misaki's chapter
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wounds
fragments
I watched helplessly as the dying Relic was thrust through Karin's body.
The shifting, multicolored column of tangled magic abruptly vanished. I instinctively knew what happened. The artifact that bound us together, in a desperate attempt to protect its wielder, had absorbed all but a tiny fraction of the incredible power directed at her. It proved to be too much, far too much for the ancient sword to handle.
I closed my eyes and felt my ears droop low.
The Relic was dead.
Transfixing my love's body, the heat-warped steel of the blessed blade
was riddled with fissures and cracks. The mana bond that linked me to the artifact and sustained my life and my power was no more, but I didn't care about that. All I could think about was her.
Without her, nothing would mean anything any longer.
Karin's body was sprawled in the center of the crater blasted into the ground. I ignored Star's shouting and rushed forward. The crater was still blisteringly hot, but I didn't care about that, either. The only thing in the whole universe that I cared about was…
No, she
wasn't
dead.
Couldn't
be dead.
I refused to let myself think that.
I reached Karin's body and dropped to my knees. She was soaked in blood, both that of the mysterious mage and her own. The tears were already coming, causing my vision to blur. I blinked and they fell away onto Karin's cheek. My hands were shaking, but I managed to turn my love's right hand over and press my index and middle finger to her wrist. I could feel her pulse. It was thready and weak, but it was there.
“She's alive! She's still alive, Star! The thrust missed her heart!” I cried, joyously. “Karin is still alive!”
Our leader made her way toward us. The other hunter, Renne, was semi-conscious and leaning against the broken concrete pylon. Star looked to have avoided further injury and our enemies had either been defeated or fled, but we were still terribly vulnerable after such a grueling battle.
Star knelt down and placed her right hand on my shoulder. “I'm sorry, Misaki. I never thought we would be going up against someone this strong. I would never have given this job to the two of you—”
“It doesn't matter,” I muttered as I brushed my fingers against my love's cheek. She was unconscious, likely in a deep coma, her mind and soul disconnected from her body. I felt my eyes start to sting again as I cursed myself for my own incompetence at healing magic.
Star squeezed my shoulder. “It matters to me. You two… you two really got to me, you know that? None of my other contractors ever cared about me as a person.”
I somehow managed to smile a little, but my ears wouldn't perk up. “I wasn't trying to diminish you. Our confrontation with this mage was inevitable from the moment she invaded Karin's dreams.”
“You're right. Karin never would have been able to leave it alone.”
“What are we going to do, Star?” I wondered, trying hard to keep the rising note of fear and worry from coloring my tone too much. I suspected it didn't matter, though; it was obvious to Star that my brave front was just that, a front.
“Backup's on the way,” she informed me. “An AEGIS unit should be here soon with medical personnel to take care of Renne and Karin both—ah, that's probably them now. Wait here.”
My ears swiveled toward the sound. I frowned as I recognized the throaty roar of diesel-burning military humvees. It seemed unusual to me, but by the very nature of our occupation we were not privy to many of the organization's secrets. Perhaps the use of these vehicles was common; I couldn't say.
I took Karin's right hand in my own and stroked it softly. Her skin felt warm and I could detect the pulse of life and mana continue to sing through her body. It felt subtly different than before, but it was still there and she was still alive. Most importantly, the regular and unimpeded flow of mana within her body gave me hope that she would make a full recovery.
I could hear Star talking to the AEGIS people who had just arrived, but she was far enough away that the conversation sounded disjointed at best. I looked around, not particularly surprised to see three matte-black humvees and a nondescript medical transport parked nearby. What
did
surprise me was the appearance of the people who emerged from those humvees.
There was no mistaking it: they were soldiers, clearly of the sort that were used to fight secret battles that were destined to be left out of history. In my six centuries of life, I had fought both with and against such secret warriors often enough that I could identify them easily. These particular warriors wore black combat fatigues without any visible insignia, making it impossible to tell which banner they fought for. All of them were armed with assault rifles and they were all headed directly for the crater where Karin lay.
Star walked beside them. My eyes narrowed and my ears flattened back against my head as I noticed the soldier nearest her tilted his rifle threateningly at her as she tried to walk past him.
“What's going on?” I glanced at Star, unable to keep my ears and tail from telegraphing my uneasiness. Her face was drawn and pale, almost as empty of expression as the mysterious mage we fought.
“The situation is out of my hands,” she said, her voice as shaken as I'd ever heard it. “I'll do as much as I can for you. Please, Misaki, you need to step away from Karin's body immediately.”
My eyes widened and my tail froze in mid-swish. “What?”
“Please, Misaki. That's an order. Step away from Karin's body.”
“Why? What are these soldiers doing here? What's going on, Star?” I felt the dread slowly growing in my chest to increase tenfold as my reluctance provoked a response. The four soldiers flanking Star all leveled their weapons directly at me.
The soldier nearest Star glared at me. “Step away, now!”
A single, solitary gunshot rang out in the parking lot and I nearly leaped a meter into the air. For a moment I thought the soldiers near Star had fired at me to punctuate the command, but they were all still staring at me from beneath their shielded helmets. I couldn't perceive any increase in heat from the barrels of their rifles.
I stood up slowly and turned toward the pylon where Renne lay, hoping that my instincts were wrong, but knowing that I would be disappointed. One soldier stood over Renne, an automatic pistol in his hand. The tip of the weapon's barrel emanated a faint warmth that I could detect more easily than the acrid scent of gunpowder.
“Star, no! They just murdered Renne!” I cried. My tail curled between my legs of its own accord and I felt my ears droop to either side of my head. Fear began to gnaw on my insides with teeth made of ice.
A flicker of emotion crossed Star's face, but it only lasted for an instant. “I have my orders, Misaki. Your status and security clearance has been revoked; you absolutely need to leave the area right now.”
The black-armored warrior nearest Star turned to me. “AEGIS no longer has any use for you. If you leave now, we will not trouble you further.”
“Why? What are you doing with Karin?! Why are you throwing me away like this?”
Star opened her mouth to speak, but the soldier stopped her and turned his impatient glare on me. “The Relic is dead and the bond linking you with Ashley has been severed. You will only be able to maintain your physical form for a maximum of forty-eight hours.”
Star looked stricken, but she said nothing.
“Leave now,” the soldier barked, tightening his grip on the rifle. I knew the unspoken threat wasn't an idle one. I could feel the loose mana saturating the area, but the governing restrictions encircling my spirit barred me from drawing upon it. I was left only with the astral energy currently stored within my body.
It wasn't nearly enough.
I turned away and started to walk, dimly aware of the two soldiers who followed me to the edge of the abandoned lot. My body felt leaden, drained and utterly exhausted. Even if I had the reserves to fight, I knew I didn't have the will to commit myself.
As I reached the parked car, the soldiers turned and strode back toward their vehicles and the crater where Karin's body still lay. I watched as two black-uniformed medics emerged from the ambulance and crouched down next to her. Gloved hands gripped the blackened hilt of the Relic and slowly started to ease the broken blade out. Blood poured from the wound in great spurts as the sword was removed.
I wanted to scream, to cry, to roar in rage, but I couldn't. I couldn't even react at all as the second medic quickly placed self-sealing pressure patches on either side of the terrible injury. The two men silently worked together, lifting my love's body onto a stretcher as delicately as they could. Not for Karin's sake, I knew, but to avoid further damage to her body.
Star stood silently and unmoving, her hands clenched into fists at her side, still flanked by two of the soldiers. The others fanned out across the area, their rifles held at the ready as they scanned the area.
I opened the car door and settled behind the driver's seat. My clothes had been torn and burned to the point where they were nothing but rags barely covering my body, but it was of no consequence. Karin's purse was still in the car on the floorboard of the passenger side. I reached inside and drew out the keys, starting the car. The electric motors whirred to life and I let out a long, slow breath as I pressed my foot on the accelerator and drove out onto the street.
My perception of time faded away along with my normal thought processes. Keeping my mind on what I was doing became difficult. I somehow knew I was headed toward a destination, but I didn't remember deciding on it. My body seemed to function on reflex as I increased speed and merged onto the freeway heading south.
There was no reason for me to go back to the apartment Karin and I shared. It would be empty and lifeless. If I had only two days left on this world, I had to use it properly. I had to make sure our family knew what happened to her.
I chose a route that would avoid toll roads and entered it into the GPS navigation system on the car's dash computer. The device chimed and illuminated a path through the twisting and winding streets and highways.
My tail curled around my right thigh as I drifted into the center lane, keeping pace with the rest of the traffic but resisting the temptation to stomp on the accelerator. I closed my eyes briefly and let out a slow, weary breath. As I chased the negative emotions of fear, despair and heartbreak from my soul, I felt a glimmer I hadn't noticed before—a faint tingle of astral energy that pulsed through me.
I stiffened in the driver's seat. The battle and the sudden and unexpected betrayal almost blinded me to what should have been obvious. It was at that moment that I knew the soldier had been wrong.
No, not wrong, just lacking critical information. Under normal circumstances, he would have been correct, but he had no knowledge of the
other
link. The healing link that I forged six months ago bound us together as surely as the Relic once did. That bond was capable of functioning in
either
direction.
There
was
a chance. Even if it was a small one, I could use that chance to save my love from those who betrayed us. We
would
be together again.
I just had to figure out how.
reunion
I knocked on the door. It was late afternoon and I hoped someone was actually at home. If need be, I would wait here for their return.
My fears turned out to be unfounded. The door opened and Yoshiko stood at the threshold. Her bland expression suddenly faded upon seeing me, her eyes widening in shock as she took in my battered and battle-weary form.
“Misaki, what—what the hell happened to you?!”
I felt myself sway on my feet. Exhaustion was taking its toll; without the ability to draw upon more than a trickle of mana from the secondary link, I couldn't restore myself from the battle and the subsequent emotional turmoil. The narrow conduit could only pass enough astral energy to barely keep me alive and little else.
Yoshiko pulled back the screen door and grabbed me by the upper arm, yanking me inside none-too-gently. She shut and locked the door behind her and nearly dragged me into the living room, helping me lay down on the couch. The soft cushions felt wonderful and I was having even more trouble keeping my eyes open.
“I… Karin is…” My words came out muddled together and slurred. Yoshiko gazed down on me with a worried expression and she placed a hand on my forehead. My ears flicked weakly and I tried to move my tail, but most of my body didn't want to obey any of my mind's commands.
“Shh, you're safe here, little fox,” Yoshiko murmured, her tone soothing and gentle. “I can tell you're about to keel over any minute.”
I groaned and blinked my eyes rapidly, trying to keep awake. “Need to… need to tell you—Karin. They took Karin!”
Yoshiko's worried expression became more intense. “What? Who took Karin? What happened to my daughter?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but it was no use. Without the ability to refresh myself by drawing on Karin's astral energy, I couldn't fight my own need for rest any longer. The combined stresses of the battle and the aftermath were simply too great for me to bear. Consciousness faded from me and I fell into a thick, dreamless darkness.
When sleep began to recede, I could faintly make out the sound of worried voices. I opened one eye and then the other. Yoshiko was in the room, but she was no longer alone. So-yi and Nicole were both sitting on the other couch across from the one I lay upon. I struggled to sit up, but weakness stole over my limbs.
“You should sleep some more, little fox.” Yoshiko was kneeling in front of me, her hand brushing the hair from my eyes. “You were only out for a little over an hour.”
I shook my head. “N-no, I'll be… okay. I need to tell you… to tell you what happened.”
So-yi glanced at her mother and her partner in turn. “What's going on, Mama?”
“I don't know. I suppose the little fox will be able to tell us, but she's so exhausted that I'm afraid she'll just pass right back out in the middle of the telling. We need to do what we can to help her.”
“Yeah,” Nicole agreed.
“Nicole, help her get out of those ruined clothes. I'm going to go make some food and tea. So-yi, draw a hot bath and help her get cleaned up.”
I marveled as Yoshiko's hastily-barked orders were quickly put into practice. So-yi rushed out of the room, heading toward the bathroom. Nicole, encumbered by her late-term pregnancy, was given the simpler task of stripping my shredded clothing away.
“I hope you don't mind me seeing.” Nicole's cheeks were faintly flushed as she started to pull away what she could with her hands. For the rest, she slipped a small folding knife from its place clipped to her pocket and began to carefully slice away the more stubborn remnants of my outfit.
The sharp steel made short work of the melted and shredded garments. Nicole piled the rags on the coffee table. I felt the cool air across my bare skin once she was finished. My boots were fortunately leather and only the nylon laces melted from the heat of the redirected spell-flame.
Nicole studied my boots for a long moment, trying to discern the best way to remove them without hurting me. Her hands were steady as she made shallow cuts across the melted laces and took the boots off my feet, pulling with them crumbling bits of cotton that had once been my socks.
“Can you stand?”
I nodded and held a hand out. Nicole pulled me up with surprising ease and I managed to stay on my feet with only a slight wobble.
“Come on, I'll help you to the bath,” she offered. I was grateful for the help; until I figured out a way to maximize the efficiency of the repurposed mana bond, it would be best if I kept exertions to an absolute minimum.
So-yi was already in the bathroom, having filled the tub ahead of me. Wisps of steam rose from the surface. “Thanks, dear, I'll take it from here. You should go rest—”
“So-yi, stop that,” Nicole interrupted. “I can handle helping out with this, honest.”
“Fine, fine, then go see if Mama needs any help in the kitchen. I can help Misaki get cleaned up. It's not like there's really room in here for more than two people, anyway.”
I studied the tub, my expression a little disappointed. So-yi's house was built in the Western style and didn't have a very good bath tub. I slowly eased myself over the edge of the tub and lowered into the soothing heat of the water, my arms shaking as they struggled to support my weight.
“Is it warm enough for you?”
I glanced up at So-yi and forced a smile. “It's perfect. Thank you for helping me.”
So-yi bent down near the tub and produced a bottle of bath wash. I closed my eyes and tried to relax as best I could as she worked to clean off all the dust, dried blood and other bits of detritus that clung to my body and matted my hair and the fur of my tail. My ears flicked and laid flat as I felt So-yi's fingers scratch at the base.
“I want to know what happened, but I guess it doesn't make sense for you to have to tell it more than once,” she stated as her fingers plunged into my disheveled hair, gently pulling the locks apart and coating them with soap.
My tail splashed in the water between my legs. “I'll explain…”
So-yi's fingers drew out of my hair and I felt a torrent of warm water poured over my head, rinsing out the soap and leaving it clean. I opened my eyes and peered through the curtain of wet hair at my love's sister. Her face was calm, but I could tell easily enough that her emotions were in turmoil beneath the surface.
“Keep your eyes closed for now, Misaki.” So-yi picked up a bottle of conditioning lotion and squirted a generous dollop in her hands. I acquiesced to her wishes and closed my eyes, trying to keep my mind clear and still and just enjoy the comforting sensations as the fingers massaged my scalp.
Another deluge of warm water cascaded over my head. I opened my eyes and saw So-yi holding out her hand to help me stand. I took the offered assistance and managed to get over the edge of the tub without stumbling. Already I was feeling much stronger as I adjusted to the tenuous bond linking me to Karin, my body and spirit somehow adapting to the far leaner energy source.
“Thank you.”
So-yi smiled. “Here, let's get you dried off. You can wear a yukata for tonight; we'll let you borrow some of Nicole's clothing for tomorrow. You two are close to the same size, so it should be fine.”
I took the offered towel and patted myself dry. Even though I created the healing bond, such magic was not something I understood perfectly. The mana that flowed from Karin's spirit and into mine was a trickle compared to the torrent that had once passed through the Relic, but it was enough to maintain my physical body.
“You're looking a lot better,” So-yi noted.
“Amazing what a little rest and a hot bath can do. Food will help, too.”
“I'm sure Mama and Nicole have that well in hand. Come on, let's go.”
I pulled the brown yukata on and tied the sash. So-yi led me into the dining room, to the same table that Karin and I shared with them the night before. I had been here only a day ago, and yet it felt nearly as distant as another lifetime.
“I didn't have much time to prepare, but I think this should do.”
Yoshiko came into the dining room with a serving platter heaped with grilled meat. The smell was heavenly; my stomach emitted a loud and ungraceful growl that prompted all three of the women to smile. Nicole set down plates and a container filled with freshly-steamed white rice.
I sat down and Yoshiko placed a well-laden plate down before me, accompanied by a smaller bowl of rice. The meal was a simple one: strips of rare beef marinated in soy sauce, honey, garlic and fresh chilies and seared briefly on the grill. I picked up my chopsticks and began to eat with far more enthusiasm than could be considered ladylike.
Yoshiko served three more plates with significantly less meat and distributed them evenly around the table. The four of us ate amidst a tense silence. I knew Karin's family was anxious to know what had happened, but they suffered the delay for my sake.
Several minutes later my plate was empty and I sipped at a cup of green tea that Yoshiko brewed fresh for me. She and her daughter and daughter-in-law all gazed upon me expectantly.
“I'm sorry I was too weak and exhausted to tell you right away. Things are really confusing right now, but… Karin is gone. Alive, but being held against her will.”
The relief on Yoshiko's face was obvious, but she couldn't quite rid her expression of worry. I felt vaguely sick in the knowledge that what I had to say would only worry Yoshiko even further.
“That's the only good news I have.” I frowned and my tail's reflexive swishing slowed, my ears drooping slightly. “She was hurt badly, maybe even in a coma, and AEGIS took her away through threat of force.”
“Where did they take her?” Yoshiko demanded.
“I have no idea, but you should hear the whole thing.” I sipped at my tea for a moment and took a slow, calming breath. “Karin and I were assigned to a major case, just as we told you before we departed. We were investigating a person of interest when everything started to go wrong.”
I paused and sipped at my tea. My throat felt raw, my voice just the slightest bit hoarse. The three women all looked upon me with a mixture of sympathy and anxious curiosity, waiting for an explanation. I gave a brief account of the events that led up to Karin's capture, omitting her contact with the mysterious mage. The base reality of what had happened would be difficult enough for our family to process.
“We were attacked at the crime scene. Karin and I managed to hold the enemy off until Star arrived with reinforcements. The five of us drove them off, but we lost one agent and another was seriously wounded. Karin was struck down by a surprise attack. After the battle was over, she was alive, but unconscious and unresponsive.”
Yoshiko glanced at her youngest daughter and then back at me, but said nothing. My tail curled around my thigh, brushing my skin through the thin fabric of the borrowed yukata.
“Star requested a cleanup team to secure the scene and a medical unit to evacuate Karin and the wounded agent. Instead, black-armored soldiers arrived on the scene and forcibly relieved Star of her command. They shot their wounded agent and took Karin away. I don't know where she was taken, or for what purpose.”
So-yi and Nicole were stricken, both wearing horrified expressions. I hazarded a glance at Yoshiko and I was not surprised to see a complete and cold lack of emotion. She was a very strong woman with solid convictions. Yoshiko wouldn't easily break down, even at the prospect of possibly losing another child.
“So what are you going to do about it?”
The blunt delivery of the question sent tremors through my heart. I couldn't maintain my composure any longer. The tears gathered in my eyes and I buried my face in my hands. Even though she hadn't meant to, Yoshiko could not have done more damage if she had struck me physically.
“There's nothing I
can
do about it.” My tone was low, hoarse and miserable. “I may still be alive, but the tenuous bond that still ties me to Karin is too weak. I originally created it to help her injuries heal—it was never intended to perpetuate my physical manifestation. The spell-flame is all I can manage with so little mana. I have no idea where she was taken or what our former employers intend to do with her.”
“Nothing good, I'm sure,” So-yi muttered. I expected the grim set of her face; Karin's sister had never fully trusted AEGIS, a point of contention that occasionally produced arguments between the two sisters over the past several months. Now, it seemed, So-yi had been right all along.
“I know, and that's exactly why you
must
do something, little fox.” Yoshiko's voice was sharp yet also somehow comforting. “We all love Karin deeply, but we are just ordinary people who lived our lives without magic's touch.
You
are the only one capable of bringing her back to us.”
“B-but I'm almost powerless,” I objected, my ears drooping as my heart sank. “Even if I wasn't, I wouldn't even know where to start looking.”
“You mentioned that Star was forcibly removed from consideration.”
I blinked at Yoshiko, not immediately understanding her meaning. “She had no choice but to follow her orders—”
Yoshiko held up a hand to stop me. “That's what I mean. If her command was stripped away from her, it would imply that she would not have followed her orders had the decision been left up to her.”