Vi really wanted nothing more than to sleep. I’ll be quick. I’m not a Hero anymore, anyways.
The two were almost certainly at Helmsgate, a border town several days’ flight away from the capital, in one of the more run-down neighborhoods. She looked at a previous text she had sent to the Rangers, ten minutes before. Surveillance sweep. Helmsgate north side. Gather information on one of three possible targets. Here is a list of physical traits for each. Do not share any information except with the Ranger squad assigned and Their Majesties. Thank you.
The message had been read, but there was no reply. Good enough. She didn’t expect them to be nearly as friendly to her as, say, Anima Special Forces. She understood their reluctance.
The sweep was not random. The Rangers had alerted her of a possible border break-in earlier, but could not identify anyone responsible. Still, Vi had traced one potential path. First through the cover of Elenill Forest, where the High Race strongly opposed Anima activity, then skirting the outer wilderness, and now Helmsgate, a former stronghold of the Stone Lords, a maze of gray two- and three-story houses, outlaw dens, and basic shops. Stealth was crucial at this stage, because ironically her All-Seeing Eye could only show possibilities. She needed a basic assessment of the target’s capability, without drawing attention. Any adventurers patrolling the vicinity could be in trouble.
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The phone rang three times. Bernadette picked up. “Hello?” Her little brown squirrel ears twitched in the air as she listened intently.
“Hello, Bernadette.” The voice was calm and vaguely familiar.
“Vi?” Bernadette sounded surprised. “How can I help you? What do you need?”
“Please cancel any missions you have with your partner today.”
“Huh? With Sean?” The Anima shot a look at her partner. He was lazing around with his hands behind his head, wearing his favorite red jacket, a crimson cap covering his unruly blond hair, and stylishly ripped jeans. A large broadsword was strapped to his muscular back and his red cape billowed behind him.
Sean raised an eyebrow. “What’s an old sword like Azurelane want with us?”
“Sean Mendosa!” Bernadette hissed. “Don’t call her old! Show some respect!”
“Got no time for a two-bit waitress,” he drawled jokingly. “Tell her I’ll buy another cake if she leaves us alone.”
“Why do you want us to not take any missions?” Bernadette asked curiously.
“It’s for your own safety,” Vi told them plainly. “Be on guard. Don’t trust anyone. You were selected as part of the honor guard for the anniversary ball, right?”
“Yeah.” Bernadette looked disturbed. She twirled her brown hair and tugged the front of her cloak. Her bushy tail waved from side to side. “Um…why? You’ll be there too, correct? I’m sure the King and Queen will be safer than anyone when you’re by their side.” Sean had stopped pacing listlessly and was glancing around. His Anima felt a little relieved at this action, because it meant he was taking the conversation a tad more seriously.
“It makes you a target,” the fox woman said shortly.
“Um, care to elaborate?” Bernadette took out her green oak bow and tugged the string reflexively.
Vi was silent for a moment. If she told them directly, the pair would sound the alarm for nearby adventurers, and her target would run. In the long view, the situation would get worse. “I wish I could. Please don’t take any missions and go straight home.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Bernadette said, giving her best impression of a career army soldier, despite being a newly minted graduate of a mid-level Anima school.
Sean rolled his eyes. “Yes, ma’am,” he echoed, putting his hand up in a salute. His Anima glared disapprovingly at him.
Sean dropped the arm. “No, but seriously, Vi, thanks for your concern. It is pretty late out here. We’re not stupid. We’ll be careful.”
Vi lay on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. She wanted to be there with them, with a sword or a gun in her hand, looking out for them. I need to give the new generation a chance to prove themselves, she reminded herself. They can’t always depend on me. It’s up to them.
The Kingdom had had ten years of relative peace. Many adventurers were woefully unprepared these days, at least in her eyes.
It wasn’t lack of training, or weapons or armor, or even finding the right talent—she had helped in providing those. It was raw experience, and the mindset that came with it. To instinctively sense enemy intent, to be calm in utter chaos, and the decisiveness to kill or be killed.
Vi hoped they could rise to the challenge, but she didn’t like making plans on hope.
“Go home. Stay safe.” Vi ended the call.
The two glanced at each other. “Well, shall we get going?” the Anima asked her partner.
“You heard the lady. Ugh, it’s so dark out.” Sean stretched. “Let’s hurry.”
The pair had barely gone sixty paces when Sean saw a small figure huddled in a corner, clutching her stomach as if out of breath. “Someone, please help. Please help,” she gasped. “Someone, anyone.”
It was a cat girl, perhaps sixteen years old, covered in a plain, overly large, and slightly shabby black robe. She had black cat ears, a black ponytail, and strikingly bright green eyes, but her face was lowered to the ground and she avoided eye contact. She looked fearful and exhausted.
“Let’s move, Sean,” Bernadette muttered, poking him along.
“‘Kay,” he whispered, though he felt bad.
The cat girl looked up. Her eyes darted around until they saw the pair. Her green eyes met Sean’s blue ones. “Um, excuse me?” She saw Sean’s strong build and the pair’s weapons. “Are—are you adventurers? Can you help me?” She looked the slightest bit hopeful.
Sean hesitated. Then he reached behind his back and whipped out his broadsword with a menacing whoosh. The red-hilted, silver blade glittered in the darkness as he held it to the side.
“Sorry, but you need to find someone else. I’ve got a mission straight from the top. From a Hero of the King.”
The cat girl looked stunned. She looked from Sean to Bernadette, with pure desperation on her face. “Wha—what? But—please—people are after me! They’re going to kill me!” She sounded increasingly panicked.
“Well, too bad.”
The cat girl looked ready to cry. She looked around wildly, searching for an escape route, and started scurrying away from them.
“…is what you thought I’d say, right?” Sean ran to the cat girl and grabbed her arm.
Bernadette readied her bow, pulling back the bowstring and forming a glowing green arrow of solid energy. “Sean—”
“Bernadette.” Sean glared at her. “She’s a kid. She’s scared. Plus, she’s an Anima. I know we humans are pretty trash, but your kind aren’t always so bad.”
“I—I know that.” Bernadette looked irritated. “You think I would let you abandon a kid? A fellow Anima?”
“Yeah! Yeah you would!”
The cat girl was confused. She looked between the two uncertainly.
Sean put a hand on her shoulder and looked into her emerald green eyes. “Okay, we’ll help you. But you need to tell us what’s going on. Who’s after you? Why?” He gave her a slight shake, spotting a single knife hidden under her robes. It had a ruby pommel and a round marker on its hilt. The marker had an icon of three black claw marks.
“A gang,” the cat girl said, trembling slightly. “The Dire Wolves. I stole a knife from one of their leaders.”
That does look expensive. At least a double-grade weapon. Bernadette warily scanned the dim outline of the buildings surrounding them.
“Those punks? I’ve heard of them.” Sean’s eyes narrowed. Isn’t that a new group in this area? I heard they were bothering the Solaris League. “They’re getting bolder now that their numbers are growing.”
Sean exchanged a look with his Anima. I’ve got a bad feeling. Let’s follow protocol this time.
The squirrel woman nodded shortly. She reached to her neck and tugged a green crescent-shaped pendant hanging from it. The amulet began to pulse out a silent spell. Sean adjusted his jacket, activating a small black device tucked under the cloth. Their actions were casual and discreet, like they were reflexively preparing themselves for a fight, but Sean noted the girl’s striking green eyes flitted towards their movements.
“I’m Sean,” the man told the cat girl. “And that’s my partner, Bernadette Oakenstalk. What’s your name?”
“Alicia.” The cat girl looked uneasy.
“Is your home nearby?” Bernadette asked.
The girl merely shook her head.
Bernadette suspected as much, noting the other Anima’s robes and demeanor. Scared, but not lost. Probably an orphan. She spoke resolutely. “We’ll lead you to an inn. Don’t worry about the cost. We’ll cover you for one night. After that, you’re on your own. Got it?”
She nodded.
“You can walk between us. I’ll take the front and Sean will guard the rear. Don’t worry. You’ll be safe with us.” She gave Alicia a reassuring smile. Alicia appeared just a shade less worried, but it was a start.
The three walked in silence for a while. They passed by gray two-story, walled edifices and street lamps emitting a dim orange light. In the darkness, the buildings looked the same rectangular shape, even if some were homes and some were small stores.
Bernadette’s ears twitched. She raised her bow, alert. “I hear footsteps.”
The glow of her green arrow illuminated their faces and the edge of Sean’s blade. Sean readied his sword. A stampeding tat-tat of boots and rough male voices grew louder.
“That b***!”
“Find her! Cut her f***ing head off!”
The three turned a corner. Out of the corner of her eye, Bernadette saw a troop of black-armored, black-cloaked figures funneling through an alley. The group were mostly human and carried round shields along with silver swords and knives, the sharp metal glittering dimly in the darkness. At the front was a young man with the ears of a black wolf, wearing armor, a cape, and a large round badge on his chest decorated with three claw marks. His right arm was inked with a black tattoo. His scarred face was contorted in a snarl.
They were closing in, fast.
Bernadette didn’t hesitate. She dashed to the side of the alley and fired into the group. The arrow sailed into their center ranks and exploded in a bright flash of green energy. There were shouts of surprise. Before the blast even cleared she fitted another arrow onto her bow, and fired again.
“Come on! Let’s go!” she shouted at Alicia and Sean. A flurry of glowing black beams zoomed out of the explosion and the woman jumped away quickly. The attacks hammered a wall behind her, blowing it apart.
The three reversed direction and Sean, now running at the front, heard the pounding of multiple footsteps somewhere beyond a wall to their right.
“S***! They’re trying to surround us!” Sean yelled.
“Skies!” Bernadette cursed. She launched a volley of arrows behind her. The streaks of green arced over some buildings and blew up, sending out a bright flash where the first group had been.
“Argh! The b*** found some Adventurers!” one of the gang members shouted.
“Lots of humans but only one Anima. The humans must be from an Unplaced kingdom,” Bernadette told her partner. Between the two, Alicia looked worried.
“I’m betting that Anima’s their leader,” Sean said. He glowed with a red aura and thrust his broadsword out. Several large brown rocks materialized around it, hovering in the air. They flew forwards and pelted a new group of black-armored humans just as they veered into view, causing angry shouts and yelps of surprise, knocking down bodies and weapons.
Somewhere behind them, a male voice howled. “I want that girl dead! No one who betrays the Dire Wolves can get away with it!” A black beam shot out and Bernadette fired an arrow at it, blowing it up in a green-black blast before it could reach them.
“What were you saying about Anima being good guys?” she asked dryly.
Sean swung his sword, launching a massive red arc of energy from the blade that plowed against the gang members in front, sending them spinning and tumbling to the ground.
“Aaaaah!”
With a point of his sword, he quickly summoned a wall of rock, which rose from the earth in a rectangular slab to block the members’ path.
“This way!” he called to the other two, turning a corner. We’ll go to Canyon Inn. It’s closer.
“That won’t hold them for long,” Bernadette warned him.
“We’ll give them the slip or wear them out,” he retorted. “Hey, you’ll be fine,” he added kindly, as he saw Alicia’s scared face.
A loud hammering sounded at his rock wall. There was another stampede of enemy movement, and Sean guessed at least two more large groups coming from their left and right. The three rushed past a set of empty shops.
“There’s too many! We’ll have to fight our way through.” Bernadette concentrated, glowing with green light, and she formed another energy arrow, which grew in size. It began to thrum intensely with invisible waves as she gathered magic into it.
With a crash and an orange explosion, Sean heard his wall blow apart under the gang members’ magically reinforced weapons. At that moment, a second crowd of gangsters in black armor surged out to meet them. A flurry of yellow beams flew from the men’s enchanted blades. Sean yanked Alicia behind him as Bernadette let loose with her charged arrow. The attack vaporized several yellow beams and smashed into the gangsters with a deafening boom.
When the explosion cleared, many of the gangsters lay scattered in a heap, but about fifteen of them remained lined up in the center. They had skidded back but had shields raised together in an interlocking formation. Green sparks sizzled on the shields. With a thud of heavy boots, a new wave of gangsters stormed in to join the remnant.
“Charge!” one of the members in front yelled, and they dashed as one, holding their shields aloft, their bare metal blades glowing with light and glinting menacingly from between their lines.
Sean hastily raised his sword in a defensive position, summoning a large wall of rock which shot out of the ground in a cloud of dust. Yellow beams pounded against the makeshift barrier as the group advanced. He grit his teeth. S***. They’re definitely not amateurs.
Bernadette heard the clanking of metal and harsh voices.
“Boss! Groups B and C are in position!”
“Those f***ers aren’t getting away. I want her dead!” the wolf Anima snarled somewhere nearby.
She felt her heart drop. “They’re going to pin us front and behind like a sandwich. Any ideas?”
“Yeah.” Sean turned to the direction of the voices. “Bernadette, blow a gap in that other group and push Alicia through it. I’ll hold off their leader.”
She began to charge up another arrow, focusing hard. “But—”
“We don’t have time!” Sean yelled.
As if on cue, a mass of dark-armored men burst out from the side of a street. In front was the armored wolf Anima, glowing menacingly with black-colored light. The wolf man was wielding a wickedly sharp sword, gleaming in the darkness, and a round shield. He bared his teeth.
“They’re surrounded. Make them bleed!”
The stone wall on the other side exploded violently. Behind Sean, the other members of the Dire Wolves emerged from the rubble. They pointed their swords, sneering angrily as Bernadette blocked Alicia from view with her body.
It’s kill or be killed, Sean thought. The reality began to sink in.
The young man stepped towards the leader and his gang members. His red cape billowed in the wind as he faced them, his eyes determined. The broadsword in his hand glowed scarlet. His aura intensified as he summoned his strength and spun in the air, sending out a huge ring of blazing red energy. “Incendiary Burst!”
Duck, he thought to his partner.
She grabbed Alicia and pulled her down. The circle expanded outwards and smashed against gang members on both sides of the three, denting armor, spilling blood, and hurling bodies through the air like bowling pins. The wolf man stumbled back, glowing with his own black aura as he protected himself with his shield and defensive magic.
Go, now! Sean raced towards the Dire Wolves and their leader.
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Bernadette fired her arrow, unleashing it as a bright green beam that pierced through a line of armored men. Broken shields, bodies, and swords banged against walls as she grabbed Alicia’s hand and charged through the opening.
Sean rushed at the wolf man and swiped his broadsword with all his might. “Meteor Smash!”
A series of boulders blazed from the weapon, followed by a massive red arc. They crashed into the throng with a blinding explosion, crushing gang members left and right, and sending the wolf man flying into a wall with a loud crash.
Meanwhile, Bernadette and Alicia ran in the direction of the inn. Dire Wolves members followed in hot pursuit. As one of the men closed in, slashing with his sword at Alicia’s head, Bernadette pulled a knife from her cloak and plunged it into his neck. She let go of the weapon and fired several arrows from her bow, shooting four members in the head and blowing away a yellow beam from a sword tip. Still they kept coming, enraged expressions on their faces.
“D*** it! Run!” she yelled at Alicia next to her.
Two of the men leaped at the cat girl. Alicia pulled out her ruby-pommeled knife and began to emit a black aura. She concentrated, looking grim, and held out the blade. A black beam shot out and hit one of the gangsters in the face, and then she swiftly stabbed the other man in a chink between his shoulder plate and chest armor. He screamed and dropped to the ground. Alicia turned and began to run again as Bernadette sent out a stream of arrows.
Bernadette turned to join Alicia. In the dim light, several gray walls loomed ahead of them like a maze, casting shadows on the ground.
At the same time, the leader of the Dire Wolves lurched from the wall he’d been embedded in and barreled at Sean, who likewise ran towards the wolf man. As they met, their two swords clashed in the air, sending out sparks. A plume of red and black rose into the sky.
As Bernadette ran with Alicia, the cat girl’s aura grew brighter. From one of the shadows of the walls, a dark figure suddenly appeared and pointed a knife at them. A black beam flew out with astonishing speed. It whizzed past Alicia, sailed towards the fighting behind them—
And struck Sean on the back, blowing a hole through his chest.
Sean stared down in shock, his eyes widening.
Bernadette suddenly felt a sharp pain flooding her, like someone had reached into her and ripped her insides apart. “No! How dare you!”
She felt a surge of rage and pulled back her bowstring, firing an immense beam of green light that struck the black figure in the chest.
The figure exploded in a flash of black light. The building behind it blew up into pieces of rubble, raining down on the ground.
For a moment, confusion hit her. What? That's not a person. That’s a dark element clone!
It’s him! Their leader!
Bernadette could feel herself quickly becoming weaker as a sense of loss threatened to overwhelm her. She was running out of time.
“Go! Run! The inn’s two blocks ahead!” she told Alicia. The cat girl didn’t need to be told twice and fled.
“Sean!” Bernadette turned away and faced the gang and its leader. She put in all her energy, channeling the hatred and horror that filled her, and fired one last arrow.
It soared out as a ray of destruction, incinerating the nearest gang members to dust and bashing apart the waves of armored men, slicing the walls until it struck the horde with their leader. Gang members were thrown apart like rag dolls and the wolf man was sent crashing straight through a shop, his shield flying in the air.
“Sean!” Bernadette raced towards her partner as he fell to his knees. She caught him and turned him to look at his face.
It was too late. He was unmoving, looking at her with a blank gaze. His blue eyes were empty, still frozen in surprise.
“No…this can’t be…” Bernadette felt herself growing weaker and weaker. Her body began to fade, becoming transparent like a ghost.
It was Fading, she recalled dimly. That was what happened to Anima when their partners died. There had been a poem she’d read in school about it. The spirit tied to the partner, too badly damaged, now slowly giving way.
She remembered, of all things, the phone call she’d had with Vi.
“I should have listened to her…Sean…”
The young woman held him in her arms, and then she vanished into nothingness. Sean’s body hit the ground with a final thud.
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Alicia reached the inn and slowed to a walk. She straightened herself and wiped blood from the dagger on her robe. The fearful look in her eyes melted away, becoming expressionless. She put two fingers on her forehead and focused her mind.
“Master, the target has been eliminated.”
She waited briefly. Then a voice sounded in her head, a low, gravelly voice mixed with chilling menace. “Proceed, Darkwaters.”
Alicia felt her head pound at the mere sound of his voice, along with a familiar thrill of terror. Then the voice was gone. She breathed easier.
She was glad she had chosen an indirect approach. Her clone had taken much more energy than she expected. If the Dire Wolves hadn’t been such a distraction, she wasn’t sure how things would have turned out against those two.
She stowed the dagger away, opening up a compartment of her robe to reveal an armored black bodysuit beneath it, with several plain knives at the waist. It had been easy to act uncertain and afraid, because the gang had in fact been one hundred percent intent on killing her. The members didn’t know it would have been difficult. Stealing from their regional leader had been child’s play.
He might have wielded the same darkness element as her, but her Master had taught her much more than any abilities he possessed. She had spent a few days in their unpleasant company. The low-ranking Dire Wolves and their leader didn’t know they were only pawns in a much more dangerous game.
She tried to catch her breath, but as Master had predicted, enemies were coming much sooner than expected. Somewhere behind her, she sensed four hooded figures in dark blue robes descend stealthily from rooftops towards the aftermath of the battle. They carried bows of yew, arrows at the ready. Rangers.
Alicia Darkwaters turned away from the inn to find the other two assassins.
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When she arrived at the designated meeting spot, Marcus and Eileen were already there waiting. Like her, they stood with hoods covering their young faces and armored suits hidden beneath their dark robes.
“How did it go?” she asked them. Her voice was cold and betrayed no emotion.
Marcus rubbed his right arm and his brown eyes narrowed ever so slightly. A sign of irritation. He was the oldest of them, about seventeen. At least based on his size. His lion ears twitched under his hood. He reported in an even, indifferent tone. “One pair was killed. I found two pairs but Rangers got in the way.”
Eileen spoke, her voice calm and robotic. “My target was injured but ran away. She and her partner were prepared. There was also interference.”
“Did they see you?” Marcus asked, a hint of sharpness in his voice.
“No.” Eileen did not even pause. Being seen was not a possibility. “Master was right in giving us a minimum of two targets. She will be our greatest obstacle.”
“We can’t keep doing the minimum.” Marcus was scared, Alicia knew, though it came out as condescending, like he was scolding a little sister. “If we finished four pairs, like we planned, we would make things easier for Master. Do you think this is clear enough?”
“It’s clear,” Alicia said to him. “The people near the royal family will be afraid. They will figure it out.”
Marcus had a hungry look in his eyes. It was a burning, desperate desire she had seen many times before. “Let’s use the diversion at the ball. Up the body count.”
“We need to move fast,” Alicia added. “Let’s double back. Wyvern caverns in the wilderness—”
“—to Master’s safe house,” Marcus finished for her. “Then blend into the crowds. Take a regular beast to ride from someone.”
“I will do that part.” Eileen was fifteen, probably. But stealing a tamed monster would not faze her. Not when the stakes were so high.
“We will continue to succeed, Master,” Marcus said quietly. There was no reply, but the air surrounding them was tense and silent. Eileen had the same thought, and Alicia did too.
What he meant was, We won’t fail. We can’t fail.
Death was in all of their heads, silent, listening, waiting.
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One week ago. The chaos lands.
Alicia gasped for breath, heaving heavily. She grasped her black-bladed sword in her hands, watching scarlet drip from the glistening metal onto the floor. The tiles were awash with blood and small bodies like her own. The corpses had chests stabbed open, arms gripping swords like hers now sliced apart, and legs gushing red. Ten minutes ago, she had known their names and had spoken to two of them.
The room was dark. It always was. This time it seemed dimmer, somehow.
A year ago, there were twelve of them.
Now, there were four.
Alicia didn’t dare for even the smallest hint of emotion to show outside her. Master was watching. She could feel his burning eyes staring at her and the other three.
Two of the others were still locked in combat, their swords flashing in the air. They drew apart, breathing rapidly, sweating, eyeing one another for an opening. They were full of fear, but like Alicia, both wrestled it in. She could see they were weakened. One slash could slay the other. It was simply a matter of which moved first.
A voice sounded in all of their heads, from a seat on the back wall. It was low and cold, yet constantly filled with a barely restrained fury at something, perhaps someone. With each syllable, it pounded relentlessly into their skulls.
Enough. Torres. Cut his arm off. Then we will proceed.
One of the boys, his brown matted hair barely visible in the darkness, looked at the other. They had shared a sandwich during lunch. In a heartbeat, Torres knew the other would hate him forever if he did so, and that was Master's point. It would give strength. For a moment, he hesitated. “Marcus—I can’t—”
Pathetic.
He suddenly screamed in agony, clutching his temple with both hands. “Aaaah! No! No! Master, please! Give me another chance—”
The boy’s head exploded. Brain matter, blood, and bone fragments dashed the walls. Marcus went still, but did not allow any surprise to show on his face. Alicia hid her shock.
Face me, the voice commanded in their heads, and as one they did so.
Master sat in his chair against the wall, like a king leaning on a jagged throne. In the darkness, he was barely visible. Sharp metallic edges protruded behind him and his eyes were a gleaming crimson.
I only need three. Kneel.
They kneeled.
Then Master spoke. Somehow, his true voice and presence were even more terrifying, like a physical pressure bearing down on Alicia, constricting her. And of course the voice hammered in her mind, too terrible for her to ever say anything against.
“You will be my arm, my blade, my chosen. You will be the darkness riding forth from me, to remake this broken world as I see fit. Rise.”
They rose.
Alicia could feel the finality of it, could see the other orphans lying motionless on the floor. Endless rounds of weapons training, hand-to-hand, study, magic and stealth, constantly moving from one place to another, barely surviving to avoid being watched. All futile, for the others, when the test came.
But it was only the first. The next tests were the real ones.
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The present.
Four hooded figures approached the bodies like specters. Their dark blue robes swayed in the wind.
One of them bent down over the man in the red jacket. “Stars. We’re too late.”
The Ranger, his brown hound’s ears tucked under his hood, eyed the hole in the chest. “Shot in the back. Clean. Professional hit.” He put a hand on the body and opened the jacket, revealing a mostly-destroyed black rectangular device in the cloth. “Standard recording devices. This one got charred in the blast.”
Another Ranger, his human partner, gently picked up a green, crescent-shaped amulet lying atop a brown cloak on the dead man’s chest. Her blue eyes, hidden under strands of blond hair, looked mournful. “His Anima’s tracker is intact. You think we can get an aura trace from it?”
He touched the amulet. “There’s too much aura at the site. I can’t get a good lock.” The Anima Ranger motioned to the dead gang members scattered everywhere in a heap. “Dark element, probably. Two going in opposite directions. Whoever did this covered himself up. Let’s bring both devices in for testing. See what we can scavenge.”
“Yeah. Azurelane won’t be happy.” The human Ranger sensed her partner’s anger, but it was not visible to anyone else.
One of the other two Rangers walked over. He took off his hood and peered at the body with green eyes. His angular face, slanted features, and radiant skin had an unnatural beauty to it, like the rest of his kind.
“It is a shame,” he said in a high, indifferent voice. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, rather, he had the accent of an aristocratic Elarrian. “Such young promise cut short. They were meant for battle. Let us return to camp quickly. I assume we will not make an official report?”
“Captain, we must,” the Anima Ranger urged. “Didn’t you say Beta and Delta squads found another murdered pair? Azurelane would not send us here without reason. This sounds serious. We should at least alert Azurelane or Their Majesties.”
Another voice spoke. “This is not our business,” the last Ranger said, sounding bored. He was blond and green-eyed, like the other. His braided ponytail was visible beside his robe as he stood guard with his bow. “We are off-duty, and this place has very few Elarrians to protect. Commander Ti’brill will chew us out for leaving camp without permission.”
“By the Four Houses, we will make a report. We will help find this killer,” the Anima Ranger growled, facing the last speaker. “If those two were your fellow Elarrians, you would be singing a different tune, ranks and protocols be da—”
His partner put a hand on his arm. “Enough. Let’s move.”
The Ranger glanced over. “But—”
“Take the body. I’ll take the devices.” She paused. “If it’s okay with you, Captain?
The first Elarrian who spoke nodded. “I am not fond of Azurelane, but I do not hate her, either. It is in the best interest of all the High Race to keep good relations with her. We will give her an unofficial report and take any further orders from Commander Ti’brill.”
The Rangers picked up the body and its belongings. They all were careful to keep it steady, even the one who had spoken haughtily. Then they drifted off into the night.
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Sean and Bernadette were dead. Vi had known it was a possibility tonight, but the three successive pings coming from her phone confirmed it. She couldn’t bring herself to read the messages yet.
The two hadn’t been regular customers to her cafe, but in the last month they had started going more frequently. Bernadette liked the chocolate cake. Sean usually got a tea set with green tea. They would complain about the boring repetition of patrol, and ask her about good spots for monster bounties, and sometimes argue with each other about their favorite hobbies. Bernadette liked collecting artifacts and he sometimes fished by the lake.
The last time Vi had been with them, she had managed to give Bernadette a hug before they parted. The young Anima had squirmed a little awkwardly, much to her partner’s amusement.
Now Vi would never see them again.
That hurt. They were her customers. Her people.
Could I have done something differently?
The weight of that question hit her every time. She always found herself asking it, year after year.
It’s my fault. Maybe I could have saved them.
The guilt never went away. Sometimes she hated having her ancestors’ ability, the All-Seeing Eye. What kind of hero can’t even rescue the ones they care the most about? What’s the point of having these powers if they can’t ever do enough?
Sean, Bernadette, and two others as well. I’ll stop by the funeral. It’s the least I can do.
Vi’s phone rang. She had her eyes closed and was lying in bed, so she picked up with a tail. Immediately, a high voice spoke angrily and coldly in her ear.
“Azurelane! You dispatched three Ranger squads without my permission!”
“Commander Ti’brill. Good to hear from you,” she said lightly.
“Do you not know how to make a simple phone call to my desk? Or does that require too much intelligence for a dirty Anima like you?”
“You never answer,” she replied mildly. This was true. She still had about forty messages left in voicemail he had never bothered to address.
The commander of the Rangers seemed to seeth silently. “Let me remind you that you are a civilian now. Your only formal position is as the royal advisor. You have no place in the military chain of command, much less the Ranger program! Understood?”
Vi found this ironic, given the history of the Ranger program.
“Respectfully, Commander, the Rangers are a specialized unit in a larger force meant to protect the Kingdom. Four brave Anima and their partners were killed tonight. If your squads did not act, another four would have died.”
“Be quiet, Demon,” he snapped at her. “The Ranger doctrine clearly states that squads are deployed only in cities with a majority Elarrian population. Helmsgate has essentially none. You are wasting resources and undercutting the authority given me by your king.”
Perhaps if she was someone else, he wouldn’t be so angry. She wanted to point out that in his forefathers’ time, she had fought to defend the High Race, not come against them. She wanted to add that the Anima pairs who were now dead would have done the same.
Instead, she gave a polite reply. It was in perfect, albeit ancient, Elarri. “Vey, Ga’sho. Bo En De’Tully.” Yes, Commander. My sincerest apologies. “I’m merely a concerned citizen who wished to report a danger to the Kingdom. Would you tell the Ranger squads that I’m thankful for their assistance tonight?”
Commander Ti’brill’s reply was curt. “Do not command my Rangers, b****.”
The phone shut off abruptly.
----------------------------------------
Hello Beta Squad, Delta Squad, and Gamma Squad. Thank you for your assistance tonight. Rest well. —Vi
Message sent.
Vi scrolled through her phone as she lay in bed. The Rangers had sent her some recordings.
One of the video recordings interested her the most. Its quality was ruined, showing mostly static and buzzing black scenes. However, a few frames stood out to her. She froze one of the frames and inspected it. A single, emerald green eye was gazing at the camera. A unique shade of green she thought she’d never see again.
I’ve seen those eyes before.
It felt like eons ago, and perhaps was. Yet she could recall the memories without trouble. Back when her parents had been alive, she’d had a friend in school with those eyes:
“Hey, Vi, what’re you going to be when you grow up?”
“A healer! What about you, Claire?”
The girl had black cat ears and happy green eyes. “I want to be a great adventurer! I can’t wait for the System to start!”
“Wow! I could never do that! You’re so brave!”
Then some time later, at Vi’s house:
“Mom! Where’s Claire? It’s been too long!”
Her mother, Arienne, had answered. “She went to look for her relatives in the Emerald Forest. House Emeraldnight, remember?”
“I know! But where is she? Why can’t you and Dad find her?” Vi had been distraught.
Then her mom looked uncharacteristically apologetic. “I’m sorry, sweetie. We’re still looking for her. If we find Emeraldnight, then we’ll know.”
No one ever found Claire, or the remains of House Emeraldnight. Her mom and dad told her to move on. But young Vi had made a promise to herself:
I’ll do it! I’ll find Claire! Even if it takes me a million years, I’ll bring her back!
Vi brought herself back to the present. She thought for a moment. She gazed at the photo.
An indirect descendant through Claire. Maybe a recessive trait. Those eyes, like Vi’s own, were a manifestation of power. Maybe certain types of training would start to awaken the descendant’s ability.
Does he know?
Vi considered it. He was smart. Meticulous. Ruthless. But he wasn’t a god.
This was one small, great secret of hers he was unlikely to know about. She intended to keep it that way.
This changes everything. If I’m right, the one with those eyes could have that hidden ability—and that would be the endgame.
Things were getting more and more complicated.
Who can I save? There’s that one with the eyes, and at least two others. Then there’s all the people in the kingdom.
A younger Vi wouldn’t have even considered deciding who to save. I’ll save everyone! But she was now—perhaps not wiser, but more beaten down by hard reality.
Vi set the phone down, resolving to not pick it up until the morning. She suddenly felt very weary, and very lonely.
Four lives were saved tonight. But four are dead.
She lay still and listened to the sound of Enrique breathing in the other room. In and out.
It was a silly thought, but she wished Enrique would come over, that he would sit next to her the way Aurelius used to. Sometimes Ari did that when the war had been hard. He would lean his head, jet-black hair brushing to the side, looking over with ice-blue eyes. Reassure her with the usual words:
“It’s okay, Vi. We’ll do this together.”
“You can do it. I believe in you.”
“Maybe it’s an impossible mission. But that’s what heroes are for.”
They would both laugh at the last one. Aurelius usually hated that kind of talk.
I hate being a Hero. But I wish everything could go well, somehow.
Vi found herself clinging to hope.
Hope was such a fragile thing, fluttering ever upwards but easily crushed.
Yet it couldn’t help but bring itself to life every time, like a flame rising from the ashes that could never quite die.
When she finally went to sleep, she thought about the stranger with the emerald eyes. You’re my target. I’ll bring you back.