Newly Summoned Demoness 2 - Chapter 24 – Unseen Tethers (Patreon)

Wooden swords clacked together, creating a sharp, resounding beat that filled the training hall. Elania’s breath came in heavy pants, her muscles taut with exertion and her entire body dripping with sweat. Just a single point of [Power] would have eased the stress, but Harlock somehow knew whenever she did so.

And raised the bar of his sword-work to compensate. She lunged forward, her blade aimed at his midsection, but the veteran mercenary parried with a deft twist of his wrist, sending her staggering to the side as she did her best to create enough distance to avoid the counter strike.

He followed her, and she realized she wasn’t going to recover in time, not in her winded state.

Giving up on trying to run on her body’s own endurance, she released her core and pulsed enough [Power] through her limbs to refresh her completely. Her foot dug into the sand, and she reversed course, striking at his head.

She saw the moment he realized what she had done, as his eyes widened slightly.

Instead of retreating into a defensive stand like she expected, he continued to move forward, his sword parrying hers away at an angle as his other hand swept in and captured her wrist.

They spun around each other as he clasped onto her, but he broke free first, dragging his sword across her middle as he stepped past her.

“Point,” he called as they moved apart.

Frustration started to prickle at her, but she knew she had improved some since beginning earlier in the day.

Between the instructional periods where he had explained concepts to her, and where he had called in other Ironfist members to spar, and her ability to refresh herself so she could continue…

She had to have improved a little, right? Even if it didn’t feel like it.

Elania moved into a loose defensive stance, sword angled toward him and ready to block or switch to offense. “Again?”

He nodded, and they tapped blades. They slowly began to circle one another.

Harlock made the first move to attack, but suddenly, mid-strike, Elania froze. Her senses prickled with an unexplainable urgency that had nothing to do with the fight.

Harlock aborted the strike just in time to avoid contact with the weapon, coming to a stop only inches away from her neck.

“What’s wrong?” Harlock grunted, lowering his practice sword and eyeing her with a mix of concern and confusion.

Elania shook her head, her heart pounding in her chest from the sudden onset of dread. “I don’t know,” she whispered.

Her hand went to her chest and clutched her damp shirt. “Something’s not right. I need to get back to the shop.”

Harlock scrutinized her for a moment before giving her a curt nod. “Alright. If you feel something’s amiss, trust your gut.”

She nodded gratefully and hurried to gather her bags and equipment. Slipping her green cloak back on, she felt the weight of Harlock’s gaze on her back as she prepared to leave.

He escorted her out of the barracks. “Remember the training katas every day, and see if you can bring Yolani with you next week—I’d like to see you both working together.”

“I will,” Elania promised, although her mind was elsewhere, on the strange feeling gripping her.

Her two shadows had been waiting in the outer room where they had been nursing two tankards of something. They let out a curse as she passed through the room quickly, grabbing their things and hurrying after her.

The scene on the street revealed just how long she’d been inside training. The morning was gone, replaced with the evening hues of the light stones high above. There were fewer people, although she spotted some looking back onto the street hidden in the shadows of an alley.

The Mercenary District wasn’t a place to spend the night, even if she had before when desperate. She really didn’t want to run into another person with the [Stabber] class. She was halfway down the street toward the Artisan District gate when her two escorts caught up.

They fell in beside her. “Is something wrong? What’s the hurry?” one of them asked.

“We need to get back to the shop,” she answered more curtly than she meant to. The man nodded, and they continued. It was actually a relief that they had stopped concealing themselves and seemed to understand her urgency.

It certainly made their passage through the gate faster. It wasn’t that close to curfew to be worried. There were still several hours left in the day, but people going from the Mercenary District into the others were generally given more scrutiny.

Having an escort minimized that.

The gate to Artifice Row was well manned as always, and she even recognized the mercenaries manning it—Lucas and Kael.

“Hey, Elania,” Kael said, but she passed through in a hurry, barely acknowledging him. “Sorry, can’t talk!” she called back without stopping, leaving the two mercenaries looking at each other in confusion.

The feeling of impending doom that had settled in her chest had settled in and decided not to leave. Whatever it was, it was tugging her back with alarming insistence.

She hurried into a jog; her cloak billowing behind her while boots clattered against cobblestone. The thin crowd on the street allowed her to pick up the pace.

A small wave of relief filled her as she saw Aetherhart’s Artifice come into view.

That didn’t last long as she took in the two guards stationed outside the door. One guard was missing.

“Evening, Elania,” one of the guards greeted.

She cut straight to the chase, her voice tight. “Where’s Henri?”

“He went out with Yolani,” replied the second guard, nodding down the street. “I think they were picking up groceries.”

Her panic didn’t abate. If anything, it only got worse. “How long ago was that?”

“A couple of hours, maybe? Not sure when they planned to get back,” one of the guards answered.

“Contact Henri with your telepathy. Now. Ask how they are,” she ordered. A feeling of stupidity washed over her as she realized she could have asked her escort to do that in the first place. If only the stupid metaphysical panic button on her back that something was jamming repeatedly came with directions.

The guard closed his eyes, his brow furrowing in concentration. A moment later, his eyes snapped open, and he shook his head with a frown. “That’s odd… Henri is out of reach. I can’t contact him.”

“Something’s wrong,” she hissed, her hands balling into fists. “Contact Lieutenant Gaston immediately. Tell him something has happened to Henri and Yolani.”

The guards shared a glance. One of them frowned before answering. “It might be… well, they are close. They could be… spending some time together?”

“No. That’s not it. Call for back up right now,” Elania said icily.

The men shared a look. The guard who spoke shrugged. “Sure. Give me a second.”

He closed his eyes, and she watched as he sent out a mental call for assistance.

Elania rocked on her feet while waiting.

It felt like it took much too long when he finally nodded to her. “Gaston is on his way.”

“Thank you,” Elania said. She pushed through the door of the shop, the wards immediately recognizing and accepting her.

The familiar jingle of the bell sounded hollow to her ears as she took in the regular disarray of the main room. She quickly scanned for any sign of struggle, but found none.

She swiftly moved to the back room where they kept their gear and began to fully outfit herself. Yolani’s combat bag went over her shoulder, even if she didn’t know how to use the things in it.

Her [Vorpal Dagger] was honed and ready and she strapped it around her waist. She eyed the new firearms that had been prepared, but decided not to take the prototype weapon.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Elania made for the door once more. It felt like she couldn’t wait for Gaston; every moment was precious. With one last glance at the shop, she stepped back out and clicked the door locked and warded behind her.

There was only one problem. She had absolutely no idea of where to search. Despite the doom feeling, there wasn’t any hint of a direction. She’d have to wait.

By the time Gaston and his escort arrived, Elania’s boots were tapping an impatient rhythm against the cobblestone as she paced back and forth in front of the shop. Her mind was a whirlwind of dread and conjecture, each minute stretching like an eternity.

“Gaston!” Elania called out as soon as she spotted him. She cleared the space between them rapidly enough to cause him to pause in alarm.

“Elania. I got word that Henri was out of communication, and a demon was in a panic. Can you tell me what you know?” he asked calmly.

Elania looked back over her shoulder and gave the guard a glare. He tensed up and straightened while refusing to look her in the eye.

She turned back to answer. “I don’t know what it is. I can feel something is very wrong. They said Henri and Yolani went out, but he’s out of communication. I didn’t know they were gone until I got back from Ironfist. We need to search for them!”

Gaston furrowed his brow. “A feeling isn’t much to go on.” He turned to the guard standing beside him. “Start a wide search for them. Around the Row and expanding into the Artisan District.”

Relief filled her as she realized something was being done. “Thank you, Lieutenant.”

Gaston grunted. “If that boy just had his mind somewhere else and was blocking things out, he’s going to be doing paperwork for the next month.” He eyed her. “Regardless of who he was with and how much pull they have.”

“I don’t think that’s it, sir. I have a terrible feeling,” Elania replied.

He nodded. “Well, there are plenty of things that could cause a ‘feeling’, but it would help to know what this one was coming from. You said it occurred while you were training, so it wasn’t just when you learned they were alone together. Is there anything in your contract to stipulate something like this?”

Was that even a possibility? Could the contract do something like that at all? Elania ignored the insinuation that she was just panicked because Yolani and Henri were just spending time together. “Nothing like this… well… we are connected by the contract. Yolani said she saved me from the Engine once because of it, although I don’t remember. Maybe it is that.”

One of the City Watch guards stepped up. “Lieutenant, we have a report of a robbery in the Artisan District nearby, at a sandwich shop. Owner says there was a watchman, and a girl taken. Happened over an hour ago.”

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

Yolani and Henri had been kidnapped!

“Where is he? We need to question him!” Elania blurted.

“Still at the shop. It’s a few blocks from the entrance to the Row,” the guard replied.

“Let’s go,” Gaston ordered.

Everyone fell in line and headed down the street, but the pace was much too slow for Elania. She wished she could urge them to run. The procession was a blur.

They didn’t even use the smaller personnel gate at the Ironfist checkpoint, the entire troupe of guardsmen pushing through the large opening meant for wagons and carriages.

When they turned into the alley, the façade of the shop came into view, and it was a mess. The windows were shattered, and the door hung awkwardly on its hinges. A small sign was broken into pieces, leaned up against the wall.

Inside, overturned chairs, broken dishes and glass covered everything, including the massive stain that had once been a recent pool of blood. Someone had bled enough to not be living anymore.

“God…” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the crunch of boots.

An elderly man sat slumped on a stool near the counter, his face pale and his hands shaking. A guard who was talking to him nodded to Lieutenant Gaston.

“Sir, could you please tell us again what happened here?” Gaston asked as he pulled out a small notepad and pencil.

The man nodded. “They came in here like a pack of beak dogs… The lad tried to fight them off,” he said. “But there were too many. I ran through the back.”

“Yolani didn’t run with you?” Elania asked.

He shook his head. “No one came to the back. When it was finally quiet, they were all gone.”

The shopkeeper’s story only solidified her fear—they had been taken, and it was by no means an accident or something else. Somehow that made the horrible feeling filling her less nebulous, and the panic disappeared. Having something to go on gave her something to work on.

“You said they were wearing robes?” Gaston asked.

The old man nodded. “Black robes. Nothing ornate, but solid black.”

“Black Candle,” Elania blurted out, her voice tinged with certainty and a rising anger she could barely contain.

Darius and his henchmen’s questionable presence in the sewer and part in the central square riot immediately pushing them to the front of the line of suspects that matched the description.

Gaston nodded slowly, his expression hardening. “We’ve been working on locating them. They’ve holed up in the Mercenary District slums, in a warehouse they’ve been using as a free medical clinic.”

Elania’s eyebrow shot up. “I thought the entire Merc District was the slums,” she said, a bitter edge to her words.

“Some areas are worse than others,” Gaston replied with a shake of his head. “This section… it’s deep in the pits where we don’t general allow our men to patrol.”

A cold determination settled over her. “We need to go there,” she said firmly. “Now.”

Gaston met her gaze. “Taking in a large group of guard could cause a riot.”

Elania tensed. “I’ll go alone. If necessary. Just tell me where it is.”

He shook his head and looked at the others. “We won’t leave our own behind. We’ll need to get out of uniform.”

A wave of nods from the men followed.

Elania worked the fingers of her hand.

They would get Yolani… and Henri back. If something happened to her friend… she didn’t know what she would do.