh! Eva!” The witch’s annoyed demeanor quickly shifted, “Come on in!”
Eva led the kid, who was now trembling slightly, into the old two story lodge.
“And are you Ke’er?” She smiled at the kid, grabbing a lanyard from near the door worn only when they have guests or new people. The printed name card on it read ‘Brigid’.
“Yeah. Her name is Ke’er.” Eva chimed in. “She’ll be staying with you guys until they can find her parents.” She nudged the hand of the kid, hoping she’d say hello.
“Ke’er,” Brigid crouched down at the kid’s level, beaming with kindness, “What a wonderful name. I’m sure the other kids would love you.” She scratched behind the cat’s ears.
The witch got up, leading the kid by the hand to where the other kids in the orphanage were currently playing, returning a short while after.
“We’ll take care of explaining to her what’s happening. I’m sure miss Chestnut has something planned for you.” Brigid bowed.
“Unsurprisingly, she does.” Eva sighed. “Thanks for everything Brigid. Sorry for just dropping her on to you.”
“No worries. It’s getting to be late, I won’t keep you.”
“Last thing we all need is for her to get angry.” She rubbed her temples.
—————
“Miss Chestnut, you have a commission for me?” Eva stepped into a messy ‘office’. This place resembled more of a lounge than an office.
“You’re going DPS Luciden Again?? We barely have enough healers as is!” A voice screamed. The tv in the room was on, with a game of Overdwarfed 2 being played on it. She didn’t bother to call out again, walking further into the office and placing herself next to the couch, just barely in the woman’s peripheral vision, waiting patiently to be noticed.
The woman was a Bloodkin. Pale skin, long ears, and crimson-pink stained white hair indicated she was of Royalty. Her short (in comparison to Eva) stature hidden by her baggy clothes, disheveled appearance and horrible posture. A flurry of profanities escaped her mouth. Eva stood patiently, pulling a stopwatch out of her pocket and starting it.
It took a full 10 minutes for the game to end. The director, unsurprisingly, blamed her teammates and immediately queued up for another round. Eva, not wanting to wait for her to finish another game, began to count the seconds out loud.
“Mordred??” The director jumped, finally noticing the woman beside her. “Since when did you get here?!”
“11 58, 11 59, 12. Twelve minutes. Guess I lost.” Eva mumbled, fiddling with the stopwatch before putting it away.
“Why the hell did the witches’ coven call me past midnight yesterday? Didn’t I tell you to resolve your own problems?? Why am I being called at 6 in the morning from my personal phone number??? Didn’t I tell you that you were to call me only if something happened to Lou?!?” The woman shouted in anger.
“You have a commission for me, director?” Eva’s behavior suddenly straightened out as she put on a deadpan face.
“Unbelievable.” Chestnut collapsed into the couch and sighed in exhaustion. “If it weren’t for that woman getting you in here, I’d have already put in the paperwork to get you kicked out of here.”
“You have a commission for me, director?” She repeated, no change in her tone.
“A rogue witch recently sent a threat against all ‘non-humans’, specifically the Faeln, in the flower city. Stop her.” The bloodkin took a pack of papers from her desk, and threw them at her.
“Ma’am. Shouldn’t this be left to the coven’s forces?” Eva answered almost robotically.
“Drop the act. And it wasn’t my idea. That grandma personally requested that you get to this before they can.” She turned around, sitting at her desk and sorting though the stacks of paperwork that were on it. She tossed Eva a black card resembling an airplane’s boarding pass, a coven worker’s I.D. card. “Don’t screw this up. I’ll send Lou over when she gets off.”
“Yes Ma’am!”
“I told you to cut that out. The coven’s witch gave me a message with that. I can’t find it, but it was something like ‘that card is a pre-graduation gift, use it well’ or something like that.”
“Yes Miss Chestnut!” Eva grabbed the paper stack and card and rushed out. On her way out of the campus, she passed by the workshops, picking up her greatsword she’d put in for maintenance and another jacket for her uniform. Knowing that grandma cared about her was enough to plaster a dumb smile on her face.
She got through the turnstile during rush hour pretty quickly. The papers she was given had authorized her to carry weapons with her, but as to not bother the other passengers, she stayed in the conductor’s cabin. Flower city was a city that had a large hidden elf, or rather now, Faeln population, and was a popular interchange for several underground railways.
The Coven I.D. she was given had quite a lot of perks. Before leaving, Eva asked Izzy to check on what she was allowed to do. A lot. She was allowed to do a lot. So much so that the poor witch couldn’t even see all of it. There were also a few circuits engraved on the card that were unrelated to the coven’s systems. She felt bad for giving Izzy a borderline panic attack. Eva decided against using it for now, but she’d need it to skip customs later, so it’s not like she could completely stop using it.
“Flower city. Now arriving at: Flowery city. Please grab your belongings and exit in a calm and orderly manner.” The intercom buzzed.
Eva flew out of the train station, rushing through customs and showing her I.D. as to not get into a squabble over the sword her hand.
BOOM. A large explosion could be heard right as she left.
“Somebody’s early.” Eva cackled, rushing to the origin of the rising smoke. The brooch in her hair melted into a silver metal, coating her greatsword, shaping itself up straight, then curving those flat ends inwards. Even the blade itself wasn’t immune, matching the ordinate hilt, flaring out at the tip and warping slightly inward, forming many slight and harshly stretched 4 pointed stars. An insignia resembling two bat wings was branded into the blade near the hilt as she ran, the indent glowing crimson red from mana then quickly extinguishing itself. The gems adorning the brooch were gone. Only a bare hairpin remained, holding her ponytail up.
“Sirs, what is the meaning of this?” A tavern owner pleaded as homena knights poured in.
“We have reason to suspect that this building was victim of a demon attack. Please cooperate.” Their leader barked, shoving aside several customers.
“Please Sirs, our building just had a water pipe burst. We need to address it as soon as possible, we can’t let unprepared persons down there with the water spraying around the electrical box!” The middle age man pleaded, latching onto the knight’s arm.
“Silence! Search the basement! He’s hiding something!” He barked.
Several knights moved through the tavern and down the building’s stairs. One of them rushed right back.
“Sir! The man was right! Two of our men have electrocuted themselves!”
“Keep searching!” The leader barked, unphased.
“Sir!” Another trainee knight ran in. “Sir we’ve spotted the demon, sir! It’s a vampire sir! Inspection reveals the mana traces we found were from that vampire, sir!”
“So be it.” Their leader spat, walking out of the building. “Men! Recall yourselves! We have a demon to hunt!”
“Sir!” The men in the basement barked, hurrying up. One of them emerged with their armor burnt to a char, somehow.
Eva, blissfully unaware of the ‘demon’ from her distraction, strolled in once the knights cleared out. Her briefing told her this building is an entrance to the Faelyn’s underground, a city below the city. The underground is a parallel plane the faelyn had colonized and tethered to this one in their heyday. Being barren and considered a failure when it was made, other than for a few sparse and unique resources, it makes for a good pocket world to camp out permanently in for dangerous locations.
“Witches’ coven. May I ask what happened here? It’s urgent.” She flashed her I.D., now unfolded like a passport. (She didn’t know it could do that.)
The man glanced at her, before turning his head to the kitchen.
“Rodney! We’re closing up early!” He shouted, walking away to help the boy put down shutters and kick out a few customers. The man thoroughly inspected everything before returning to her.
“Sorry madam witch, had to make sure outsiders don’t hear this.” The man dropped his illusion, revealing a lot more meek physique and long pointed ears. A Faeln. “There’s an issue with the underground. It’d be faster just for someone to tell you firsthand.” He glanced at the boy. Both of them nodded before the kid dashed away to look for something. “I don’t know what happened in there, but the gate’s no longer a two way street. Ever since that old man came through, we haven’t been able to get the damn thing to let someone out from the underground, and all he does is panic about others being trapped.”
“If you can’t get anyone out through the gate, can you send someone through it?” Eva asked as the boy returned with another ‘young’ man.
The faeln man scrunched his face, lost in thought.
“Give me 10 minutes. I’ll get it up and running.” He finally answered, turning to the other faeln the boy had brought, now sitting down on a chair. He whispered a few things into the old man’s ear.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Madam Witch. He should be able to answer your questions.” The man tapped his shoulder, then disappeared behind the tavern counter.
“Witches’ Coven. Sir. Do you mind telling me what happened before you left the underground?” Eva asked sternly.
Truth be told, it’s the first time she got to pull something like this. She had been commissioned to help in coven investigations many times before though. So she at least knew the basic manners and behaviors that come with the job.
The man didn’t say very much. All he knew was that a young boy had started to unleash hell on earth, and that everybody started to panic and run afterwards.
“Thank you sir. I appreciate your help.” Eva bowed.
“MADAM WITCH!” A voice bellowed from across the room. “Gate’s up. You should be able to cross.”
“On behalf of the coven, thank you sir.” She bowed again. “You know, for a faeln, you sure are talented with machines. Most I known would have taken double the time.” She said to pull his leg.
“Thank you.” the man chuckled, letting his accent slip. “Me dad was a dwarf. Must’ve picked up a thing or two from him. See ya soon, Madam Witch.”
She waved, and dashed through the gate.
A blinding light enveloped her as she entered. A short corridor surrounded by a violent, chaotic flurry of colour bled into view, quickly disappearing in another blinding light as she pushed forwards, spitting her outside of the non-functioning stone archway on a stone landing.
There were mostly multi-story brick buildings as far as she could see, with the better ones being laced with wood. The dome spanned several dozen kilometers. Merchant stands and shops lined the ground floors, a few people hiding in hard to see areas. There was no pavement, only compacted dirt. A ball of light at the top of the domed earth pocket reflected the flower city’s sun.
She climbed up a nearby fire stairwell. A cloud of dust was actively being kicked up a good distance away. She didn’t hesitate, dashing across rooftops directly towards it’s source.
As she got closer and closer, screams could be heard. Not from one place, but from several. She spotted several massive spider chimeras, ones that shouldn’t be native to the tunnels, as the perpetrators.
Eva filled her greatsword with mana and swung. The ends of her hair and eyes heating up to an azure blue before she struck the beast, carving straight through it. She suddenly felt an intense release of foreign mana coming from her pocket. Runes set to activate when she cut through the beasts. Just her luck.
Before she could react, another spider charged her. She cut through this one’s sickle like tendrils, stopping it from attacking before piercing it’s abdomen and driving it into the ground. She let go of her sword, the metal melting off of it and reforming into a dagger that she kept with her.
She suddenly remembered the flood of foreign mana, which had dissipated since. Eva frantically looked for it’s source, desperate that it wasn’t a remote explosion. Her surroundings didn’t look any different, thank goodness, but the dagger held in front of her face, it nauseated her. Almost as if her eyes were seeing double, with a green shade in the background. Another arachnid chimera emerged from another block, chasing after wounded soldiers.
She wasn’t going to make it on time. She grabbed her sword from the chimera corpse, the metal melting around it once more, and steadied herself.
“Πλήσσω!” She swung her sword, releasing a slash of mana. As it left her blade, a thin extra layer coated it, moving from the slash, up her sword, to her body, and across her azul eyes and hair ends, tinting her mana emerald green.
The beam sliced the chimera clean in half. She rushed to aid the wounded soldiers.
“A… A great witch?” The soldier carrying his friend almost passed out from shock, staring at Eva’s tinted glowing hair.
“Shut up. Help me get your friend some first aid.” She barked, helping the man carry his friend. .
“Yes Ma’am!” The man stuttered.
They helped the limping man into an abandoned building, far enough in the chimeras wouldn’t attack him. His friend’s reaction was odd. He kept glancing at her, staring at her glowing hair.
A great witch, huh? She glanced at her glowing hair, smiling quietly. That sounds like just the thing you’d do, ciotka. The layer didn’t bring her anymore nausea.
“Miss Great Witch?” The soldier stammered.
“Where’s the summoner.” She barked, pointing at the arachnid chimera corpses. The last thing she wanted to do was deal with some random man’s, let’s say problematic, quirks.
“There—” The man immediately pointed to the center of the suburb, a ways off from the dust cloud. She did not wait for him to finish.
As she got closer, stepping in to help more and more people, she gathered information. Many things kept changing, with the exception of a few key points:
1. The assailant seemed to be a young man, no older than Eva herself.
2. The knights found him setting up a gate of some kind, spawning more chimeras and growing larger each time they broke through.
3. His mana was always a deep green.
She cut through several chimeras on her way to a town center of some kind. It was spacious. A broken fountain sat in the middle, filled with rubble. Multiple streets started from this one plaza, almost like the spokes of a weirdly shaped wheel. An effeminate-looking boy with light blue hair stood in the middle, pouring his mana to deepen the rift from which the spiders were crawling out of.
He felt an incredible resistance, needing more mana than ever before to tear through. He gladly payed the price and ripped through. A few homena knights were on the other end.
“Sir! I’ve found where the demons are hiding! I opened the rift ahead of schedule, forgive me.”
The fully clothed knight on the other end didn’t respond immediately. When he did, his speech was too garbled for Eva to hear. He was in his own office, so there was no chance of him being just a foot soldier.
Eva acted without thinking. She lunged towards the fountain, getting knocked away with a quick response from the boy.
“A witch. And a royal one at that.” He scoffed.
“On behalf of the coven’s witch, and all the inhabitants of this city, I order you to stop.” Eva commanded.
“You violent demons, pretending to keep the peace? It’s laughable.” He snarked, setting up barriers around the rift.
Demon? Who are you calling a demon? The corners of Eva’s mouth twitched a little. “Enough games, little witch. I’m sure your mamas miss you dearly. Won’t you come home already?” She mocked, her accent unconsciously shifted to that of a bloodkin.
“I am no demon. How dare you insinuate that I am one? I am a human male born of the holy matrimony of a man and—” Eva lunged at him again, aiming for the rift.
“I hate to break it to you kid, but look at your mana.” She pointed to her wrist, where the boy’s mana was wrapped around. “Homena barely have 1 of 3 types in them, none of which are green. And there’s no such thing as a ‘male’ with that mana signature. Face it. You’re a witch.” She lectured as she fell back from another attempt to get close.
“Vile satan-spawn, don’t you dare lecture me about humans! Στα ονόματα του ουρανού και της γης, σας διατάζω, ω μεγάλοι ουρανοί, ξεκοιλιάστε αυτόν τον άνθρωπο!” A large, dense dark sphere shot at her at almost light speed. of darkness shot towards her. He did not relent in saying the phrase again, sending several more flying to her.
“Sir!” The boy screamed into the rift. “I request reinforcements immediately. A royal class demon has appeared. Repeat, a royal class demon has appeared!”
Eva knew how destructive almost-fully-invoked-spells could be. When she dodged the first shot, her worst fears were confirmed. It left a crater about the same size as the fountain. It wasn’t the worst, but she wasn’t going to take any more chances.
She attempted to block the rest with her greatsword. Upon touching the blade, the boy’s spells were stripped of their colour. The gray husks were then devoured, giving her weapon an even greater and more palpable density, being felt even from a distance. Each and every one had this happen to them, as she parried continuously to not recoil.
The boy’s frustration grew ever more, calling on some nearby chimeras to do his work for him. They were all dealt with swiftly by Eva. She lunged at the rift again, tearing through the barriers, much to the boy’s horror. He swore he could feel the blade’s weight starting to have an after-image, an after image aimed directly at him.
Eva felt a chimera’s presence behind her, and immediately turned, unleashing the stored energy on the spider who’s sickle was almost at her neck instead. The boy didn’t miss this opportunity, and shot. She was sent flying back, losing her weapon and her balance and tumbling back. The silver around her sword melted returning to her brooch, discarding the sword she’d brought with her.
“I am human. I am not of the same ilk as your kind.”
The knight called out to the boy, still with his garbled voice. The only thing she could decipher was something the boy had let slip.
“10 minutes—” He repeated, mindlessly setting up another barrier.
While he was busy chatting with his boss, Eva had managed to pick herself up again. She could only get up to one knee, and the blast had burned through her clothes, scaring her back.
“Not so fast kid…” She panted.
“Oh, so you have not only the tendencies of vermin, but also their tenacity. How delightful.” He jumped down from the fountain, kicking what little fight Eva had left back to the ground, circling her like a vulture.
Seeing his eyes, filled with of disgusted curiosity, Eva chuckled.
“You call me vermin, yet refuse to stare into your own eyes.— Oh the irony.”
“Silence, demon.” He grabbed the great sword lying a ways away from her. He hoisted it up, dangling it just above her neck. “Any last wishes?”
“Yes actually. A bottle of your best ice wine, if you don’t— Holy shit is that the silver order’s knight king??”
Surprisingly, the boy fell for it, turning around to look. That gave her a desperately needed window to get that blade away from her. She was already cutting it way too close for comfort. Are all homena soldiers really this dumb now? Her body, despite being physically exhausted, was ready for round 2. Being half bloodkin has some perks, like abnormally high recovery speed. She used her strength to throw herself off the ground, and put some distance between them.
“You filthy rat! Στα ονόματα του ουρανού και της γης, του φωτός και του σκότους, ακούστε το κάλεσμά μου,” He started to chant. The ball of dark mass started to form only halfway through. “Ο ταπεινός υπηρέτης σου ζητά τη βοήθειά σου,”She looked at herself, and braced herself to take the brunt of the damage so those hiding nearby woudn’t get hurt. “Ω μεγάλοι ουρανοί, ΞΕΚΟΙΛΙΆΣΤΕ ΑΥΤΌΝ ΤΟ—”
Someone hit the boy from behind, knocking him out cold. The spell burst prematurely as he fell to the ground, landing with a small ‘thud’.
“I thought I told you not to ruin your back again.” A familiar voice scolded her.
Eva passed out, taking comfort that someone she knew was nearby.
***
“—You really are a dumbass, you know that?” Lou continued to scold her, even after she passed out from exhaustion. The layer of mana around her dissipated.
“You know how she is. She’s always reckless.” A voice called from behind her.
“Επιδιορθώνω. —Still, she shouldn’t keep throwing herself away like this Madam.” Eva’s deepest wounds closed up almost all the way.
“Old habits die hard. You of all people should know this, dear Lou.”
The woman wore a gray waistcoat & pants. She seemed to be in her early 30s. A rich and intricately woven navy blue robe, which she refused to put her arms into, was draped over her shoulders. Anybody could recognize what that cloak meant. She wore the demonic ‘witches’’ hat of the same colour, battered and nicked to the point where the entire thing almost refused to stand up properly, as if it had been glued straight with mana. She wasn’t keen lending credence to the homena’s caricature of witches, but she had to admit it was a very fashionable hat.
“Madam Madeleine. What do we do with her?” Lou had pinned the boy’s limbs, stopping him from moving if he ever woke up.
“For gods’ sakes Lou. Call me Rosen. Your aunt and I have known each other for years. It’s a bit late to be formal. We’re taking her into custody. Talent like his shouldn’t be wasted, and it’d be bad PR if she continues like this.”
“She can handle full-length spells. So what.” Lou grumbled, tying the boy’s arms behind his back. Rosin smacked the back of her head for that. The subsequent whines told the witch that it hurt.
“Did you forget how spoiled you were, you bloodkin princess? It’s even more impressive that she did this without help.” The witch stood, arms crossed as Lou moved on to Eva, taking out a small packet.
“If you say so.” Lou rolled her eyes.
“Don’t make me re-explain how witch leadership works. Christ.” Rosen rubbed her temples.
Lou cracked open the sugar packet, holding it just above Eva’s nose. She barely got a response.
“Give it a minute…” Lou whispered to herself, rolling her fingers on the ground.
Eva suddenly opened her eyes. She shot up immediately, scrambling backwards. She grabbed a nearby rock to try and defend herself with. Her eyes filled with sporadic fear.
“Calm down. The fight’s over.” Rosen said, as if this was expected. “Lou, that rift was built using mana, correct?”
“I believe so Madam.” The bloodkin responded, trying to pin Eva down and stop her spazing.
“Get her to kill it then. We don’t have all day.” The witch picked up Eva’s broadsword, and tossed it towards the two.
Lou sighed. Not this again.
Eva’s mind was racing as the bloodkin approached her. She couldn’t figure out whether to run or fight. She tried to scurry away, but that just made Lou encroach on her faster. She raised her arms to brace herself, to protect her vital points. Her eyes closed as she looked away, waiting for her end.
Lou was having none of this. Fed up, she slapped Eva’s cheek as hard as she could.
“Owwww! What the hell!” Eva whined.
Her demeanor completely changed. The stinging pain snapped her back to reality, her hyperventilation gradually shifting to a fit of coughs. The animalistic fear had completely vanished. She slowly stood up on her own.
“You heard the woman. Get to work.” Lou pushed Eva towards the rift. Eva’s heels dug in, but the bloodkin overpowered her and shoved her sword back into her arms, riiiiight until she was at the edge of the space-pit.
Eva somehow managed to not to fall in. She flailed her arms around in a desperate attempt to regain her balance.
“Are you sure you’re not just trying to kill me?” Eva turned to face Lou, now taking cover along with the witch Rosen. Lou’s expression didn’t falter. The witch however, she was silently chuckling at their bickering, or, as silent as she could be holding it back. Eva took that as a ‘no’.
“Clear the area and whatnot. I might pass out from this one.” She turned to the hole.
Her hair glowed azul again in preparation, her blade being surrounded by mana. Without any warning, she plunged her blade into it, reached the other side, and stripped the space of it’s colour. Bits of the drained mana broke off, condensing loosely into a clump as more of the rift closed, getting more and more compact as it piled up. The dense ball of grey sucked in the final ash-like mana, closing the rift. Something told her that this was the easy part.
A large ball of grey mana remained. Eva grabbed hold of it with her bare hands, tearing chunks out of it to try and get it to disperse. The more she tore it apart, the more bits and pieces were sucked back into it, the force sending ripples through it. It pulsed and wobbled more and more, even without Eva adding any more force. Spikes kept forming, giving off droplets that got sucked back into the blob, condensing it further. Eva tried to pop it, to have it burst and not accumulate any more energy, but nothing worked. It kept growing restless.
“Ah, screw it.” Eva muttered to herself.
She let one hand off the ball, cupping the other around her mouth
“FIRE IN THE HOLE!—” She shouted, no longer thinking. Rosen, hearing this, grabbed hold of Lou and braced herself.
It was going to implode. Even Lou and Rosen, behind cover and far away, could feel it’s gravitas. She faintly heard panicked screams coming from afar. Hopefully, they understood her meaning.
“FIRE IN THE HOLE!—” Eva shouted again.
The sphere contracted again. For a split second, it’s erratic movements stopped. The aura it gave off vanished as well. Eva felt a feint discharge of mana emerge from it, growing stronger with every millisecond. The sphere shrunk down almost infinitely.
“FIRE IN THE HO—”
It burst.
The impact was horrible. The explosion hadn’t hit her equally. In certain areas, the white spikes emerging pierced her whole limbs. She desperately tried to hold her ground.
More force came from the center, violently rejecting her body. She emerged from the pit, flying through the air down one of the streets. She didn’t stop when she hit the ground, rag-dolling several blocks down past her friends’ hiding spot.
Her sword came flying back with her, barely missing her as it struck the earth she’d just rolled over.
“—h-hole….”
Feeling the rush of adrenaline (and probably blood) leave her, tried to look at the damage while she still could. Several stands and houses around the plaza were reduces to splinters, crushed, or pierced. She saw someone rush towards her, but she couldn’t open her eyes enough to see who.
***
They were currently sitting on a private car of the faeln underground metro, heading back t0 the witch state capital. The witches and faeln disagreed on many things, but isolated, emergency-use-only metro cars weren’t one of them. They’d been standard for decades now. The boy was being strapped to a row of chairs by Rosen using emergency seatbelts. Eva had ragdolled off the chairs, face firmly planted into the floor, and Lou didn’t bother to help her back up.
“I wish she’d stop pulling these stunts.” Rosen sighed softly, looking at Eva with a soft look of affection. She continued tying the boy down all the while.
Lou refused to say a word.
Is this was what I have to resort to, just to get an answer? She sighed internally. No matter. She quite liked bothering this one.
“So, how’s my favorite niece doing?” Rosen grinned.
“…sleeping with her highness once does not make you my aunt.” Lou grumbled as quietly as she could.
“Who?” The witch feigned ignorance.
“Her royal highness of the bloodkin, queen Eunika.”
“What about Eunie?” Rosen’s attitude was just shy of sticking out her tongue.
“Don’t call her highness by your unofficial pet name…” Lou tried to keep a straight face.
“And what will you do about it, little Lou?”
“…still not my aunt…” Lou whispered.
“Well then if you still don’t believe me, how about I call your mother? She’ll be able to tell you. I’m sure she’s also worried sick about you right now~” Rosen continued to push Lou’s buttons. She pulled out a small gray flip phone, emblazoned with a half-full beaker on the back. Chestnut had been sending her messages almost every minute, asking about Lou’s safety before the two even met up. It was about time that she returned the favor.
Lou stayed dead silent, hoping to call Rosen’s bluff.
The dial tone rang for the first time on speaker.
She dismissed it, thinking that it was another number.
The dial tone rang for the second time.
The possibility that Rosen wasn’t joking crossed her mind.
The dial tone rang out a third time.
What if she wasn’t joking? Oh gods, what if she really called her mother?
“Yes? Rosen I don’t have time for your antics today. What is it?” Chestnut answered.
Even through the compression of the witch’s cellular, Lou could recognize her voice. An expression of abject horror painted over Lou’s face.
“You wouldn’t— No— Give me that!!” Lou frantically tried to grab the phone from Rosen, at which point she took it off speaker.
She tried several methods to grab the phone from her, but Rosen dodged them all gracefully, chatting with her old friend. Lou made an attempt out of desperation, lunging at her. Rosen obviously dodged it, but Lou hit her head on the wall of the subway car with a loud crash. She tried to get up, but between the shaking of the train car and the self inflicted concussion, she couldn’t do much.
“What was that?” Rosen had put the call back on speaker.
“Nothing. As I was saying, Lou’s fine. We’re on our way back to the capital now. She’ll be back before nightfall.”
“Alright.”
“Oh! Before you go, have you heard from Eunie recently?”
“No. I haven’t heard from your ‘fuck buddy’ recently.” Chestnut audibly mimed air quotes “Have you?”
Lou, despite being on the floor and dizzy, flushed bright red with shame.
“Me neither. She won’t answer any call, text, or net-mail.”^1 Rosen resumed, as if nothing happened.
“Her friends in the scarlet state say there’s nothing out of the ordinary for her, but she’s not answering messages from anyone outside state lines. That’s unusual for her.”
“I have a business meeting with the Scarlet Transport Commission (S.T.C.)^2 soon, I’ll see if I can shoehorn in a meeting with her."
“Thanks for that. Send my regards.”
“You’re not going yourself?”
“That’s…” Chestnut hesitated, “complicated. Ask me some other time.”
“Alright. One more thing.” Rosen took a deep breath “Are you aware of Eunie having other, lets say, ‘partners’?”
“I swear, if this is for a bar debate—” Chestnut’s annoyance carried through the line.
“It’s not.” Rosen interrupted, knowing what was about to be said.
“Then no. I’m not aware of anyone else being as intimate with her.”
“Thanks. Talk to you soon.” Rosen stuck her tongue out at Lou.
“Sure.” Chestnut responded.
Rosen ended the call, sitting down on one of the few seats that didn’t have a body laying on them.
***
“Now arriving at: Islingten station. Now arriving at: Islingten station.” The intercom chimed.
That announcement was enough for Lou snap out of her daze. Eva had been picked up off the floor and strapped in to a seat. She now leaned against Rosen. It didn’t seem like she ever woke up. Her hair and clothes were loosely falling in ways she’d have immediately fixed. The boy’s restraints had been loosened, but he was still handcuffed for safety reasons. Rosen was now preparing to leave the train car, throwing Eva carelessly on her back.
“Miss Madeleine? Why would you bother with her? Let me, I insist.” Lou asked, resolved to not let this harlot shame her.
“I am under no obligation to tell you. Take the boy and get out.” Rosen’s tone became unusually dry.
Lou complied and held her tongue, stunned by the sudden shift. The metro doors opened. Rosen made it a point to rush out of the station as fast as possible. They weaved in and out of the crowd on the platform, taking a shortcut past the baggage collection area. They got to customs, cutting through the authorized personnel only areas. Several of the security guards watched them intently.
“Names and passports.” A border agent stopped them before they could rush through.
Rosen fumbled through her bag, and pulled out a black leather-bound booklet that was a bit bigger than a passport. Lou brought out her own, a thin scarlet booklet with bloodkin insignia on it. The border agent looked over them dryly, and
“Madam Madeleine. Her I.D.?” The agent pointed to Eva, still passed out.
“Right.” Rosen chuckled nervously. She put Eva down, furiously checking Eva’s pockets. She found a booklet that was similar to hers, black leather and all, but with intricate engravings instead of a purely functional design.
Thank gods she broke it in already. Rosen thought, recognizing the mana signature this booklet gave off. Each coven I.D. was different, being printed as boarding passes before taking a proper shape. Only a few things stayed consistent. Their mana signatures and the information displayed all stayed the same, with a select few ways they could be formatted. She accidentally dropped it, before picking it up and handing it to the border agent.
There was a long and akward silence. They were asked to lift Eva’s hair up to confirm her identity at one point. Finally, the witch handed Eva’s I.D. back.
“You have a child, Madam Madeleine?” The border agent asked, stunned. They never heard of the coven’s leader having a child.
“Adopted. It’s only been made official recently.” Rosen gritted her teeth. She was trying to save Eva the hassle of being known as ‘the coven leader’s child’. She was hoping she’d have more time before she had to use this excuse, but so be it.
“Pardon my insolence Madam. Welcome back, leader.”
Rosen could feel the rumors of an illegitimate child spreading already. More than anything, she was worried about Eva’s image being general knowledge.
***
Rosen walked out of the drab sheriff’s office. She’d skirted the paperwork by giving the witch on duty a detail account of what happened, and a few bizarre excuses from her usual book. The witch rummaged through the room of seized contra banned. She was glad this station was trained to store them on-sight.
She’d taken Lou along with her, leaving Eva alone in the lobby. They heard a loud thud shortly after. Probably just Eva falling off the chair. Nothing to worry about.
“Miss Rosen? What are you looking for?” Lou asked, dumbfounded by Rosen’s frantic search.
“Anything with mana stored in it. Doesn’t matter what kind.” Rosen sorted through countless bootleg trinkets.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to look through the cell phones?” Lou rummaged through the electronics.
“Already checked. All the batteries are dead.” Rosen moved on to the weapons in the room.
“This wouldn’t happen to be for Eva, would it?” Lou bluntly asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
“Why would I tell you?” Rosen snorted.
“Because that living battery over exerted herself? Am I not allowed to care for her?”
Rosen didn’t respond, continuing instead to shuffle through bins and boxes.
“So it is about her then. What’s your relation to Eva?”
Rosen almost choked on her saliva.
“I am not obligated to tell you.” She responded, not letting go of her search.
“Then how do you know about her neutralizing and absorbing random mana? Or what happens when she goes overboard absorbing it? Or how she passes out briefly when releasing too much?”
“…I’m her physician. Is that what you wanted to know?” Rosen hesitated.
“Then why would a doctor give their patient government I.D.? Why would she be listed as your child?”
Rosen finally found something with mana stored in it. It was an oddly shaped knife. It seemed to change colours depending on what was nearby. She tried to take it and leave, but Lou grabbed her wrist. She wouldn’t let the witch escape from this conversation.
“an old friend left her to me. one that goes further back than even Eunie.” Rosen spoke low and soft, as if she was trying not to get choked up. “…are you happy now?”
Rosen broke free of Lou’s grip, taking the knife with her.
“Lock this place up for me.” She tossed Lou the keys, “And give these back to the sheriff.” She left Lou alone in the room.
Eva was lying on the ground, having fallen off the stiff chair. She was definitely the source of the ‘thud’ from earlier. Rosen sat her up, holding her in her arms. She gently pressed the face of the knife against Eva’s skin, slowly angling the edge downwards.
Eva’s body responded to the threat. The knife was drained of it’s most vibrant colours, leaving it gray. The blade grew brittle, snapping before it could cut her. The girl stirred, throwing a coughing fit. Rosen grabbed hold of her, now opening her eyes, and hugged her as tight as she could.
“Ciotka..?” Eva weakly answered.
“Shh. It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m here.” Rosen stroked Eva’s head, to calm herself down more than the girl. “Let’s get you back home.”
***