> “Lorna came to visit me today. She has grown into herself well and would be a force to be reckoned with in any era. Thankfully, I still have her favor, and the partnership between our organizations has been mutually beneficial. Although I do not wish to divulge the entire matter, it is clear I will need the help of the VATC if I am to restore that which was taken from me.”
I couldn’t sleep. My stomach growled and my entire body ached, but I kept myself steady by sipping Beatrice’s vitality serum as the hours ticked by. By 3 a.m., I had given up any hope of slumber, and so I grabbed Curtana’s case and departed my tiny apartment.
As I walked out of Cobble Hill and slowly made my way to the Brooklyn Bridge, I couldn’t help but think about how different things seemed from that first walk uptown in my invisibility cloak only a month ago. I marveled at what I had accomplished, how I had surmounted everything that the Guild had thrown at me. It wasn’t that I had become cocky, but for the first time in a long time, I finally felt like I was standing on solid ground, that I had earned my Seat in the Guild, and after all of this was over, I was going to get some answers about my mom and how she came to possess the long-lost gold token.
Even in New York City, a single woman walking the streets this late carrying what could be mistaken for a large guitar would be enough to draw attention, but the power inked on my arms gave me a newfound confidence that I hadn’t had the last time I was summoned, when I was content to hide behind the cloak’s alchemy. I threaded my way across the Bridge, through joggers, bikers, and bar patrons stumbling home from their Sunday night drinking, and headed uptown.
The gears of the city turned as I walked, the reverie of the weekend fading, soon to be replaced by the throngs of worker drones. By Thursday evening, things would shift again, as the pent-up energy from hours spent sitting at desks and staring at computers needed release, and the cycle would repeat, like clockwork. It amazed me that so many millions gave themselves to this cycle, never knowing the secrets that were threaded around them like an invisible spiderweb. I reminded myself that this delicate balance was on the precipice of being forever upended if I lost the duel.
Despite the onset of Monday morning, the Lower East Side still believed itself immune, with the sidewalks so crowded that several times I had to detour into the road to navigate Curtana’s case through the raucous throngs. I contemplated stopping for a drink at one of the emptier bars to loosen up a bit, but was immediately sidetracked when I caught a glimpse of bright red hair walking toward Houston Street. I followed behind as quickly and surreptitiously as I could, my heart beginning to beat just a tad faster, until I reached the thoroughfare. Sure enough, not 10 feet away, ambling along without a care in the world, was Jade, in the flesh.
I felt a different sort of energy radiate out from the center of my body as I walked closer. It was not the adrenaline that had been fueling me the last several days, but something else, something uncanny, almost as if I was being drawn toward my former avatar. But whatever I may have been experiencing seemed to have no effect on Jade, and instead, she continued onward to the very packed pancake spot a few blocks up and entered. I did the same, nearly knocking over everyone cramped in the inner vestibule trying to get through, and when I did, I found her staring ahead, absentmindedly, like a normal customer waiting for a table.
I grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around, only to find a very confused and very not-Jade redhead glaring at me.
“What the hell?” she said.
“I … umm … thought you were…”
The woman stormed away, probably to get a manager, and I turned quickly to leave, only to see Jade standing just on the other side of the front window.
Her eyes met mine, and a knowing smile formed on her face. The weird feeling in my chest suddenly boiled over and spread to the rest of my body, but before I could do anything, Jade gave me a two-finger salute and walked off.
That’s when I did something incredibly stupid: I activated one of the speed tattoos.
Thanks to the hours of practice, the lilac runes on my arm lit up immediately, and I exited the restaurant with ease (but not before grabbing a pancake off of a waitress’s tray). Outside, the entire city had slowed to a standstill. Everyone except Jade, who was aimlessly strolling a block ahead of me. I pulled Curtana free from its case on the sidewalk, and sprinted after her, my Relic extended outward like I was a charging crusader, but no matter how close I got, she was always just out of reach.
And when I reached the East River promenade, Jade was somehow already behind me, walking the other direction back into the grid. I burned through more speed as the static world became a blur until finally I made it within an arm’s length of her.
I lunged Curtana toward her, but she deftly turned to the side and pushed the Relic’s staff down with one hand, and I would have toppled to the ground had Jade not steadied me with her other.
“Nice try,” she whispered in my ear and that’s when everything started up again and I collapsed onto the pavement. I stared at my forearms to find one last lilac strand remaining and the enormity of my mistake finally sunk in.
Things went from bad to worst, as I burst into BSG 15 minutes later and startled Svetlana, who was busy dispensing half a dozen espresso shots at once for some reason.
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“Where’s Beatrice?” I asked, before stumbling into a chair and tossing the re-encased Curtana to the ground unceremoniously.
“Dunno,” Svetlana said. “Last time I saw her, she was with you, working on your arms. Then she went upstairs and hasn’t come back down yet. Maybe she’s-”
I ran past her, up to the second and then third floor, and was about to travel through the portal when I stopped myself from turning that brown knob. In my current mental state, there would be no telling how long it would take to traverse to the other side, and so I retreated solemnly down to the cafe.
“I’m so screwed,” I said, rubbing my arm, as if that would bring the ink back.
Svetlana looked me up and down, before retreating under the bar for a few seconds, from which she withdrew a dusty bottle with a faded label I couldn’t read and half-filled with a dark substance.
“One of my first concoctions,” she said. “Needs to age several years to let its effects be more pronounced. Drink it right before you go in.”
She poured the brown thick liquid into a paper espresso cup and pushed it toward me.
“It looks gross,” I said, bringing the cup up to my nose before attaching a small lid.
“Tastes even worse. Just chug it in one sip and you’ll be fine.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“Liquid courage.”
----------------------------------------
I stood before a cascading series of fire escapes that led up to the top of the Park Avenue Armory’s front tower, holding the encased Curtana with one hand and my still full cup of Svetlana’s so-called courage in the other. In the intervening hours, my frantic texts to Beatrice had all gone unanswered and so I tried to prepare myself mentally for a quick battle in which Emma hopefully wouldn’t slice me in the stomach like she had done to Steve.
“Are you ready?” said a voice behind me and I turned around to see Ty dressed in a long flowing scarlet gown.
“Ready enough,” I said. “Why are you wearing that?”
“Mom said to dress the part,” said Ty. “Not sure what part she was talking about, but it didn’t feel like something to press her on. Shall we?”
She walked to the ladder of the first fire escape and pulled it down easily with her hand before starting her ascent. I looked at my full hands and decided that now was as good a time as any for a drink and so I gulped down the brown liquid in one quick sip. Just as Svetlana had said, it tasted absolutely putrid, as if she boiled a gym sock in grape juice and then poured in some hot sauce and let it sit on a sunny windowsill for days. But after the initial shock wore off, I found myself staring up at the stairs like I could scale them in a single bound. And that whatever madness lay beyond was nothing I couldn’t handle. So I charged upward, overtaking Ty, and reached the window that would be our entrance into the Armory.
As I climbed through to the other side, I felt the drink’s effects begin to waiver just slightly, but before my confidence could crumble, I was steadied by the sight of the assembled Guild members who were in my corner.
“This isn’t where we’re fighting, is it?” I asked, peering around the mahogany-lined reception room. Its walls were dotted with historic portraits of important looking military men and its intricate woodwork could probably no longer be recreated by any living carpenter.
“No,” said Ty. “I believe my mother made other arrangements.”
“Ah, there you are,” said Dalia, who broke off from her group and walked over to us. She was decked out in an equally formal and equally long dress as her daughter, with a small clutch in one hand and a drink in the other, as if she was attending a charity gala.
“Can’t help feeling I’m a bit underdressed,” I said. Unlike the cocktail attire everyone else was wearing, I was sporting a pair of spandex workout pants, sneakers, and a tank top, with my hair up in a high ponytail.
“Yes, well, we’d rather you win than look stylish, I suppose.”
“You have such a way with words,” I said, gripping the handle of Curtana’s case for a dose of confidence. Dalia bade me join her allies, who all nodded at me.
“Your friend’s assistance was … helpful,” said D.C., breaking the awkward silence.
“Good, I’m glad,” I said. “Will it help you finish sooner?”
“Not sure,” he said. “I’ve only used it for the mundane so far. Couldn’t forgive myself if I rushed things and broke the blade.”
“I see.”
“Good luck,” he said, and walked away.
“Wow,” said Lucca, nudging me with her elbow. “You must be pumped up after that conversation.”
“He’s … something,” I said. “I know I said this already a dozen times, but thank you for your help.”
“You don’t need to thank me,” she said. “The work is its own reward. I’m just sorry I couldn’t lend a hand with your other project. Some things I can’t-”
“It’s OK,” I said. “I understand.”
“I think you can win without it, though,” she said with a half-smile.
I nodded and stepped back from the group, not wanting to engage in any more unhelpful small talk. On the other side of the room, J.P. was holding court, dressed in a white three piece-suit with a black cowboy hat, with a Lycra-clad Emma standing next to him. From the looks of her, she didn’t seem too thrilled to have been chosen as a Champion either. A new tote bag hung around her shoulder and inside, no doubt, were her two Relics: White Hilt and whatever that giant sword was called. I had hoped that some obscure rule would prevent her from wielding both in our duel, but Ty had helpfully informed me that while one Relic was required to participate, there was no limit to how many a Champion could use.
I looked around for any sign of Beatrice hiding underneath my cloak—some mysterious noise, a person banging their ankle on an unseen obstacle—but came up with nothing. I contemplated reaching out to her with my mind, but didn’t want the certainty of her absence to weigh further on my psyche. And so, as the impressive-looking grandfather clock chimed nine times, I was glad that the fight was actually going to begin after so much build-up.
“Shall we?” asked Dalia, and our group meandered over to the stairs that presumably led down to the lower level.
“Wait a minute,” I said. “Don’t tell me we’re fighting in-”
“Yes,” said Ty. “The main drill hall.”
She pushed open a set of double doors and I stepped into the expanse beyond. The room ran unobstructed for the entire length of the city block, with a ceiling that soared probably a hundred feet into the air, huge metal arches holding up the roof. It was the kind of place you didn’t think existed in New York City, outside of a sports arena.
“How did you arrange this?” I asked as we entered the giant space.
“Easy,” said Dalia. “I booked a private event for Thera DeWitt and then forgot to invite anyone else.”
“Then why did we have to come through the fire escape?”
“We didn’t,” she said. “Who told you that you-”
I turned around to glare at Ty, who suppressed a laugh.
“Please don’t do anything more to torment our Champion until after this is over,” said Dalia, who walked off in a huff.
“What?” said Ty. “I thought it would be a good warm-up for you!”
“You pull any other pranks? Did you steal Curtana and replace it with a broom when I wasn’t looking?”
“No, just the one,” she said. “Come on, the crowd is waiting!”