Cassandra Pendragon
"I… I just don't know, but I can't reach the coven and there… there've been rumours," she added quietly, "of the past coming back to live. No artefact… no magic I know of is capable of that. Not unless… and you're back as well. Do you… your siblings… could they be on Earth? Do you know what they're up to?" Nothing good, apparently, at least if she was right. But I wasn't convinced, yet. It didn't take an immortal to muck up the natural order. Only some ambition and a boatload of bad luck or incompetence. If my siblings had been involved, no one on Earth would have been the wiser. They actually knew what they were doing. Most of the time.
"I can't remember how much I've told you about my family, but we aren't exactly on speaking terms. So, no, I don't know if one of them is around. It's pretty unlikely, though. Otherwise they'd have been on my tails the very moment I arrived here. Still… it doesn't take an immortal to cause havoc on a large scale. Where are you?"
"At home. The jet is fuelled, though. I can be anywhere within a day." I took a few seconds to organise my thoughts before I replied somewhat nervously:
"You said you can't reach the witches. I didn't know you were staying in contact."
"We weren't. Not really. But having friends never hurts and ever since you disappeared I've been inviting them over for Christmas. A few weeks ago… you know, I'd rather not talk about it on the phone. I can come to wherever you are or you could pay me a visit. I take it you still remember where I live?"
"I do, but I don't think flying halfway across the globe is the best idea right now. A day you said… why don't we meet in China around noon tomorrow? Shanghai, probably."
"I'll be there. Until then… be careful, Lucifer. I'll try to reach out to your girls again, but I'm not expecting a reply. Will you try to find them?"
"Of course. But first I have to know what you aren't telling me. Godspeed, Jane." She managed a strained chuckle.
"Sweet irony. You don't seem to have changed that much."
"I'm an immortal. I'm not supposed to change at all, but you know me. I've never been big on rules. Hurry… I don't want to bury even more friends…"
"Even more," she interrupted sharply. I bit my tongue at the thoughtless comment. I hadn't meant to tell her, but now…
"The nameless monk. His monastery has been razed. He and his brothers… they're gone." She hissed involuntarily.
"How? Even I couldn't find out where they're hiding. And why? I've never met a more docile person."
"That's only because he liked you… trust me, he was devious and more than a little violent. Shit. I should've tried to figure out what happened to him. Somehow it seemed like a good idea to let it go, at least for the time being. Holy hells, I'm such an idiot."
"Did you honestly just leave him lying in the snow?" She sounded incredulous, flabbergasted, but all I could do was shake my head sadly. Not that she was able to see the gesture.
"That's why I called. I meant to ask you to put together a proper burial. I… I didn't trust myself… look, I shouldn't even be here, never mind getting involved. I… I was afraid that my last bit of rationality would fly out the window the very moment I saw him. So I didn't even search for him…"
"He could still be alive, you fool," she hissed. Oh boy, and she had sounded shy, almost scared in the beginning. At least her spirit was still up and kicking… and biting and scratching.
"No… I'd have felt him. He's gone, Jane. There was nothing left alive there and nobody would have been able to get to him, never mind drag him away. I built the foundation of his monastery myself."
"Then… who could even hope to…," she was scared again.
"I just don't know and I don't have the time to find out. Especially with Anna and her coven in the wind. That I can't ignore." I closed my eyes and rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Could you just get here, please? Maybe I'll have to ask you to fly me across the Pacific."
"Can you actually locate them? Even if…"
"As long as they're alive I can find them. I've taught them… I know their presence and while I might not be able to use my magic like I want to my senses are in perfect shape. Besides… I have a few friends with me. If I can't find them, they will."
"Do I even want to know who they are?"
"Sure you do. Or have you lost your fascination with vampires? Mine doesn't sparkle, though."
"She isn't yours," Viyara snorted, which made me shush her with a gesture.
"Who's that," came the immediate reply over the phone. "Is that…"
"No, the girl you just heard is a dragoness. A golden… crystalline one, if that means anything to you. She's…" "A dragon? Seriously? You gotta be shitting… but you aren't, of course. Have you brought your entire court?"
"Not so much of a stateswoman, but I did bring two friends, a phoenix and my sister."
"Your sister? As in…."
"Both, she's an angel, but she's also my biological sister… half sister to be honest. You can ask her in person as soon as you get here. Anything else I should know?"
"Well, in case you were wondering, I didn't touch the inheritance you left me. It's still all there… do you remember how to access your funds?"
"I don't even remember that I owned a single dime. And I'm quite surprised that if I did, I would leave them to you. Pray tell, how much is there and how do I get to it?" She laughed at that, a pleasant, warm sound that reminded me of the rolling, English hills she called home.
"More than you could ever hope to spend. Being a magpie and living for centuries does come with a few perks. You're in China? That might be a problem. Most of your liquid assets are in Italy or Switzerland, but I can wire you as much as you need before I leave. How much do you want?"
"As much as you can reasonably cobble together in an hour. I have a feeling I'm going to need it sooner rather than later."
"Oh boy, you're in for a surprise. Wait, you don't have a passport or any form of identification, do you?"
"Of course not. Right. So much for the easy way. Can you help me out?"
"Sure… I'll bring everything with me, but you'll have to wait until we can meet. How many… people have you brought?"
"Four, but we'll soon pick up another one. I hope."
"Documents for six it is. I'll be at Pudong airport in about 20 hours. Can you pick me up there?"
"Sure. Stay safe, Jane. See you soon." I clicked the line shut and savoured the fresh breeze for a moment. Underneath the familiar but half forgotten miasma of congested traffic there was still a hint of sweetness, mixed with the dry, ancient smell of the desert we had crossed.
"You've heard everything," I began. "The witches she mentioned, they're my friends… they're my wards. I have to…"
"Of course you do," Reia snorted while she switched her grip on Lamia to drag her into a more comfortable position. "Are you going to leave us now?" She tried to sound neutral, but truth be told she wouldn't have convinced a toddler. She was scared… and angry that I would even consider abandoning her. Which I didn't.
"Hold your horses," the idiom from Earth had slipped into my sentence without me realising, even though there were no horses on Gaya. "It simply means that we have about twenty hours to find Lamia's mom, cure your friend and still be in time to meet with Jane. It also means, however, that I have to go back to the monastery. I have to know what happened. No offence, but I'm faster than all of you. You can follow the trail on your own, yes?" Reia hesitated, but Viyara and Aurelia nodded immediately. "Good," I continued, "do so, but don't enter a city without me. I'll probably catch up with you long before you arrive, but you never know. Wait for me before you do anything stupid, will you?"
"The chances of us doing something stupid decrease when you aren't around," Viyara chuckled, albeit a little anxiously. "Still, do hurry, will you?" I shrugged out my shoulders and allowed my wings to slowly carry me higher. A few kilometres up and I'd be able to actually make use of my speed without causing more problems than it was worth.
"I'll try. You'll be the first to know if something goes wrong, won't you?" She grimaced and my sister reached out to grab one of my tails. When I looked down her eyes were filled with a mixture of worry and fear, but there was also a glimmer of pride, of excitement in them. Before she could open her mouth I added quietly: "you'll listen to Aurelia. I know she's a bit of an oddball from time to time, but she's been around the block. She'll keep you safe. All of you."
"Do we really need a babysitter," she asked in response. I shrugged.
"I'm not so sure anymore, but you should be grateful to have one. It a precious gift. Stay safe. I'll be back before you know it." I pushed my wings downwards and my silky fur slipped through her grasp with a quiet whisper. A moment later they had already shrunk to the size of a dime and the temperature plummeted. Another stroke and the air became too thin to breath as the curvature of the Earth appeared before me, glimmering blue and purple. I turned my gaze west, closed my eyes and allowed the coils of power in my core to unfurl. It was a bit of a challenge to flood my body without allowing a sliver to escape, but after a few moments I found my balance. Then I turned into a flash of light and thundered towards the distant mountains, towards the icy graves of long lost promises.
The journey was over in a blink, the distance that had cost us hours to traverse had simply vanished into silvery sparks. Come to think of it, I might have triggered the occasional alarm on one military base or the other, but their chances of figuring out what had happened where about the same as me becoming an Prozac addicted housewife. Damn it, back on Earth for less than a day and the familiar mix of disdain and curiosity that had always pulled me towards this place had returned in full force.
A few more hours and I'd be right back to saving the world and being painted as the devil for all my troubles. Honestly, even in the less than accurate depiction of the past Constantine had edited and some people called the bible I had only killed three people directly. Three. That should give you some kind of understanding of how cautious I actually had been when I had interacted with humanity. To be fair, the actual number probably measured in the hundreds, but aside from Ahri, there was nobody left alive to tell the tale. And I was stalling. Trying to distract myself before I inevitably had to face a nightmare made real. A friend I hadn't protected.
I clenched my teeth and allowed my wings to vanish. I plummeted towards the earth when gravity took hold and the brushstroke like line of the mountains far below became blurry. The winds sang in my ears and I used my tails to adjust my trajectory, the remnants of my magic a better beacon than I could have hoped for. Only a few metres above the ground did I finally unfurl my wings again and slowed down.
Ice and snow hissed and turned into steam underneath my feet when I landed far more heavily than I had meant to. A small crater appeared, its slopes crackling with flares of blue and silver, and the frozen, uncaring smell of rock and cold was mellowed by a white, soft cloud that obscured the frozen ruin less than a stone throw away.
With a flap of my wings I dispersed the swaths and forced my gaze on the blackened stones that jutted from the ice like the pointed finger of accusation. The squat towers that had sung in the wind were gone and a large portion of the roof had collapsed under the pressure of mounting snow. A few mounds on either side of the destroyed gate probably covered the rigid corpses of the few monks who had managed a handful of steps towards safety, but most had found their end inside, slain and tortured by…
"Lucifer?" With an embarrassing yelp I literally jumped several metres into the air. My spear manifested in my hand, the leather straps creaking between my paling fingers. On instinct I managed to turn around and land on one knee, my weapon extended, its tip quivering ever so lightly against the throat of a boy no older than fifteen summers.
He swallowed and the involuntarily movement made him cut himself on the razor sharp blade. "I take it that means yes," he stammered in the mountain dialect I hadn't heard for decades.
"It does," I breathed and took a step back without lowering my weapon. The rich, coppery smell of his blood as it seeped into his orange tunic had a fresh, almost innocent taste to it and my fingers relaxed around Aiglos' shaft. "You're one of the monks, aren't you? Why are you still alive?" His lips trembled, but his startlingly dark eyes remained bright.
"The elder sent me down the mountain with a message. I thought he wanted me to… but the message is for you. That much I know now. Do you want it?" I held his gaze for a few seconds longer before I finally lowered my spear and extended my open palm.
He dropped an ancient looking scroll into my hand, wrapped around a jade core and sealed with golden wax. A pictogram had been pressed into the now brittle mass. It showed a tree, almost like the ash of life in Norse mythology, but instead of the nine realms its boughs harboured the seven principles of enlightenment. I knew that seal. I had helped forge the magic that had gone into its creation. A favour for a friend I wouldn't meet again.
Silver and blue sparks danced along the tear as I broke the seal and swiftly unrolled the yellowed, musty parchment. It wasn't much. A few, meticulously calligraphed lines, but their content was heavy enough:
My friend,
I'm sorry, but it seems like I won't be able to greet you in person upon your return. A pity, despite my moaning I was looking forward to it. Still, forgive this old man for sharing a single piece of wisdom with you: this time around, try not acting like an ass, would you? You could have saved us all quite a bit of trouble. Before you jump to any conclusions, though, my death wasn't at the hands of your siblings. As I'm writing this letter the mountains groan under the pressure.
The gate has been opened and the nightmares of old are returning. I will try to buy the world some time and lure them here, but I don't know how long we have. Please. Don't walk away.
Your faithful friend, now and forever.