Meilin glanced at me and nodded. I straightened in my chair and placed my hands on the table, feeling the fur on my tail fluff out slightly. I didn't want to appear too agitated, even though I was certain the Archivist already knew how desperate we were.
“We were betrayed by AEGIS after the battle,” I began, keeping my voice as calm and clear as I could. “Soldiers arrived on the scene and took control. They executed one of Meilin's injured subordinates and took Karin away.”
Elias's expression grew pensive. “I assume the person you speak of was the eighty-second wielder of the Relic of the Nine-tailed Fox.”
I fought back the tears that threatened to spring forth. “Yes, though the Relic itself was destroyed. Karin survived, but only barely, and then the soldiers took her.”
The tears came anyway, dropping onto the black surface of the table.
“So you seek Luna's aid in rescuing your lost love.”
“Y-yes.” I didn't bother to ask how he knew about my relationship with Karin. It was almost impossible to miss from my reaction. “I don't know where the soldiers took her, but I should still be able to find her through the secondary bond. If it can continue to supply me with mana, it's possible that I can trace the astral energy to its source.”
“If AEGIS went to all that trouble to get her, they definitely aren't going to part with her easily,” Amber noted. “We're talking about infiltrating a seriously high-security compound. They'll be guarding their prize heavily, you can count on that.”
“We know.” Meilin sighed and leaned forward toward her sister. “Obviously I wasn't privy to this part of the organization, but I'm not so ignorant that I don't expect it to be very dangerous and difficult. That's why we came to ask for your help.”
“Okay, you've said your piece.” Amber's tone was flat. “What's in it for us?”
“Information. Luna collects and preserves arcane knowledge from all over the world, but I know that your information on astral emulation systems is lacking. If they took Karin for the reason I think they did, the facility where she's being held will contain all sorts of knowledge that Luna would normally have no access to.”
Amber's lips twisted in a grimace. “We'd certainly love to be able to build our own Spell Engines, but this is a lot of risk for an information raid. Not to mention Luna usually doesn't go around attacking people to add to our libraries.”
“I have something else to offer.” Meilin met her sister's gaze steadily. “I will help you fight the demons.”
“You'd pledge yourself to Luna?” Amber demanded, her tone incredulous. “What makes you think we would even want you working with us to begin with, dear sister?”
Meilin held a placating hand up. “Amber, please. We all know that something very bad is headed our way. These creatures are just the beginning; I can feel it. Arcane houses all over the world are closing ranks and hiding away, even the more bloodthirsty ones. Spirit hunters and mages are being targeted by these demons. AEGIS has suddenly turned on its head with no explanation.”
“You don't have to remind me. If the demons keep hitting this place, we're going to have to abandon this facility and disperse, go underground. Luna can't afford to let them whittle us down to nothing in an attritionary war we can't win.”
“If we can rescue Karin and manage to re-establish our mana bond properly, we'll be able to fight them on equal footing,” I reminded her. “The more she and I destroy, the fewer will exist to harass Luna.”
“You're not really getting me all that excited here.” Amber's tone was bone-dry. “Look, Luna isn't like your AEGIS. We don't have the weight of infinite government resources and funding backing us up. I'm sorry, but I don't think the risks are worth it.”
“Amber, just give us a—”
I held my hand up to stop her. “No, Meilin, she's right. We don't have much to offer Luna at all.”
“Not to mention your girlfriend might never recover,” Amber pointed out.
“I will
not
allow myself to think that.” My eyes narrowed into emerald slits as I felt my ears lay back against my head. “Karin
will
wake up. She has to.”
The Swordlady of Luna shrugged and glanced at Elias. The tall, dignified leader of the entire Luna organization seemed to be lost in thought. No one spoke for a long moment, but I could tell that Elias was busy analyzing the situation.
“Amber, I understand your misgivings,” the Archivist began, “but I believe we have little choice but to help them. We are indeed standing on the edge of darkness. The arrival of the demons, this unusual mage and the recent instability inherent in binding invocations… I believe all of this is indeed related to a weakening of the boundary.”
Amber nodded. “A lot of our major rivals suddenly pulled out of the game over the past few months. It was weird, we didn't get it at first, but then I saw it for myself during a scrap with a summoner of House Kohn—the jerk's pet shardwight just vanished in the middle of the fight. Most invocations are working fine, but summoning magic is fucked.”
“I knew that some summoners were losing control of their specters, but I didn't realize it'd gotten that bad.” Meilin rubbed her temples and let out a frustrated groan. “I suppose that explains the sudden defensive posture of the arcane houses.”
“That is our theory as well,” Elias confirmed. “Much of the power of these clans comes from the specters they bind to their will. Without their most potent weapons, it is no surprise that they are fearful. Summoners cannot rely upon their specters and the demons, guided only by their own chaotic urges, are appearing in greater number.”
My ears twitched and I glanced at Meilin. “The balance of power… how many of these arcane houses owe their political and economic standing to the might of their summoned specters?”
“Enough to cause a significant economic disruption. This isn't good.”
“Shouldn't you be glad the specters are breaking their bindings?” Amber queried. Her tone was only slightly sarcastic. “I mean, that
was
your job before, right? All that stuff about protecting humanity from evil?”
Meilin fixed her sister with a narrow-eyed glare. “Yes, under AEGIS I
did
work to destroy specters and protect humanity from their corruption. However, we did it
carefully
, with full consideration for the economic and political consequences of taking down any given arcane house and whatever assets they controlled.”
It was obvious that another argument between the two sisters was brewing. I thumped the heel of my palm on the table to turn everyone's attention to me.
“Let's stay focused on what we need to do
now
. Karin needs our help.”
“Fine by me,” Amber agreed, leaning further back in her chair and placing her hands behind her head. Despite my attempt to refocus the conversation she still seemed intent on doing whatever she could to annoy her sister.
“Very well. The first thing we must do is locate Karin Ashley.” Elias turned his attention to me. “Misaki, this is your task. Once you locate her, Luna will dispatch scouts to gather as much information as possible so that we may plan our assault.”
“I'll do that right away,” I promised. “How long do you think it'll be before we can begin the operation?”
“It may take some time, but we will proceed with all due haste.”
“After the initial scouting reports reach us, we can tweak our tactical plan as tight as possible and go right away.” Amber's hand rested on the pommel of the Shattered Sword and her eyes went cold.
“We'll hit them fast and hard.”
quiescence
The door to the guest quarters slid open. The dim glow brightened as the sensors detected a presence, bringing the room into focus. Beds were made and a basket of fresh fruit had been set on the small table. The room was so clean I could detect no evidence that Meilin and I had even slept here.
I was alone. Meilin went off somewhere with Amber, ostensibly to continue laying the groundwork for the combination rescue operation and information raid. I didn't like the risk that the secondary objective added, but there wasn't much I could do about it. We needed Luna's help and that assistance came at a price.
My ears twitched as I sat down on the bed and started removing my boots. New boots were never very comfortable and the balls of my feet were protesting their mistreatment. Meditating into a focus state never came easily to me; the last thing I needed was yet another distraction preventing me from clearing my mind.
I stood up and sealed the door, ensuring that I wouldn't be disturbed, not even by Meilin or Amber. Dimming the lights, I positioned myself in the center of the small guest room and sat on the floor in a lotus position. It bothered me intensely that I had to spend so much time and effort meditating to sharpen my mental focus in order to perform anything beyond a simple cantrip.
There wasn't anything I could do to change it; at least I still
could
work more difficult magic with such limited access to astral energy. I closed my eyes and let my breathing slow, feeling my ears droop just slightly. My tail slowed its usual swishing, curling around and coming to rest on the floor. Keeping it still was one of the hardest parts of achieving this sort of razor-edge concentration.
The trickle of mana that sustained me flowed instantaneously, regardless of distance. Astral energy didn't obey the natural laws of this world. I was no expert on the subject, but I knew that the rules of the astral world differed greatly from those of the material world.
Despite the fact that the mana came to me without traveling through time and space, I could somehow still discern its source. I couldn't feel anything, but I knew my body was trembling and sweat gathered on my brow. Working magic without the framework of an invocation would be difficult and exhausting even in ideal conditions.
Painstakingly, I bent a line of force here, rerouted a connection there. I had no concrete data to work with, only an insistent
pulling
as the trickle of fresh mana tugged at my consciousness. I altered the natural pathways it took through the universe, fusing them together to form a longer conduit.
The feeling of attraction increased in strength steadily and then started to plateau. I slowed my efforts and concentrated on perceiving the infinitesimal point where the plateau started to dip again.
There!
I stopped and pushed just a tiny mote of mana into the conduit I'd created. That tiny mote, shaped by the invocation I began to cast, would yield up images, sounds, smells. The sensory data, combined with Luna's extensive database, would lead us to Karin.
Information flooded into my mind. I could smell… diesel fuel, still used for certain applications, generally vehicles that travel far away from the beaten path. Beneath the heavy chemical smell was a bracing cold and dry quality to the air that suggested high altitude. I could hear the call of birds, the slightly discordant song of nature… and the sound of humans talking and working.
The vision expanded and I could
see
. The facility was burned into my mind—a small but defensible complex located high in the mountains. There was a single large building constructed of concrete and steel. It was much older than the prefab buildings set up around it. From the sizes and arrangement I suspected at least one of the four prefabs served as barracks for the garrison. Several black-painted humvees were parked on a packed dirt surface nearest the largest prefab building, likely some sort of multipurpose equipment depot.
My mind began to darken slowly as the power contained within the mote of mana faded away, expended in the casting of this impromptu spell-weaving. I opened my eyes and took a deep breath, getting to my feet a little unsteadily. The digital readout on the wall told me the entire process took nearly four hours. I felt shaky and weak, but I expected this and made prior arrangements. On the small dining table was a tray containing a high-protein snack of spicy dried beef and whole hard-boiled eggs.
I sat down and ate quickly, not really tasting the food. After I finished my hasty meal, I downed an entire glass of water without stopping. The dizziness had already started to fade away, but I knew I'd be out of commission for the rest of the evening no matter what.
I woke the guest room's computer terminal and tapped a key combination in. A few seconds later, Amber's scowling face appeared on the screen. Her expression became neutral once she recognized me.
“I know where Karin is. I should be able to identify the location from satellite photographs.”
Amber was visibly impressed. “Just like that, huh?”
“I'm making it sound easier than it was,” I muttered, my tone sour. “Get all your satellite data for mountainous regions within a 500 kilometer radius of these coordinates and over 1500 meters in elevation. I'll find it for you for sure.”
The Swordlady stared at the numbers I'd entered into the terminal. “That'll take a bit. I'll get back to you when we've narrowed things down a little. Why don't you—”
“I'm going to sleep now.” I yawned hugely. “Wake me up in the morning.”
“Wait, Misaki—”
I turned off the video terminal, not bothering to let her finish. Time wasn't on our side, surely, but I'd be no good to anyone if I was too exhausted to function. With considerable effort, I heaved myself off the chair, trying to get to the bed while taking off my clothing at the same time.
Somehow, I managed to reach it before collapsing.