Fox, Satyr, Dragon Pt. 02

Anette touched Branigan's back, her palm quickly growing warm and moist from the sweat. "He isn't here, Bran."

Branigan shivered and walked forward, each resolute step echoing. He didn't look at the numerous, dark blue stains on the cavern floor as he passed them.

"Branigan." Neil hurried after him as the librarian entered the third and final cavern of the Castle Depths. Torches lining the walls turned on one by one. "Come on now, son. Lucas isn't here."

Branigan didn't listen as he looked at the empty cave. He simply stood with his hands in his pockets and stared at the massive slab in the middle. Large and wide enough for two grown men to lay down on, the stone was cracked straight down the middle.

Anette's arms were crossed and her hands were tightly gripping her sides. To keep from listening to the base instinct in her core telling her to run. She stayed by commanding herself to not be, for once in her life, a coward. "At least say something, Bran."

Branigan squatted and touched a discolored, splotchy portion of the floor. Like a lamb had been sacrificed and its blood had splattered. He began sliding his hand, slow and gentle, on the discoloration. The gold ring on this right thumb made a soft scratching sound. It was loud as an axe on a grindstone in the silence of the cavern.

"Branigan?" Neil prompted.

"Sometimes I wonder if it would have been better for humanity if the Advent had not happened. If Mother Dra kept Her damn gift to herself."

The Advent was when Mother Dra had brought magic, in full force and not bits and pieces, to Earth. It had been a near apocalyptic event centuries prior that had reset society as a whole. Entire land masses had shattered into islands, thousands of years of human knowledge was lost, and billions of lives were destroyed. Mother Dra had remained on Earth some centuries after the Advent but eventually disappeared.

"Perhaps, Bran." Neil said, looking at the broken slab. "It is said demons were not an issue Pre-Advent. Simply beings used to drive sinners into temples and churches."

"And now we have an entire profession dedicated to their study." Branigan said. "A student of ours wishes to join that profession. Natalia Fox."

"We'll have to speak-" Anette started but was interrupted by Branigan's laughter. It was harsh, bitter, and echoed. It didn't sound like Branigan at all and it scared her. "Why are you laughing?"

"A direct descendant of our school's Founder, Ol' Saint Nate, came to me and said she wants to become a Demonologist. She wants my help drafting a letter to my father." Branigan said. "Do I have to spell the joke out to you?"

"We understood immediately, son." Neil sighed. "It's just not funny."

"It is if you're the punchline, Neil!" Branigan stopped laughing. His laughter's echoes seemed to last longer than normal, as if sticking around to mock them. "I've told her to think about it for longer."

"That's good." Anette said. "We can speak to her other professors in the meantime. See what they think."

"Mmm." Branigan grunted. "What do you two think?"

"She...Is certainly talented enough. She'd go far in any field she picked." Neil said.

Branigan responded with a long silence before speaking again. "Anette?"

"I agree with the Headmaster." Anette said. "It is dangerous, of course. But I know better than to say no to a brilliant student. If anyone can do it, it's Natalia."

"I see."

The librarian seemed to shrink as he put his head in his hands like a condemned man. His fingers dug into his scalp. A barely contained scream shook his body. His facade was on the precipice. A hairbreadth more, a push as gentle as a falling feather, and Branigan would snap.

Anette took a step forward, out of concern that he would draw blood, but he stopped and dropped his hands. Then he abruptly straightened and turned on his heel. He put his left hand in the pocket of his tweed suit and let the other hang. His right index and ring finger curled and spun the ring on his thumb. He smiled at Neil and Anette and strode casually between them. "I'm in the mood for some dessert. I've got some tiramisu in my cabin. You two are, of course, welcome to join me."

Anette looked at her father, eyebrows furrowed with worry, before hurrying after Branigan. "Bran. If you need to talk..."

"Talk?" Branigan asked. "What's there to talk about?"

"Branigan, please, anyone who has gone through what you have-"

"This was a brief tantrum, Anette. Nothing more." Branigan said. "Can we please go? I'm tired of this smell." Branigan resumed walking. "Damn fish."

The Blackvines had no choice but to silently follow the Stone.

Chapter 15: Draw Iron With Steel

"Why didn't you say you got hit?" Sasha said, applying a salve to a cut on Jack's rib while glaring at her. The cut had only been revealed to her and Natalia after they had all retired to their tent and Jack had taken her shirt off. The two were mainly mad at themselves for not noticing the extremely obvious blood on Jack's shirt.

"Because it's just a shallow cut."

"Shallow?" Natalia stopped massaging the ends of Jack's thighs. They often got sore after a long day of action in her prosthetics. No amount of advancement in the technology seemed to get rid of that issue, though it was getting better with each iteration. "I saw bone!"

"Babe that was my bra strap."

"Oh." Natalia shrank back and resumed the massage.

"You two are so fucking cute." Jack laughed. "I am loving this attention."

"Is that why you let yourself get hit?" Sasha smiled despite herself as she finished the bandaging.

"Yep. I wanted two sexy ladies to nurse me back to health."

"Well this is the most sexy you'll be getting." Sasha put the first aid kit away. "We've got to go to sleep now. Coach is making us cook using mundane methods so that means getting up early."

"This trip keeps getting better and better." Jack laughed. "Princess Blackvine. Cooking without magic. I should keep my camera ready."

"I'm capable of doing that!" Sasha exclaimed. "I'm not useless!"

"She didn't say you were." Natalia placated. "It's just not... the usual for you."

"Fuck the both of you." Sasha extended both her middle fingers at them and laid down, her back facing Jack.

"Babyyyyyy." Jack crooned and began spooning Sasha. The salve provided some numbing to the cut so it didn't hurt to lay on it. "Quick, Nat. Pincer formation."

Natalia, correctly, took that to mean cuddling Sasha from the front. The fake arguing and giggles didn't last long as the day's work came to take its toll on them. Sasha found it easiest due to the potion she had drank. When it came time to wake up, she was rested but extremely cranky as it was not a habit of hers to wake up before sunrise. She shook her girlfriends awake and stumbled out of the tent to see that Seymour was already up and cooking. "Smells good, Coach."

"Indeed." Seymour smiled then pointed at the campfire they had used the night before. "Go ahead."

"You're going to taunt us with easy cooking?" Sasha asked as she began the process of lighting a fire.

"Certainly not." Seymour said while smiling in a way that told her that that's exactly what he was doing.

Sasha ignored it and her crankiness. She arranged the kindling and then firewood in a teepee formation, then took the lighter from Jack's proffered hand. It took multiple tries for it to work and when it finally did, she noticed that the kindling was wet for some reason. She swore repeatedly under her breath - mostly directed at Seymour - as she had to start over.

Jack filled a pot with the stream water and brought it to her own fire so the water could be boiled before being distributed to their canteens.

"Jack and you, Natalia, will be in one pair. With one golem that Jack will have the main command of. Branigan told me that her name is Linda." Seymour said, pointing at the girl while she skewered sausages. "Raise your hand, Linda."

A golem that was indistinguishable from the other two raised its hand. Natalia smiled at it. "Hi, Linda."

The golem didn't respond.

"Sasha and I will be the other pair with a golem of our own." Seymour said. "Roo, raise your hand."

Roo obeyed.

"Finally, Lilo will remain behind in camp to guard our things."

"Sounds good." Sasha said. "Ideally we find what I need today and we can leave tomorrow morning."

"If you feel alarm bells going off in your head, listen to them." Jack said. "It'll feel different from normal worry. Your mind will be screaming at you to listen. Please do."

"Exactly." Seymour said. "We are in monster territory. Even during the day we must listen to the ape brain still in all of us. Courageous is just the word for idiots who luck into surviving."

"What's the word for people who are hoping for a fight like yesterday?" Natalia said, giving Jack the side eye.

"Meathead." Jack said cheerfully.

***

Lucas gulped as he peered through the bushes at the cave. Do it, boy. Lucas shook his head, his fear overtaking his willingness. He didn't know where the voice had come from and it scared him, especially since it was hard to refuse it. But it granted him strength he didn't have before and it gave him ideas, like this one. And more ideas will come. Just keep listening to me, and all you desire will come true.

That got him. He picked up the sack he had brought with him. Inside was a pillowcase that Natalia had given him when they had first started dating. It was covered in her perfume. The sack also contained training gloves Jack had used a few days ago but still held her scent. He didn't have anything for Sasha or Seymour but Jack and Natalia were the ones he wanted. Natalia for breaking up with him, Jack for humiliating him in front of her. Yes, boy. The cow must be taught a lesson as well. Auberon and Nathaniel, you may have escaped me but your descendents....Yes.... I will have their blood.

Lucas scowled and tossed the sack, the rock it was weighted with allowing it to clear the distance to the cave entrance. It landed with a clatter but Lucas was running far before it did. He had to make it back to his boat and then back to school. He knew he would have been reported missing by now but he had rented a room out in a hotel that was still under his name. He'd just have to make it to the school and then to town unseen. Not impossible. He'd done it before. Even as a first year. He sneered at the thought. The school's security was a joke.

Behind him, the territorial naags in the cave awoke to the scent of two trespassers.

***

"Sash is going to love us." Natalia gently placed the foul smelling herbs they had come for into a wooden box, snapping it shut with each addition. It was just past lunchtime and they had finally found the herbs. "There's more than enough here for her to run as many trials as she wants."

"Remember to not take too much though." Jack said. "Mountain was nice enough to give us what we needed quickly. Let's not repay kindness with greed."

"I won't." Natalia moved on from the patch she was picking from while Jack kept an eye out with Linda. "Sasha and Coach probably found some too."

"What's this herb supposed to do for her anyway? It smells incredibly bad."

"It'll make a far more potent healing potion. It's normally not used in first aid potions but since you two are making it into a gas, this should offset the loss in efficacy." Natalia explained. "It's also called Hellward since it's used to protect against demons. I'm reading about it in the book Bran's dad gave me. Unfortunately it smells like...Jack."

Jack laughed. "It absolutely does not smell like me. I am a delight to sniff."

"Jack, did you hear that?"

Jack heard it. "The rattling?"

"Yes." Natalia stood and put the box into her pack. "We should go, right?"

"Yes." Jack pushed Natalia in front of her. "Linda, take point. Lead us to camp."

The rattling came again, sounding like sinister maracas. The noise echoed all around them, making it impossible to detect where it was coming from. They'd just have to run towards camp and hope they weren't running right to what was making the noise. The rattling got louder, pressing in from every direction. Again and again it rattled, sounding closer each time.

"Run, Natalia!" Jack shouted. "Don't stop for anything. Run!"

"What's chasing us?!" Natalia flinched as thin branches whipped against her face. She hadn't noticed how crowded the path was when they had first used it. Now, while terrified, it seemed as though there was no path at all. Just trees and thorny bushes intent on slowing them down and trapping them.

"Naags. Probably two of them since they often hunt in pairs." Jack said. "The rattling is loud enough."

Natalia spluttered at a leaf trying to force itself into her mouth and a chill settled in her. "Naag? Jack isn't that what-"

"Save your breath and run, Nat!" Jack ordered. Her eyes didn't stop moving and she strained her ears to try and pinpoint the location of the naags. Useless, as the rattling was meant to disorient its prey. Jack tried anyway. It wasn't unheard of for naags to hunt by day. What bothered her was that she had taken extra care to watch out for signs. Naags didn't dominate large territories, often just a cave or a hole in the ground. They were, however, extremely protective of what they did have and were also endurance hunters. This meant they'd go after anything ignorant enough to walk into their territory. Hunt until the prey was dead and in its distended belly. Rather, in its distended belly whether the prey was dead or alive. Her father had told her a story of a naag that had hunted a man for two months before finding him. She wondered why she was thinking about that story instead of her own. To prevent panic, she decided. Good. Quinn, Da, and Mama would be proud. A level head even in danger. A true Sarkan.

She caught sight of a massive green shape stretching from one branch to another. Another followed. Thought so. Well. Let's have our fun, you overgrown snakes. Let me tell you about one of your cousins.

"Linda carry Natalia to the camp and keep her safe!" Jack screamed. As Natalia turned in confusion, Jack shoved her into Linda. The golem snatched Natalia up and began growing in size. None of the spikes it grew on its arms came close to harming Natalia as they didn't grow wherever she was being held. Jack left the path, chopping branches that got in the way, and spotted a naag split away from its mate. "Flare spell, Nat!"

"JACK!" Natalia cried and struggled uselessly against Linda. Jack had the main command of Linda and so Natalia could do nothing but be carried away like a child. "JACK!"

"FLARE SPELL!" Jack shouted back. Then she pushed her prosthetic legs to their limit. The strain on her fein and magical core was immediately noticeable but not impossible to ignore. Thrash and chomp, Sarkan. Jack thought. No. Naags are smarter. Smart as humans. Makes them monsters and not beasts. Draw iron with steel, Sarkan. Draw iron with steel. Draw iron with steel. Do Naags have iron in their blood? Yes. Naag blood was red. That meant iron. Come on, Jack. Keep running. The bitch is still on your ass. Keep running. Get it away from Nat. Get it away and draw all the iron you want.

A flare went off with a harsh screech.

Finally, Natalia. She burst out into a clearing, made it to the middle of it, then made a sharp reversal while thrusting out with her sword. The naag that had been right on her hissed and twisted away to the edge of the clearing. Its lower body was that of a massive snake and it ended in a large rattle, that was silent now that its prey had stopped. Its top half was like a man covered in dark green scales and had four arms, two on each side. Like a cobra, it had a hood that was currently spread while it hissed at her again.

A spike of fear struck her now that she was facing one again but it wasn't enough to throw Jack off her rhythm. She was looking for a fight now. She could let the fear take over and run its course after the naag was dead at her feet. Jack smiled. "Wanna see a magic trick?"

Then her sword went completely invisible. The naag, predictably, hissed at her but also rattled its tail. In her other hand she held a dirk, its 12 inch blade ready to serve as an extra distraction. Jack had forged an invisible sword to unnerve anything smart enough to know what a sword could do. Enemies of that intelligence level would also assume that since they couldn't see the sword, Jack couldn't either. They'd normally be right.

But not with Jack.

Her sword could only turn invisible at the touch of her fein. Since she had the skill level to forge an Artifact to have exclusivity, she was able to push it farther. The sword, even when out of sight to others, was completely visible to her. And that put a wide smile on her face every single time she did it.

The thick part of the naag's tail rushed at her from her right. If it hit, Jack would go flying. She dropped to her knees and skid for a few feet before rolling to the side and standing back up. She had sought to stab at the tail while it soared over her head but the tail had been too fast. Already it was coming back at her, from the left this time, but scraping against the grass to prevent her from ducking.

"I can jump you idiot." Jack did as she said, performing a sideways hurdle jump as easily as if she was playing jump rope. This time she managed to strike a hit, scoring a deep cut into the naag's flesh. Hot, red blood sprayed out and splashed her jeans, soaking her to her skin. First iron has been drawn. Now for the rest of it. She kept the momentum she got from the rush of slicing the naag and struck again by stopping and stabbing with her dirk. Before she could draw it out, though, the naag lurched forward with its upper half, its arms outstretched. Sharp talons gleamed at Jack, eager to return the favor tenfold. It's maw was stretched wide, ready to begin the process of swallowing Jack whole.

The naag that had squeezed her legs beyond healing had done the same maneuver to her while she had been helpless in its grip. Her sword had remained in her hand then. But the pain of having her legs shattered to fragments combined with the utter terror of an angry maw and talons coming at her had shut her down entirely. She was just 13 then. Most would excuse it. Hell, they'd applaud her for even getting that far. Her family certainly did. But it was a shame for her. She could still feel the urine running down her legs as she saw death come for her. Utterly humiliating. Her legs were broken and her body had still let her feel that. The shame had motivated her for years in her training, pushing her to never freeze ever again.

Jack Sarkan's training came through. She simply drew the naag's attention with a new dagger, performing a feint as if she was trying to stab its head. With it distracted, Jack stabbed the naag through its first heart with her invisible sword. Then Jack withdrew the feint to stab it in its second heart, where a human's stomach would be. All in seconds. All without a single drop of concern.

The naag crumpled with an angry, gurgling hiss. Then, in its death throes, its lower half slammed into Jack's legs. The Sarkan flew into the air, slammed into a tree, and fell to the ground.

***

"Where the hell is Jack?!" Seymour bellowed as he was still drawing Vulcan out of the female naag. Instead of a head, the naag's neck now ended in a smoldering stump. He then ordered the golems to guard the girls and keep them in place until sundown.

"She made the other one chase after her." Natalia said. Linda had set her down, but now all three golems were surrounding her and Sasha. "Let us come with you!" She strained an arm through a gap between golems. "Please!"