What am I touching? it’s so soft. Theo stiffened, slowly returning to awareness. It happened so fast. First there was a bang, then a cacophony of crashing sounds. Hundreds of wooden beams snapping overhead interrupted their conversation, followed swiftly by a fiery light. And then Theo was on his back, flattened from a massive weight now laying on top of him. That weight was shifting, squirming, he figured it was a pile of bodies.
A thick layer of dust clouded his vision, sending his allergies buzzing. Already he felt his sinuses acting up, he couldn’t breath through his nose. He wanted to cough, to sneeze, yet each gasp of air was a struggle.
In an act of defiance, he had tried to reach out to grab hold of something, anything that could be used to alleviate his situation. His fingers found something just above him, on top of the mound of planks. It was soft, pliable, and warm. It almost felt like he was touching skin, but it felt too smooth, too buoyant, his fingers sank into the warmth gently.
“Crap I better not be touching someones spleen,” he gawked. It definitely wasn’t wet, so those fears were dashed. Still, the thought of his fingers inside a dead bodies innards terrified him, almost making him sick. Luckily, whatever he was grabbing, it felt nice.
He pulled his hand away, trying to draw it closer, until he could trace the outline of the cracked wooden beam over him. There were people groaning above, and the air was stifling.
Theo tried to gain some leverage, just enough so he could shift his weight, and press his shoulder into the mass. Once he felt he had just enough, he tried to push. Just as he started applying pressure, the entire structure slid to the side.
He almost fell with it, his shoulder burning with pain from the sudden shift of pressure. Light shone through, along with a spout of smoke. Theo was hacking a lung when he felt someone trying to pull him to his feet.
“Get up kid,” Monica’s voice, while not the loudest, was the most distinctive. Her accent was sharp, and somehow cut through all the other groans.
Theo let her pull him out of the rubble, trying hard not to stare at her cleavage, while getting back on his feet. He looked over, dozens of people were laying in various states of duress. Some were completely comatose. A few were trying to help others out of the wreckage, including a Lamia who was curling up around a Redever girl in torn clothes. They both were in school uniform, although they were disheveled from falling through the floor.
The Redever was just now getting back on her feet, her tail curling around her waist so that she could hold it close to her chest. The bodice around her torso had come loose, its clasps dangling down her skirt, exposing the thinner linen undershirt. The cloth was torn, so that she had to hold her arms over her chest, until the clasps to her bodice could be re-attached. Several scraps and bruises covered her shoulders and back.
The Lamia looked much better, with only a couple of scraps. It took a moment for Theo to recognize her as Marci, her caramel colored skin was caked with grey dust and dirt. Even her scales lost their glossy sheen.
The Redever looked squarely toward him, their eyes meeting for a brief second. Her cheeks were blushing so violently red, it made her pink skin almost look crimson.
“You kids follow me,” Monica’s voice had grown hoarse. “Cassie, you in there somewhere?”
A muffled reply could barely be heard underneath a pile of bodies. A pair of fox ears poked out from underneath a half naked man who laid unconscious with several missing teeth. “All good…,” the vixen gasped for fresh air upon breaking to the surface.
Monica swore, rubbing her eyes before trying to walk through the wreckage to pull her free. “I swear to god, can’t send you to do one thing without you destroying the place!”
“Where’s Mike?” Theo’s head still felt fuzzy, he felt terrible for not thinking of his roommate earlier. His eyes scanned the room, until noticing his best friend trapped underneath a naked courtesan.
Marci noticed him too, and dashed to drag him out of the pile.
His friends found, Theo then brought his attention to trying to help everyone else. Tearing pieces of cloth to make some bandages, he worked with everyone else to try and provide emergency first aid.
It didn’t take long before police, and ambulances, arrived. Luckily, there were no fatalities, just a lot of wounded drunk people, some worse off than others. Once things were settled, Theo had nearly forgotten their secret meeting in the first place. As he walked outside, Mike and Marci not far behind, Theo was stunned to find their potential patron, the older man named Konrad, talking to detectives. Finishing his conversation, he beckoned Theo to meet up across the street.
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The sirens from the Voxsturm police sounded throughout the night, even after they were long gone Lorelei knew she would still imagine hearing them. The high pitched shrill would definitely stick in her mind.
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“It seems like we’re going to need a new place to conclude our business,” Konrad kept his hands in his coat pockets, his eyes always gleaming toward the distance. It was strange, the way he kept looking toward the cliffs, as if yearning for something far beyond the walls.
Lorelei didn’t like him, he was too brooding. Konrad reminded her of some of the military officers she was forced to serve with. The ones who would whimsically throw lives away, while sitting behind the front lines, casually enjoying a cup of tea.
“Cassie, see to your wounds,” Konrad kept looking toward the distance, even while speaking to others. “We’ll review everything later.”
“What about her?” Cassie rudely pointed at Lorelei.
Konrad looked over, noticing Lorelei for the first time. “Interesting what’s going on?”
“She’s the reason for all of this!” Cassie stammered, the fur on her tail was standing straight.
“Am not!” Lorelei cried out, the tip of her tail was ready to stab the Vixen.
“Marci is this true?” Mike sounded winded. He had his arm around his girlfriends shoulder.
Lorelei clenched her hands into fists, her eyes looking down at the pavement. If her uniform wasn’t on the verge of coming apart, she would’ve taken a more defensive stance. Instead she kept one arm around her bosom, the other to the side. “It was some pervert who started the fight,” she said while grinding her teeth.
“Was everyone fighting over her?” Konrad asked the others, merely out of curiosity.
Cassie sighed, “I think they were fighting because of her?”
“They just wanted to screw me, some wanted to kill me,” Lorelei continued to defend herself.
Marci tried to nudge her way over, while still clinging to her boyfriend who could barely walk. “Anyone who has a beef with my gal, is asking for a fight with me! So watch out!”
“I think everyone wanted to kill everyone in there,” Monica finally walked over to Konrad’s side. She seemed tired, her broad shoulders slumped low. “Not sure what that was about.”
“Humans are strange creatures,” Cassie mused to herself.
“That we are,” Konrad turned aside, looking back toward the distance. The smog of industry shrouded over the skies. “What is your name anyway?” He asked Lorelei while still looking up.
“Lorelei,” she instantly regretted giving him her name.
“You’re a student?”
“Did the uniform give it away?” Marci cut him off, speaking sarcastically. She then continued, this time with a more uplifting tone. “She’s also a wickedly powerful Pyromancer, top of her class.”
“I suppose it would be far too much to ask if you understood Redever military codes? Or served in the trenches?” Konrad clearly meant it as a jest, answering Marci’s sarcasm with his own.
“Yep…,” Lorelei tensed. Why am I answering him! It suddenly dawned on her that, perhaps, magic was involved. Shit!
There was only one kind of magic that was known to loosen lips, and it was typically used for far more than just motivating verbal suggestions. Mind alteration magic was used by Redevers to help brainwash captive humans, helping to turn them into slaves. Human society had long banished its use; those gifted with such magics were kept under close observation, and probated from using it. The fact that Konrad was not only able to use it, but willing to do so in public, frightened the hell out of her.
“What?” Suddenly Konrad’s attention was peaked.
Lorelei froze, her hands suddenly felt clammy. She tried to focus her gaze solely on the ground. The best way to resist such manipulative power was to clear ones mind, or let it run so wild it frustrated the intruder. She banked on the unruly option, having learned it worked better against political officers trying to numb her mind during the war.
“She’s also a combo package, she ain’t going anywhere without me,” Marci beamed with a smile. Lorelei wanted to prick her.
“And what kind of skills do you have?” Konrad turned to Marci, looking her squarely in the eye.
“I’m great at blowjobs…,” Marci answered swiftly. Mike coughed at that. “What? I’m serious!”
“Any survival skills? Serious, what do they teach you in that school?” Konrad lips twisted into a frustrated grin.
Marci didn’t know it, but a thick dab of drool was already rolling down the corner of her mouth. She was oblivious to the power of suggestion Konrad was applying to her. Lorelei was tempted to say something, but feared reprisal.
“Well,” Marci continued, “I mainly study ward magics, but I’m also a major in…”
“Can you fire a gun?” Konrad rubbed his temple, clearly tired of using his power.
“Um yeah?”
“Are you attuned with any magical potential?” Konrad asked.
Marci shook her head, “Sadly no, but I can make wicket smoores.”
Please stop talking Marci! Lorelei wanted to scream.
“And wicked hot dogs,” Marci was now counting on her fingers all the things she could cook for them.
“I can’t believe this,” Konrad looked over to Monica.
“So we coming?” Marci quipped.
Lorelei nudged Marci’s shoulder, trying to get her to stop answering the older mans questions. “I don’t want to go,” she stammered quietly.
“But what if something happens to Theo?” Marci winked. Clearly she wanted to go with Mike, and wasn’t thinking straight.
She did have a point though…
“I guess…shit you’re right,” Lorelei whispered back.
The older man took something out of his coat, handing it to one of his other collaborators who had been reading from his private phone during their entire conversation. “Victor,” Konrad called out.
“Yep,” the younger man responded, still looking at his phone.
“Is this really the best idea?” Konrad asked him, while rubbing the back of his neck.
Victor was quick to respond, as if he had this conversation several times before. “University students are the only ones allowed to conduct expeditions, unless you’re willing to try your luck with the Kaiser, or his council?” Clearly that wasn’t an option.
“Fine,” Konrad brushed his hair back. “Let’s meet again next week, different place, we’ll sort out the details then.”
“Yes sir,” Victor’s voice was somehow serious and sarcastic at the same time.
“I can’t believe I’m actually having to hire university students…,” Konrad’s words faded as he walked away, leaving them all behind.
Finally freed from his influence, Lorelei breathed a sigh of relief. She looked over to Marci who was talking to Mike about getting back to the dorms. Lorelei supposed she should join them, she didn’t like the stares some of the authorities were giving her, and standing in front of a crime scene was never a good idea.
“You guys ready to head back?” Theo’s voice was so close to hers, that Lorelei nearly jumped.
She looked over her shoulder to see that the boy, no the man, of her dreams was standing alongside her with his arms crossed.
She squealed, then dashed away as fast as she could. Tripping over a crack in the pavement, Lorelei collapsed onto the sidewalk with a thud.
“Lori…you ok?” Marci gasped.
Lorelei responded with a groan.
“You mind carrying her back?” Marci asked Theo with a smile.