Chapter 28: Framework 6
Elania and Yolani returned to the central district with their estate. When they spotted half the cultists milling about outside the residence, their faces etched with distress and worry, they picked up the pace.
“What’s wrong?” Elania demanded.
A cultist stepped forward, his hands trembling. “The beast... it’s rampaging through the mansion, my lady.”
Elania and Yolani exchanged a wide-eyed glance. They rushed inside.
The evidence of the rampage was everywhere: torn furniture, shattered vases, and deep gouges in the walls.
Shouts and crashes echoed from the second floor. Elania raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
The door to the secure room for the darkwalker was wide open.
A small group was huddled around the entrance to their master bedroom, and they sprinted over. Someone from the crowd noticed them and moved to let Elania and Yolani through the damaged door.
Darius stood in the center of the room, a chair held in front of him. He was trying to control the darkwalker. But the beast reached out and turned the furniture into firewood.
Darius cursed and jumped back, but the darkwalker didn’t attack him further.
The collar was working for that much, at least.
Yolani’s artifice lay scattered across the floor, knocked over and broken. The bed was ripped to shreds, the sheets torn and tattered. The walls bore deep scratches, the marks of the darkwalker’s claws.
And the windows... the windows were shattered, the glass littering the floor in a glittering carpet of destruction.
Water flowed out of the bathroom in a steady stream that pooled on the floor before running out on the balcony and then providing a waterfall into the garden. The sound of trickling water mingled with growls and snarls.
Elania’s eyes darted around the room, taking in the destruction with a growing sense of horror.
The shock finally broke, and she strode inside. “Sit!” she barked at the darkwalker, her voice cracking like a whip.
The collar around the beast’s neck glowed, and he froze mid-leap, just inches from the shattered window. He dropped to the floor, his claws scrambling on the wood as he struggled against the collar’s power.
Yolani stood in the doorway, her mouth agape. “By the divine...”
She stepped into the room, her boots crunching on the broken glass. She bent down, picking up a shattered piece of her artifice. “This is going to take forever to clean up.”
Darius cleared his throat. “I’ll... I’ll prepare the others, and we shall clean up the mess.”
Yolani sighed. “I’ll take care of the bedroom. You can work on the rest of the place. Bring the broken things to one place for me to repair later.”
Darius nodded and bowed, then hurried out of the room, the cultists trailing behind him.
Elania grabbed the darkwalker by the scruff of his neck and hauled him to the only clean spot in the room, the empty corner. He growled, his eyes flashing with defiance, but he obeyed.
Elania kept a firm grip on him while Yolani moved about the room, picking up broken pieces of furniture and shattered artifacts. She dumped them in a pile near the door, her face set in a grim line.
After a few minutes, Yolani looked up at Elania. “This is the time for a miracle, don’t you think?”
Elania nodded.
Yolani closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The girl, and then the room, began to glow with a soft golden light.
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Elania could feel a tug on their conduit, but she didn’t jerk or resist the drain.
The broken pieces of furniture and artifacts began to move. They floated into the air, the shattered edges knitting together as if by magic. The bed reformed, the sheets mending themselves and settling back into place. The windows pieced themselves back together, the glass shards flying up and slotting into place like a jigsaw puzzle.
In a few seconds, the room was restored, as if the rampage had never happened. Yolani wiped the sweat from her brow, surveying the now-clean room.
“Elania, maybe keeping him in the estate isn’t the best idea,” Yolani said.
Elania frowned, her hand absently stroking the darkwalker’s fur.
The beast had calmed under her touch, his eyes half-closed in contentment. “I know, I know. But where else can he go? The city would just keep him in a cage. And I can’t recreate his habitat. It’s... it’s gone now.”
Yolani nodded quietly. “Yeah, we have that in common.”
“He might be the last darkwalker in the world, Yolani. The very last one.” Elania’s voice cracked.
Yolani moved to her side, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “There could be others in the other underground city states.”
Elania shook her head. “From what we read, they were far apart, never connected. The fauna wouldn’t be the same.”
Yolani frowned. “It’s sad to think he could be the last one. Other than you, if you count. Since you have a darkwalker core.”
Elania’s hand stilled on the darkwalker’s fur. “Yeah. Other than me.”
The beast stirred under her touch, his eyes opening. It looked up at Elania, his gaze almost understanding.
“He needs a name,” Elania said suddenly. “A proper name.”
Yolani blinked. “A name?”
Elania nodded. “He deserves one.”
Yolani smiled and sat beside them. “Alright then. What did you have in mind?”
The darkwalker let out a low, unhappy growl but didn’t move.
Elania rubbed the darkwalker’s head, her fingers sinking into his soft fur. The beast’s growls faded, replaced by a contented rumble deep in his chest. He sniffed at Elania’s hand, his wet nose tickling her skin.
“Maybe he was just looking for our scent in the room,” Elania mused, scratching behind the darkwalker’s ears. “He’s calming down now.”
Yolani snorted, her hands on her hips. “Nah, he was just being naughty. That’s how darkwalkers are, you know.”
Elania raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at her lips. “Oh? And how would you know that?”
“Because of you, of course!” Yolani said, pointing an accusing finger at Elania.
Elania gasped, placing a hand over her heart. “Me? Naughty? I’ll have you know I’m always well-behaved.”
Yolani rolled her eyes, a grin spreading across her face. “Oh really? The last time you transformed, you slept on top of me, and I could barely get you off!”
Elania chuckled. “What can I say? You’re very comfy.”
Yolani huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “I don’t accept that excuse. You’re just a troublemaker, admit it.”
Elania held up her hands in surrender, still grinning. “Alright, alright. But back to the matter at hand. This little guy needs a name.”
Yolani raised an eyebrow. “Little?”
Elania looked down at the darkwalker, who was now curled up at her feet, his tail thumping against the floor. “How about... Shadowbite?”
Yolani stared at her, her mouth hanging open. “Shadowbite? Long and kind of edgy, don’t you think?”
Elania shrugged, her fingers still tangled in the darkwalker’s fur. “I think it suits him. He’s a creature of the shadows, after all. And his bite is pretty fierce.”
Yolani let out a long hum.
Elania rolled her eyes. “Alright, how about just Shadow then?”
Yolani nodded, a smile tugging at her lips. “Shadow. I can work with that.”
Elania grinned as she looked down at the newly named Shadow.
“So, Shadow,” she cooed, reaching out to scratch behind his ears. “How do you like your new name?”
Shadow’s eyes snapped open, and he lunged at her hand, his teeth bared in a snarl. Elania yanked her hand back just in time, laughing as she held him at bay. “Oh, you must love it!” she said. “Such enthusiasm!”
Yolani rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “You’re insane, you know that?” She got up and went back to reorganizing her scattered projects.
Elania ignored her, dropping to the floor to wrestle with Shadow. He growled and snapped, his claws scraping against the wood as he tried to gain the upper hand. But he wasn’t able to knock her over as much as he tried.
A knock at the door drew their attention, and Darius poked his head into the room. His eyes widened as he took in the scene: Elania on the floor with Shadow, Yolani surrounded by broken artifacts.
“Ah, my ladies,” he said, clearing his throat. “I’m afraid there will be no meat for dinner tonight. We used it all trying to bribe the beast to stop destroying things.”
Elania looked up, her hair disheveled and her face flushed from the wrestling match. “That’s alright, Darius. And his name is Shadow now. Shadowbite, actually, but we’re just calling him Shadow for short.”
Darius’ eyebrow twitched. “I suppose that means we’re still keeping the beast in the estate, then?”
Elania nodded, grinning. “Of course! He’s part of the family now.”
Darius managed to keep any judgement out of his voice. “As you wish, my lady.”
Yolani groaned, rubbing her temples. “At this rate, I’m going to need to upgrade the entire estate. Reinforce the walls, the windows, the doors... everything, in every room.”
Darius nodded, his expression grim. “That would be wise, Lady Yolani. We should avoid a repeat of today’s... incident.”
Elania waved a hand dismissively, still wrestling with Shadow on the floor. “Everything will be fine, you’ll see. Shadow just needs some time to adjust, that’s all.”
As if to prove her point, Shadow chose that moment to chomp down on her hand, doing his best to swallow her forearm without drawing blood.