173 - Alarm (Patreon)

The shock took its time to pass, even as Arielle’s mind immediately raced. 

The statue stood without any of the spells that had once covered it, yet it still gleamed with the same menace Arielle had initially recognized.

Which meant that the spells hadn't been causing the menace. Perhaps it had been serving another purpose. Perhaps it had been guarding against it.

Why were the spells gone? Had someone broken them? Why would they? And what purpose did the spells serve? 

“Arielle?” Wulfric’s voice broke her concentration. “What’s going on? You’re starting to scare me. Besides, it’s almost time for the–”

She held up her hand, stopping him in his tracks. “Just…quiet for a second.”

Thankfully, Wulfric obliged, letting Arielle return to her thoughts. She pictured the spell again, just as it had been wrapped around the statue. Multiple Vacu elements and ancient lattices. Massa rings. Luxa serving as a base for a tower of cubes, with Luxa and Massa woven together. An Vitae ouroboros, and Vacu swirl meaning a reductive or destructive component. One of Yseult’s spells had that too, although that was a much more logical spell pattern than this one. This spell was far too complex for her to truly make sense of.

But there was a chance the spell wasn't destroying the statue. It was destroying whatever was within the statue. And perhaps that something had already escaped.

The statue was also in some way, somehow associated with the Drift or the Unmaker. 

It couldn’t be a coincidence that it happened to remind Wulfric's father's cousin of someone who had gone missing. Just like all the other people associated with the Drift had gone missing, not to mention the fact that the statue gave the same feeling as that of the Black Knight, who was one of the known few who had maybe worked with the Drift.

But why would the Drift remove the spells now, if it had in fact moved the spells and if the spells had been guarding something? Had it unleashed a monster onto the scene, perhaps a nulloid? Or some other abyssal monstrosity?

Why would it do that?

Think, Arielle, think.

Perhaps it had something to do with Cornelius' promise. To advance Yseult's agenda. They knew that Yseult was working with the demons, but he had been caught and had his cores suppressed. Elric had suspected that Yseult had had some sort of contingency plan, but they had little evidence to show for it.

This might be an effort to get his cores back. But how? 

She thought, if anything, the Drift would be in Yseult's tower trying to break in to free him, or help him in some way. Shouldn’t that be his priority? Or was there something here that would somehow help Yseult? Something they were trying to find. 

It didn’t matter. Ultimately, it didn’t matter why they were here. If the spells on the statue were a sealing spell that had been broken, then it meant that everyone here might be in danger.

Or not. It was hard to tell.

Arielle glanced around wildly, trying to sense something, a wrongness in the atmosphere, something that could give her a sign.

“What are you looking for?” Wulfric asked quietly, and she glanced at him. 

“Did your father send anyone to this statue today?” she said, pointing at it. “Or did one of the guests…” It could have been Gio Li during their fight–but no. Nothing had changed in the statue after their battle, and Gio had seemed surprised by her interest in the statue.

Even if he could break the spell, why would he do that?

She wasn't equipped to read Gio's intention, but someone else might be able to. She also needed to search for more clues, though, about what the Drift was doing.

Either way, she couldn't investigate and waltz at the same time. And people needed to be on alert.

“We might have to stop the party,” she said. 

“Why?” he asked. “I mean that it’s only a couple of hours left at most, and the dance–”

“We might have an intruder.” 

“An intruder?” Wulfric asked. “How do you know?”

She shook her head. She couldn’t explain any of her theories to Wulfric, and the frustration stemming from that was harrowing.

However, she also couldn’t keep it a secret, not even to save herself. If there were abyssal creatures here, then other people’s lives were at stake too.

She needed to talk to someone first. Vittoria. Elric. 

“Arielle?”

"I have to talk to Elric," she said. "Excuse me."

"Okay, but at least explain what's going on."

She shook her head. As she was about to cross his path, he grabbed her hand and said, "What is it? Talk to me. Intruders? Is it...demons?"

She bit her lip. "I don't know. Maybe. Or maybe it's nothing. I have to go."

She tore her hand out of his, hiked her dress up, and began to run. She ignored Wulfric yelling her name behind her and burst into the reception area where a few of the guests had started trickling in on their way to the ballroom, since the entertainment was likely almost over and it was time for the dance.

She ignored anyone who called out to her, ducking around bodies, searching for Elric.

When she’d left him, he’d been at the dinner table in a conversation with Maus and another man who claimed to own a smithing company. They had been speaking about the advent of a new poison blade, and she hadn’t wanted to bother either of them, so she had slipped out with only a quiet excuse.

Hopefully he was still there. 

But no. The dining hall was now empty, with only a few servants clearing the tables. Most of the guests who had been here were probably now in the entertainment room, watching the show.

The burst of applause coming from a few doors down told her she was right.

There was a dancer suspended in the air on the stage as Ari entered the theatre, even though most of the guests were already standing.

Conversation resumed as the applause trailed off, and people began moving towards the doorway.

Luckily, Arielle spotted Elric before she was submerged by the crowd. They had been sitting to the side of the stage, and now were standing with a few more strangers.

Maus was saying something, speaking with his hands in the animated way he sometimes used with Lyra and even the twins. And Elric was smiling at him, adding something that made the other adults laugh and made Maus blush.

The scene gave her pause, and triggered a realization in Arielle that she rarely ever saw this side of him. Maus, when it was just the two of them, was always somewhat subdued, and somewhat reserved, always watchful and careful. But with Elric, he wasn’t as careful. He seemed freer.

The thought made her a little sad.

They had spent the entire ball shadowing her, instead of having fun themself. Did they actually enjoy this ball? Or would they have enjoyed it without her? Did her presence here ruin their experience?

She wished there was a way she could have gotten Maus and Elric to go in her stead.

She also wished she was like them, that she could have easy conversations without thinking over every sentence at least twice in her head, without making sure that her smile didn't look strange, and her stance wasn't strange, and nothing about her was strange in a way that made people uncomfortable.

"Excuse me, Miss Arielle?" Someone said from her periphery. "May I have a word?"

She didn't look at them as she shook her head, quickening her strides to meet them. /

Maus’s eyes met hers first, and he lit up as she strode quickly towards Elric, bursting into their conversation to announce:

“Elric, I need to talk to you.”

“Of course.” Elric didn’t skip a beat, even as the other people seemed astounded by her interruption. His smile remained, but he held out his hand and took Arielle’s shoulder, steering her away from the crowd as he added. “Please excuse me. Maus, continue telling the story about your first hunt."

“Erm…o-okay.” Maus sounded much more anxious now, but Elric gave him a comforting nod as he and Arielle began to head towards the entrance.

“Do we need a private spot?” Elric asked. 

Arielle bobbed her head. “I know a place.” She led him through the crowd and down the hallway, towards the private room Lady Wesley had prepared for him.

Before they turned the corner, they heard someone behind them.

“Elric." It was Lord Wesley's voice. “It’s time for the dance. We’re all heading to the ballroom.”

“Erm, yes…just give us a second,” Elric said. “We'll be there soon.”

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes. All is well. Arielle just needs a minute."

"Oh. Of course."

They continued on their way until they reached the private room. Elric closed the door behind them. Arielle twisted her hands as she tried to figure out what to say.

“What is it?” Elric asked. “What’s wrong?"

“I think…” She took a deep breath. “Let me start from the beginning.” As concisely as she could, she told him about the statue, what it reminded her of, the spells around it that could have been warding spells, and the fact that said spells had now disappeared. 

She still didn't want to tell him about the Drift and all that entailed. The promise was that she would only tell Vittoria, just in case the curse was real and knowing about it could trigger some dire consequences.

So Arielle just told him as much as she could and how the statue might be linked to demonic activity or possibly a nulloid.

Elric seemingly believed her even though there were holes in her story. He turned serious, instantly alarmed. “You said it disappeared?”

“Yes.”

He gave it a second. “Could it have happened during the fight with Gio–

“No. It was still there after that.”

"Still, Gio could have doubled back and perhaps found a way to break the spells."

"Why would he do that?"

"Because he saw how interested you were in them. It would pique his curiosity, and messing with it would be a way to get your attention. Or to get you to act out and inadvertently expose yourself."

“Do you think he did that?”

“I don’t know, I can’t tell. He’s hard to predict.” 

Frustration lined Elric’s face, the same one that Arielle felt. It was triggered by the urgent need to do something, combined with the desire to be careful and ensure that they weren’t falling for a trap. Arielle didn't know Gio well enough to tell one way or the other. But figuring out who had removed the spells might not be as important as whatever might happen next.

“That’s not the point," she said. "The point is that if there is an abyssal creature here right now, aren't we all in danger?"

"Maybe. Although given how many powerful mages are in attendance, it would take more than one army of demons or nulloids to take us all out. And if it were demons, well, they would also be announcing a war against some of the most powerful humans in the world, which again is not smart. They're not stupid. It wouldn’t make sense for them to attack outright.”

"So maybe they're not trying to attack? Maybe they're trying to find something."

“Something that can help Yseult." Elric blinked as though something struck him. "It might be in the treasure room. I'm sure Lord Wesley keeps valuable totems there. Perhaps one of them can help them. We should check instantly.”

"What about the dance?"

"We'll skip it. Tell them you're not feeling well. You wait here; I'll go make our excuses and then return."

"Okay," Arielle said.

He left quickly and Arielle waited in the room, unable to help herself from pacing.

She watched the full moon out the window, the security spell that had been baked into the atmosphere. Security features. If there was a demon here, shouldn’t it be able to detect it? Even if it somehow managed to come out through the statue, the scanning network of spells should instantly raise an alarm. Shouldn’t it?

Ari halted instantly when she saw it.

She nearly hadn't seen it.

If she had blinked at the wrong moment, she would not have seen it.

Yet, she did anyway, through the windows, floating in the air towards the next building. 

A single silver orb floated in space, trailing down the path before it suddenly, without explanation, disappeared.

“Elric,” Arielle gasped and turned back to run out the door. 

She nearly ran into a servant on the way as dashed down the hall, catching Elric right as he was about to enter the ballroom. “Elric,” she screamed, and he paused and stared at her. So did a few other people lingering outside the ballroom. 

She ignored them, keeping her attention on Elric. One look at her face and he immediately began running towards her while she ran out the front door. 

The night wind hit her face as they charged across the empty field. Arielle used [Blink] to get her there faster, while Elric used a more effective speed spell. 

They got close right as the first scream hit the air. 

It wasn’t really a scream. It was a loud whimper, that was the sound of someone too fearful to let out an actual scream. 

Elric soon overtook Arielle, his speed making him reach the bend where the sound was coming from before her.  

His pale face told her everything she needed to know. 

By the time Ari got there, he was already casting the first spell. 

“[Earthen Prison].”

The earth cracked and burst out of the ground, shooting up and trapping the creature where it was. 

And as for the creature…

It was hard for Arielle’s mind to make sense of what she saw. 

First there were three people standing in a triangle formation staring at nothing. Just the air. 

And in front of them, within Elric’s cage was an atmosphere that seemed to be turning liquid. 

Within she got flashes of something, an outline of a giant hulking monstrous creature, baring its teeth and snarling at them. 

The air around him shimmered, bursts of magic fighting against a strain, passing easily through the complex scanning spells that made up the building's alarm system. 

The abyss. The creature was coming in and out of the abyss. That was how it was avoiding the detection spells. 

And as the abyss got bigger, it swallowed Elric’s containment spell. 

Elric’s jaw dropped. So did Arielle’s.

The creature roared and jumped at Elric, its jagged teeth snapping, as it aimed for his head. 

Arielle put up her hand to blast it, but Elric had pointed right in its mouth and shot an arrow of light through it. 

This time it screeched as it retreated. 

But it didn’t fall. It simply disappeared. The air was still. Everything appeared normal except that three triangular figures that had been standing to the side had disappeared with him. 

“What…” Arielle finally noticed the man on the floor whimpering. He was dressed as a guest although Arielle didn’t recall exactly who he was. He looked at them with fear on his face, one leg looking badly broken.

“What on Earth was that?” he asked. 

“I’m not sure,” Elric murmured and he looked at Arielle. She also didn’t know what to say to him. 

“Where did it go?” Arielle asked.

Elric shook his head again. 

Then he pointed his finger at the sky, shot out an explosion that finally sounded the alarm.