The energy collection and conversion machine stood imposingly before Eva, its design a labyrinth of metal and enchantments. She felt a mix of admiration and sorrow as she studied the interweaving of symbols and sigils etched into its surface. Two days spent analyzing and writing down every facet of the device had left her with a deep appreciation for the genius of its construction. The mere sight of it made her chest constrict with a swirl of emotions.
There were just too many things that could be learned from the device’s structure, the way it was prepared to channel energy into the stones but also out of them. To destroy such a marvel was a crime.
If only she could find the one responsible for such a marvel…
“Ma’am?”
The voice came from below, Eva glanced at the source, the silver-haired Metalmouse stood there, waiting for orders. Rafaella led the Mousegirls, they stood in the center of the room, lines of chalk delineating the various sections of the device.
Eva turned down to the floor to remind herself the true purpose of the device. The thick metal shackles should’ve been the first they removed, they were the safest bit of the whole device. But the Fledgling had opted to leave it for last. Just looking at them made her shudder, breaking the spell of the beauty of the intricate enchantments all around her, it revealed the more insidious monster in the room’s purpose.
“We will begin with section 5E, the spokes need to be broken, but not removed.”
She pointed at the large wheel that kept the collection devices connected to one another. The Mousegirls hurried along, reaching to the iron cylinders and gnashing down on them. The sound of metal was like a beast crying out in agony.
Eva led the team, targeting the unifying components of the massive piece of magical engineering. One by one they cut through the components that sustained the flow of energy between each part. It was tricky; the design had considered the very structure keeping the pieces aloft as overflow routes in case of a component failure.
It was a surgical murder of beauty; it reminded Eva of plucking the petals from a flower until there was nothing but an ugly stem. The flower could still survive, but not for much longer.
Over the following hours they continued their work. Once the mechanism’s skeleton had been broken into separate components, their genuine work could begin. It was safer to target each part one at a time, carefully repeating the procedure to break them down into smaller pieces. Until they entirely isolated the components with the more dangerous energy loads from the system. Only then did Eva give the instruction to remove these pieces one at a time, checking and double-checking that each member of the team wore thick plant-leather gloves and boots to avoid accidental discharges.
They were leaving the most dangerous components for last, especially the flow gates at the very top of the room.
The more they killed it, the easier it was for Eva to shift her attention away from the device and to her helpers. The team was quiet and obedient, as one would’ve expected from Mousegirls. Ignorable, forgettable, always efficient, always precise. In her past life, she would’ve readily ignored them.
But now her eyes lingered on their milky skin and the rapid beat of their hearts, she could almost spot their pulse against the veins in their throats if she paid close attention. Eva’s throat was dry, the maiden swallowed, tongue poking at her fangs as they sharpened bit by bit.
“Miss Eva.” Rafaella interrupted the silence, standing in front of the Mousegirl the Fledgling had been focused on. “Is the Lord a good man?”
The question nearly knocked her off of her perch, the Fledgling held out to the nearest bit of metal and glared. “Gossip is a distraction.” She chided, glancing at the nape of the maiden’s neck. Hers had several small pale scars, almost invisible against her milky skin. Eva recognized them, having seen similar ones before, but couldn’t remember from what.
She wondered how the Metalmouse would taste, maybe…
“He seems like a good man.” The impertinent little rodent insisted, lowering her head just enough to intercept Eva’s gaze, meeting her eyes with a slight frown.
She looked away, taking a long swing from her waterskin. The liquid helped mitigate the thirst, but not as much as she would’ve preferred. Sooner than later she’d need to… “He doesn’t need someone like you. We should get back to work.”
Large round ears canted slightly to the side, her face wrinkling as she looked away. The maiden gave a few small chitters to the others; the Mousegirls returning to their work. Soon they’d managed to completely cut off pieces, dragging them off and down to the workshop. It slowed down the murder of the tower-sized contraption, if only a little.
Eva carefully tagged each piece with her piece of chalk, following Rick’s instructions of then writing the details of the piece in her book of notes. It was a novel idea, to notate every detail and fragment to ensure nothing could be lost. But to Eva, its use was grander, as it should allow her to create a blueprint of the original design for further study.
Shame near everything would be melted down and turned into far more mundane things… like farming equipment. Just the thought of it made her gag.
Using the shadows, Eva slipped into the upper corners of the room, carefully bending some of the metal fasteners until they broke. There was still some novelty to her inhuman strength, how easy her fingers could crush and rip things. Maybe being a maiden…
Shaking the thought away before it could form, she dropped the fasteners, proceeding to prepare one of the smaller sections. This was one of the important pieces she wanted to keep. It could prove a useful component for ensuring the wall could sustain multiple enchantment layers rather than be forced to accommodate a single engram… they’d just need to find someone able to put enchantments on it.
The irony wasn’t lost to her. As a human she’d felt jealousy of the maidens capable of imbuing their power into the beautifully complex enchantment patterns. The situation was no different now that she’d been cursed, as a Fledgling, she could only wield the blood aspect of shadow elemental energy.
Using that to enchant metal or stone would be like trying to make a house out of sand.
“Do you know the name of who designed this room?”
“Lord Thorley gave us the details of our work.” Rafaella answered tersely, pausing for a moment as she looked down at the shadows cast from the sunlight. “It’s time for lunch.”
“What? But we’re not done!”
The Metalmouse shrugged, reaching into her bag and pulling out little packages wrapped in leaves, handing them out to the others before she got a rusty metal rod and started chewing on it.
“Hey!”
As one, the group turned to look away from her, focusing on their own meal, ears folded downwards and rope-like tails tucked against their bodies. “Breaks are important.” One of the Mousegirls declared, unwrapping her portion and digging into the almond cheese almost reverently.
“Where did you even get that?” Eva tried to pry the conversation away from a total stop of their work. They weren’t done!
“The Lady gave them to us.” One of them spoke, preening a little. “You think she might be interested in a maid?”
Rafaella gave the mouse a shove. “You’re dirtier than the rest of us.”
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“I heard she’s living in a small house with the Lord.”
“Probably fixing up the manor, you know how nobles get with their renovations.”
Eva blinked dumbly at the group as they broke into idle chatter and banter. “We have work to do!” She declared from her perch, glaring. “We’ve wasted enough days already!” Her next step missed its mark, slipping against the metal. She toppled over with a shriek, hand lashing out to grab at anything she could.
Fingers found purchase in the metal and squeezed hard enough to rend it. But not enough to completely break it off.
Hanging a handful of meters over the gathered maidens, she let out a sigh of relief.
“LET GO!” Rafaella screamed, eyes wide in alarm, a single gesture of her hand sending the Mousegirls scrambling to the door.
“What?”
It was only when Eva looked back up, feeling the tingling sensation of elemental power she realized exactly what she’d grabbed onto. A piece of the flow-gate, the central hub through where all the power coursed. The singular worst place she could’ve ever reached out to.
And she’d torn it.
Something sharp and heavy hit her head, the attack hard enough her grip slipped, falling.
Rafaella snatched her midair and bolted for the door.
The instant they’d made it through, the other Mousegirls slammed the door shut. They were half-way down the stairs when the explosion rattled the fortress. Dust and pebbles rained on them. Eva tried and failed to break free from Rafaella’s grasp, her body failing to obey commands.
“Let go of me!” She bit the Metalmouse’s hand once capable enough to move her neck in the proper direction.
The maiden yelped and dropped her.
There was a taste in Eva’s lips, of blood, copper, and metal wires. She quickly rubbed it off of her lips, throat tightening, fangs sharpening, red eyes fixating on the silver-haired maiden rubbing her bleeding hand.
“You’re a Fledgling.”
At her words, the others tensed.
“No, I’m not.” Eva scrambled back and away, eyes darting to the window, to the opposite door. She was outnumbered, but she should have enough of a chance to make it before they caught her.
A deep groan of wood filled the air, followed by the ominous sound of stone grinding against stone and rocks tumbling down. Everyone looked upwards with dawning horror as the tower shuddered violently, feeling the shifting under their feet as if the structure were leaning precariously to one side as the roof creaked and splintered, raining down pieces of shattered wood.
In an instant, a massive shadow blotted out the light from the eastern windows, bringing with it a cloud of dust that swirled and settled in its wake. The crashing that followed was like the death knell of the tower, the sound of a noble beast collapsing to the earth.
But the groaning didn’t stop, nor the raining of stones atop their heads.
Eva’s heart pounded in her chest as she realized what was happening. “The tower is…”
Part of the tip had fallen, yet the rest was collapsing onto the floor right above them. She could almost feel the weight of it bearing down on her, like the chain reaction of a shattering overcharged spell.
Rafaella was the first to bolt for the door, yanking it open for the others to follow. Eva didn’t waste a second and plunged into the shadows, emerging at the lead as they scrambled down another flight of stairs, feeling the fortress shudder violently as the floor above failed to hold the weight.
The tower groaned and shifted again, as if trying to shake off the destruction that had befallen it. Eva stumbled, her feet slipping on the debris scattered across the floor, scrambling back to her feet right as they made their way down to the main hall.
A series of crashes followed, the roof beginning to cave in and bend, sinking lower and lower, too quickly. Behind her, the Mousegirls screamed in terror, trying to push as fast as they could.
They would not make it in time.
“Hold on to me!” Eva commanded, leaping back into the maidens and pulling on the power of the surrounding shadows. A dozen hands latched on to her with bone creaking force.
Without thought or consideration, she plunged, cold suffocation awaited her as she pushed forward with everything she had. A split second later, they emerged twelve meters further ahead, thrust out of the shadow with explosive force, throwing them all out of the fortress as it finished collapsing.
Eva was yanked and dragged along by the others as the tower continued to collapse, dust and debris clogging the air, reducing everyone into a severe coughing fit as all around them the city broiled with activity.
Numbly, the Fledgling stumbled to her feet. She was hungry, starving, all her energy spent from that jump, and there was food right there. Red eyes glinted, the dust of the collapsed building couldn’t hide the scent of scrapes and bleeding. There were meals right there waiting for her to-.
“Eva.” An icy chill ran down her spine, a heavy hand falling on her shoulder and spinning her around, trapping her within the warm embrace of something that smelled delicious beyond measure.
It was Rick, his scent impossible to miss, a cape pulling her into the comfort of shadows. The taller man practically vanished her into the cloak, secreting her away from prying eyes. The Fledgling’s heart fluttered as she took in his mouth-watering scent. Her pupils dilated, taking in the shape of his veins running up his arms and neck, protected by nothing more than thin cloth and meaningless plant-leather armor.
So many places to bite, so many places to drink from.
“Eva.”
It was another chill, dangerous. It held no warmth; it was a warning, the man’s fingers digging through her hair and pulling her head up so they could meet eye to eye. Yet it was on his lips where her focus fell upon, the tiny twin scars on his lips, caused from a stolen delectable kiss in a warm beach.
His fingers tightened. “Evangeline.” He growled now, looming over her with that same wild force of presence of the white-haired monster that pretended to be a house-cat. That feeling that made her heart attempt to tattoo themselves against her ribs.
“R-Rick.” She stammered, now meeting his gaze and unwilling to look away, unwilling to move and risk reaching out to lay claim to the nectar flowing through him.
“You need an actual meal.” With that declaration, she was shoved away and back into the blinding sunlight. “Feed her.” Rick commanded the Orc that caught her stumbling steps.
Both maidens let out disgruntled noises.
The taller one out of annoyance.
The smaller refused to admit hers had been out of disappointment.
A single thick thumb was all the green-skinned brute offered Eva. Humiliation and anger burned in her face as she suckled the coarse digit. The blood tasted of dirt and grass, with an aftertaste of sunshine. It clogged her throat with the elemental energy it contained, but the meal was no different to spicy oatmeal.
It was just wrong.
That she had to reopen the wound every other second didn’t make it any more appetizing either. By the end, Eva barely had the presence of mind to give a half-meant ‘thank-you’ as she tried to regain her bearings. The scene before her was a nightmare of stone, wood, mortar, and steel, bent and arrayed in chaotic whimsy all over the plaza.
Blood drained from her face.
The whole fortress tower had collapsed, what they left of its pristine white walls was little more than grayed out stumps protruding from the center, surrounded in bits and pieces that were impossible to determine where they belonged.
Rick stood in front of some maidens, Kiara at his side along with a handful of Orcs, and the Mousegirls. Seeing him turn to the Mousegirls, Eva rushed ahead, hurrying to the front of the group. “It was my fault.” She declared before anything else could be said, bowing. “I should’ve-.”
His hand fell on the back of her head, ruffling her hair. “Then you get to write up the report on how to prevent it from happening again.” With a casual nudge, he pushed her a step aside, glancing at the Mousegirls. “Focus on rescuing anyone that might be hurt, second priority is removing anything that might be dangerous.”
“That’s it!?” Eva’s face burned, hands clenching. “I bring down a fortification worth countless hours and resources, and I just have to write some report!?”
There was a single breath of absolute silence, all around her all too suddenly there were too many eyes focused on them. Eva’s heart clenched at the realization of what she’d just done. Right there, in public, she should know better than this, but…
The sound of Rick’s laughter jolted her, the young man reaching out to squeeze her shoulder. “It was an ugly piece of crap, and we can reuse the materials for the farms. I’m more worried over someone getting hurt.” He gestured at the rubble. “If you’re that eager to ‘repent’, then help clean up the mess.”
Eva opened her mouth to complain, but Kiara stepped in. “Do not admonish yourself for a mistake that was clearly not your own. Lord Thorley had built the contraption without care for the city’s safety, it’s a miracle it lasted this long without an accident of this magnitude.” Her voice was raised so that everyone could hear, the Succubus in hiding stepped closer to Rick, reaching up to caress the scar on his lip. “Besides, we both know how he prefers to dispense punishments… privately.”
The Fledgling found her mind reeling with wide eyes, quickly hiding her shock.
Rick himself seemed oblivious to the thoughts stampeding through Eva’s mind. The Succubus must have found out about it somehow! The Fledgling felt her stomach fluttering with anger and frustration, hands clenching tightly at the sight of the lecherous monster’s smug knowing grin.
“I will do as the Lord commands.” She snapped a salute, clicking her heels and marching off before she could dig herself further into shame.
Eva missed the thoughtful look in Rafaella’s eyes that trailed behind her.