The door to Morgan’s house slowly creaked open. The witch peeked out. Enrique stood with Vi and Sven.
“What do you want?”
“Ah.” Vi put her hands together, fox ears twitching. “Have you seen Alicia?”
“The black cat? No.”
Awkward silence. “Oh. In that case, may I have my outfit for the ball? It’s today.”
The bunny woman shrugged. “Sure.”
She wasn’t smiling, but she wasn’t glowering, at least. Enrique heard footsteps at his side and noted Morgan was not the only one with a chilly attitude to his partner.
Sven’s usual steadfast posture was now reduced to restless pacing. The man searched their surroundings and ran a hand down his neck. “It’s been days. Can’t you use your power? You can see into the future, can’t you?” Enrique caught a vexed tone.
“The timing is inconvenient, isn’t it?” Vi’s attention was on a paper atop a stack Enrique held. The paper had a drawing of the cat girl’s face.
“Answer me. How soon can you see again?” Sven’s hand formed a fist.
“Sometime today. As I’ve told you.”
Sven’s eye twitched at her vague reply. His face became stony. “Are we too late? What if she’s…dead?”
Enrique’s stomach lurched. “I figure Vi’s right. Alica might be outside the kingdom if no one’s seen her yet.” His face turned sour as he thought some more. “More important, we got to agree on what we do if we catch her. I say put her in jail. You heard what she told us.”
“She was coerced!” Sven drew himself up to his full height and his eyes flashed. “You saw how scared she was!”
Enrique refused to back down, glaring right back. “What she did was wrong. You’ve never been attacked by her. I have.” He held out to Morgan one of the papers in his pile. “You mind if we hang a couple of these around?”
“Is she missing?” She watched Vi tack another paper on a nearby tree trunk.
“She ran away.” Enrique slapped another poster on Morgan’s wall.
“This isn’t her fault. I know it.” Sven marched to Vi and gripped her arm. “We can’t abandon her. Punishing her wouldn’t be right either, if she’s an unwilling victim. Come on. You know it too.”
Vi’s hand was shaking. Sven didn’t catch it, but Enrique and Morgan saw it.
“After all these years, I still can’t protect everyone.” Her aura flashed and she slammed her tails against the ground.
“H—hey! Don’t bust my house!” Morgan cried.
Earth around Vi broke apart, vibrating, and the others backed away. “The kingdom, other Anima, my customers, even Alicia. They’re dead or suffering, because I couldn’t keep them safe.”
For a second, Vi’s eyes were remorseful and filled with doubt and self-loathing. Am I a failure? Maybe everything I do is wrong.
“Alicia killed innocent people. Good people. People I’ve fought to protect. She should be punished for that eventually, but…she must be so scared right now. In so much pain.”
The fox woman placed her fingers on the paper’s face of Alicia, as if she could touch and speak through the flimsy surface. She bowed her head and murmured to herself, very quietly. “I said I’d bring you back. I promised I’d bring you home. Safe and sound.”
“What?” Morgan leaned against the entrance, brows furrowing.
“I lost Claire once. I won’t lose her child, too.” She clenched a hand.
“Who’s Claire? You going to come inside, or not?”
Vi turned to the bunny woman. Enrique was surprised by the ferocity mixed with tenderness in her eyes. “Someone I knew many lifetimes ago. I don’t forget my friends. I don’t break my promises to them. And you’re my friend as well, Morgan. You’ll always be. No matter what you think of me.”
Morgan’s own eyes softened. Her anger, which had been simmering continuously, faltered a little. She couldn’t quite bring it back up. If I went missing…I think Vi would try to find me too.
Sven pursed his lips and turned to the witch. “Do you think you can help us? We can explain.”
Morgan motioned for the three to come inside.
They settled into her living room as Morgan retrieved a large box of costumes for the ball. The bunny woman handed Vi her outfit.
The fox woman accepted it and quickly changed into it, plain black except for a gold pattern on the wrist sleeves and covering her whole body. She returned as Morgan sat facing the others. “Alicia confessed to killing two adventurers and assassinating a leader of the Elar nation.”
Morgan’s eyebrows shot up. “What? That’s insane.”
“Allblades is behind this. That’s what I believe.” Vi had a hand on her sword and remained standing in a rigid, soldier-like posture, more serious than Enrique could remember her being.
Sven growled, “I don’t know Allblades, but I want to tear him apart.”
“Now you know how I’ve felt for over ten years.” Vi positioned herself to face both Morgan and the other two. Enrique noticed she’d opted to make a rough circle for everyone rather than take the center. To make us feel like we’re all taking part, huh?
“Let’s start from the beginning. Allblades is a former adventurer who lost his partner during the Five Kingdoms War. I knew him. He contracted a demon and gained many abilities, but his mind was twisted over time.”
Morgan bit her lip and turned her head to the ceiling. “I’ve heard of the name somewhere. Witch covens and old forums, mainly. I thought he was an urban legend. What’re we up against? What abilities?”
“Chaos flames, demon magic, and a sword style designed to eliminate Heroes, to name a few. However, one of his strengths is being able to influence people and events to suit his ends. He’s an assassin with more kills of more difficulty than anyone else in recent history. His goal is to destroy the Kingdom and end the System by killing the royal family. He hid in the chaos lands after he killed Aurelius.” Her gaze lingered on Enrique’s sword a while. Aurelius’s sword, Enrique recalled.
“And he’s going to show up at the ball?” Enrique ventured.
“It’s possible. Although, the chaos lands are relatively far from the Kingdom. These last few years I’ve been watching to intercept if he steps out of it and had a team searching for him within the lands. The most recent intel I have tells me he’s still there.”
Huh? What’s she talking about? Was she doing that before I met her? He could get why Morgan had been upset with her. It was like he was only holding a piece of a puzzle in a dark room, while Vi moved around other parts in silence.
He didn’t like that.
Sven sat still but gripped the seat of his chair. “Why don’t we cancel the ball? You know there’s going to be an attack and people could die. Seems sensible to not have a gathering in the first place.”
Vi nodded once. “Political reasons. It’s important for the royal family to assist the other nations and help the non-Anima races. The ball is a good place for showing that, like opening up talks and publicly confirming important deals like economic help. Previous balls were peaceful. Wouldn’t it be strange for the royal family to cancel this year, after all the troubles that the non-Anima citizens are going through?”
Yeah. If it’s suddenly stopped people could easily misinterpret that as the king and queen not showing concern for non-Anima. Enrique was musing to himself but was surprised to see Vi turn her head to him in acknowledgement.
“Right. At the end of the day, there’s only a possibility Allblades will attack, even if it’s a high one. Plus, he’s not a fool, so he doesn’t work alone.”
Sven rested a hand under his chin. “This Allblades, he’s like a ghost. I hear you worrying about him but he’s not leaving any traces. Who’s he connected to?” A pause. Hesitation. “Alicia?”
“I’d say so.” Vi fingered the sheath of her weapon. “In the past, Allblades personally trained four people as his right-hand men. They were called Shadows. He must have recruited a new batch. I know he has at least two, possibly three.”
Her tails swished, agitated. “Allblades really knows how to hurt me. He’s quite capable of psychological warfare. They’re kidnapped children. Not only children, but Anima, the very beings the Kingdom would normally go out of its way to protect. I know we’re conflicted about Alicia. If it comes down to it, whoever attends the ball should be prepared to destroy her.”
Sven leaped from his chair. “This is ridiculous. The problem is Allblades, not her!”
Morgan, who had been processing the explanations in silence, muttered to herself. “Child killers. That’s sick. How deranged does someone have to be to do that?”
She started. “The bomb! Is that why you told me—that would explain people working for him—that’s it, isn’t it?” Her eyes grew excited as she put two and two together.
Vi was pensive. “Yes. It’s good you brought that up. Alicia does have a bomb in her mind planted by Allblades. Her situation is unfortunate but we can’t do much about it now.”
Sven’s face turned white. “A…what? What do you mean we can’t do anything?” His tone turned stern and accusing. “You’ve been sitting on this info and done nothing about it? You didn’t say a word about this!”
He approached Vi with such vehemence, muscles tight and aura aglow, Enrique took a step back. Vi, however, didn’t flinch.
Enrique became nervous as this made Sven understandably angrier.
“Allblades can kill Alicia with a thought. He can also directly speak and listen to her mind. If it helps, I don’t believe Alicia’s dead yet.”
“Why do you think that? Tell me how to stop the bomb.” He made both questions into demands.
Enrique saw Vi’s eyes weigh with guilt as she glanced from Morgan to Sven, before being replaced by an unreadable expression. She’s keeping secrets. Such a bad habit. Eugh, no wonder those two are mad at her.
He jammed a finger at Vi. “Oh, come on, why again? Why do you keep doing this? How do you expect us to help when you won’t share everything with us?”
She hesitated. Her partner stomped closer, letting irritation show on his face. “You keep digging a hole for yourself. Why do you think Morgan’s not trusting you? Stop it!”
Slowly, Vi shook her head. “Sven, I can’t tell you. Sorry. All I can say is I’ve been working on this and any solution I may have, if any, is incomplete. You’re her partner and for all I know you may leak info to the enemy.”
“I’d never help Allblades! I only care about Alicia!”
“One child, or thousands of lives? Can you tell me which matters more?”
Sven ground his teeth but didn’t immediately reply. Which is what Vi expected, Enrique realized.
“For getting rid of the bomb, we would need a long-term study of this spell to know how it could be removed. Which is unlikely, unless you can capture and forcefully inspect one of the other Shadows. For months, in secret. Without the awareness of that Shadow, Allblades himself, or any of his hidden informants. Do you think there’s any chance of that?”
The man seemed ready to hit Vi. He silently turned his head from her in disgust.
Vi was apologetic. “I’m thinking we’re being forced to stay defensive and only protect the ball.”
Morgan, leaning against a seat with her hand tapping against her cheek, gave a suggestion. “Is there something special about the chaos lands? I’ve heard it’s a big place, but the source of these problems is Allblades. What’s the reason we can’t attack him directly?”
Vi spoke with a measured tone, but she kept her eyes on Sven. Enrique was disturbed by that. She was studying the man, the way he tensed and clenched his jaw. Don’t tell me…she sees him as a threat? “The chaos lands is a very unstable environment. It’s a region that doesn’t obey the basic laws of physics, or even the passage of time. There’s portals, layers of rifts, and multiple realms. It’s also where chaos creatures exist. Making it dangerous and hard to find—”
Sven cut her off, turning to walk away. “Doesn’t matter. We need to find her. We’ve got to have alternatives to fighting Alicia. I’ll never kill a child who doesn’t want to do any of the evil she’s forced to do!”
The fox woman raised her voice so Sven could hear, but softened her tone in a conciliatory way. “We may be able to find Alicia at the ball. My Eye showed me visions of attacks, mass explosions and physical assaults and…” she trailed off as if she recalled something. “...the case.”
“What?” Sven stopped short of the door.
“Alicia brought a case back from Felice. There’s been so much happening, it was easy to not notice. I suspect that’s on purpose. It went missing when Alicia disappeared. ”
Enrique was fuming, but had to stop to consider. “That case doesn’t matter, does it? We already took down Felice. She can’t do anything.”
The eyes of the other three settled on Vi with varying degrees of suspicion, annoyance, and expectation. She dropped her gaze. Her tails swished as if to rid herself of unease. “Okay, I’ll tell you. In the case, there was a stuffed rabbit with strange materials. If my guess is right, those could be ingredients for a city-leveling bomb.”
Sven gave a derisive huff. “Brilliant. Another issue out of the blue. Where did you get that conclusion?”
She took out her phone and tapped to reveal some text. “I have access to info as an advisor. If you remember the escort attack, Enrique, the Elarrians being protected were hoping to form an alliance with us. The leader Alicia assassinated had a written draft outlining their goals for the alliance. I don’t have the draft, but I do have a list of potential concessions on the side of the royal family. Does anything stand out?”
Enrique squinted at the screen together with Sven and Morgan. Sven made a noncommittal grunt. “I don’t know. There’s trade agreements and a deal to send some of their people to the ball. Nothing concrete.”
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She switched the phone to one of her tails, waving it across their seats to make viewing easier. “The point is to be indirect. To sow destruction and disorder repeatedly throughout the kingdom, like an unrelenting storm. This event was only one of many designed to give no chance to rest. The attack would benefit Allblades in many ways. Think like an assassin.”
Enrique was about ready to explode at Vi. He took the opportunity to give a scathing remark, angling to pull her to what he felt was the real issue of the conversation. “People won’t get along, duh. We’ve seen protests. Clearly the royal family and the Elarrian citizens are divided. Which! Speaking of! We are going to be divided, if you can’t tell us everything on your mind!”
Vi spun around calmly to face him. “Okay, then. If you think you can be useful, prove it. How can we defeat a demon?”
He worked his jaw, steaming. “I—I don’t know! How can I know that when you don’t give me any info in the first place?”
Morgan massaged her temple. Her bunny ears wiggled and her face was tinged with worry. “A demon, seriously? Like from Nocturne myths? They’re more or less gods, right? Don’t they feed on world essence?”
Vi gave a small shrug at Enrique. “Well, I’m worried you’ll get hurt once I involve you. Remember, one of our biggest threats is the demon of chaos, Kavistra. I’ve dealt with her kind in the past and know she was at one time locked away. We’ve encountered her followers.”
“I can handle some of those.” He was hoping to appease her with some kind of compromise. “I’ll stay back and shoot down a couple bat cultists, no problem.”
“No. This is bad. They spoke of the demon’s resurrection, and if there is truth in that rumor, then a part of Kavistra has been freed in the chaos lands and is working with Allblades. The Army will likely prefer only skilled adventurers in combat. If you can’t be of assistance, you’ll be like ordinary citizens and children. Which means my focus would be on your evacuation.”
I’m not a distraction. I’m not some dead weight. He seethed and ground his teeth.
“That’s not what I mean—” Vi started, but Morgan piped up.
“I can help with evacuation. I got my teleportation and Barrier.”
“Ah. You can do what you want, Morgan. I won’t tell you what to do. But thank you.” Vi fidgeted with her hands and focused down at a table in a meek way.
Come on! Seriously? Enrique was about to go into a furious tirade, but Sven suddenly pointed to Vi’s phone.
“One of the concessions you showed us? It was to pass a set of material from the kingdom to the nation of Elar. Here. Give me the screen.” He tapped on the offending text as she held the phone in place. “What stood out to me is it’s marked as hazardous and meant to be converted as an energy resource. Is that what you wanted us to discover?”
“Yeah.” She brought her head back up. “It would have been used away from the kingdom, monitored and in safe hands, but a traitor like Felice could have stolen such material. In raw form, it could be turned to explosive chaos magic.”
The man was doubtful, scratching his head. “I don’t see any hard evidence. I’d rather be able to piece together a theory myself.”
“We don’t have time. I’ve had visions of the ball and a worst-case scenario where Enrique and Cecelia die. In that scene, everything is lost. Enrique, you lose an arm and get killed before the day is done. Forty-seven percent. Then the princess is killed and the attendees of the ball are massacred.”
He grit his teeth but couldn’t quite hold the thrill of fear which surged within. How does that happen? I can’t be that easy to kill, can I?
“It’s not easy to figure out which attacks may occur. That’s unusual.” She paused to think. “Fifty percent. Each interruption split into roughly equal possibilities. That’s what Allblades is doing. Pure randomness. He’s ordering events by chance, like a coin flip, leaving them to his underlings.”
Morgan jolted up as she caught on. “A way to reduce the effectiveness of your Eye? It would make anticipating each attack more difficult.”
Vi nodded. “There’s an appearance of Kavistra’s avatar, a city-destroying bomb, and an assassination attempt on one of the royal family members. Disregarding strikes from independent groups influenced by Allblades. Which means we must split resources preparing for every threat.”
Morgan grimaced. “Tough.”
“Perhaps Alicia will be involved in the assassination…because she has shown her hand, unfortunately.” Vi scrolled through her device, checking messages.
Sven glowered and flashed with green light. He raised a fist as if to smack Vi. “What are you talking about?”
“You want evidence. The Rangers had a report of an invisible attacker on two of their apprentices. During the escort, I hit a suspected assassin with a tracker. That assassin received help from an unidentified figure to escape. Plus, in our recent visit to the Palace, a guard reported to the royal family an invisible disturbance when a servant was carrying some food. Call it coincidence, but everything adds up in a way that doesn’t look good. You know Alicia’s abilities, don’t you?”
His mouth formed a grim line.
“I’m going to repeat some of this info to the Army and related parties.” She turned to the door. “Let’s head over and come up with a battle plan.”
They took a ship to Mirith. The trip was quiet. Enrique scooted over to Morgan. “God, she’s an absolute pain. Can I hate her too?”
Morgan laughed and patted him on the shoulder. “Be my guest.”
He put his hands behind his head and shot her a grin. It had been a while since he’d been around her without Vi, he thought. She wasn’t so intimidating now, worn-out with her emotions plain to see.
Her cocoa eyes spotted his blade. “By the way, what’s up with your sword?”
“Oh, Remnant? Why he talks? Beats me.” He held out the weapon, glad for an opportunity for possible insights.
Vi was on her phone on the opposite side of the ship, conversing with someone in a low tone.
Sven sat by a window seat, head resting against the glass. Hoping, Enrique knew, for a flash of black and cat ears in the plots of farmland below. The man never lost his ramrod-straight bearing, but his face was frustrated and despondent. Other ships soared past them in neat formation, like comets in the daytime.
Morgan’s gaze was latched onto Enrique’s blade. She turned it over in her hands. “Whoa. This thing’s got a history, doesn’t it?”
“The System says it’s called the Will of Flame. It has a special ability with a true form that I could activate, but, argh!” He put a hand on his face. “I need to sync my soul with Vi to do it. Other than that, it’s shown me memories and spells of Aurelius. Remnant’s supposed to train me to activate the weapon…” He bit his lip. “...which makes me think he’s not exactly the sword himself?”
“No way! So this is the legendary blade of the Mage of the Frozen North! The Rank One Hero…!” Morgan shot a look at Vi, but she didn’t seem to notice them.
She switched her attention back as Enrique motioned for her to go on. “...Well, I can tell you this.” The witch ran a finger against the flat of the blade. “This sword was reforged with both Stone Lord and Anima methods. A really long, complex process to give it your element. There’s no spell I know that turns a sword alive. I would say you’re correct. Remnant is a magic inside the blade. He must have been inserted during the forging process, otherwise everyone would have heard of Aurelius and a talking blade.”
“Hm.” He took back the sword. “That right, Remnant?”
Silence.
“Just like Vi,” he groaned.
The group followed Vi after they departed the transport, but after a couple minutes of walking Morgan frowned. “The ball isn’t this way.”
The group passed through a cluster of cabin-like buildings. A burbling stream flowed next to them.
“I have someone to meet.” Vi held out a hand as they entered through a small doorway.
Is this a resort? Enrique was baffled. He expected something somber or utilitarian, but instead was greeted with warm, polished wood and a room that resembled a lodging. Small trickles of water falling over stones hummed nearby. Two sets of double flaps led to two opposite doors. There were tables, lounge chairs, snacks, and stacks of neat white towels.
A cat girl with fluffy white ears waved at them by one of the double flaps. “Hey!”
His vision constricted as he tried to make heads or tails of the situation. Cecelia? “Waaaaaait a minute.”
He turned to the entrance, but Vi was already pushing Morgan and Sven out with her tails.
Enrique made a mad dash. “D*** it! Overdrive!”
Vi plopped down a small coupon for the hot springs. “You two have fun! Bye!”
The entrance slammed shut.
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“Well, now that the children are safe, shall we get going?” Vi locked the door from outside. In addition to that spell, she set a thin blue barrier around the place. Not the most powerful spell, but it’ll work. If they can break it, then…at least they stand a chance to survive.
“Vi, what…?” Morgan was speechless.
“What the h***?” Sven wrestled the black fur of a tail off him. “I don’t like the way you do things, Azurelane.”
“I don’t want to kill children.”
“I can understand that, but don’t you think that’s going too far? Do you truly think you can force people into doing or knowing what you want?”
She set off. “I’m just a guard today. You two can come with me, or not. I’ve got a job to do.”
----------------------------------------
“You manipulative jerk!” Enrique gave the door a hard kick.
He vented and hollered at the top of his lungs. “I’m not some fragile child you need to protect! I can contribute to the team too! I’m worth bringing along!”
Cecelia gave him a blank stare. “Did Auntie Vi invite you too?”
“No! How can you stand her?” He summoned flames and pelted them at the door. “I need to get out!”
Fire hissed against wood. Then faded in wisps of smoke.
“Oh. These are the hot springs. It’s a pretty sturdy place.” Cecelia watched as he banged against the door, cursed, and hurled a fireball to no effect.
“She locked us inside!” He turned to the cat girl, astounded by her nonchalant manner.
“Eh, I was thinking of kicking back and relaxing anyway. Vi felt bad about the whole stuffed animal fiasco, so she got me a free trip here.”
Enrique fixated again on the entrance and whipped out his gun. “Okay, fine! Be that way!”
The cat girl hopped back a few steps. “Wha! What’re you doing? You’ll blow the place down!”
“Hmph.” With enough firepower, I can just put a hole through this door. He concentrated, surrounding himself in an orange aura, and put a finger on the trigger.
“Wait! I haven’t even tried the springs here yet!” Cecilia’s voice had a hint of panic. “At least let me check if there’s a staff member around! They could help us!”
He lowered his gun. She did have a point.
Cecelia disappeared through one set of double flaps. He waited several minutes. The room’s small. She’s taking an awfully long time.
The cat girl returned with a small towel on her head and steam hissing from her body and clothes. She munched from a snack bag of cashews and dried fruit. “This place is great! The water here’s amazing! I was checking out the counters and found a stone spa—”
His eyes twitched. “Quit messing around!”
“—and I agree, Vi’s planned this beforehand. There’s no staff and plenty of food and water stocked. Plus, nearby rooms are almost guaranteed empty, ‘cuz most people will be focused on the ball today instead of visiting here. What do we do now?”
Despite being younger than even him, she had her head on straight, he had to admit. Up his gun went again. He pulled the trigger.
A continuous orange beam pummeled the door. Light, smoke, and heat blew out, but he held his grip, steadying his aim. Cecelia cried out and covered her face with an arm. The recoil was almost knocking him off his feet. He slid back. “Come on, come on!” As exhaustion creeped in, he lowered his gun to see a hole had been carved in the wood. He grinned, but his smile faded as he noticed something.
Behind the hole was a thin blue wall of energy.
“What the…? No freaking way! You’ve got to be kidding me!”
He shot at the barrier. Bam, bam, bam. His body protested like he had run a marathon. Getting winded. Beams flew out blue as he stopped channeling flames. No effect. In desperation, he unsheathed his sword and hacked at the wall. Sparks flew and fire spurted from the blade. The barrier didn’t budge.
Cecelia, mild concern on her face as he heaved for breath, held out her snack bag. “Want some?”
He stuffed a couple of the nuts and fruit in his mouth and stopped to think. “Vi’s barrier isn’t breaking, but she’s not invincible. There must be some alternatives.”
“Vi’s strong. Also careful. Not that I’ve seen her fight much.” Cecelia found another snack pack.
“Hang on, could it be…?” He held up both his weapons and inspected them. He remembered the profile from the System about each. “This gun is amplifying my attacks using Vi’s mana inside. Remnant also said he has Vi’s mana, so my sword’s got her mana too. Is that why nothing’s happening?”
“Could be,” Cecelia confirmed, and ate from the snack bag, seeming pleased by the taste. “I’d hate to get myself hurt when I practice. You can still get hit by a reflection spell though. Who’s Remnant?”
Enrique kept talking to himself. “Or maybe, without my weapons, I’ve only got my own magic, and that’s why…” His voice came to a stop. Because I’m too weak. I’m outclassed.
No. He slammed a fist against a palm. “I’m getting out, and then I’m going to punch that b**** in the face!”
His eyes darted around the room. Almost everything useless. He could break off a wall tile, have a makeshift knife. Only, he had a literal flaming blade already which didn’t do squat. Hot springs, he could, what, throw water? Rocks? Towels, chairs, snacks, all garbage and that infuriated him. He stomped the ground. The floor was cold and hard, like kicking concrete—his gaze went down to his feet.
His eyes lit up with renewed vigor. Enrique seized his sword with both hands and surrounded himself in a red glow. “Overdrive!” He pointed the blade downwards.
Cecelia tilted her head. “What’re you—?”
“Hraaagh! If I can’t go straight through, I’ll go under it!” He jammed the sword into the floor, wedging off a piece. Stabbed straight down again, and tore off another chunk. He plunged the blade in repeatedly. Flung off jagged tiles like a shovel. A beam of fire flowed from the sword’s point.
Cecelia’s eyes went big as his arms flashed with wild abandon. “Huh. That might work—”
“Aaaah!” Enrique was a blur of concentrated movement.
“—in a few days. You might flood us first. There’s water under there, you know.” She commented through a mouthful of nuts and raisins.
“Shut it! I’m going to—show that fox—what I’m made of—! Argh!” He stopped as he spotted a small trickle of hot water pour from the shattered floor.
She silently offered him her pack again.
He huffed and puffed. Enrique wiped sweat from his brow and leaned against the blade for support. “Okay, smart guy. What do you say we do?”
“I say we first don’t turn down free food.” Cecelia shook the pack. He wearily grabbed some of the nuts and fruits. She found glasses of water next, handing one to Enrique, and went on. “I think that idea was good, to be honest. You’d tunnel out in a lot of other places. What've we got to work with?” She turned around to inspect the area, eyes wide as if she’d entered it for the first time.
He rolled his eyes. “I already did that, idiot. We’ve got nothing except you and me and whatever we brought in here.”
He patted his cloak and felt a small and hard device. His phone. He gave Vi a call. No answer.
“Son of a b***!” Then he texted her exactly that.
As Enrique simmered, a devious plan formed in his mind. “If I can reach out to her, I could force her to take down that barrier.” He grinned. “And I know the perfect spell. I think I’ve got it memorized by now.”
Cecelia gave him space as she sensed his excitement grow. “Is that the funky combat magic I saw earlier?”
“Watch and learn. Ha!” He put his palms together and made several complicated hand signs. A blue symbol like a pentagram glowed beneath him. “Psychic link!”
“Mwhoa!” Cecelia had a mix of awe and confusion in her expression. Her fluffy ears and tails perked up.
Enrique focused and gradually heard Vi’s thoughts in his head.
57% 60% 85% poison knife stab ship cannons king queen princess in one room—west entrance breaks 70% split three army delayed demon wipeout—track assassin guards 45% shoot separation—Fae fractured actions Elarrians ambivalent—
At first he struggled to comprehend the flood of thoughts coming his way.
—assassin downed Morgan family house healers 86% backlash Allblades returns—
The flow was so fast and unusual he wondered if she was switching through multiple streams of thoughts at once, but he decided to butt in without understanding them. Hey, Vi! If you don’t take down your stupid wall I’m going to shoot some flames out of your body! I don’t care if you hit end up hitting someone!
Enrique concentrated and produced a fireball, hovering above his hand. Then he started pushing the spell out of himself, to wherever Vi was. His orange flame shrank.
No. Sorry. Good try.
A snip sounded in his mind like a string being cut.
Enrique suddenly collapsed to the ground. His body was drained. The fireball winked out of existence. The blue light underneath him died off.
“You’ve got to be joking. You can break the link? Why didn’t anyone tell me?” He put his hands to his face and let out a strangled howl of frustration. Cecelia peered down, sharing a little of his unhappiness. Though likely his repeated outbursts were the cause of that.
He sat up. “Ugh! I can’t believe this! Nothing’s working! Nothing!” He slammed a fist against the ground, then banged on the nearest wall for good measure. Minutes passed. With each option dwindling away, his anger slowly gave way to a sinking despair. It was like a stone was being dropped in his stomach.
“Is there really nothing we can do?” Cecelia seemed worried for him. He guessed he looked miserable. She approached the wall with the exposed barrier and cupped her hands to her mouth, then yelled. “Is anyone out there? Can someone help us?”
He shouted too. “Help! Anyone!” The two paused, strained to hear the outside world. He slumped. “Forget it. Anyone around would’ve heard me making a racket earlier.”
“There’s only me and you,” Cecelia confirmed. She sat next to him, not without sympathy. The two drank and ate in silence.
“Yeah. Me and…you.” He stared down at his phone. Wasn’t there a System message some time ago? Something about a partner swap that would boost an Anima’s abilities?
That’d be one way to get back at her. Yeah, I wouldn’t mind swapping Vi for someone else—hold on.
He stared at Cecelia. “I got another idea.”