Chapter 296

Western Wildlands, Elkis Republic

Town of Mystral

The inquisitor walked into the alleyway, and stopped, as his instincts screamed that something was wrong.

A split second later, he was somewhere else, instantly stepping through reality onto the roofs...and a trio of ward piercing pulser darts screamed through where he had been.

The inquisitor unsheathed his weapon in a single fluid motion, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the handful of assassins.

He pressed his panic button...and nothing happened.

The inquisitor turned to run, but barely managed to dodge as a swordswoman materialized out of nowhere. He swore, and the woman fell from the roof, silently hitting the ground thanks to her armor's enchantments, her torso shredded by the blast of magic he had summoned, dead before she even hit the ground.

He stepped away again, as the gunmen gained their bearings once more, and unholstered his own weapon, a Divine one, forged by angelic hands.

One of the would be assassin dropped, screaming, his spirit lit aflame as his core erupted into energy. The other two scattered, and brought their own weapons to bear.

This time the inquisitor had to throw himself out of the way in a more mundane manner. There simply wasn't time to focus on using the spell, and he dove as the roof around him was reduced to shreds by the hail of supersonic darts.

The assassins stopped firing, and he tried to get his bearings to use his magic...only to roll out of the way in extremis as a sword slashed right where his skull would have been.

He sprang to his feet, and his eyes narrowed as he recognized the man before him. Wielding his sword in one hand, and a revolver in another.

They could have spoken. For the instant they stood before each other, they could have exchanged quips and threats, like they did in the stories. Perhaps, if someone wrote a fable or historical treatise on their encounter someday, they may even insert some.

But they didn't say anything. They were both professionals. Both fanatics. There was no need for words. Only violence.

Their blades clashed. Magic flared. The inquisitor could not retreat, the man, his quarry, was too close to allow him to do so. Some more skilled in the arcane could have pulled it off, but even the inquisitor had his limits, and more importantly, the man before him knew he had that ability.

The inquisitor was faster, but the man had more experience. Experience that could only be bought with blood. For that was the true weakness of the inquisition. They were an instrument of the God of Fire, to enforce his will, and none dared stand against them...and none crossed their blades.

And sparring, no matter how vicious it was, and the inquisition's trainers had viciousness to spare, couldn't compare to real battle.

But the inquisitor had speed, and pressed the man hard, knowing that his fellows had to be maneuvering for a shot. So he threw himself at the other man. A feint, a thrust, and a grin of triumph as his blade sank into the man's side.

The man raised his revolver, and the inquisitor caught it with his other hand. He couldn't deflect the weapon, but a simple shot to the chest would only annoy him, if it even pierced his wards to begin with.

The inquisitor's smile fell as the touch of his hand shattered the illusion, and for a split second of pure horror, he gazed not at a Tarkian revolver, but the smooth, glittering magnificence of Divine technology.

Then the man pulled the trigger, and the inquisitor knew only pain, as reality went mad...and suddenly his torso was no longer there, the shattered remains of his upper body crashing onto his now severed legs.

The inquisitor's vision swam as his brain failed him. But he saw a golden glint, a flash of energy...and nothing.

*****

Orzal Vek lowered his pistol, staring at the hole in the roof, where the remains of the inquisitor had once been.

He looked up as one of his men came trotting.

"Report." Said the former Republic colonel.

"Tami's gone. Giran will make it."

Orzal nodded. He'd expected as such. Spirit fire spells, and the weapons that used them were flashy, and powerful...but they were tools of terror. Not meant to kill, at least not immediately. They were to frighten and cause a lesser enemy to scatter, or at least be demoralized.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

The blast of magic, however, had been far more lethal, and quieter.

One could say it was a metaphor for the inquisition itself, in a way.

"We were followed."

"Yes."

"The guild had to have been penetrated. We're compromised." The former colonel holstered his weapon, the strange weight of the divine weapon, that never seemed quite right, vanishing from his palm as the gravitic holster simply swallowed the weapon. "Scatter everybody for the time being."

"Sir?"

"I need to make a call. See if our lords and masters wish to try and use this." He tapped the edge of the perfectly spherical hole in the roof with his foot. "And make it into a trap."

"Yes sir."

"Now go."

The agent nodded, and vanished. In less than thirty second, there was no sign a fight had taken place, besides the property damage.

Five minutes later, the incendiary charges took care of even that.

*****

"So." Alexandra set down her mug as she looked at Freya across the table. She'd just spent the better part of an hour bantering, having her catch up with Emilia, and fawning over CQ, who had teleported home for the occasion. "You came here with backup."

"Yes. Though it has been delayed...numerous time."

"I've noticed."

"Well, you have only yourself to blame." The vampire chuckled. "With your frenetic pace, you just outran the usefulness of any package by the time it was mustered."

Emilia chuckled, and Alexandra hid a smile behind her mug as she took another sip.

"Well, I suppose I am guilty of going a bit too quickly sometimes. What did you bring?"

"Originally there was supposed to be a sizeable maid detachment. Full platoon. But given your...guards." Freya stole a glance at the praetorian guard, decked head to toe in Old World weaponry and gear. Or at least so it seemed on the outside, as Alexandra was genuinely curious if the vampire would guess how much of it was actually her own designs. "They were deemed unnecessary. Instead I bring you what Emilia told me you needed most."

"Which are?"

"Mages." The vampire leaned forward, and whispered. "Enchanters."

Their eyes met, and the vampire's conspirational airs vanished. For the first time her underlying calm and focus cracked, and Alexandra saw, for a split second, someone extremely dangerous realize that they may not be the deadliest one in the room.

"And why-" Said Alexandra. "-would those be sent?"

"Because you need them?"

"Don't bullshit me. I needed them from the start. No, something else is happening, something you do not wish to tell me about."

Freya's gaze sharpened, and she got up, leaning over the table.

"Then don't insult my intelligence with that 'lieutenant-commander' crap either."

Alexandra leaned back into her seat.

"Oh? Do tell."

"You're no lieutenant-commander. And you're certainly not Alexandra Rousseau, whoever she was...if she ever existed to begin with. Did you really think we wouldn't find out?"

Freya leaned further forward...not noticing the soft hum now filling the air, as high tech weapon ready capacitors charged, and the discreet clicks as safeties were switched off.

The two maids she brought with her moved to step forward, but came to a halt as CQ barred their way, flanked by Sarah and Ella.

Alexandra simply tilted her head, and smiled.

"It was an effective test."

Freya laughed.

"A test? A test for what?"

"To see how much you'd lied to me about what you knew from Earth. And how much of the Old World you truly had access to."

The vampire stopped laughing.

Their gazes met once more.

"I see. Interesting. And what if my mother decided that a liar and coward would be no viable match for her daughter?"

"It may surprise you to know, but Emilia can make her own decisions."

"She's too young for that. What if I decided her to take her home, take her away from this mess?"

Alexandra got up, and set her hands down on the table.

"Were I you, I would listen very carefully: you are treading on dangerous, some may even say lethal, ground here."

The vampire gave her a canine filled smiled.

Alexandra saw magic flare, as she was pushed back into her chair as chains of light enveloped her.

"No, you will list-"

Freya didn't get to finish her sentence.

One second, she had Alexandra under her power.

The next, the dungeon core had pushed through her spell, the chains shattering into crystals and dying embers of energy. The vampire raised her arms, energy shields deploying from her armor's vambraces, preparing to parry the punch she expected.

Instead she flew back, both halves of her bisected body bouncing against the wall, before hitting the floor, splattering everything with vivid crimson.

The maids moved to open fire...and found themselves covered in laser designator dots, held in the sights of two dozen golems, as more kept pouring out of the doors of the room, having leapt into action the moment Freya's magic reached out towards the dungeon core, accompanied by Jared and Ghost, each leading a heavy weapons team carrying plasma cannons.

Guns that could kill vampires.

And hopefully, no one would need to know they were carrying neutralizers as well.

"ALEX! STOP!" Yelled out Emilia, and Alexandra looked at her.

The vampire advisor staggered back as she saw what was in her girlfriend's eyes.

"I won't let them take you away from me. Not against your will."

"Alex, please."

Alexandra closed her eyes, and gestured.

The golems lowered their weapons, and after being subjected to a glare that could melt steel courtesy of Emilia, the maids followed suit a second later.

Everyone looked as Freya pulled herself back together, even her blood crawling back to enter her gaping wound, the liquid boiling as the nanomachines within converted themselves into new tissue.

After a few seconds, the vampire staggered up, vital fluid dripping down from her mouth as her mid section was still a horrific mess of regenerating organs and knitting bones.

And she clapped.

"Ahahahah! Maybe you'll do after all, 'lady Crystal'." Freya smiled, and spat out a mouthful of blood, stepping forward, the small spit of fluid trying to follow her and rebind with her as she did. "Maybe you'll do after all."

"I see you like tests of your own."

"I do. You didn't even hesitate. I like that." For a split second, Alexandra saw what was behind the tight control, the focus. Power...power and a streak of madness. "Now, pleasantries aside, I still do insist that my sister knows who she is dealing with, don't you?"

"I-"

"Don't care." Finished Emilia, and everyone turned towards her. "I figured out Alexandra wasn't telling me everything a loooong time ago, sis. I'm not the idiot you take me for." She bared her fangs Freya moved to open her mouth. "Shut. Up. Shut your gods damned mouth. You almost got killed twice today. Yes, twice. Your stupid stunt with the airship? Alex almost blew you out of the skies. And believe me, you wouldn't have survived that. For once in your life, accept that I know more than you, and you're out of your depth."

Freya closed her mouth with a snap, staring at her sister. Then, slowly, she licked her lips.

"You've kept things from us. From mom."

"Yes." Admitted Emilia, bluntly. "And I will keep more going forward."

"That's-"

"If you say treason, I'm reducing you to your component atoms." Calmly said Alexandra, almost conversationally.

Freya gave the dungeon core a glance, and swallowed as she realized that she meant it.

Emilia didn't even blink.

"Very well." Emilia's sister closed her eyes, before opening them again. "Alright. Sorry sis, it's just that...damn. You've grown up a lot, haven't you?"

"People kept trying to kidnap me, or my dungeon core." Not to mention kill them as well, but it was clear that she was keeping that card close to their chest, as Alexandra had requested. "I had to. What is the saying? 'Do or die'? Well, I fucking did."

Freya nodded.

"So I see. So I see." She cleared her throat. "You...knew she was lying?"

"I figured it out the second I knew her age and her rank. No one that competent would have been left that low. So don't go on about 'lies' and crap. I know she has her reasons, and I know she'll tell me, all in due time, when she's ready."

Both girlfriends looked at each other and exchanged smiles.

"Alright." Freya glanced at Alexandra. "We will find out who you are, sooner or later."

"Good luck. You'll need it."

"Perhaps we will." Freya met Alexandra's gaze. "But I surmise I should go? I'm afraid to have outstayed my welcome."

Alexandra looked at Emilia, then back to the older vampire.

"No. You can stay. But pull any of that shit again and they'll have to reassemble you mid flight."

Freya nodded.

"Duly noted. I will stay for a few days then, if you'll have me."

"Welcome aboard."