An angel’s road to hell

51. Of interruptions, tattoos and a little bit of teamwork

Cassandra Pendragon

Our small gathering quickly dispersed afterwards. “Come on,” I said to Ahri. “I smell like a tavern and you’re sweaty. Let’s hit the bath, I think we can skip another teleport trial, it works just fine. Maybe the elves are done by the time we come back up, they haven’t even looked up from their runes during our battle.”

The following hour was quite enjoyable. We relaxed in warm water and talked nearly the entire time, mostly about our fight. I wanted to know as much as possible about what I had done wrong and how I could improve. Unfortunately what I lacked were experience and training, both things had to be gained through exercise and time. I had quite an advantage, I could already use a weapon, but learning how to fight was apparently an entirely different cup of tea.

“How come you’re so good at it?” I wanted to know.

“I’m older than you, we might look the same age now, you might even appear a little older if I’m honest, but you only had 7 years to get used to your body. Also you changed quite recently, it’ll take a bit of time before everything works the way you want it to. I was trained as a little child not in body control, like you were, but in the hunt and after I arrived on Boseiju I spent nearly every minute I wasn’t with you honing my skills with a blade and my magic. But I imagine that’s not the answer you’re looking for. You already know that Aurora meddle with my incarnation, allowing me to use magic until I burned my reservoir of energy and choosing the memories I’d come to relive. I think she also meddled with my subconsciousness. When I’m fighting I become a different person, quite literally I think. Nothing of what keeps my mind busy during the day matters anymore, there is barely a conscious thought, but I know things I shouldn’t, movements, fighting styles, possible lines of attack… you get the picture. I think it’s similar to the flashes of knowledge you have, except it’s too much for me to handle all at once, it would change me too much, so I can only access it in battle when my conscious mind is nearly turned off anyways. After my old self took over my body I have a modicum of control, if I focus really hard information sometimes surfaces that I shouldn’t know, but only during fights can I truly take advantage. Back on deck for example, I knew what you were going to do before you moved, probably before you even thought about it. I… Aurora, crossed blades with Lucifer more often than there are stars in the sky and you haven’t changed that much. Honestly, you actually still fight the same way you did before your reincarnation.”

“That’s not a bad thing, is it? I mean, I fought a war against heaven and hell, I can’t have been a pushover.” We shared the same tub so I could easily feel her sigh. “Was I?” I asked quietly.

“You definitely weren’t. But that’s sort of the problem, you never really learned how to fight. Do you know what my innate ability is?” I racked my brain for a moment but I couldn’t grasp a single memory on the topic. “No, not really,” I answered slowly. “If I had to guess I’d say something related to fire?” Her sweet laughter resonated off the wooden walls.

“Now that I think about it, it was a stupid question. Yes, I have a really close connection and  my body is immune to pure fire. Now, can you imagine how useful that is in a conflict with transcendent beings? Not at all. Fire can be extinguished, reflected, absorbed and so on. And excluding fire from the offensive repertoire isn’t a real problem for any angel or demon. Long story short, I had to learn to fight to get what I wanted. I had to wield my weapons better than others because I had to. You didn’t, for the longest time. Simply ignoring any form of magic tends to give you a massive advantage. So while your skill with a spear is there, even your old body lacked instincts and experience in any real fight that wasn’t a transcendent slug fest.”

“So you’re basically saying I should not only stop underestimating you but also overestimating myself? I didn’t bother to learn before because I was too arrogant and now I have to pay the prize?”

“That sounds much harsher than what I had in mind but basically, yes. Cassy, you’re strong and fast and impervious to magic, you’re already unbelievably powerful but keeping in mind the shit you run into, you shouldn’t become complacent. I don’t know how long it will take you to reach the next stage of development but until than you should train with your weapon and armour. Your technique is good, but you haven’t got a clue what you should be doing in a life or death fight because you never ever have been in one where a weapon actually mattered.”

“Will you teach me? There is no one I’d rather spend time with, maybe we could train two hours in the morning? You know, just like we did back home when I didn’t have to suffer through one of Greta’s lessons.” My voice had become quieter towards the end of my sentence. Ahri’s arms were already slung around me but now she pulled me closer and whispered: “how are you holding up?”

I snuggled into her embrace. “Better than I should. I was a mess but ever since last night I feel… I feel like it’s already been a long time. I ache and I miss everyone who is gone and if I think about my father I still weep,” tears naturally dropped from my eyes just then, “but it’s not all encompassing anymore. If I’m with you, I’m with you and not back on Boseiju, fighting for my life. If I talk to my mom I’m not drowning in my own sorrow but I can be there for her. That night won’t ever leave me, but I think the wound is scarring over and it wasn’t poisoned.” Turning my head and pressing a light kiss on her cheek I added: “you’re a really good remedy.” I said, already much more cheerful. I couldn’t be sure in the dim light, but I thought she blushed.

“And you’re much better with compliments than you ever were before. But thanks, I’m glad I can help.” I squirmed a little, still tightly pressed against her and this time I was sure she turned red like her wings. Huh, maybe she wasn’t as self assured as she appeared. “Oh, you have no idea,” I whispered into her ear and gently nibbled on her soft skin. “Cassandra, we can’t even lock the door, what are you doing?” She asked, a little breathlessly.

“Don’t worry, nothing much, don’t you like it?”

“Of course I do, but… if one of the dwarfs decides to take a bath or even better, your half drunk brother finally wakes up, what then?”

“Hmm, I guess we’ll find out,” I replied and gently grabbed her chin to turn her head. She didn’t resist. It was admittedly a little awkward with my back against her but the warm and soft touch of her lips made my contortions worth it.

I forgot everything around and for a few minutes all that mattered were her scent, her taste and the feeling of her skin against my own. I didn’t know how long our kiss lasted but when we separated and our eyes met something changed. What had been memories and hope became certainty, I’d never leave this girl again, whatever the cost and my core reacted. A set of runes, carved on it long before the planet we were on even existed sparked to life and the glow from my eyes suddenly painted the bath in harsh shades and dazzling light. We stared at one another as if in trance her green eyes appeared azure in the silvery light. I could see her mouth form a word as if in answer to a question but I heard her voice within my head. “Yes.” Was all she said. With a last flash of light my vision suddenly went black.

I couldn’t say if I had been seriously unconscious or simply blacked out for a second but when I opened my eyes again, I was still in the tub, Ahri breathing regularly below me. Nothing had changed at first glance but when I sat up straight, turned around and allowed my gaze to follow the curves of her body I saw a tattoo right above her heart where a moment before only perfect skin had been. It showed my wings, 16 pairs of silver blue torrents of energy streaming away to the sides and seemingly disappearing into her chest, encircling her heart. The last one at the lowest point streamed away and pointed directly to me, or more accurately to my heart which I found out as soon as I moved a little. It mirrored my actions. Following the implicated direction I saw another tattoo on my chest. It showed Ahri’s wings, the larger pair again apparently disappearing through my skin, closing around my heart and the second, smaller pair pointing in her direction. Both tattoos flowed slightly in the colour of our wings.

On impulse I extended my hand and traced the lines of her tattoo before I covered it with my palm. Ahri’s eyes flew open and a smile played around her lips:

“You don’t have to do that while I’m asleep, in fact I’d much prefer it if you’d do it while I’m awake.” A very unladylike snort erupted from me but I retracted my hand and gestured towards the tattoos. She didn’t seem surprised but studied mine with great care and reflexively repeated my motions from before. I didn’t comment but I had to smirk, never the less.

“I take it you know what those are?” I asked. With a nod she replied:

“But I’m not telling.” She silenced me with a quick peck to the lips before I could protest. “They are of your making and have much more memories attached to them for you than they have for me. Trust me, you’ll remember them soon enough. Also, as far as I know, they don’t do much per se, so there isn’t much to tell apart from their meaning. You realised they are pointing towards one another?”

“Sure and I suspect they encircle our hearts as well which is sort of a giveaway to their meaning.  But am I really supposed to accept it just like that? I mean getting a tattoo is life altering,” I joked. Ahri smiled but didn’t say a word. “Fine, I won’t pry. At least that’s a memory I’m looking forward to. Most secrets I have to uncover are rather bloody.” I added darkly.

“Speaking of which,” a blatant attempt to change the topic I assumed, “I don’t know how long we have been in here but we should probably get back and check how far the mages have come. Right, I wanted to ask before you made my brain go all mushy, if they can’t come up with a ritual, do you think we two could maybe catch the ship if we leave the others behind?” A good question.

“I think it would be possible but… nobody has really thought about what it means if the emperor really has a foothold on the Pirate Islands. If he does, it should be easy enough to inform the humans we are tracking of his defeat and they might very well be expecting us. The way our wings look we can’t get anywhere near them if they are on guard. Do you think we can force our way through an armed and alerted vessel? Keep in mind that they know we’d be there for the children so they are going to use them as hostages as soon as the need arises.” She chewed her lip before answering:

“But isn’t it still better than waiting until they reach their stronghold?”

“Not necessarily, you know, with a little bit of makeup, a change of posture and a cloak I could turn you into a 90 years old human woman without too much effort.” She looked at me sceptically. “Okay, that’s maybe a slight exaggeration, but you get my point. If there really is something like a stronghold with multiple ships and crews, it will be much easier to sneak inside and stay hidden. I seriously hope the ritual works, otherwise we are mostly groping around in the dark and our best shot might seriously be an assault while they are still in the air but I honestly dread how it might turn out. If we find any other way of locating their destination I’d much prefer not attacking directly, I’m not sure how reliable the tracking spell or rune, the dwarfs use, is.”

“Well then, let’s see if Astra and Aspera already solved our problem.”

A new set of clothes had been prepared outside the baths for each of us and we quickly shrugged into them. The old ones were already gone. On our way back up I checked on my brother but he was simply hungover. Several grunts and obscene gestures convinced me of the fact.

Back on deck the scene hadn’t changed dramatically but the ring of crates and the broken barrel were gone and the elves had finished their work. My mom, Xorlosh, his relatives, and an old dwarf with grey hair and a bunch of wrinkles on his face I had never seen before had joined them in their working are. The ingredients and failed attempts at glyphs had been cleared away and a clean heptagram with a cluster of runes around each point was all that remained. Candles flickered in the wind, one at every section of the lines that formed the heptagram and a bowl with a crystal clear liquid was placed at the centre. The strong smell of herbs and ozone tickled my nose and I realised that the ink used to draw the sigils had been prepared from a whole variety of ingredients. A circle of delicate runes was drawn around the whole formation, shimmering in the tell tale colours of powdered crystals. At least it looked impressive.

My mom must have heard us because she immediately gestured for us to come over. I concentrated on their conversation while we were heading towards the group and could hear Astra finish her sentence:

“…started, it’ll last as long as the potion remains. Unfortunately we don’t have enough materials to brew it again, so we only have the one chance. I’d say we have about 30 minutes once the ritual is active, but we need the tracking device or it’s all for naught.” We arrived just about when the old dwarf started to reply in a surprisingly wheezy voice.

“And if we find nothing or the crucial parts are warded we lose our only way of finding them. Insanity, I say, it’s not worth the risk!”

“What’s the fuzz all about? Did you succeed? Congratulations!” Ahri said when we reached them. She had been listening in as well, I was sure of it, but it was common courtesy to pretend that we didn’t eavesdrop.

With a tired sigh my mom answered before another bout of bickering could break out between Astra and the old dwarf: “Astra needs a focus for her magic to manifest on the other vessel and not with us but the only suitable thing is the pendant the dwarfs use to track the ship. If we use it during the ritual it’ll be destroyed and if we don’t find all the information we need during the half hour the spell lasts, we’ll have nothing.”

“Can’t you make a focus from your blood, or Mordred’s? There aren’t many kitsune still around, I don’t even think that Ahri and I count in that sense, so even though you’re not blood related it should be possible to get a reading from the racial relation, shouldn’t it?” I inquired.

“Possibly,” Astra answered slowly. “We would have to experiment a little but I think in theory you’re right. Would you allow us to use a drop of your blood, Helena?” My mom shrugged,

“Sure,” and used her sharp teeth to draw a little blood from her thumb. Aspera was the one to hand over a small vial. It wasn’t much but soon a few drops of a ruby liquid sloshed within. “I think I can even help out if you’re having trouble adjusting the ritual for a blood focus. I’m quite learned in that area.” She added.

“That would be more than welcome, my own expertise is negligible and while I think we could manage, your help would reassure me immensely.”

“If you want me to, I can also have a look at your design. I’m no expert but I do know a thing or two about runes and sympathetic links. Is the dwarf who crafted the tracking seal in the first place on board with us?” Ahri interjected.

“That would be me,” the old dwarf replied, “and I’ll be more than happy to help if we don’t ruin the only sure way to track them somewhere down the line.”