Confessions of the Magpie Wizard Book 3: Dissolution (Chapters 21, 22 & 23) (Patreon)

An early update, because it's going to be a busy weekend! I don't think y'all will mind. 

Art by https://www.instagram.com/ilustreguilherme/?hl=en 

Chapter 21

Nagoya, Japan

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2050

In retrospect, it was a good thing Kiyo and I took the opportunity to have some alone time when we had the chance. Spare time became rarer and rarer as the weeks went on.

I suppose I ought to have expected it. If I wasn’t dealing with a report back to Fera, a late-night call from Kiyo, or a petty errand from Maggie, I was on the hook to help Headmaster Tachibana test his new and improved Peace Bond every weekend. This was all on top of regular classes, club time, and homework! I was beginning to feel like I was on a military campaign again, only without my goblin manservant, Dewdrop, to offload mundane tasks on. I couldn’t truly relax, since I had to be ready to jump at a moment’s notice.

At the very least, I had some progress to report back to the high command. I could honestly say that I had ingratiated myself with the Headmaster of the school and was simply waiting for an opportunity to betray him. That seemed to placate Fera, at least in the short term.

As did my faster response times. As much as I missed Kiyo’s physical presence, there were benefits. Fera had begun complaining about waiting an extra week every time she sent me a message. Now that I slept alone alone, I could get ready first thing in the morning much faster without having to drag Kiyo out of bed. That gave me time to check my mail before morning exercise with the group for our exercise sessions. I hadn’t received any letters in about a week, and I seemed overdue.

Sure enough, amid my normal deluge of junk mail was the newest missive from Australia. I hid it under my bed, since I wouldn’t have time to read it, reply and dispose of it properly until class was done for the day. I wasn’t about to make the same mistake as before and put it off for weeks on end, of course.

I stepped back into the elevator, having made my delivery. I was about to push the button when a voice came from behind me. “Who do you keep getting letters from, Magpie?”

I nearly cried out in my shock. A calloused hand wrapped around mine without an obvious source. “Kiyo, what are you doing?”

She came into view, wearing her exercise gear. She was looking quite disheveled, having abandoned her makeup and habit of tying her hair up. “I asked my question first. Who’s Harriet Oswald?”

I’d prepared for that, thankfully. “A friend of the family. She was my father’s godmother. I’ve never met her in person, but she seems like a sweet woman.”

Her eyes narrowed, and I noticed they had prominent rings beneath them. “Why doesn’t she just use SatoChat like a normal person? Letters are expensive.”

“She says she likes the formality of it.” I felt the color leave my face. “Wait, how did you know that name?”

“Saw it on the letter in your hand,” she said.

“Just how long did you follow me? We agreed, no more recon.”

“I’ve been on the elevator a bit. I wanted to surprise you.” She poked me in the chest. “Why’re you being defensive about it? Are you hiding something?”

Oh, my dear, let me count the secrets. I took a calming breath before I continued. “You popped in out of nowhere and started throwing around questions and accusations. It’s bound to make anyone defensive!”

“I’d think you’d be used to that,” she said. “You always thought it was cute before.”

“The popping in out of nowhere, yes. It adds a spice to things. The questions and accusations aren’t quite as lovable.” I wrapped my arms around her. “Now, think about it for a moment. How could I possibly be carrying on anything untoward with a woman in Australia? By post, no less.”

She closed her eyes and settled into me. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I haven’t been thinking straight lately.”

I ran a hand through her hair. “You aren’t looking your best, if I can say so.”

“Haven’t been sleeping good,” she said. “The homework’s worse than before. I keep pulling all nightery.”

“I did wonder where you found time to study. My phone’s always buzzing with your messages.”

“I miss you so much,” she muttered. “Am I pinging you too much?”

“A little,” I said. “I need to focus on my schoolwork, too.” Devils don’t feel guilt, you understand, but there was something that felt off about claiming schoolwork was what kept me busy. She was right to be suspicious, just not for the reasons her jealous mind had invented.

Her eyes brightened up for the first time since she’d ambushed me. “Hey, I got it! I’ll throw my classes on purpose. That way, I’ll get demoted and we’ll be together again!”

“I see you’re going with the Yukiko approach.” Her industrialist parents had forced her to earn terrible grades, despite her skills, as a way of keeping their heiress off the front lines. She’d seen sense since then, thankfully. “Please, don’t. I guarantee you, if they do demote you, they’ll send you to another class.”

“I hate this stupid school,” she said.

“Let’s not dwell on that, shall we? And Kiyo?”

“Yeah?”

“No more recon.” I looked her dead in the eyes. If Kiyo saw the wrong thing at the wrong time, I was on a one-way trip to a Wizard Corps prison. I doubted I’d be treated as gently as Haru had.

“But…”

“No,” I said. “If I had my way, you’d be at my side all the time. That isn’t the reality we’re living, tragically.” That at least was honest enough.

“You’re acting like you have something to hide,” she said, her voice tinged with suspicion.

“It isn’t about hiding or not hiding,” I said. “If they catch you sneaking around using your affinity to spy on people again, you’ll get more than a slap on the wrist! They know about your old recon habits now. This is for your sake, not mine.”

She met my gaze before sighing. “Fine. I still hate this stupid school.”

“Understandably! I’m just as miserable as you are.”

“I guess. Oh, do you want to hang out after club time tonight?”

“I can’t, I’m afraid,” I said. “Ms. Edwards and I are getting close to a breakthrough on my affinity, and she’s quite insistent that I be there.” That was true, not that it was what we were going to talk about.

Kiyo cursed under her breath. “Then let’s skip the morning run. We can go off somewhere.”

“Remember what happened last time? Rose barely covered for us when Mr. Maki showed up for a ‘random inspection.’”

She grumbled and gripped me harder. “Fine. Not today. Let’s get to the gym before somebody thinks we’re taking up too much time. Just promise me something.”

“Yes, my dear?”

“If I need you, and I mean really need you, you drop whatever you’re doing. I-I’m not in a good place right now.”

“I don’t know…” I trailed off. Blast her miserable doe eyes. “I have responsibilities, and you do, too.” My resolve melted like an ice cube on the surface of the sun. “Put those away, it isn’t fair!”

“Promise me. You have to do things like that. It’s all there in the boyfriend/girlfriend contract.”

“If you promise you’ll take better care of yourself,” I said. “You need to sleep sometimes. Spending all night on SatoChat with me isn’t making you any happier.”

“Sure it is,” she said. “It’s the most time we have alone anymore.”

“These circles beg to differ,” I said, running a thumb beneath her eye. “So, do we have a bargain?”

She bit her lip before hesitantly nodding. “Yeah, I guess.” She gave me a knowing smirk. “You’re always more worried about me than I am.”

“I’m sure that is somewhere in the boyfriend/girlfriend contract,” I said.

“If I ever write it down, it sure will be,” she replied.

My phone buzzed with a typo-laden message from Rose asking where we were. “We’ve pushed our luck as much as we can.”

“Ugh, I can’t believe I’m looking forward to our morning runs now, just ‘cause you’re there,” she said. “It feels like I’m in Magpie withdrawal when you aren’t around.”

“There are worse addictions,” I said, pushing the elevator button to send us on our way. I thought I’d solved the situation pretty handily, all things considered. Her sentiment was touching, but worrying. Not that I didn’t miss her dearly, but a desperate Kiyo was likely to turn invisible and see something that she shouldn’t.

***********

It was harder getting away from Kiyo after club time was over. Not only because she seemed more miserable, though she was better put together after she had showered and made herself up for the day. That was a relief; her pathetic state that morning had pulled at my heartstrings. No, she simply didn’t take no for an answer as she tried every angle she could dream up to intrude on my meeting with Maggie.

“I can be moral support,” she said. Her voice echoed in the empty hallway near Ms. Edwards’ homeroom.

“The training mostly involves sitting quietly and meditating,” I replied.

“Then I’ll be quiet moral support,” she said. “I’ll turn invisible and hide in the corner. Mrs. Edwards doesn’t have to know!”

“Afterwards,” I said. “We can figure something out afterwards, but she’s operating under the same orders as all of the other teachers. She’ll never let you get away with it, and if you break in, we’ll both be in trouble. Stop making me be the villain here!”

“Fine,” she groused. “Afterwards.”

“Stop, don’t leave angry,” I said, grabbing her arm as she spun around. I checked my phone and confirmed the time. “We have a few minutes before I’ll be missed.” I pulled us into an unlocked supply closet. The smell of bleach and molding rags was overwhelming, but at least we had a little privacy. “What did you want to talk about?”

“I don’t like you spending all this time with her,” she said. “There’s something off about Ms. Edwards.”

“Really? You want to waste our precious time on that?” As always, Kiyo was a good judge of character. At least, where I wasn’t concerned. I’d have to throw her off the scent. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous.”

“You knew her before you came here,” she said. “And she’s prettier than me. Of course I’m worried.”

“I mean, if you like redheads. I’ve always been more partial to raven hair, personally,” I said, playing with her ponytail.

“We both know your type is female,” she said.

“That isn’t true,” I said. “Mrs. Perera does nothing for me. And your stock is much nicer than Lucile’s.”

“Great, you think I’m sexier than a gun and a grandma!”

So much for using humor to defuse the tension. “What I’m saying is, you don’t need to be jealous.”

“I guess,” she said, settling into my arms. “I’ll shut up and enjoy the time we have.”

My phone burst out into song. “I suppose that’s Ms. Edwards wondering where I am.” I sent a text saying I was on the way, but didn’t leave just yet. This was a delicate moment.

“Ugh! Fine, go be responsible.” She crossed her arms under her chest and stepped away from me.

“No, no, that won’t do at all,” I said. “I won’t leave you with a frown like that.” If I left her in a funk, there was a chance she’d get it in her head to stalk us, and Maggie was bound to say something incriminating.

“Don’t know what else I’m supposed to do,” she said. “I spent so many months chasing after Hiro, thinking nobody would ever notice me. You did, and everything was great. Then the stupid headmaster tore you away from me.”

“Maybe you ought to find something else to fill that time,” I said. “Spending all of your time dwelling on it can’t make you happier.”

“Easy for you to say,” she said. “You don’t need me as badly as I need you. If I was hit by a bus, you’d have another girlfriend in a week. You like flirting and hitting on people. The idea terrifies me. I’m glad you came to me first.”

“You’re misremembering things,” I said, easing closer. “You confessed to me first. I never heard anything like it in my whole life.”

She snorted and avoided my gaze. “Yeah, right. People love you around here, and that’s after you screwed up the old club. No way I’m the first person to say who confessed to you.”

“No, it’s the truth,” I said. To be fair, Mother hadn’t been much for tender feelings even before she defected to the Grim Horde, if you believed Father’s accounts. Fera’s conditional marriage offer had been extremely cold and mercenary. I believed in the depth of Kiyo’s feelings for me and, as much as love is the Enemy’s delusion, the weak part of me craved it from her.

As miserable as she was, she deserved to hear it. I cupped her face in my hand. “Listen to me, and believe it for once, damn it! My eyes wander, but my heart doesn’t. The idea of doing anything to hurt you makes me ill. You talked so casually about being hit by a bus, and it made me ill! So, what if we see each other less? So, what if we can’t make love as often? I’m yours, and you’re mine. I need you to stop walking around, convinced that I’m sneaking around behind your back. It’s nonsense, and you’ll only drive yourself insane.”

She gulped, her eyes watering. “Dang, man. That’s… Dang.” She gulped again. “You’re always doing that to me, Magpie. Riling me up right before you have to go somewhere.”

I flashed her my winningest smile. “What can I say? Always leave them wanting more. Do you promise to relax?”

She nodded. “Alright, Magpie. I trust you.”

Those were the words I’d hoped to hear, though my stomach sank. I did care, but my motives weren’t exactly pure. “That’s a-”

“Besides, if you ever do cheat on me, I have Lucile.” Her neutral expression made me wonder how much she was kidding.

I chose to laugh along with the potential joke. “Exactly. Now, I must be going, before Ms. Edwards blows a gasket.”

“It’s too late for that!” Ms. Edwards flung the door open. “I thought I heard voices in here!” The real Holy Sister Shrike was among us for a moment, unmasked and enraged. When she noticed Kiyo, however, the normal façade went up. “Ms. Jones? Oh my, what are you doing in here? Don’t you have homework to do?”

“Y-yeah,” she said. “Have fun, Magpie. Not too much, but enough to keep you going until we talk later. I want to be the highlight of your day.” Kiyo’s expressions and body language were often opaque, but I’d learned how to interpret her. She walked off with more confidence than I’d seen with her since the Headmaster had invaded my bathroom.

At least one of us did. Sweat sprang to my brow as Maggie fixed me with an annoyed grimace.

“Trust me, my dear,” I called after her. “You will be.”

Chapter 22

Maggie finally released my ear as we entered the classroom. I hadn’t thought to resist, as I’d been too shocked to process what was going on. Nobody had hauled me around like that since I was a child. It had been my mother’s favorite technique for getting my attention.

Of all the things to make me nostalgic. I brushed myself off, trying to affect a dignity I didn’t feel. “What possessed you to do that?”

She shot me a condescending smirk. “We have a schedule to keep, and you were running late. If you’re going to behave like a disobedient child, I’ll treat you like one.”

“I was busy throwing Ms. Jones off the scent,” I said.

“I still don’t get what you see in her.”

I didn’t care to meet her gaze just then, but the available distractions weren’t much better. The adorable decorations and saccharine mottos that plastered her walls were still there from my last visit.

“Is that a new kitten poster?” I asked, pointedly avoiding the question. It depicted the school’s mascot, an anime style kitten with a witch’s hat, saying that perseverance was the real magic.

“It is,” she said. “You won’t distract me, Brother Mockingbird. At first, I thought your little fling with Ms. Jones was cute, but now it’s turned into a security risk.” She tapped a button on a remote control, and I could just make out a click near the door. “That motion sensor wasn’t cheap.”

“Kiyo is the cost of doing business with me,” I replied. “Speaking of which, are we here for one of my lessons, or one of yours?”

“One of mine,” she replied. “It’s been too long since you showed me a new trick.”

“Why a Holy Sister is so interested in demonic magic is beyond me,” I said.

“Know thy enemy,” she replied, flopping down into one of her students’ chairs. “The Horde knows such delightfully awful spells, and I’m going to reverse engineer them all.”

“It’s dreadfully dull for me, though,” I said.

Her face fell at that, and she looked at me quizzically. “You’re such a strange one, Soren. Demonic magic is so much more potent. If I had your power, I’d revel in it.”

“For you, it’s a novelty,” I replied. “For me, it’s a constant danger. You’re the only one at this school who would find that part of me anything but repugnant.”

“It is repugnant,” she said. “Not the knowledge of the magic, but how you gained it. But, what’s past is past. Pretending to be on the straight and narrow won’t erase past sins. Embrace the strength that you gained and use it for something worthwhile. Speaking of, it’s time for you to show me another spell.”

“We were working on the demonic version of Fireball last time, right? Let’s finish that up first before we move on to something new.”

“Firbolg,” she declared, the harsh, angular runes of demonic magic springing into existence around her hands. The ball of burning gas was the size of a golf ball, but it was enough to singe my tie as I dodged out of the way. “Don’t look so surprised. I’ve been practicing after school.”

“That isn’t why I’m surprised! You shot at me, you crazy witch!”

She cackled to herself. “I was only teasing. I miss the good old days when we would try and torment each other, Soren. You’re so cute when you’re flustered.”

As I admired the energetic glint in her eyes, there was a part of me that wished I weren’t a taken devil. A small, masochistic part, but a part nonetheless.

If Maggie noticed my confusion, she didn’t acknowledge it. “What’s the next spell? I’m ready for something advanced. I already could make a Fireball without using forbidden magics.”

I thought through my collection of native spells. I didn’t want to give her access to anything I couldn’t readily counter. She was like a sponge, which befitted an expert in spellcasting. She had mastered the demonic version of Fireball in a week, after I’d run her through demonic runes for only a few weeks before. Anything I showed her would be turned against me, and quickly.

“How about some healing magic?” I suggested. “The demonic version is more effective. It’s murder on the magic reserves and hurts like blazes, but it fixed me up in an instant when Haru stabbed me in the back.”

“Stop holding out on me!” she barked. “I want to see what you used to maim poor Haru. That’s the power I need to right things.”

I tried to think of a way out of sharing Bloody Lance. It was one of my best spells, after all. “Are you certain? Those higher end spells are no joke. They could backfire on you, or even a glancing blow could put somebody in a coma.”

“Anybody I want to use demonic magic on is a dead man walking.” She hopped up from her seat and sauntered over. She had to look up at me, but with her commanding presence, I felt like she towered over me. “For somebody who’s given themselves over to the cause, you hold out on me an awful lot. You’re keeping your best magic to yourself, and you ignore my hint to dump that scrawny girl. You can’t tell me you aren’t interested.” She took another step forward, pressing herself against me. “You’ve never been able to keep your eyes off of me.”

“I prefer to keep our relationship professional,” I said, my voice cracking. I didn’t step back right away, either. She was a madwoman, but a ravishing one. Reestablishing my personal space could wait a moment. I wasn’t made of stone, after all. “I’m surprised that you want anything to do with me, or any of your students, for that matter. Surely you could find someone your own age, if you have an itch to scratch?”

She reached out and lightly pinched my cheek. “Of course, but where’s the fun in that?” I forced her hand away, but she didn’t take offense. “I think you’re looking at this all wrong. What were the tests you took to join us?”

I thought back to that day in the Circle. “Resolve, Holiness and Loyalty.”

“Exactly. Be strong in your resolve, holy in your deeds and loyal to the cause.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “You might need to change our name. None of the Holy Brothers I’ve met are very holy, though I can’t deny the resolve and loyalty parts.”

“We don’t mean holiness in some sort of abstract religious or philosophical way,” she said, finally taking a step back. “It’s simpler than that. We are holy insofar as we oppose the unholy corruption of this world. You treat the Holy Brotherhood like a trap, when that couldn’t be further from the truth. The Wizard Corps and the Nagoya Academy have you under strict rules, but with us, you’re free, Soren! We don’t play by the world’s petty rules. The world ended twenty years ago, and anything we can do to bring it back is justified.”

“I took you for a utilitarian,” I replied, rubbing my smarting cheek. “Rather sensible of you. Yet you always held my stolen name against me. Sounds an awful lot like you’re following some sort of moral code.” People with slippery moral codes are always the quickest to judgement, I’d found.

She shrugged. “I never claimed to be logically consistent. It felt wrong to leave you be when my dear little Soren didn’t make it out of England.”

I felt a little awkward about that, since either I or one of the men under my command had slain him when we stormed the Merlin Academy of Magic in Kent. I couldn’t be sure. There had been a good many students hiding in that old castle.

“That’s all over, though. You’re on the side of the angels. Now, are you ready to stop being a spoilsport and show me a little forbidden magic?” Without waiting for an answer, she strode back to her desk, sat down and tossed me a pad of paper and a pen. “Start writing!”

I nodded. There’s no point in arguing with somebody who says logic holds no sway over them. If she wanted Bloody Lance, then a Bloody Lance she would have.

Then it struck me that I was being far too honest and trusting. She’d just told me to free myself from morality, and there I was, about to be straight with here! I blamed Hiro and his crew. They were a good influence. I hadn’t named Bloody Lance in her presence. I didn’t need to give her my best spell, or even one in my top ten. It would need to be more exciting than a different Fireball, of course, but I knew exactly the one to teach her.

“Ruhspont, or Rough Fountain in English, is a delightful little spell,” I said as I wrote down runes. It felt like an eternity since I’d thought in my native magical characters, but it became easier as I went. “It takes gases from the atmosphere, combines them with a bit of water vapor and then you have yourself a nice little acid ball. It’ll melt through plate armor in a second.” It was also excessively complicated compared to a more straightforward Fireball or Bloody Lance. The only devils I knew who employed it on the regular were professional torturers. I’d have her spinning her wheels for a month. That’s how long it had taken me to learn it, and I’d been raised on demonic magic.

Her eyes widened. “Is that what you used on Haru? That sounds so inhumane! No wonder he’s taken so long to recover.” Her lips curled into a wicked smile. “It sounds wonderful.”

I nearly misspelled a guh in my surprise. I was taken aback at her brazenness. Yet, it felt oddly familiar, almost comforting. When it sank in, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“You make me feel so at home,” I said, resuming my work.

Chapter 23

I returned to my room that night with a weight on my shoulders. As much as Maggie’s positively devilish morals had filled me with nostalgia, it didn’t do anything for my low grade paranoia. With Kiyo, Rose and the rest, as long as I stayed on good behavior and kept my secret safe, I didn’t have much to fear from them. People like Maggie, or demons like her for that matter, were much less predictable. Kiyo’s absence made it easier to keep my secrets, but I didn’t feel any more at ease.

Stress can only build up for so long, so I had felt the need to indulge in a little kleptomania. It was a long-ingrained habit in me, and an uncontrollable desire to steal Grand General Girdan’s family seal had started me on my whole grand adventure. The urge had struck me less and less during my time at the school, but I still had a collection of gewgaws and trinkets hidden in a shoebox under my desk. Kiyo had discovered my treasures before I’d begun hiding them, and that’s where my Magpie moniker came from to start with.

I left Maggie’s classroom with a pen from her desk that had seemed awfully important at the time, but now had no meaning to me. So, into the box it went. A rubber ball and a pewter War of the Arcane figure spilled out when I went to stow it away. Had the box been quite so full the week before?

“If I keep adding to the collection, I’ll either need a new hiding spot, or larger shoes.”

I had to decide if I wanted to check the letter from Fera first, or check in with Kiyo.

It was an easy choice. “Good evening, Angel.” SatoChat’s video feature revealed a pajama-clad Kiyo sitting in her bed, bathed in weak light from her GoSato.

“Magpie!” The enthusiasm in her voice chased away my misgivings. “One sec, gotta finish this round.” I heard an explosion in the background and she bit back a curse. “Guess that’s one way to do it.” She set the console aside and flopped onto the bed, holding her phone in front of her.

“You’ll get them next time.” I propped up my phone on my desk as I pulled out a textbook for Mrs. Perera’s class. “That’s an interesting way to do homework.”

She let out a startled squeak. “I just finished my Spellcraft homework, honest. I was taking a break for...” She trailed off. “Crap, where’d that hour go?”

“That is how it seems to go, doesn’t it? Do you still have time to chat?”

“Of course! How’d things go after I left? Ms. Edwards looked pissed.”

“She doesn’t like being kept waiting. Sounds a bit like someone else I know.”

She puffed out her cheeks and let out a grunt. It’s rather unfair how some women can make a minor temper tantrum adorable. It never works when I try it.

“I’m fine, of course. To be honest, that study session has put me a bit behind on my regular schoolwork, so I can’t be too long.”

Her pout intensified, but after a moment, she let out a long sigh. “Let’s make it count, then. Take off your shirt. Show me those cutiemuffin abs.”

“Come again?”

“You heard what I said.”

“What does being a d-.” Almost forgot my own insistence on a codeword. She was an expert at throwing me off. “What does being a cutiemuffin have to do with my abs?”

Her face flushed. “Gives you more bad boy cred. Now g-go on, strip it. It’s been ages. I want to remember what I’m missing out on.”

“If you say so.” I leaned back in my chair and began unbuttoning myself. I flung off my shirt once I was done. “Wow, you’ve been working out.”

“Of course I have been! You were there for that, remember? Now it’s your turn.”

Kiyo let out a shocked gasp. “What kind of a girl do you think I am?”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “The kind who demands a strip tease from her boyfriend at the drop of a hat. Pay off your debts!”

“It’d be kinda trashy,” she replied.

“This hardly seems fair!”

She gave me a cherubic grin and reached out for her phone. There was a clicking sound as she tapped something I couldn’t see. “Now I have a new wallpaper. I know how busy you are these days. Talk to you later, Magpie! Love you!”

“What? Now, see here-” The feed died before I could finish objecting.

If she was going to be like that, then I didn’t feel bad about answering Fera’s letter. I retrieved it from its hiding spot under the bed. I studied the cover letter, presumably written in the hand of an Australian demonkin. Was she really Harriet Oswald? Or was that another deception?

Whoever she was, she didn’t have much of interest to say. It might have been nice to have a great godmother to write to see if I was eating properly and staying safe, but knowing it was simply a cover robbed the words of their warmth. I checked the door to make sure the door was locked, and another quick application of magic revealed Fera’s handwriting.

To the once and future Captain Malthus,

That caught my attention. When she talked about me going home, it had always been more conditional.

I will cut right to the chase. There is a problem with your father, Grand Vizier Malthus the Elder.

She certainly knew how to get my attention!

Forces in the Dark Lord’s court are conspiring against him. He needs some good news to report. The Dark Lord is favoring Grand General Beez of the Far East Command these days, and there is a chance he may replace Malthus as Vizier. You know very well what a retirement package looks like for those who lose the Dark Lord’s support.

My jaw dropped. Father would be in a shallow, unmarked grave if they wanted to be subtle, or subjected to a more graphic version of my show trial if they didn’t. They’d have more than a few homeless kobolds and goblins in the audience to witness such a purge, that much I knew.

The rumor is that Beez might be planning something big in Southeast Asia, but he’s playing it close to the chest. It might be an aquatic landing on one of the islands of Indonesia.

I took a moment to pull up a map my phone, since I didn’t know the area at all. Travel was slow between the wide swaths of our Dark Lord’s domain, so I had figured I would never leave the European theater in my lifetime. If I were to make a wager, I would assume they would go for Sumatra, since the gap between it and the Malay Peninsula was the shortest path. Our naval technology restricted to simple rowboats, though not by choice. The humans were good at finding and destroying our shipyards with bombing runs when we tried to better our navy. The shorter the passage, the less likely that they could stop a wave of landing craft. Once the Horde made a serious beachhead, we had never been stopped.

You are the closest I have an insider. We need you to warn the League about this. Daddy is extremely worried about Grand Vizier Malthus, since they are old allies. Between you and me, I think . Daddy has promised me that if you can find a way to sabotage the invasion, he will consider, and I quote, “hold[ing] his nose and put[ting] up with your repugnant presence again.”

That did sound like the old goat.

You have your mission, Former and Hopefully to Be Soon Again Captain Malthus. May Our Father Below smile on your efforts.

Urgently,

Fera, Daughter of Girdan the Fair

What a nostalgic day I’d had! Maggie had made me feel like I was back home, and now I was acting as Girdan the Fair’s errand boy again.

It struck me as fairly simple to frustrate the invasion, from a big picture view. Naval invasions are a challenge even when both sides have technological parity. We had gotten through to England after numerous failures over the years, despite our overwhelming numerical advantage in spellcasting devils. The Anti-Demonic league had stymied us with minefields and sheer firepower.

I shuddered as my mind went back to that desperate trip across the English Channel. During the Calamity of 2049, which is what human historians call our successful landfall, I had been in the third wave of boats. The first never made landfall, and so few soldiers had reached the beaches on the second that they may as well have not bothered. We were saved by a fortunate storm that sank a few of us, but also grounded the British Royal Air Force and Anti-Demonic League Allied Air Force for a few critical hours.

The strange thing was that our soothsayers had assured us we would experience nothing but calm seas for the invasion. While their error had technically saved us, they had still been executed to give the rest of the Weather Division the hint to double check their visions.

My hand flew to my mouth. “By Our Father Below.” I had never considered it before, but it seemed plain as day then. Inclement weather that was out of season? In England? I doubted that Rose had been sent to Iceland on the first day of the invasion. There wouldn’t have been time. Knowing how much she could change the weather when she was hot and bothered, or even mildly upset, I could imagine what the news of rowboats full of devils descending on her home could do to her psyche.

Had Rose saved me and doomed England with her affinity?

I shoved that speculation aside. It was off the point, and Rose didn’t need that possible guilt weighing on her.

How could I subtly convince the Anti-Demonic League to shift resources to Indonesia without revealing myself? Mr. Maki or Headmaster Tachibana had the clout to get the word out, but I couldn’t explain where I got this inside information from.

I smacked my forehead. I was thinking too much like a regular student. I wasn’t merely Soren Marlowe, I was also Holy Brother Mockingbird! It was time to see just how far their tentacles stretched through the Anti-Demonic League.

“Good evening, Maggie,” I typed to her in a private SatoChat room we had created.

“What is it, Marlowe?” came Maggie’s written reply. “It’s almost midnight.” She threw on a few angry emoji to emphasize her point. Her cutesy style rather reminded me of Rose, if the weather wizard had taken the time to spell properly.

“You’ll want to hear this immediately,” I typed back.

“Well?”

“Not on the phone. This is of a private nature. This might be monitored.” Kiyo had introduced me to the idea of hacking at some point. I couldn’t understand how it was done, but even I could grasp the idea of intercepted messages.

She clicked her tongue as she weighed my words. “You’d better not be wasting my time. It’s been a trying night.”

“I can’t say this will make it any less trying, but it can’t wait.”

“Fine,” she groused. “My room, as soon as possible. I doubt it’s as serious as you think it is.”

One does take a certain satisfaction in making others eat crow.

*******

Thanks for reading!

Next Chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/43311116