151 - Catch Up

Vittoria returned from her visit to Camhanach Castle and confirmed that Riorke was fine and no longer confined to a dungeon.

“He's stubborn as hell,” she added. “And probably going to get himself killed as a result, but he’s otherwise unharmed.”

"You think he’ll get himself killed?"

"Yes, as long as he refuses to learn even the most basic defensive magic."

"Ah." Arielle nodded. “He doesn’t want to learn magic because his brother died as a result of not having magic.”

“His father mentioned that. That’s the dumbest, most convoluted excuse I’ve ever heard,” she said. “He’s trying to prove a point and validate his brother by getting himself killed similarly.”

Arielle shrugged. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense to her either, but the last time she had brought it up with Riorke, it had nearly destroyed their friendship. She wasn’t going to risk it again.

At least not until she got better at talking to people and reading their emotions.

“Have you thought about whether or not my parents can visit?” Arielle asked.

“No,” Vittoria said. “And you’re not allowed to hound me and be annoying about it either. I'll let you know my decision once I make it. Alright?”

Arielle pressed her lips together, but she had no choice but to agree. Vittoria also told her that she’d contacted Elric and he would be back from the demonic realm soon. Arielle was excited about that at least, but it wasn’t enough to allay her worry that she wouldn’t be able to see her parents before school started up again.

Or even before the ball, which was in just a few weeks now.

Over the next few days, Arielle spent most of her time reading Cornelius’ diary, thinking about how to open Yseult's black book, and working on new spells to present to Lyra once school restarted. She waited for Vittoria’s decision while trying not to 'be annoying about it', as Vittoria said. She also took breaks to play with Inara and Sir Spendulon and tried to keep herself busy so she wouldn’t get melancholic again.

It was starting to feel a bit claustrophobic, though. Vittoria didn’t want any of them to go out yet, to give her external traps time to strengthen. At first it was fine, seeing as how Arielle was used to spending most of her time indoors, but somehow being explicitly restricted, and not even allowed to take a step onto the porch, made all the difference.

Sir Spendulon seemed to be feeling it too, as he began fussing and whining more often than usual. It was likely because he couldn't go out for his usual walks or dig in the sand. Whenever he got angsty, Inara would have to distract him by tickling his belly or singing.

Inara was a really good singer, Arielle learned.

She had a soft, light tone and a raspy texture that oozed warmth and soothed Sir Spendulon. It also made Arielle feel slightly less claustrophobic.

However, Ari wasn't sure how long it would work.

One afternoon, Inara was humming to Sir Spendulon while Arielle read on the couch. A knock on the door interrupted them.

They all froze, except Vittoria, who was sitting by the fireplace with her feet propped up. She simply twirled her hand, and the door opened.

A familiar face stood at the entrance.

“Elric!” Arielle jumped out of her seat and ran up to him, throwing her hands around his waist and burying her face in his chest.

Elric laughed and patted her head. “I take this to mean that you missed me.”

Arielle nodded and squeezed him tight. He still smelled like himself, a scent that reminded her of earth and sunshine.

The hug lasted five seconds, which was her limit, after which she stepped back and beamed up at him, while wiping her hands on her pants and her face on her sleeve, trying to get rid of the sensation of his robe on her skin.

He looked thinner than when she’d last seen him. His hair was also longer, brushing his collar, and his eyes were more tired. But he was alive and well, and that was all that mattered.

“Four weeks in the demon’s domain truly aged you,” Vittoria commented from her seat.

“Actually, it was four weeks with Gio that nearly did me in,” he muttered, moving deeper into the room. He paused when he saw Inara, smiling and opening his mouth presumably to greet her.

But the words got stuck in his throat when he saw the dragon.

His jaw slackened, his expression blankening.

He didn’t say anything for a good ten seconds, even as Inara stood and bowed. “Good afternoon, Archmage Elric.”

“Hi, Inara,” he responded distractedly, with his eyes still on Sir Spendulon, who was eyeing him with a similar amount of curiosity.

Sir Spendulon, despite his staring, couldn’t see well as an infant dragon, but he was sniffing the air as though trying to get acclimated to a new scent.

He went closer to Elric, not close enough to touch, just enough that his nose nearly brushed the edges of Elric's robe.

He then snorted hard and rubbed his nose again.

Elric's expression went through several iterations before he finally turned to Vittoria. “You have a pet dragon now?”’

“He’s not mine,” she said. “It was Tamsy’s idea to adopt him.”

“Tamsy?”

“Yes.” She gestured with her head towards Arelle, and awareness dawned on him.

“Oh.”

“Yes,” Arielle said and gave him a very subtle wink. “I am Tamsy, and he is Sir Spendulon.”

“Right.” His attention was dragged back to Sir Spendulon, who released a chuff. “And why do you have a dragon, Tamsy? Where did you even meet…it?”

“In the Altazon volcano."

“There was an infestation caused by an agitated dragon, and she fixed it," Vittoria explained.

“She did?” His eyes swung back to Arielle. “How did you even…you know what. Never mind. I have to stop asking that.” His eyes went back to the dragon. “But wow. So he’s just a part of the family now?”

“Until his mother comes for him.’

“And when would that be?”

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“Who knows?” Vittoria put down the scroll she was reading. “Inara, could you excuse us for just a few minutes, please?"

Though the words were uttered gently, Inara still vaulted into instant obedience.

“Yes, Lady–yes, Vittoria!” Her face was hot, but she seemed eager to obey the order, or maybe just relieved that she was finally assigned a task that was easy to fulfil.

She bowed to Elric as she hurried out, and Sir Spendulon swung his large head between her and Arielle in contemplation, before he waddled after her.

Then it was just the three of them in the room.

“So she's his favourite now,” Vittoria said, as she twirled her hand to summon what looked to be freshly brewed tea. She floated it over to Elric, and he took the cup with a murmured thanks, settling into his seat. She then soundproofed the room.

“So, how was your hunt?” she asked.

"Eventful, to say the least,” he said. “We killed a lot of demons, interrogated a few others, took breaks now and then to argue with each other, and then we were ambushed by a legion."

"Oh?"

"Yes. But we weren't hurt. Luckily, a dragon came out of nowhere and killed them all."

“Did it?” Vittoria said.

“Yes. It was the most bizarre thing.” Elric frowned in thought. “Actually, now that I think about it, that dragon looked kind of like the one I just…” He finally caught the expression on Vittoria’s face, a knowing amusement, her chin propped on her palm. “Wait, don't tell me…”

"I won't." Vittoria shook her head, but she didn’t say anything as she waited for Elric to come to his own conclusion.

“That was the dragon’s mother, wasn’t it?”

"Probably,” Vittoria said. “She did say she would kill everyone responsible for her capture. I’m guessing she took care of quite a few of your problems.”

“And created an even bigger one,” Elric said. “Gio wasn’t satisfied with the number of demons he killed, but he couldn’t find anyone else to pick a fight with, so now he's grumpy about it. I’m concerned he’s going to make that everyone’s problem now that he’s back.”

“Then he should focus his energy on Yseult. Have you found out anything?”

"No," Elric admitted. "As you said, he’s had no visitors and insists he’s not planning anything. It’s not a lie. He even swore it under the influence of a truth seeker.”

“But…”

“But I still feel he’s involved. Perhaps this is a plan that he set in motion already and made himself forget so that he wouldn’t get caught."

"Wouldn't a truth seeker know?"

"Maybe. Or maybe the demons have a way of wiping the memory entirely."

"That doesn't make sense. If the memory was indeed gone entirely, he would be acting differently, wouldn't he? He might inadvertently do something to get in his own way, and he can't have that. There has to be something he left behind as a safeguard, something that can give us a hint of what he’s up to."

Elric was quiet, putting his teacup down and folding his hands over his knee.

"I just have a bad feeling about it, that's all," Elric said.

"I'm sure you do," Vittoria said. "We should definitely investigate it, but there's a lot more that we also have to pay attention to. For example, the other families implicated in demonic ritual."

"Yes, I saw the report you sent me. What's your plan with that exactly?"

"I'm not sure," she said. "Obviously, I have to report it to the council, but I also really want to know what the demon realm's endgame is here. This is the first time they've attempted such a wide-scale yet subtle takeover, and I understand that it's because of the new faction fighting for prominence in the demonic realm...but how does that directly lead to what they're doing on Earth? There's still a missing piece."

Elric nodded slowly. "Do you want to draw Gio into this investigation?"

"I'd rather stab needles into my own eyeballs."

Elric chuckled. "That's exactly what Mahmoud said yesterday. Gio was getting on his nerves just for the fun of it, and short-tempered Mahmoud almost blasted him into the stratosphere."

“Gio has that effect on people. I'm shocked he hasn't tried it with you."

“He has, but I’m just harder to annoy.” He sighed and rubbed his eyes, then he seemed to notice Arielle was still in the room. “Anyway, back to you, Arielle. How have you been? Have you visited your family yet?”

Arielle shook her head, and Vittoria said. “She can’t go.”

“What? Why?”

“Remember how I said a trio of demon lords attacked us."

“Yes?”

“Arielle may or may not have done something that gave the demon a roadmap into her soul.”

“What?” Elric’s voice exploded, and Ari jerked. His eyes were wide as he turned to her. "Why would you do that?"

“It was an accident,” Arielle said, and she glanced at her knees. “I was trying to help.”

“She was,” Vittoria said. “And there’s a chance that nothing happened and she’s safe, but until we know for sure, I want to keep her here, just in case the demon does decide to show up. Or until we kill him."

"What exactly happened?"

"Well–" Arielle started, but Vittoria interrupted.

"It's probably better if you don't know, Elric," she said. "Trust me. For your own sanity."

Elric's lip downturned. For a second, as he looked at Arielle, it was almost like he was staring at something he didn't understand and had never seen before. But with a shake of the head, the look was gone. "Arielle..."

"Yes?" She was expecting more censure, so she kept her eyes back on her knees.

But he only released a breath. "Just be more careful next time. Okay?"

She snuck a look at him and saw that his expression was mostly warm, with a hint of exhaustion and relief. She nodded and attempted a smile.

He smiled back.

"I don't know if her parents are going to accept that, though," he said. "I've already given them one too many excuses about why she isn't home, and they're desperate to see her. So much that her sister wrote to me to 'jokingly' threaten my life if Arielle wasn't back as promised during the break. I'm not entirely sure her sister won’t show up to campus and start asking questions if we don't send her home.”

“Arielle will tell them she’s alright.”

“They won’t believe it unless they actually see her. And even then they would have to make sure she’s not a clone I conjured.”

"They think you would do something like that?"

Elric shrugged. "They don't know me at the end of the day, and she's their family. They're fiercely protective of her."

"I see." Vittoria rubbed her chin, eyebrows ruffling. "Having them here is going to cause problems."

“They can meet in a third place,” Elric said. “Perhaps even at the academy itself. It’s empty right now, and with all the protections, it should be safe from the demons."

"Not safer than here. Most of the professors are on break too.”

"With the dean–"

Vittoria shook her head, biting her lip, the grooves in her forehead getting deeper.

“Fine,” she finally said. "They can come here for a day, or maybe a few hours."

Arielle's eyes widened, and elation had her jumping to her feet. "Really?"

"Yes," Vittoria said. "But we’ll need to speak to Inara first.”

“How much does she know?” Elric asked as Arielle tried not to dance from happiness.

“I’m not sure," Vittoria responded. "I won’t pretend that we’ve been careful about hiding things from her, and she might even know Arielle's appearance is a disguise. But she's not inclined to tell anyone about Arielle. I’m sure she would rather die.”

“But that won’t matter if she’s captured and has her memories harvested.”

"Only demons can do that. And dragons. And truthseekers. But the trick is to make sure that she doesn't get captured."

"So, you plan to keep her with you forever?"

Vittoria shrugged. "For as long as she wants to stay."

"What happened to you enjoying your solitude and not wanting it disturbed?" Elric teased.

Vittoria shrugged again but didn't say anything else about that.

Arielle, on the other hand, was thinking about how Inara wouldn't ever be truly safe until they took care of Yseult and somehow disabled her blood oath. Soul magic was on pause for now, but that didn't mean she couldn't study blood magic. After all, the two were linked but not necessarily the same thing.

Something occurred to her, given the conversation Elric and Vittoria just had.

"The book."

They both glanced at her, and Arielle retrieved the black book from her side.

"Maybe whatever Yseult is planning is enclosed in this book? Perhaps it's a diary of sorts."

Vittoria blinked slowly. "That's actually a good idea. I forgot about that. Give it to me."

Arielle handed it over to Vittoria, who studied it for a few minutes and then shook her head.

"I'm not sure I know what to do with this," she said. "I can't even see the nature of the blockage, much less bypass it."

"Not even with soul magic?"

"No. A high-ranking demon could create a backdoor maybe, but the one in our basement isn't going to help us, even if he knew how to do it."

Arielle's mind worked as she stared at the book. "What if we got Yseult to help us open it without realizing he's doing it?"

"Meaning?"

Arielle put her hands together. "I have an idea."