Lucky Rabbit

At this point, of course, Pandy was forced to explain – in front of the dragon – a few more of the bits Augustus didn’t yet know. That really only left two tiny secrets she was still stubbornly clinging to: Killian’s name, and the fact that Pandy herself was – kind of, sort of – Ascyra.

“And you get these ‘See-Pee’ from Dark Aura?” Professor Beeswick asked, wrinkling his nose slightly as he said the letters, which had become words because okay, yes, Pandy didn’t want to tell them the ‘C’ stood for Corruption. Maybe she could come up with some other word that didn’t sound quite so… evil? Consumption? Corrosion? Nope, not better. Maybe pivot away from the evil words completely. Confetti? Calzone? Now she wanted cake and pizza!

“Yes,” she said with a resigned nod. It would just have to sound like she regularly had urine-adjacent visions. For now. “But also from, um, tasting blood. Sometimes. Not that I would ever hurt anyone to get their blood! I mean, I get plenty of points.” Yes! Why hadn’t she just called them ‘points’ from the beginning? “I just have to hang around Suzanne for a few hours, and boom, a hundred. Ish.”

Augustus nodded thoughtfully, apparently not put off by any of Pandy’s newly revealed weirdness. Maybe he was just used to it by now? “That makes some kind of sense, given that you seem to be a Dark elemental, and she’s a Dark mage. Usually, sharing power requires a bond of some kind, whether one of familiarity,” he glanced at Miss Cupcakes, who was now carefully cleansing the leg Pandy had briefly brushed against in her thrashing about on the table, “or a contract.”

Pandy’s eyes widened in realization. Oh. Oh! Of course there was precedent for what was happening to her! Whenever Clara formed a contract with a new elemental, its Stamina was added to hers. Except that the amount of Stamina they gave her was finite, and had to be refreshed either by resting or using a gacha spin. That was why Clara had to keep forming contracts with stronger and stronger elementals – because the events and dungeons required greater amounts of Stamina to complete as the player progressed through the game.

Early on, Clara’s only elemental was an adorable little tier-two Luminara, with a whopping ten Stamina. That, added to Clara’s natural fifty and a few ‘free’ gacha spins, carried her through the tutorial period, which ended at the Fall Festival. The Luminara allowed Clara to use the version of Minor Heal that existed in the game, as well as providing light in places like any hidden passages she might locate.

At the end of the tutorial, Clara got a Brillara, which was really just a stronger version of a Luminara, with a slightly better Heal and a brighter light, as well as ten more Stamina. Throughout the game, she continued adding elementals, but she could only have three active at any given time. Of course it only made sense for the player to select the three with the skills they needed, or the greatest Stamina, and both the Luminara and the Brillara were quickly left behind.

The point was, there was precedent for elementals sharing their power with the player, which Pandy had just taken for granted worked the same way in this world. This sharing would explain why someone’s magic actually changed when they had an elemental – they weren’t just using their own magic any more, but the pure elemental magic of their, well, elemental.

But apparently that also meant that Pandy, as an elemental, was actually feeding off of- No, not feeding. That was not an image she liked. She was benefiting from some kind of overflow of power from Suzanne, as well as two of the young mages she’d met today. “Overflow!” she blurted, as she looked up and realized that the two men were waiting for her to say something.

“That’s exactly what it feels like,” she told them excitedly, waving her hands vaguely through the air around her own body. “Like they’re still producing Stam- Mana, but I’m getting whatever they can’t hold.”

Professor Beeswick frowned. Holding out his hand, he summoned a particularly large and weighty tome, so thick with pages that it had to weigh at least one Thaniel. His arm didn’t even dip as the book fell into it, and he drew it closer, already flipping pages.

“That’s quite possible,” he muttered. “We do know that elementals choose to associate with humans based on their magic. Some elementals do seem to take in that essence, even without a contract or a close relationship. Those are generally tier-three or lower, however, and you seem to be at least a tier-four, and perhaps something completely new, thanks to your… unique circumstance. We should test you with an essence stone sometime. The stones measure the amount and type of energy being produced by the holder. That energy then translates into colors-”

“It’s measuring the wavelength,” Pandy said, grinning as she connected some basic Science to basic Magic. “Or something like it.” She made ‘wave’ motions with her arms, ignoring the way the corners of Augustus’s mouth curved up as she seemed to be doing the most awkward dance move in history.

Professor Beeswick blinked. “I’d like to talk to you about that sometime,” he said. “I’ve been meaning to speak to you about this other world you came from, but things have been a bit hectic. Are these waves like the waves in the ocean? Do you have oceans where you come from?”

Augustus, too, looked intrigued, but with obvious reluctance, said, “Apparently, we have at least one more interview to conduct. Before Rosalind arrives, I’d like to clarify something.” Turning to Pandy, he said, “Sometimes, when you ingest someone’s blood, you can gain insight about them through your System. This time, it told you that Miller Oakden has come into contact with this ‘Asparagus’, or at least her magic. He is not, however, producing a Dark Aura.”

Pandy nodded.

His brows drew together and he huffed thoughtfully. “If he did produce a Dark Aura, it would make more sense. That would imply that contact with Asparagus created the Aura.” How he managed to say that with a straight face, Pandy had no idea. Why had she had to use a vegetable for the name of the Demon Queen? 

Then Professor Beeswick got in on it. “Perhaps he is, but his Aura is being sent directly to Asparagus, thanks to whatever interaction they’ve had?”

Me!I’m Asparagus, and no it isn’t! Pandy thought, but absolutely could not say, for so many reasons. Instead, she just shook her head. “I don’t think that’s right. For whatever reason, he just doesn’t produce an Aura.” She thought for a moment, then rather reluctantly offered, “I… read a book about Dark mages. It said there were different types.”

Augustus’s head came up. “Yes! Shadow, Mind, and Summoners. You’re saying that ending up with Dark Aura may depend on what type the infected mages are?”

Pandy nodded. “I… think so? Maybe Miller’s the wrong type to get Dark Aura, but the right type for whatever Asss… paragus wants.” She stumbled over the name again, only making it even more awkward, and this time there was no doubt in her mind that Augustus and Professor Beeswick were enjoying this whole thing far too much.

But then, maybe a little laughter was exactly what they all needed, so this time when she said it, she landed on it a little too heavily. “Asparagus is a Demon, so maybe she needs Summoners in her, um, party pack of evil.” Augustus choked, but Pandy forged ahead. “Which would make Suzanne and the others either Shadow or Mind.”

The chancellor’s expression sobered as he said, “Or a mix of the two. What if Suzanne and the others with ‘Dark Aura One’ are one type, and Elias is the other, which is why he has Dark Aura Two?”

Professor Beeswick snapped his book closed and tossed it up into the air. It flew off toward the stacks as he said, “That would imply the people with Dark Aura One are Shadow types. That was always the most common of the Dark mages, which I believe may be the foundation for some of the distrust that surrounds them. After all, if the thing you’re best at is sneaking about, it doesn’t exactly lead you toward a life of honesty and above-board dealings, does it?”

Augustus snorted, far too much certainty in his voice as he said, “No, it does not. And you’re right. Even today, most Dark mages are Shadows, and an inordinate number of them seem to join the ranks of the Shadow Exchange.” Abruptly, he turned back to Pandy. “Was Ms. Wellington a Dark mage? Do you know?”

Pandy shook her head, then hesitated. The woman had acted like a Fire elementalist, and even used fire in front of the children, but then what was that strange voice that had seemed to issue from her own throat? Now that Pandy knew… well, a lot more, anyway, she was certain that had to be a Demon, but how was it doing whatever it did if the woman wasn’t a Dark mage? She squinched her eyes shut, trying to remember what happened when she bit the original Ms. Wellington. Had the System given her points for biting a Dark mage, or just a mage? The latter, wasn’t it?

“I don’t… think so,” she said, opening her eyes again, to find Augustus’s face flooded with relief.

He shook his head, giving her a rueful smile. “I’d hate to think I’ve slipped so far I’d miss the fact that one of my teachers was a Dark mage.” Seeing her expression, he hurriedly said, “Not that it would matter. I’ve… known more Dark mages than most, and many of them are actually far kinder than the average person. Being constantly under suspicion tends to either break them, or give them a great deal of empathy for the struggles of others.”

For a moment, he looked sad, but it quickly faded as he returned to the topic at hand. “All right, so let’s say that whether and what kind of Dark Aura a Dark mage gets after infection is based on their type. This would also tell anyone who knew what was going on what type they were, and perhaps determine whether or not they’re recruited.”

“But Elias is one of the first to die in… in the future,” Pandy said. “And he has the strongest type of Dark Aura. If someone wanted the CP coming off of him, why would they kill him? Wouldn’t it make more sense to kidnap him? Keep him around to be fed off of?”

“He was also infected before any of the others we’ve found, and apparently was bitten directly by a spider, and didn’t die. That makes him an anomaly in many ways. Any of those differences could have resulted in the difference in his aura. Maybe the effect simply grows over time. In three more years, maybe all of those infected will have Dark Aura Two,” Professor Beeswick offered.

Augustus nodded. “Or maybe they simply discovered that abducting noble children was more trouble than it was worth. It’s more complex, but much less likely to provoke any real concern, to take those who have some relationship with their actual target, and wait until the right person becomes ill. But in order for the infectious agent to be strong enough to spread that far, they also had to make it strong enough that it invariably kills those who are actually bitten.”

Professor Beeswick scowled. “I didn’t even think to ask Elias if anyone else in his household caught his illness. What if it was just a poison back then? What if they hadn’t yet figured out how to make it ‘infectious’?”

He held out his hand and one of the books on the bottom of his stack zipped free, returning to his hand. Pages riffled, then settled as he drew a finger down one side. “He had a cousin living with him at the time. The boy had come in from the country, and stayed with Elias’s family during the school year. I remember because I had to ban the cousin from the library in his second year when he kept leaving books at home.”

His finger stopped. “Here. Elias was out for a month, but his cousin, Gerhard, never missed a single day. That definitely implies the venom wasn’t contagious at that time, because I can’t imagine Gerhard listening, even if someone told him to stay away from Elias. The two of them were like treacle on toast.” 

There was a pause, so Pandy summed up what they all had to be thinking. “So, whatever they did to Elias, it was different. We don’t know if that’s the reason he has Dark Aura II, or if it has to do with the length of time since he was bitten, or just the fact that he was bitten directly, rather than getting a secondary, um, infection?”

“I still like the idea that it has to do with the type of Dark mage they are,” Augustus said thoughtfully. “I’m not certain that’s all of it, but…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I feel like the answer is right there, if we only knew to ask the right question.”

“But does it even matter how they’re doing it?” Professor Beeswick mused. “The real question is why, and this Dark Aura and CP,” this time it sounded like he’d figured out it was an acronym, and he gave Pandy a little eyebrow lift as he went on, “tells us the answer is most likely ‘to provide power to the eventual Demon army’ that our dear Pandy has warned us about.” 

Pandy winced. Yep, that sounded right. But Augustus’s words had reminded her of something else, so she gladly turned the focus back to him. “Augustus, why didn’t you ask Miller if he’d ever been kidnapped?”

The chancellor smiled grimly. “Two reasons, actually. The first is that he said Light magic worked to cure his illness. We know it can help, but it doesn’t cure it, probably because it’s based around a venom, which is something Nature magic is better at handling, though it’s interesting to note that Nature magic alone also doesn’t clear it up. We know that two years ago, the sickness was already very similar to what it is now, so Elias was either lying or that illness was unrelated. Because of the second reason I didn’t continue asking questions, I was inclined to believe he was lying.”

Pandy waited, but it was actually Professor Beeswick who finished the explanation. “You saw him suck off his blood when our fair kitten wounded him,” the dragon said, with a nod to Miss Cupcakes. “That in itself wasn’t telling, but to then refuse a bandage, not once but twice, says the process was intentional, not just habitual. Now, some noble houses train their scions to be cautious of leaving blood behind, since it can be used by some elementals, mostly for tracking purposes. I don’t know if the Oakdens are one of these houses, but there’s also another group of people who are trained never to leave blood behind.”

“Criminals,” Pandy said. That made complete sense. Bloodhounds and DNA testing were things back in her world, why wouldn’t there be some magical equivalent here?

Augustus nodded. “Exactly so. For the most part, the types of elementals who can follow or identify someone based on their blood aren’t available to town or even city guards, especially not for petty crimes. That means that common criminals, even those like the gang we met a few days ago, rarely make the effort to clean up after themselves. But larger organizations, including ones that fall into a sort of gray area, like the Shadow Exchange, are extremely strict about it.”

Pandy remembered the Shadow who had cornered her in the carriage returning from Lanthorne Court. He had pricked her with one of those nasty black blades. Was that not only to see if she would die from the poison on it, but to find out if her blood matched that of Alexandra Wells, aka Ms. Wellington? She shivered. The Shadow had seemed confused by the result, but convinced enough. Did Pandy’s blood match Ms. Wellington’s completely, or was something off about it?

As if reading her mind, Augustus offered her a crooked smile. “For good or ill, Ms. Wellington is about to vanish. If they have her blood, and we must assume they do, they may be able to find her through other means.” Turning to Professor Beeswick, he said, “Can you take care of it?”

The dragon librarian sighed, glancing at the stack of books as if to remind them both that he already had more than enough on his plate. Still, he said, “I’ll handle it. Pandy, return here this evening.”

Pandy wasn’t at all certain she liked the predatory little smile on his face, but she nodded, then almost fell off the table as a young woman’s voice came from behind her. “Professor! You haven’t changed a bit!”

The smile shifted, honest pleasure filling it as Professor Beeswick turned to face the newcomer. “Rosalind! How delightful to see you again.”