The rest of the weekend passed by in a blur and soon enough classes resumed the following Monday. It was the last week before the Cultural Fair and the equinox fell on the same day at the end of the week. They were still no closer to any new leads to getting their hands back on the missing spell.

Dana was becoming increasingly worried that Jett’s prediction about a fight coming would be accurate. He and the girls spent most of their class time that day trying to brainstorm any new ideas as to how they might regain some semblance of control over the situation but as the final bell for the day rang they had come up empty. Instead, he went to Master Whisperwind for more training… if there was going to be a battle, Dana wanted to make absolutely sure he was going to be as prepared as he could make himself.

They had moved on from simply practicing against a heavy bag to actual sparring, though the Master never let her guard down even fractionally to let a hit slip past her guard. They sparred for hours until Dana’s body grew leaden, almost too tired to even move. Exhausted he slumped down on a nearby bench to catch his breath just before his phone rang. With a flick of his wrist, he raised the device to his ear.

“Hello?”

“I warned you, human… I am not a man of infinite patience. Your time is up, I will retrieve my daughter myself.” The familiar voice hissed on the other end of the line, malice dripping from every word.

“Wait, what do you…” Dana’s eyes moved to the south where a plume of black smoke rose into the sky. He rose to his feet, finding strength in his limbs he thought gone as he ran towards his home.

* * *

As Kasa climbed the stairs to her room in the Exalted she heard a sound that caused her to duck into a roll across the hallway. A blade thunked into the wall above her head, quivering as the vibrations passed through the metal.

“You’re back early,” Laverne said evenly as she called the blade back to her hand. Kasa stood back up, looking at the spread pattern of knife marks on the wall at the end of the hall.

“Practicing?”

“My balance is off with the arm missing. Getting used to the new feel.” She threw the dagger once again, trying to hit the wall behind Kasa once again but misjudging the aim. The former assassin caught the blade in mid-air with a surprising ease.

“Nice.” Kasa turned the blade over in her hand, looking at it from every angle before it vanished from her grip.

“You ladies interested in dinner?” Wilben said from the bottom of the stairs, a tray piled high with food in his hands. The gnome seemed positively energetic with the stress of running the hotel off his shoulders, spending much of his days tinkering around in his workshop.

“Thanks Wilben.” Kasa grabbed a plate before heading down the hall back to her room.

“You never told me how you ended up here shadow.” Laverne launched her blade once again into the wall, getting closer to the painted-on target she had made.

Kasa's eyes narrowed, the shadows playing across her face. "It's not a story for tonight," she said, her voice barely a murmur. “Maybe once I know we can trust you.”

The clock chimed in the foyer, echoing through the old hotel as the sun descended out of the sky. Wilben went back to his office to work while Kasa studied alone in her room, the constant thunk-thunk-thunk of Laverne practicing outside her only company. As the night grew ever darker Laverne noticed the sounds of the bustle of the city outside had gone utterly silent. With a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach, she ran down the hall and knocked on Kasa’s door.

“What is it lefty?” Kasa opened the door with a scowl.

“Hsst… Kasa, listen…” Laverne held up her hand. “I think we’re about to get company.”

Kasa cocked her head and listened intently to the silence outside. Her ears searched for any sound or indication. With a nod she went back into her room, swiftly donning the leathers she had trained in and retrieving her weapons. Together, the two girls headed down the stairs to confront whatever the night was throwing at them.

They emerged from the shadows to the street before the hotel they had begun calling their home. The eerie silence sent a shiver down their backs. Between one moment and the next they found themselves surrounded by a dozen figures, cloaked in hoods and leather’s that Kasa knew all too well. One figure separated from the rest, his outfit lined with fancier gold threads in an ornate pattern. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized who this must be.

“Father… how dare you bring our family to attack my home!”

“Your home? Your home is in our family halls, with me. Not this shamble of a building that fits not a daughter of mine.” With a flourish, he pulled off his hood, his sharp-angled features like a chiseled stone in the scarce light of the street. “You will return with me, now, and we will reduce this place to ashes for transgressing on our family.”

The distant sound of breaking glass from the other end of the hotel brought the standstill into rapid chaos as everyone in the street moved at once. The shadowy figure of Kasa vanished into the night as Laverne ran back inside to warn Wilben of the attack. Slamming open the door, she threw her knife at the closest invader as she ran back to the office.

The small army at their door moves as one, with simple precision they seemed to draw the very night to their aid to obscure them from view. The nearby streetlight shattered and cast the whole area into blackness as they advanced. A burly man wielding a set of twin axes was the first through the door into eh hotel’s foyer. Laverne spun and threw her knife again at the man’s throat but he simply knocked it away with a dark laugh.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The others rushed in behind him, and the lobby erupted into a violent melee. The clang of steel, the grunt of exertion, and the crackle of dark magic filled the space. Kasa reappeared, a blade of pure shadow in her hand. She danced through the crowd, a specter of death, cutting down her kin with a cold, calculated fury, embracing the killer they so wanted her to be. Each blow sent a tremor through the air, the very essence of her rage made manifest.

But there were too many of them for her to take on alone. The aging furniture splintered under the onslaught, and the walls groaned with the power of spells flung wildly by the attackers. Wilben emerged from his workshop, his usual friendly demeanor overtaken by a fierce protectiveness.

“Down! Laverne!” He shouted as he threw a handful of glowing devices into the air, each one exploding with a burst of light and sound, sewing even more chaos among their ranks. It was a desperate fight, the three of them against an unknown number of assailants but what else could they do? They refused to let their home fall without a fight.

Kasa’s father, head of the Shadowdagger family came into the hotel and the temperature seemed to drop several degrees. His eyes, gone black as death, scanned the room for any sign of his daughter.

“You will return to the fold, daughter. Do not prolong your suffering unnecessarily.” His voice hissed low like a viper. The battle reached a crescendo as the family closed in, their blades and spells aimed at the trio.

But Kasa met her father’s gaze, her own eyes burning with a fiery resolve.

"I am no longer yours, I never will be again!" she spat.

The hotell trembled as a powerful force swept through it, tearing at the very fabric of reality. The air grew colder, the lights flickered, and a scream echoed through the halls. - a scream that seemed to carry with it the very essence of despair and anger. Kasa’s father unleashed his devastating magic against friend and doe alike. The walls of the hotel groaned and strained under the pressure as many of them began to fall apart.

"You dare defy me?" she roared, his voice a thunderclap in the confined space.

"I dare," Kasa replied, her voice steady. "And I will not come quietly."

Laverne stepped forward, her one arm flexing, the knife at her belt glinting in the candlelight. "You'll have to go through me first," she rumbled, a fierce protectiveness for her newfound friend swelling within her.

But before they could engage in battle, Wilben stepped in front of them, his frail frame seemingly insignificant against the might of the intruders. "This is my hotel," he said firmly, "and these are my guests. Leave now, or face the consequences."

The shadowy figures laughed, a chilling sound that sent shivers down their spines. The leader, Kasa's father, drew a sword from his side, the blade whispering through the air. "Consequences?" he echoed, his voice a dark chuckle. "You think you can stand against the might of the family?"

The room fell silent for a heartbeat, and then chaos erupted once again. Knives flew through the air, colliding with their targets with unerring accuracy, the adrenaline flowing through Laverne not allowing her to miss. Wilben conjured up a barricade of metal and gears from his workshop, the contraption buzzing and whirring as it grew before their eyes. The battle was fierce, both sides refusing to give so much as an inch.

Through the frenzy, Laverne spotted Kasa being overwhelmed by her attackers, all eager to prove their worth. With a roar, she charged into the fray, her one arm swinging and sending enemies flying. The hotel groaned and creaked under the assault, plaster raining down from the ceiling as the very structure was torn apart.

The elderly gnome stepped forward, his usually mild-mannered face twisted with anger. "You will not take her," he declared, raising his hands. A whirring sound filled the air as even more of his mechanical creations flooded from the workshop and descended on the invaders.

But before the battle could fully resume, a deafening explosion ripped through the hotel. The walls groaned and the floor buckled under the strain, sending plumes of dust and debris into the air. The three stumbled, momentarily disoriented, as the very ground beneath them seemed to shake with fury. When the dust settled, they saw that a section of the hotel had been obliterated, leaving a gaping hole that revealed the cold, indifferent night sky. The mother's eyes widened in horror as she realized what her rage had wrought.

"This...this is your doing, your insolence has caused this" Kasa’s father snarled, pointing an accusatory finger at her.

"No," Kasa said, her voice heavy with sadness. "You brought about this with your obsession of controlling that which is not meant to be controlled! ME!”

With a flash of silver, a knife buried itself in the leader's hand, pinned it to the wall, and caused him to drop his blade. He roared in pain and rage, and in the confusion, Kasa slipped away, her form melting into the shadows once more.

The battle raged on, the hotel's defenders fighting with every ounce of strength they had. But even as they pushed back the invaders, it was clear that their home would never be the same again. The walls crumbled and fell to dust around them, a blazing fire roaring through the remains.

And in the end, when the dust settled, the hotel lay in ruins, a testament to the fury of the Shadowdaggers. Kasa was gone, taken by her family, and Wilben lay unconscious amidst the wreckage of his beloved workshop. Laverne, her one arm now holding a makeshift shield made from a broken door, surveyed the destruction with a heavy heart. "We'll get her back," she murmured to herself, determination setting in to protect these new friends she had gained.

Exhausted and heartsick, she went to where Wilben lay fallen, the gravity of their loss settling in like a heavy stone in her gut. The shadow of Kasa's family still loomed over them. They had made it clear they could and would take what they wanted when they wanted it. That they were willing to wage war to prove that point.

Wilben stirred, beginning to make his way back to consciousness by the time Dana ran from the school gates to the now-destroyed hotel.

“My god, what happened?” Dana helped Wilben to his feet, trying to wipe the blood off his face. The golem and the gnome retold the story of the attack and Kasa’s loss. He sat there, listening to every word with a simmering rage just below the surface. “We don’t need this right now, we are running out of time and this arrogant father wants to lock his daughter away from the world? I cannot accept this.”

“But what can we do?” Laverne asked. “We don’t even have any idea where they took Kasa… it’s not like a family of assassins have their hideout listed in the city registry.”

“I think Kasa was worried something like this might happen. She told me exactly where her family hides in case I might need it someday.”

“She fought like the devil himself, Mr Wilde…” Wilben said groggily. “Please get her back if you can… the hotel can be rebuilt but there is no replacing people. I know that for sure.”

“We will, Wilben… and we will build the Exalted back bigger and better than ever. But first, I need to stop thinking in terms of a teacher… I can’t keep borrowing weapons from Master Whisperwind, I need some of my own.”

Pulling out his phone, Dana quickly accessed the store site, happy to find that his treasures were still listed as a payment option even though they were now buried under a half-ton of rubble. Scrolling through to the section on weapons he found a pair of cestus that looked promising and made the order, hoping the fae folk had rush delivery.