Fox, Satyr, Dragon Pt. 02

***

Sasha wanted to be with Branigan. But Anette's relieved shout and Leela saying that Branigan was alive gave her the strength to do one last thing. Alone. The others were too good for what she had in mind.

She sprinted along a trail of scratches and prints left by familiars that also had burns and cracks. Spell marks left behind by a Dra making a terrified retreat. Her guess was immediately awarded by the presence of Lucas in one of the rooms in the infirmary.

"Help..." Lucas moaned weakly as he leaned against an overturned bed. His eyes were glazed over and he was bleeding from numerous slashes all over his body. Scorch marks, chipped tile, and cracks were all around him that indicated a long fought battle against overwhelming odds. "Please..."

Sasha shut the door. "Hello, Lucas."

His eyes focused momentarily. Enough for him to realize who he was talking to. They clouded over right after. "Sasha..."

Sasha crouched in front of him and cocked her head to the side. She studied him. The sweat on his brow. The agony in his face. The ever so slight slowing of blood as his pulse dropped. It was a moment to celebrate. Sasha focused her fein and invoked the power of her family's name. Blackvine. Wine filled her soul.

"Please... I was possessed..." Lucas coughed. "I didn't-"

"No. You were the demon's familiar. There's a difference." Sasha said. "But even before that... You were rotten, Lucas. Really, really rotten."

"Help me..."

Sasha set a diffuser down next to Lucas. She turned it on and the Hellward mist began filling the area. It was pathetically ineffective to treat Lucas' wounds. But she saw the hope she wanted to see in Lucas' eyes. She smiled. The type of smile to steal a man's heart. "Don't worry, Lucas."

"Thank...You..."

"You're welcome." Sasha said. "You killed Balraj and Alina. But what about Heyan? How is he?"

"Alive!" Lucas coughed. He still feared Sasha killing him. "I didn't kill the baby... I would never..."

"Good." Sasha smiled. "I've got some advice for you then. To make sure you survive until help gets here."

"W-What?"

"You know what happens when you focus your fein and speak an old family's name?" Sasha asked. She cast her surname on herself again. "Fox makes you feel true companionship. Sarkan makes you feel unstoppable power." She chuckled. "Blackvine makes you feel drunk and happy. Down to your soul. Malik gives you a monarch's confidence. I learned that while we were fighting the demon you unleashed." She twisted a dial and increased the amount of mist coming out of the device. The entire room filled to the ceiling with the green gas. "None of those names will help you in this situation. But Stone will. Go ahead. You don't need much power to do it. You'll have more than enough even after all the fighting you did. Focus your fein and say the name Stone. You'll feel like you can live through anything. Your soul will become resilient. A Stone will weather it all."

Lucas nodded weakly and obeyed. The taste of blood filled him, forcing itself down to the center of his soul with its incredible heat and iron. The energy tore deep, ragged welts in his heart as rusted chains wrapped around it and tugged. Lucas spasmed uncontrollably, his pulse quickening and forcing his own blood to gush out. He stared at her in shock as he convulsed, unable to breathe.

"Natalia and Bran would have saved you if they had found you. Jack would have just put her sword through your heart. Or maybe she would have choked you." Sasha smiled and turned off the diffuser. "Your bad luck that you got me instead."

Lucas couldn't even cry out. His body was too weak to do anything but go through the ravages of casting Stone.

"You hurt everyone I love. You killed an innocent man and his wife. You orphaned a child." Sasha's smile dropped as the power of her surname left her. She didn't cast it again. "You need to feel what that does to a person, Lucas. I need you to know what you've done to the man I love."

When the name Stone stopped running rampant through Lucas' soul and body, he was still alive. Barely.

"Hm. Maybe the diffuser helped you more than I thought it would. That's a shame." Sasha said. "Say Stone again."

"N-no you c-c-crazy bitch." Lucas spat.

"Say the name Stone and partially go out on your terms." Sasha had a begrudging admiration that he had managed that much venom. "Or stay silent and go out on mine." She wove a fire spell that would cover her hands in flames without burning it. "I've always wanted to try cauterizing someone. So really you'd make me happy either way." She moved her flaming hands close to him, smirking as he flinched. The fire was a familiar sight to Lucas. "Pick. Stone. Or flame."

Lucas cast Stone. His spasms lasted no longer than three of Sasha's steady heartbeats. She held a finger under his nose. No breath. She put two fingers on his carotid artery. No pulse.

"Sasha."

Sasha twisted around and saw Seymour and Anette. She could tell by the look on their faces that there was no point in acting innocent. They had seen it all. "He deserved it. He killed Balraj and Alina! He unleashed the demon. It is all his fault!"

Seymour looked as though he was going to spit on Lucas' face. Instead he just shook his head in disgust before his face fell into poorly veiled mourning.

"Sasha." Anette repeated, worry-lines straining. Her daughter. A killer. Rightful or not, Sasha had killed someone. "What have you done? Name casting leaves magical traces!"

"I'll tell them I thought saying Stone would help him." Sasha said, understanding the implications. She also noted that her mother wasn't condemning her actions but was more worried about their consequences.

"No one will believe you!" Seymour exclaimed. "Sasha, you acted impulsively out of love. We understand that. But-"

"Then I go to prison." Sasha said flatly. The thought had crossed her mind while Lucas was thrashing in front of her. It didn't bother her. What did worry her now was Branigan and Natalia finding out. Her cool demeanor broke and she looked away.

"Absolutely not." Anette pursed her lips as she rapidly came up with a plan. "I'll conduct the autopsy and all related paperwork. Lucas died of his wounds. No one will know but us three."

"You? Mom, you can do that?"

"I'm a Potions Master. It isn't unheard of. And I'm trusted." Anette said, growing sure of her decision with each word she spoke. "My daughter will not be going to prison." She hugged Sasha close and glared at Lucas' body. He was lying supine with his blood splattered under him, just like Branigan all those years ago. The similarity ended there. "Especially not for someone like this."

Seymour waited a few moments before speaking. "Can you make it to the infirmary on your own, Sasha? So that Anette and I can deal with this immediately."

"Thank you for also covering for me." Sasha said. "Is there anything else I can do?"

"You have done enough." Seymour said. "You, Jack, Natalia... Branigan. You've all done enough." He put his hands together in a plea. "Now I beg you to let us protect you four instead."

Sasha didn't know what to say to the retired Emperor's Blade and the distress he was embodying. No. Not an Emperor's Blade. An old man. An old man begging a young adult to let him take care of things so that the other could just be young. Sasha realized then that she and her lovers had lived through horrors and trials no one their age should have to even see. But was there any age where a person could handle it? She smiled, exhaustion and anguish dimming her eyes, and held Seymour's clasped hands. "You can take over for today, Coach."

It wasn't fully what Seymour wanted. But it would have to do.

Chapter 26: The Stone Has Weathered The Storm

Sasha woke up completely from the half-sleep she had been drifting in and out of. In the dark infirmary room she could barely make out Natalia and Jack in the other cots. And hear their faint snores. She carefully tip-toed out of the room, opening the door as little as possible so the hall lights wouldn't flood into the room.

Branigan's room was three doors down. His parents were inside, sitting in the dim light while he slept. They looked up as Sasha entered.

"Hello, dear." Simran stood and then sat when Sasha motioned for her to remain sitting.

Arthur continued to stroke his son's hair. "You wanted to see him?"

Sasha nodded at the pale man. "Yes. And I wanted to speak to you both."

"...I see." Arthur said. "About what?"

"A few things. We can speak outside so we don't disturb him. But first..." Sasha approached the bed. Branigan was laying on his stomach so the bandaged wounds on his back wouldn't be disturbed. His torso and arms were covered in thin, chain-link scars. They didn't writhe like snakes like the sealing chains had, but their presence could never be forgotten now. His right eye socket was also bandaged. Just like the bandages on his back, the white cross-hatched fabric was stained red. Red. Good. She leaned over and brushed her lips against his cheek. She wiped the tear that she had dripped on him and nodded at the Stones.

The tall, wiry Dra opened the door for his wife and Sasha and they all stepped outside. Arthur smoothed his grey waistcoat before extending a hand to Sasha. "I am sorry that these are the circumstances in which we meet for the first time."

"I am too, Dr. Stone." Sasha shook his hand and hugged Simran.

"What did you want to speak to us about, Sasha?" Simran asked.

"First... Is Bran's eye going to be okay?"

"No." Arthur shook his head. "It was completely obliterated."

Sasha clenched. I'm making him an eye then. Somehow.

"But he can still see fine out of his remaining eye, Sasha." Arthur continued. "He will have big scars on his back from the wing and scars on his torso and arms from the chains... But Branigan will be healthy. And he will live the long life of a Dra." Arthur was crying. "You three have saved my son! Simran and I can never thank-"

"You don't need to thank us." Sasha interrupted gently. "We saved him because we love him."

"Gratitude can be an expression of love." Simran said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Sasha relented. "Next... How is Heyan?"

Simran's continued composure was the feat of a powerful woman. "He is with Alina's parents. Once Branigan is healed, they will bring Heyan here. So that he can keep his promise to Balraj and Alina."

"So they're really..." Sasha wept. "They're really gone? Lucas wasn't lying?"

Simran nodded. Arthur clenched his jaw and swallowed hard.

"Does..." Sasha came to her doubt. The only thing nagging at her conscience after killing Lucas. "If a person has a high demon ancestry percentage, does that predispose them to being... psychos?"

"No." Arthur said firmly. "It is a misconception that was only disproved this past century. Demon ancestry has no correlation with psychopathy or sociopathy. It just makes it easier for a demon to control or outright possess."

Sasha breathed easier now. "Good. That's what I was hoping for."

Simran cocked her head. "Why, Sasha?"

"Lucas was helping the demon as its familiar." Sasha said. "But he was awful long before. He stalked Natalia after she broke up with him. Bothered us all constantly. Abused his boyfriend. The demon using him only gave him power."

"Yes." Simran said patiently.

"After the demon was released and it possessed Branigan, it sent its spider familiars after Lucas."

"Common for demons to kill their tools after they are no longer useful." Arthur said.

"Well it failed. Lucas beat all the spider familiars sent after him."

"But..." Simran frowned. "Anette informed me that Lucas died by their claws. I was satisfied to hear the news are you saying that the bastard Dra is alive and-"

"I killed him."

Arthur and Simran both took a step back.

"Mom and Coach Harmon are covering it up. But I want you two to know the full truth because of what Lucas did to your family." Sasha said. "I found him injured. He would have died of blood loss but he also could have been saved if the right person found him." Sasha looked them both in the eye. "I tricked him into namecasting Stone."

A wicked smile appeared on Simran's face while Arthur simply nodded. He spoke. "I am not normally one to approve of torture and murder."

"But we can make an exception in this case." Simran said. "Mother Dra bless you, Sasha. It will not bring my brother and sister-in-law back but... I would be lying if I said I'm not satisfied that Lucas met his end through the name Stone."

"And the demon met its end through the name Malik." Sasha said. "We were namecasting over and over to keep us strong against the demon's emotional fallout. Natalia and Jack cast their own surnames. I didn't want to cast Blackvine so... I used Malik."

"I can only imagine your swagger. As intolerable as Balraj." Simran smiled fondly. "Careful, Sasha, or you will become my favorite."

"You have a sense of poetic justice." Arthur said. "Anything else, Sasha? You need to be resting right now."

"Why did the demon take so long?" Sasha asked. "If it found a familiar then why not just do everything immediately?"

"I can only hazard a guess that the ritual's hold on it was strong enough that it took the demon time to fully turn Lucas into a familiar even with his demon ancestry." Arthur said. "But we won't know for sure. We also won't know why the chains looked fine but were secretly weakened. What was weakening them if Branigan had recovered emotionally? Was the demon faking their appearance? If the chains were weakening anyway, why not wait? What is a year or two or three for a demon that is centuries old? Is wanting to torture Branigan with the death of loved ones enough to break its patience?" He sighed. "With it gone I fear that many questions will be left unanswered."

Sasha scowled. "I don't like not knowing."

"Sometimes it is better to remain ignorant." Arthur said. "I myself have become happier after retiring from Demonology." He smiled at the door. It was the same as his son's and it was his first that night."My son's recovery has doubled that. No. Tripled!

"Oh." Sasha said. "So you won't go back to it? Even now?"

"I will return to teaching here, if Neil will have me. And I will follow along developments as a highly knowledgeable layman." Arthur said. "I must do so in order to keep an eye on Natalia's career." He smiled over Sasha's head. "And I am eager to see your career as well, Jack."

Sasha turned and saw that her girlfriends had left their room. "Hey! You two should be sleeping!"

Jack wheeled herself over. "So should you!"

"Yes. What were you three talking about?" Natalia asked.

"I'll tell you and Jack later." Sasha said. Except the truth about Lucas. She glanced at Branigan's parents with an expressive look and they both ever so slightly nodded at her.

"Boo. I hate waiting." Natalia sighed. "But okay. Can we at least see Bran?"

"He's sleeping, love." Simran said. "Are you fine with just staring at him?"

"We're fine just being in the same room as him." Jack said. "Please?"

"You need not ask us." Arthur opened the door for the girls. "You're his family as well."

They went into the room and found leaning back on his arms. He grinned. "Hello, my beauties. And Dad."

Arthur groaned. "Little bird, you should be sleeping!"

Jack snorted then covered her mouth in embarrassment. She managed to smirk at her boyfriend with only her eyes. "Little bird?"

"Yes." Arthur said. "Our middle name means little raven. My grandfather called my father little bird, my father called me little bird, and now I call my son little bird." He raised an eyebrow. "Problem?"

"Nope. Not at all." Jack said.

"Can we call him that?" Natalia asked. "It's really cute."

"Yeah." Sasha smiled. "Love ya, little bird."

"You may do so if one of you bears a child and names them Arthur Branigan Stone." Arthur said. "Deal?"

As none of the three were sure who would get pregnant first, Natalia and Sasha smiled shyly and nodded. Jack gave an eager double thumbs-up.

"Excellent." Arthur fixed Simran with a look. "I told you they would agree."

"They're all trying to get your approval since they already have mine." Simran muttered as she snatched her purse from the bedside table. She took a light blue twenty imperial tender out and whipped it out to her husband. "Here."

Branigan laughed. "You two bet over it?"

"Yes. When I first learned about your three girlfriends." Arthur said. "I honestly couldn't believe it when Balraj told..."

Thick silence with only the hum of the lights to break it.

Branigan eventually spoke. "Balraj wouldn't want us to mope. I don't think Alina would either."

"They wouldn't." Simran agreed. "But they would be wrong. We must grieve, Bran."

"But I..." Branigan pushed for tears to come. "I can't cry."

"The tears will come." Simran promised. "And they will bring healing. And with that healing... House Stone will become a bastion of strength once again."

Arthur nodded at the girls. "You three have gotten it started already. I can feel it."

***

Three months later, Branigan woke up in a sleeping bag on the floor of his cabin. He yawned and sat up, absentmindedly reaching back to touch Natalia. Instead of a woman, he felt a blanket and couch cushions. He noted the open bedroom door. Sasha and Jack were in the bed. Natalia was likely in the bathroom. He scratched at the edge of his dark purple eyepatch and shuffled to the crib that had taken the place of the dining table. Until their house was finished in Foxden, on a hill neighboring Blackvine Manor, the five of them were happily living in the cramped cabin. Chel had failed in her attempts to get them to stay in the manor.

"Hey, buddy." Branigan smiled down at his godson. Heyan blinked at him with large, beetle-dark eyes and smiled a smile with just a few small teeth. "Good morning!"

"Ba!" Heyan kicked at his blanket in his pink footie pajamas. "Baaaa! Ba! Gohm!"

"You stinky?" Branigan leaned over. "Phew! Yes. You are. Damn it to the Advent, Heyan. What the hell did you eat?!"

"Buh!"

"I'll change him! I'll change him!" Jack came barreling, naked, out of the bedroom. "I've been getting better! Sasha said so!"

"You're welcome to it, cutie." Branigan stepped back after fondly touching the framed photo clipped to the edge of Heyan's crib. Balraj and Alina smiled at him from behind their South Panasian greetings. He kissed Jack to prevent the sadness from taking over. He could cry in the shower. "I love this look but put a shirt on or he's gonna try and breastfeed."

"Oh. Right." Jack retreated and returned wearing one of Branigan's shirts. She picked Heyan up and placed him on the changing table Branigan had folded out. "Let's go, ya little poop machine! You vs. me. I'll be the winner this time!"

Branigan left the Artificer to her battle with her godson and sat down on the edge of the bed. He rubbed Sasha's back. "Excuse me, Fairy Godmother Number 1. Your grandfather's surprise is in under two hours."

Sasha turned over and cuddled up against his knee. "How's Heyan?"

Every morning since Heyan had come to them, these were the first words out of Sasha's mouth. And just like the first time, her half-asleep mumbled question tugged Branigan's heart with his gratitude. "He's good. Slept like a baby. Pooped and pissed like a grown centaur. Jack is changing him."

Sasha yawned and sat up. She pecked Branigan on the cheek before scooting out of bed. "I'll go supervise."

"I think she's got it this time." Branigan said.

Unfiltered cursing from the living room.

Sasha gave him a look before they burst out in laughter. They both went to check on Jack.