Hare of Misfortune

Waving at the fairy and soldier as they flew after the Mexican mythickin, Nia hurried to her next destination up the elevator, hearing soldiers following her.

She knocked on the door to the room before opening it without getting permission. Anthony’s eyebrows pulled together as she entered, his fiancé still sleeping.

”Rachel...you’re up? Wait...you’re not Rachel. Who?”

”Nia, Rachel’s clothes; eh-heh, yeah, long story, but I just need you to listen for a second—I don’t have much time. Can you do that?”

He slowly nodded as she opened up the window, the sounds of the city and wind increasing with the air pressure in the room. She closed the blinds and nudged her head to join her, the furthest place away from his girl.

”Sure, uh...what’s this about?”

Nia nibbled on her bottom lip as she felt her grip on this body fading; she might not even last the full release before passing out due to the stress this was putting on her recovering spirit. The most important part had to be saved for the end since she had to keep up appearances.

”Life or death. Listening now?”

Anthony took one last look at the sick, exhausted woman, sleeping in her bed and continuing to fight the cursed cancer slowly eating her away. ”Okay.”

[0:16:00 Hours Remaining]

When he drew near, Nia’s eyes and ears tilted to the door, where soldiers waited. Everything had played out more or less as Rachel projected.

”Hold out your hand. Quickly. And your phone?”

Anthony complied and fished his device out of his pocket. ”Why do you need—hey... Not cool,” he whispered, trying not to alert his fiancé.

Nia took it and tossed it across the floor, sliding until it bounced off the opposite corner. In explanation, she brought up a closed fist; brilliant golden sheens erupted between her fingers, making the legend step back, wince, and turn away. She revealed the tiny, golden Greater Seed to the stunned man.

”What the hell is that?”

She kept her voice low, eyes drilling into his. ”The thing that gives you your powers: this is Conner’s Greater Seed. Rachel doesn’t know what it will do to you if you swallow it, which you need to do in order to absorb its power. She doesn’t know why this option was given to both of you, but it is an option. Rachel does know one thing, though...”

Anthony became stone-faced as Nia brought his attention to the woman he loved.

”If you had gone with her into the Legend Quest, you would have gained the ability to cure her. We can only assume that by taking this, you may unlock harder challenges, thereby gaining access to greater measures to rescue Amelia.” He reached to take it, but Nia withdrew her hand. ”I’m not done.”

Letting her intense eyes convey the severity of this decision, Nia said exactly what Rachel instructed her to deliver.

”Inside, at least, legendkin Greater Seeds are numberless broken worlds, and so far as we can tell, it is your job to save them. By taking this on, you’re increasing your burden, and let me be the first to tell you that both Rachel and I should be dead from just the challenges in Conner’s Legend Quest. Granted, it was unorthodox and manipulated, but this is not something to take lightly.”

Anthony worked around his jaw, glaring at the glinting seed; it wouldn’t be long until her final discussion. ”Why would Rachel give this to me? She doesn’t owe me anything.”

Nia smirked, ears rising; it was too easy to predict how this would have gone. ”Because Rachel knows you need help as much as we do, and she trusts your feelings for Amelia more than the military’s willingness to put up with a troublemaker like her. Rachel is willing to help you achieve your goal if you help her achieve hers to solidify a private military company. That requires you to be away from Amelia for extended periods of time.”

He grunted, running his hands through his messy red hair. ”With a healthy degree of death involved... Basically, Rachel needs my quests and someone who is willing to skirt the line at times. I get the feeling she’s not keen on this idea.”

Nia brought her palm closer again, hearing the woman just down the hall as she briskly walked toward them. ”There are forces that have pushed us in this direction. However, it seems worth the payout. Also, don’t underestimate your usefulness. Conner turned out to be quite the man in the end.”

”Yeah, a man who died,” Anthony sighed, plucking the seed out of her hand and popping it into his mouth to swallow. ”Still, I’d do anything to give Amelia a normal, healthy life... Anything.”

His gaze drifted to the woman as his hair flared with brilliant flames and his green irises blazed. It only lasted a second before dying down. ”Is that it? My throat feels a bit raw, but I don’t feel any different.”

Nia shrugged, having done her job. ”No idea. Maybe it will take some time to assimilate. Anyway, Rachel looks forward to talking to you in DC. Excuse me...”

[0:10:12 Hours Remaining]

Promptly leaving, she closed the door to be greeted by a much taller, auburn-haired woman, a rosary nestled between her breasts. Saint Barbara’s illuminated golden eyes appraised her, arms crossed, a small smile on her face. Her voice was calm and soft.

”I presume, given the timeframe you gave me before, that you’re finally ready to have our chat. What was that giant burst of energy I just felt now?”

Nia gave her a masked smile. It seemed legendkin could sense it when exposed, which was certainly something worth noting to her major. ”Let’s go somewhere a bit less...crowded.”

”Follow me.”

Barbara waved for her men to leave them as she quickly brought her to the elevator, her high heels clicking against the hostile tile. She didn’t wait until they were alone.

”I saw your brisk talk with Maria, and I’m sure she had the same general questions I most want to know...” Pausing inside the box as it opened for them, the saint pressed the button for ground level, her penetrating yellow irises shifting to her. ”Why do I sense such foul energy coming from you, or more specifically, Rachel’s clothes?”

As the doors closed, a short chuckle shook Nia’s chest as it became a chore to keep herself stable. ”You both certainly do have powerful sensing abilities to feel it past my shielding. It is the type of Lunar Energy that I’ve stored. You’re going to ask me what type of cursed force Rachel used to completely shut down those knights, but I’m here to ask you to be patient on those details.”

Exiting when they reached their destination, Barbara gave a few kids down the hall a smiling wave, which they enthusiastically returned, clearly having interacted with the saint.

”In short, you’re telling me Maria has some of those devil answers for me, and you’d like to return to Rachel with a report. Is she intending to give us the full details when she wakes up? How important are they?”

”Ah, and Rachel is now Level 12.”

”Level 12...” Barbara mumbled, vision falling as she processed it. ”Six levels in the span of fifteen minutes?! Unless there’s something I’m missing, that’s...almost unbelievable. This is something to take note of... Hmm...

Passing through the doors of the blocked-off area for military personnel out back, Nia felt her hold slipping. ”How she did it, of course, and everything she’ll reveal is quite literally world-changing. She says it will flip the game. There is a far bigger board in play, so it’s good the President called for a meeting. Now, before I go, Rachel thought you should know that MI6 knight she punted into the ground... He’s the legend of Sir Galahad, whoever that is.”

Barbara slowed to a stop, sucking in her lips and tightening her jaw; apparently, this person was a big name in their world. The woman was already moving for the walkie-talkie on her overly large, non-reflective belt around her waist.

”How can you be sure?”

”The wizard—code-named M—shouted it out when Rachel struck him; as powerful as she was at the time, he should be dead. We know Relica escaped. What is being done about MI6 and her being extracted by the UK? Is it war?”

The legend’s tight eyes swept the parking lot, fingers hovering over the activation switch to the radio as it buzzed with chatter. ”If M stands for Merlin, and it probably does if he was a wizard, then we need to increase security. The UK has the legends of Camelot, and we have one of their biggest boys recovering in lock-up...

”Clear the airway... Mateo, we’re bumping up the schedule and swapping to Red-Alpha-Stingray. Prep everyone to move; we’re heading to DC an hour ago. Out.”

”Confirmed, Captain, setting into motion Red-Alpha-Stingray. Out.”

Brushing out her auburn locks as the wind caught them, Barbara shifted to look down at her. ”What’s happening to MI6, Relica, and the UK is nowhere near my pay grade; that’s between the President and General Dallas. Rachel will have a chance to update them personally when she wakes up.”

”Understood.”

Nia was about to return to her true body to rest when Barbara threw her an unusual bone to bring her leader.

”By the way, if Rachel doesn’t already know, we legends aren’t totally like our historical counterparts. Yes, I’m a Catholic, I’m a true believer, I’ve dealt with...messed up shit in war, and I do happen to have pure Greek ancestry, but Saint Barbara herself never had the powers that I have.

”Tunneling, warships, artillery, and explosives, much less all the guns I can summon... It seems a mix of popular current culture and the historical record. Ask her what she thinks about that... because I find it uncomfortable to be called a saint. I may be the legend of Saint Barbara, and I do venerate her with all my heart, but I’m not Saint Barbara.”

Slowly nodding, and not fully understanding the direction this was going, Nia smiled and waved at Molly, staring out of the window above before dispersing into glittering light, saying, ”I’ll let her know.”

Mind slipping into an endless fog, Nia felt fulfilled. She’d done what she’d been ordered, and now they were being moved to this weird two-letter city. What awaited them in DC?