Chapter 123 – You’re a Damn Traitor

The captain had managed to get permission to approach the main base after reporting the mages' return and Alfred's condition.

That didn't mean they could enter without going through the security checks.

The vehicles stopped at the entrance, several soldiers began inspecting the equipment, and the personnel were instructed to identify themselves before proceeding.

Diana climbed out with the same annoyed expression she'd worn for much of the trip.

On the inside, things were a little different.

'Just don't let anyone ask me to open my jacket...'

She had tucked the little bat inside, securing it between layers of clothing so it wouldn't fall when she moved. She kept a concealment spell over both of them, preventing the vampire's presence from spreading beyond the fabric.

So far, it had worked.

She hoped it would keep working.

"Identification."

Diana handed hers to the soldier who approached her.

The man checked the document, consulted the list in his hands, then looked back at her.

"Diana. Rank-seven mage."

"Yes. The same one who left on the rescue helicopter."

The soldier checked another detail while Alfred was being taken out of the vehicle a few meters away. The young man was still unconscious, and two members of the medical staff were already approaching him.

"My partner needs medical attention," Diana added. "Can we wrap this up?"

The man glanced toward Alfred. Then he checked her name once more against the list of evacuees and handed back her identification.

"You can go through."

Diana put it away without rushing.

She didn't smile.

She didn't sigh with relief.

She simply walked on, as though the only thing bothering her was having been made to wait.

They saved the thorough inspections for the vehicles and the rest of the equipment. Her identity, her rank, and the fact that she'd just returned with an injured partner had been enough to keep them from insisting on searching her as well.

She wasn't sure she'd get that lucky a second time.

Once inside, the group began splitting up almost immediately.

Alfred was taken to the medical facilities, while the pilot was told to accompany some other soldiers to answer a few questions about the loss of his plane.

Diana watched them leave.

She would have liked to go with Alfred.

She would also have liked to sit down, have a drink, and stop thinking for a few minutes.

But she had a vampire hidden inside her jacket.

And that vampire had given her a very clear order.

Take her to the people in charge of the operation.

'What a shitty day...'

Diana broke away from the rest of the group and started walking toward the command area.

The main base was much larger than the camp they'd abandoned.

There were vehicles, communications equipment, and personnel moving between the facilities. Farther away lay the area used by the planes, but Diana didn't waste time looking in that direction.

She was more worried about the people she passed.

There were mages.

Quite a few.

She recognized several rank-six mages and a few rank-seven ones, like herself.

Some were talking near the guard posts; others went from one place to another, keeping up with reports and any warnings coming in from outside.

"Diana."

A mage raised her hand as Diana passed.

Diana returned the greeting with a small gesture.

"I heard you ran into trouble."

"I'll tell you later."

The other woman took one look at her expression and didn't press.

Diana kept walking.

A soldier carrying a crate stepped aside to let her pass.

Another asked whether everyone in the evacuated group had made it back.

She gave only the necessary answers, not stopping any longer than she had to and trying to act the way she always did.

Walk.

Answer.

Don't touch the jacket.

Don't look down every time she felt something shift against her body.

And above all, keep the spell going.

When she finally recognized the entrance to the facilities where the senior officers usually met, she felt she was close to putting that part of the problem behind her.

All she had to do was go inside.

"Hold on."

Diana stopped.

A blue-haired woman stood by the entrance, watching her with her arms hanging loosely at her sides.

Her gaze dropped to Diana's jacket for a moment. Then it returned to her face.

"What are you doing here?"

"I have information to report to our superiors."

As she answered, Diana noticed the insignia on the other mage's uniform.

Eight stars.

'You've got to be fucking kidding me...'

If those indicated her rank, she'd just run into someone above her.

The woman didn't move aside.

"What information?"

"About what happened at the camp we evacuated."

"Then explain why you're using a concealment spell on yourself."

Diana felt her stomach tighten.

For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.

The blue-haired mage kept waiting.

She hadn't looked directly at the spot where the bat was hiding. She didn't seem to know what Diana was carrying under her clothes.

But she'd detected the spell.

"It's... complicated."

The other woman's expression didn't change.

"Drop it."

Diana kept her hands still.

"First, I need to speak to..."

"My job is to monitor who comes through here. I'm not letting you in while you're hiding something."

A nearby soldier looked in their direction.

Diana noticed him out of the corner of her eye and lowered her voice a little.

"Listen. I've just been through a pretty unpleasant situation, and I have something important to report. Could you let this slide just this once?"

"No."

"I only need a few minutes."

"I need you to drop that spell."

Diana pressed her lips together slightly.

She couldn't.

Not here.

Not with soldiers around and a mage who was probably rank eight blocking her path.

The woman took a small step toward her.

"I'm going to tell you one more time. Drop the spell or leave. If you keep insisting on getting in, I'll have to detain you."

Diana looked at the door behind her.

Then back at the eight stars.

'Fine. Not this way.'

She raised a hand to show she'd understood.

"All right. I'm leaving."

Diana turned around.

Maybe she could find another entrance. Or get someone to notify her superiors so they would come out and talk to her.

She didn't have to sort this out right there, in front of the one person who'd noticed her concealment spell.

She had barely taken a few steps when she heard the mage's voice again.

"Stop!"

Diana froze.

She turned her head slightly.

"What?"

"You haven't dropped the spell."

"Because I'm leaving."

"What are you hiding?"

The question came in a different tone.

Harsher.

Diana turned the rest of the way to face her.

"I told you I need to speak to our superiors."

"I asked you a question."

"I'm not trying to go inside. I'm doing what you just..."

The other woman raised a hand.

Diana felt the air shift before she saw the attack.

A sharp current of air shot toward her, and her body reacted almost out of habit. She extended an arm and raised a barrier of water in front of her, building up the pressure just before impact.

The blow shook its entire surface.

A deep line split the water before it closed again, and some of it sprayed out to either side.

Diana took a step back.

If she'd been just a little slower...

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

The nearby soldiers immediately moved away.

The blue-haired mage kept her hand raised.

"You're under arrest."

Diana stared at her in disbelief.

"You said I could leave!"

"Your behavior is suspicious."

"I'm leaving because you told me to!"

"You still refuse to show me what you're hiding."

Diana felt a small movement under her jacket.

She gritted her teeth.

Not now.

Please, not now.

"We can talk about this without you trying to slice me open."

"Then drop the spell and keep your hands where I can see them."

"You just attacked me."

The woman looked at her coldly.

"From this moment on, any act of resistance will be considered treason."

Diana let out a dry laugh.

"Does resisting getting sliced open count too?"

The mage moved her fingers.

This time, there were two currents.

Diana raised both hands and shifted the barrier.

The first slash hit the water head-on; the second came at her from the side, forcing her to extend her defense before it could slip past her arm.

The impact made her shoulders tense.

She was tired.

She could still feel the strain of the earlier fight and the trip carrying Alfred. Now she had to block another mage's attacks without letting the spell covering her jacket unravel.

And that damned woman kept attacking.

"Stop it!"

"Stop resisting."

Another current sliced through the air.

Diana closed one hand into a fist, and the water gathered in front of the attack, stopping it with an impact that splashed the ground.

The soldiers had moved far enough away to avoid getting caught between the two of them. Some had their weapons ready, though none seemed eager to step into the middle of a magical exchange.

'This is going to shit...'

The concealment spell wavered for an instant.

Diana felt it and hurried to steady it.

That distraction nearly let the next slash hit her.

She had to raise a second, smaller layer of water while the first finished regaining its shape.

She couldn't keep this up.

If she focused all her attention on defending herself, the vampire's presence would be exposed.

And if she focused too much on hiding her...

"I'm not trying to hurt you!" she shouted.

"Then stop using magic."

Diana looked at the barrier that had just kept another attack from reaching her.

For a moment, she felt she was about to lose her temper completely.

That was when something cold brushed against one of her wrists.

She looked down.

A metal band was forming around her arm.

She tried to pull her hand away, but another appeared around her other wrist. The metal snapped shut, and the two restraints pulled toward each other until her hands were forced together.

"Hey!"

Diana tried to pull them apart.

She couldn't.

The water in front of her trembled.

She could still maintain it, but without being able to move her hands freely, it was much harder to adjust its shape and direct it precisely.

The blue-haired mage advanced.

Diana backed away, trying to put some distance between them while looking for a way to get those things off.

She didn't get to take a second step.

She felt more pressure around her ankles.

She looked down just as the metal finished closing around them.

Her feet were suddenly pulled together.

Diana lost her balance.

With her hands trapped and her legs bound together, she barely managed to twist her body before falling face-first onto the ground.

The air was knocked from her lungs.

The barrier collapsed in a splash.

And something small was crushed between her chest and the inside of her jacket.

'Shit!'

She tried to lift her upper body, but the handcuffs kept her from bracing her hands the way she wanted. She only managed to move a little, just enough to feel the bat squirm beneath her clothes.

The concealment spell began to fail.

Diana tried to maintain it.

She couldn't keep it as steady.

A pair of boots stopped in front of her face.

The blue-haired mage crouched down, keeping one hand at the ready as she watched her.

"Your name."

Diana lifted her head as far as she could.

"You damn lunatic..."

"I won't repeat myself."

Something moved toward the edge of her jacket.

Diana went still.

She felt it climbing through the fabric, searching for a way out, and realized there was no point in trying to hide it anymore.

The mage lowered her eyes.

A small bat emerged through the opening in Diana's clothing.

For a fraction of a second, the woman seemed unable to understand what she was seeing.

Then she raised her hand.

Too late.

The bat's silhouette changed in front of her.

The same white-haired girl Diana had fought appeared between them, still in her ruined clothes, with charred scraps of fabric clinging to her body.

She didn't say a word.

She turned and threw a kick before the mage could finish reacting.

The woman managed to get an arm in the way, but the blow forced her abruptly to her feet and drove her back several steps. She lost her balance for a moment and had to shift one foot to keep from falling.

Diana looked up from the ground.

The vampire stood in front of her.

Exposed.

And all that presence she'd tried to contain beneath a concealment spell was now spreading through the area with nothing to hold it back.

The blue-haired woman stared at her.

Her eyes moved over the white hair, the tattered clothing, and the newcomer's face. Then they returned to Diana.

The surprise vanished from her expression.

"You're a damn traitor."

The first alarm began to sound before Diana could answer.

Another joined in from the opposite side of the base.

And above the noise, a voice came over the loudspeakers.

"Alert! A vampiric presence has been detected inside the base!"

Diana closed her eyes for a moment.

"I repeat! Vampiric presence inside the base!"