Confessions of the Magpie Wizard Book 3: Dissolution (Chapter 37 & 38) (Patreon)

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Chapter 37

Somewhere around Test Nineteen, Headmaster Tachibana finally relented.

“I thank you both for your patience,” he said with a bow. “Not one glitch! It almost makes me nervous. We shall have to be especially thorough next week.”

Kiyo and I returned our own bows, though not as enthusiastically. Kiyo was stiff from the odd positions she’d been forced to assume, and I was unsteady on my feet. I was dangerously close to Wizard’s Desolation again, though I didn’t want to let on. One does have one’s pride, after all.

“Of course, sir,” I replied. “Always glad to help.”

“Even when I’ve worked you almost to Wizard’s Desolation?” He chuckled warmly and held up a hand before I could protest. “I know the symptoms, Mr. Marlowe. There’s a certain dullness in the eyes.”

“I… did not know it was that obvious,” I replied.

“Wait, you mean you’d want to keep testing if Magpie wasn’t tired?” asked Kiyo, doing a poor job of hiding her exasperation. “We were at it for hours!”

“I don’t have much time to work on this project, with my other duties. You can relax, Ms. Jones. I’m done with you both for the day. In fact, I know I have imposed on the two with this project. You’ve both earned a little reward.”

I expected a chocolate bar or some other trifle. Instead, he handed me two tickets printed with the school’s witch cat mascot. “What are these?”

Headmaster Tachibana’s reply was cut off by an excited squeal. “Vouchers for ten thousand public service credits? Omigosh!”

I thought back to the days when we still had our weekends of charitable work. “That has to be at least three months’ worth, right?”

“More or less.” He put a finger to his lips and gave us a conspiratorial wink. “Let’s not let Mr. Maki know about this, shall we?”

“Because you’re trying to keep this project a secret?” I asked.

“Because he thinks I am too generous with these vouchers,” he said. “However, while other students are sleeping in or playing video games, you’ve been working yourselves ragged for me, and I believe in repaying effort. Now you two go on and enjoy the rest of your day.” I glanced to my side, where Kiyo had already hooked her arm with mine. “Within the bounds of school policy.”

Kiyo’s face fell, but not for long. She practically skipped out of the workshop and across the grass surrounding the tower. “Magpie, why aren’t you more excited? Just think about all the stuff we can do with this!”

“I think you said you were looking to upgrade your GoSato?”

“Yeah, this is enough to get us both upgraded, and get you some games! It’s weird for a guy not to have his own game machine. Oh, and…” She came to an abrupt halt, and I nearly plowed into her. “We should go to the Top Floor Café, so Mariko and Paul won’t be able to rub our noses in it.”

I winced at my memories of the night before. “They were hardly rubbing our noses in it.”

“Sure they were. Mariko knows we got caught and we can’t have our alone time anymore. Then she was just all over Paul yesterday! I bet they were off… well… y’know…”

“Making the beast with two backs.”

Kiyo snapped her fingers. “Yeah, that! After she said she didn’t like me sneaking off with you. Dang hypocrite.” She crossed her arms over her chest and sulked.

“Again, I don’t think you need to worry about that. In fact, don’t mention it. You’ll find out why soon enough.”

She tilted her head at me. “What do you know that you aren’t telling me?”

“It’ll be more fun if it’s a surprise.” And I desperately wanted to drop the topic, because it made me think of the night before, which made me think of Haru laying at my feet. Triumph, regret, and failure all intermixed in a web of emotions that I wished I could drink away, like in the good old days. What was a topic that would take my mind off of things?

“Where’d the sun go?” asked Kiyo.

I supposed the weather was a good distraction. I scanned the sky and, sure enough, grey clouds dominated the sky above. “This is my first summer in Japan. Is this normal August weather?”

“Heck no. Rose?”

“Rose,” I confirmed. I scanned the grounds and spotted a pair of figures in the distance, just outside the tree line. “I think that’s her over there. Do you want to go inside? Those clouds are looking a tad unfriendly.”

“No, as much as I want to,” groused Kiyo. She darted behind me and started pushing. “Move along. Let’s get it over with so we don’t waste all day.”

“You’re assuming I’m going to be called in to help.”

“Well, yeah. You’re the one who’s good at talking her down when she’s in a snit.” She stopped pushing and came alongside me, taking my hand. “I wish I didn’t have to share you so darned much. Why do you have to be so helpful?”

“It certainly isn’t in my blood,” I said, resisting the urge to decry her slander. Again, the weather proved to be a safe topic of conversation. “Kiyo, would you mind making us an umbrella? Just to be safe. I’m a bit tapped out.”

“Oh, yeah, sure. Svalinn’s Mercy.” She generated one of the standard energy shields above our heads.

“No, no, that won’t do.”

“What? It’s flawless. Completely standard.”

“Exactly. That little kite shield shape is great for stopping bullets and spells, but it won’t block the rain worth a darn. Here, unsummon it and follow my lead.” I went through the motions of casting the spell. “You see, you can make it come out thinner and wider by adjusting the angle of your left thumb, and give it a bit of a curve with your right ring finger. Try again.”

“I don’t get it.” She held out her hands. “Show me, Magpie. And maybe, uh, come up behind? Show me the arm positions.”

“You little minx,” I said, following her instructions.

“Gotta get my fix somehow,” she said, leaning back into me as I guided her fingers. “I said before, I need your touch sometimes.”

The way she was pressed against me, I struggled to focus on the task at hand. That turned out to be for the best, since it slowed me down and let the embrace last a bit longer.

The fun and games stopped when everything was lit by a bolt from the sky, finding its way to a nearby lightning rod. They hadn’t always been there, but, Rose Cooper hadn’t always been a student at the Nagoya Academy.

Kiyo took a step forward and she finished casting the wide, convex Svalinn’s Mercy over our heads just in time for the deluge to begin.

“Do you think she’s having a tantrum this time, or is she just out of control?”

“That’s an awfully rude thing to say about your friend,” I said playfully.

“I call ‘em like I see ‘em,” she replied.

“I didn’t say you were wrong,” I said. “I suppose it depends on who the other person over there is.”

It turned out that Rose was working with Mr. Maki. He had made good on his threat to make up on lost training time on the weekend. As we came closer, I noticed that Mr. Maki hadn’t taken any steps to protect himself from the downpour. Being manly had its place, but it hardly seemed worth catching a cold over. Not that he cared; the Divine Blade was grinning like a madman.

They both wore full Wizard Corps uniforms, with their white, buttoned tops augmented by bill caps and half capes. Her green accents marked her as a cadet, where he wore the red of a combat mage. It was a sensible precaution, since Rose was throwing around lightning bolts. The clothes had various protective fabricata woven into them that were annoyingly good at redirecting magical energy. We had the same in the Grim Horde, and for once, ours were actually better. Still, the human efforts weren’t too shabby, and I appreciated that the women’s uniform involved a shirt and leggings that showed off Rose’s legs, while the men’s trousers did not display Mr. Maki’s charms. The Wizard Corps had some sense, after all.

They didn’t notice us right away, and to be fair, my quick glance at Rose’s legs meant I missed the first half of Mr. Maki’s statement. “… what I was saying? Direct your Stormbringer to one point, and all the energy you use to move around air and clouds can become something more useful.”

“Yes sir,” she said with a smart salute. “My brothers had talked about using lightning before, but they never wanted to teach me.”

“I can see why,” he said, dryly. “You can cause enough trouble with wind. Hopefully, we can make you the Grim Horde’s problem instead.”

“What’s next, sir?” Was Rose actually smiling? I couldn’t think of the last time she’d been anything but miserable when it came to her magic. I was almost jealous that someone besides me was helping her, even though I’d been resentful of having to act in an undemonic way. The heart is a funny thing.

My heart also didn’t care for being ignored. “Good afternoon, Rose!”

The blonde wizard started, having finally noticed us. Her surprise produced a powerful gust of wind that blew the rain sideways. It only lasted a moment, but that was long enough to drench us. “Kiyo, Magpie, what are you doing out here?”

“Helping the…”

I covered her mouth, since we had been sworn to secrecy. “Having ourselves a Saturday morning stroll, and nothing else.” Mr. Maki’s eyebrow raised, and I realized how bad that sounded. “And no, we aren’t doing anything untoward. It’s a secret project. You’ll find out soon enough.”

Mr. Maki let out a skeptical grunt. “That’s all it had better be, for your sakes.”

Rose closed her eyes and forced her breathing back to normal. The clouds she had summoned didn’t immediately vanish, but the rain stopped. “I’m so sorry!” She rushed over and dithered about, not sure how to dry us. “Oh, wait, I know. Merlin’s Lantern!” A bright light emitted from her right hand, settling on Kiyo’s shirt.

Kiyo shielded her face. “Ack, no, you’re going to burn us up! Just like those plants!”

Rose emphatically shook her head. “No, I know how much to put into it. I’ve been using it to dry my hair in the mornings.” She rang her free hand through her honey-colored tresses. “It’s much easier on my ears than my hair dryer.”

“Certainly a creative use for the magic,” I said. “That was quite the display.”

“Ms. Cooper is wonderful at large displays of magic,” said a still dripping Mr. Maki. “However, that last burst shows that we’re still lacking fine control.” He held up his wet finger. “You’re still producing that breeze when you cast, I see.”

“I’m sorry-”

“No apologies, Ms. Cooper. Feeling sorry for yourself won’t help anything, since your emotions are tied right to your affinity. You take your lumps and move on.”

That might have been the most insight I’d seen from the Divine Blade. I was used to thinking of him as an uncaring drill sergeant, but there was a reason he was at the school.

Rose shifted her attention to me, and I winced as her artificial light briefly hit my eyes. I decided to try and do her a favor and, perhaps, lower her future combat efficiency just a tad. It was the bare minimum I could do for the home command.

“If I might ask, sir, why is it such a big deal? I understand that there are standards, but we’re just torturing the poor girl. She usually has control down, and she certainly isn’t lacking for energy reserves. Rose, I doubt you’re even feeling winded.”

“Not a bit.” She shook her head. “Wait, was that a pun?”

“If it was, it was a lame one,” said Kiyo.

Mr. Maki met my gaze with those steely eyes of his. “If you were shot and bleeding out, would you want a surgeon who scored a seventy percent on his final exams?”

“No, I can’t say I would,” I conceded.

“The battlefield is unforgiving,” he said. “If we’re going to get Ms. Cooper graduated on time, we can’t have her at seventy percent control. We need her as close to one hundred percent as we can manage.”

Rose stopped casting and crossed her arms over her chest. “I know, but I feel like I’m stuck. I have been for a while.”

“Which is exactly why I’m not trying to teach you control today,” he replied. “We can keep you moving forward in other ways. Every wizard eventually gets a feel for their affinity.”

“That’s what they say,” she said with a forlorn sigh. Her face brightened up slightly as she turned towards us. “Still, that was a great bolt of lightning, right?” Her cheer seemed forced, which wasn’t too great of a shock.

“Absolutely, an absolutely smashing display,” I said, cringing internally. I told myself to stop feeling sympathy for my eventual enemy, no matter how unhappy she was. It was good for the Horde that she struggled with her control and she was kept out of advanced courses.

Yet, my weak side wanted to help her somehow. I wondered if there was a way to twist things to my advantage. Then it hit me. If I could get Rose promoted, she might well be moved into Kiyo’s class. It didn’t seem that Paul had exactly given her a warm welcome, and after my performance the night before, it was bound to get even lonelier for my Angel. Helping Rose would help me, since the social butterfly would naturally try to include Kiyo. The shy girl might not like it, but if she were less lonely in class, she might feel a bit less clingy. A clingy Kiyo was a Kiyo who would start asking more awkward questions as time went on, or start snooping on me while invisible.

It was a stretch, and I knew that even at the time. However, I was glad to have some excuse to act undemonic for a bit and help out my long-suffering friend. I told myself it was only because I was tired of the complaining, and not out of sympathy for what caused Rose to complain. It wasn’t true, but it’s what I told myself to assuage my honor.

“Rose, when you stayed up all night, that was to try and use up your magic, right?”

“What a ridiculous stunt,” grumbled Mr. Maki.

She nodded, ignoring the teacher. “Right, because you said I have too much magic, which is why it seeps out.”

“Follow me,” I said, waving her on. “No, not you, Mr. Maki. Take a break. We’ll be back soon enough.”

He cocked his head at us. “What are you cooking up, Marlowe?”

“It’s a surprise,” I said.

“I hate surprises.”

“You’ll like this one,” I said. At least, the part about nipping the Rose problem in the bud. He probably wouldn’t care for being proven wrong about the Peace Bond. He was prideful like that.

Chapter 38

“What’s that dingy little cottage?” asked Rose, pointing in the distance.

“Keep it down,” I replied. “It’s the headmaster’s personal workshop, and as far as I know, he’s still there.”

“Oh,” said the blonde wizard. “I’d thought it belonged to the groundskeepers.”

“Nope,” replied Kiyo. She’d had a death grip on my hand and walked between Rose and I, as she had our whole way over. “That’s where me and Magpie have been hanging out on weekends.”

“We’re helping the headmaster with a little project.”

“What’s that?”

I held a finger to my lips. “There’s ears everywhere. We’ll tell you at the right moment.”

Rose smirked knowingly and nudged Kiyo playfully in the ribs. “Oh, is that where you two keep disappearing to? You two have been such strangers lately! I only see you when we’re jogging or studying, and you’ve barely been doing that! I was getting suspicious.”

It was the mark of a guilty mind that I immediately went defensive. “S-suspicious of what, exactly?” I stopped right away, deciding I wanted to be far away from the headmaster if she were going to speculate out loud.

“I’d assumed you were making out somewhere,” said Rose, confirming my suspicions.

“Wh-what?” Kiyo’s hand squeezed down on mine painfully. “How can you say that?”

Rose grinned at her mischievously. “You were the one who bragged to me about it right before our War Game.”

“Well, y-yeah,” Kiyo stammered. “I thought you were still sweet on Magpie, so I was marking my territory.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Trust me, Soren is a good friend, but I’d be too worried about him sneaking around.”

“I don’t appreciate you casting such baseless aspersions on my character,” I said, adding a haughty sniff.

Rose giggled. “You were chasing three of us at once. That isn’t baseless at all.”

“Magpie’s changed,” said Kiyo. “We have each other, and that’s all we need.”

That made Rose frown. “You know you sound like a stalker when you talk like that, right?”

Kiyo shrugged. “It’s just what true love sounds like.”

Rose’s frown only deepened, but I think she decided the conversation wasn’t going anywhere useful. “That sounds nice. I still can’t date anyone until I really get my powers under control.”

“Oh ho! The truth comes out! It isn’t about Queen and country, you’re simply as randy as the rest of us.”

Rose’s eyes flew open and her freckled face flushed crimson. That didn’t last long, though, and she winked at me. “I never claimed I wasn’t. That just isn’t as high on my priority list as it is for you, Magpie.”

“You said you weren’t interested, but you sound interested,” said Kiyo sulkily.

Rose held up her hands placatingly and shook her head. “No, no, no! You know better. You were invisible when I told Soren off. I couldn’t turn him away for not being loyal and then cheat behind your back! You two are my friends!”

Kiyo sighed. “Sorry, Rose. I’ve had less and less Magpie time lately. I’m getting antsy.”

“Then let’s get going.” She smiled warmly at Kiyo. “We’ve all been busy lately, and I know I keep imposing on you. I owe you both.”

“Think nothing of it, my dear,” I replied. “We’re all looking forward to your magic getting under control.” If only so I could stop hearing about it.

“Hey!” snapped Kiyo. “I’m the only one you’re allowed to call that!”

“My apologies, Angel,” I said, hugging Kiyo close. “Force of habit.”

“Fine,” fumed Kiyo. “Let’s get over to the headmaster’s place so you can do whatever you’re going to do.”

Rose gave me a concerned look, but I shook my head. It wouldn’t do any good to push back. I did regret my words. If my days with Kiyo were numbered, I wanted them to be as peaceful as possible.

Headmaster Tachibana was surprised to see us return so soon, especially when Kiyo opened the door without knocking. He had been fiddling with an unrelated fabricata with a screwdriver. He rolled with it, though, standing to bow to us. We returned the gesture.

“Ms. Cooper? What are you doing here? Mr. Maki said he was training you one on one today.”

“He was,” she said. “Soren has some sort of secret plan to help out with that, but he won’t explain it.”

I ran a hand through my hair. “It’s called having a flair for the dramatic.”

“Also, the new Peace Bond is top secret,” added Kiyo.

“It won’t be if you don’t stay quiet about it,” I said.

“Wait, what?” Rose’s eyes flew open. “The Peace Bond? That stupid thing? It almost got us killed! Why are you making another one?”

“You mean the stupid thing that I personally created?” Tachibana asked, raising his eyebrow.

Rose let out a surprised squeak and bowed deeply. “I can’t say anything right today! My deepest apologies, honored teacher!” I noticed that her lips went out of sync for that last part, making me think she had dropped in some Japanese.

“You can get up,” he said, looking embarrassed at her emphatic bowing. “You’re right to be skeptical, but Mr. Marlowe and Ms. Jones have been extremely helpful with testing it. The Mark II should be much safer than the Mark I.”

“The only trouble is, it burns through magical energy like you wouldn’t believe,” I said, clapping Rose on the shoulder. “Which is where you come in. Do you have the raw spell for Raiden’s Blessing written down anywhere, sir?”

I had never seen the normally serious headmaster look giddy before, but his face was split by an enormous grin as he darted over to his notebook. “I see where you’re going, Soren. With Ms. Cooper’s reserves and enough fabricata batteries, we could use her to run the whole War Game! I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner.”

“And I can use up my magical reserves without burning down the forest!” Rose nearly knocked me from my feet with a hug.

I couldn’t enjoy myself, though, since I felt Kiyo’s eyes drilling holes in me. Rose noticed and let go, regretfully.

Headmaster Tachibana peered at me curiously. “What’s your underlying theory there, Mr. Marlowe? I can’t say I’ve had to waste magic before to teach a student control.”

“It’s something I’ve seen with my Mimic,” I said. “It’s a bit hard to explain. She overflows, and that’s where the wind comes from.”

I glanced around, looking for a visual aid. My eyes fell on a cup of lukewarm tea that Kiyo had left undrunk earlier during testing, since there hadn’t been any sugar. I picked it up. “This cup is very nearly full. As long as I hold it steady, no troubles at all. But, if I try to stir it…” I inserted a finger and gave the tea a gentle swirl, and the rich, brown liquid ran down the sides of the cup. “The tea overflows. Rose is perpetually full of magical energy, and any time she disturbs it, some of it unavoidably spills out.” I took a sip. Hm, Kiyo was right, it did need a little sugar. “If there’s only half a cup left, though? I can stir to my heart’s content without issue.”

The headmaster eyed me skeptically. “It all sounds very medieval, like bloodletting. There is no theory of magic that supports your line of thinking. Magical control is a matter of finesse, and any amount of magical energy can be controlled with enough willpower.”

I shrugged. “My Mimic hasn’t lied to me yet. That’s how I see Rose’s excessive wind.”

“Don’t call it that,” said Rose. “You make it sound like a fart.”

I ignored her protest, though I couldn’t help but grin. “I say we try it. Worst comes to worst, you get your batteries charged.”

Headmaster Tachibana nodded. “Very well. Come along, Ms. Cooper. We have some work to do.”

Kiyo leaned against me, clearly unhappy about being left out. “Chin up, my dear,” I whispered as Rose walked over and took ahold of the battery attached to the transmitter. “We should take a seat.”

“Why’s that?” she asked as she sat on the workbench I pulled out for her.

“Because Raiden’s Blessing is a damn long raw spell, and Rose has a lot of energy to burn off. Relax a little.”

“Do we need to be here?” asked Kiyo. “I’d rather be alone with you.”

“Patience, my dear,” I said, with an affectionate pat on her shoulder. “I want to be there when he has to admit I’m right.”

I’m not sure how long we waited, but Kiyo was able to build a small castle in her survival game.

“You’re telling me you made the walls out of blocks of cotton?” I asked.

“It’s the color I wanted,” she said. “Cubes are cubes.”

“How the heck does cotton support a stone roof? Video games don’t make any sense.”

Before she could reply, an exhausted Rose flopped onto the bench next to Kiyo. She sweated like she’d just run a marathon. I corrected myself; she was sweating like Tachibana had just run a marathon. I smiled at my unspoken joke.

“There,” she declared, wiping her brow. “Done.”

“Most impressive, Ms. Cooper!” The headmaster slid one of the thermos-shaped batteries onto a storage shelf. “Fourteen in all! I can test for weeks with these. Are you feeling alright?”

She rubbed her temples. “I feel a headache coming on. Is that how everyone else feels when they cast?”

“Only when you overdo it,” I said. “Blast it all, that’s Wizard’s Desolation! Now we can’t have her cast a normal spell and test my theory.”

“No need,” said the headmaster as he trundled on over. “I noticed the wind stopped altogether ten minutes in. I stand corrected, Mr. Marlowe. That was exactly what Ms. Cooper needed.”

“No wind, sir?” asked Rose, expectantly.

“Not so much as a breeze. Congratulations, Ms. Cooper.”

Rose let out a squeal of joy. Despite her fatigue, she hopped to her feet and embraced the headmaster. His eyes widened, and she disengaged after he coughed politely.

“I’m sorry, sir, but I did it! For the first time in my life, I did it!”

Kiyo hadn’t joined in the celebration. Instead, she shoved the GoSato in her pocket. “Wait, the wind stopped ten minutes in? Then what were we waiting around for?”

The headmaster chuckled mischievously. “Repeated testing is the cornerstone of spellcraft. I had to make sure it wasn’t a fluke. Once she stopped exuding extra magic, there wasn’t a hint of it. We can be fairly certain this magic-letting treatment works for Ms. Cooper.”

The fact that he got his pile of batteries charged up didn’t hurt either. I thought that was awfully sneaky of the headmaster. I could respect him, though I didn’t think he’d appreciate me thinking it was demonic.

“You’re downplaying it. I think my theory is proven,” I said.

He shook his head. “That will require more tests. I suspect you’re right, but I don’t like leaping to conclusions.”

Kiyo stood up, her hands trembling at her sides. “Then why were Magpie and I sitting and waiting for another half hour?”

The headmaster seemed confused by her reaction. “I was caught up monitoring Rose. I forgot you two were there for a minute.”

Kiyo flinched like she’d been struck. “You forgot me?” She blinked out of sight, but I could still hear her little sobs. “A-are we dismissed, sir?”

“Yes, you are,” he replied, looking at where he imagined she stood. “Thank you for going above and beyond today.”

“Don’t mention it,” she muttered. The door opened and slammed closed on its own.

“What did I do to upset her?” asked the headmaster.

“Kiyo is sensitive about being overlooked,” said Rose. “You just said you forgot her.”

He winced at that. “Pass along my apologies. I didn’t mean that the way she took it.”

“Of course,” I said, biting back a curse. She and I had much the same complaint, though she didn’t know I was close to leaving. My days with Kiyo were limited, and now I’d have to clean up Tachibana’s mess with her on one of the few we had left.

“Ms. Cooper, we’ve made enormous progress today.”

“I’m glad to hear that, sir,” Rose said with a nod. She looked awfully crestfallen for somebody who had just overcome her greatest challenge.

I’m sure I didn’t look much better. This didn’t escape Tachibana’s notice. He reached into his pocket and retrieved some more vouchers. He handed me four more, then passed one to Rose. “Be sure to share these with Ms. Jones.”

“I will, sir.”

We found a surprisingly visible Kiyo leaning against the workshop, plugging away on her GoSato. It was a small blessing that I wouldn’t have to hunt her down. I’d expected her to hole away somewhere.

I kneeled next to her. “Are you feeling alright, Angel?”

“No,” she said.

Rose joined me, smiling thinly. “Kiyo, thank you for lending me Soren for a while. I couldn’t have done this without him.”

She responded without looking up. “I know that was a big deal, okay? I’m happy for you. Really.”

“If you don’t mind me saying, you don’t sound happy,” I said.

She pocketed the GoSato. “I’m used to people looking through me. Forgetting I exist. I thought the headmaster was different. Guess he isn’t. That makes the list of people who give a shit about me to you two, Mariko, and my parents.”

“Hiro and Yukiko too,” said Rose. “Also Paul.”

I decided this wasn’t the time to mention my awkward experience the night before.

Kiyo shook her head firmly. “Paul’s said, like, twenty words to me the whole time I’ve known him, and he never pays attention to me in class. Hiro knew I liked him for months and didn’t say anything. He kinda cares, but not enough to do anything. Yukiko left me to die.”

“Hiro and Yukiko both feel awful about that,” I said.

Kiyo shook her head again. “Sorry, once you’re off the list, you’re off.” She stood, wiping a few angry tears from her eyes. “I’m sick of pretending with people who don’t care. Now can I have some time alone with my boyfriend on my day off?”
 Rose gave Kiyo a friendly salute. “He’s all yours. I should go check on Mr. Maki. I hope he isn’t waiting-”

“Ms. Cooper!” The Divine Blade’s voice echoed across the grounds, cutting her off. He stood half a football field away, but I could hear him plainly. “So, this is where you were hiding! Were you planning to keep me waiting all day?”

“Let’s be off, Kiyo,” I whispered in her ear. “Stealthily.”

A tingle ran through my arm as she activated her Death of Light affinity and we both vanished.

“You traitors!” Rose shouted after us.

Rose would give me an earful the next time we met. It was worth it. I was off to enjoy what remained of the day with my Kiyo. I’m glad I took the chance while I could, because our world was about to be rocked by events thousands of kilometers away.

**********

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