There is another world that most people knew nothing about that exists within ours. There are dangers lurking in the shadows. Fear of the dark is an ancient fear. Scientists and scholarly intellects tell us that this fear is irrational. We tell ourselves that this fear is irrational. And yet, we continue to surround ourselves with light. We don't go down that shadowy path. We stick to the illuminated walkways. We take flashlights into the dark basement. Why do we do this?
Because it is not irrational to fear the dark. This fear exists for a reason. There are things lurking in the dark, waiting for their opportunity to come into our world and devour us.
That wasn't hyperbole. They do want to devour us.
They are called Horrors.
Lainie Hong was a typical high school student. Well, maybe not that typical. She didn't have parents. She'd been a ward of the state for as long as she could remember. Rather than living with a foster family, she was shuffled around various boarding schools. A law firm was the custodian of an estate left to her when her parents died. Even though she'd turned eighteen, she couldn't legally claim her estate until she was twenty-one. She'd been shuffled again for her senior year.
So, here she was in Edge City, attending its most prestigious school, Greystone Armitage Redford Oxnard Academy. It seemed to have been named for its founders way back in the 1800s. Though she was a boarding student, it wasn't exclusively a boarding school. Less than half the students were boarders. Most of them were from prestigious families in the city.
Lainie was a bright girl with a friendly demeanor. She'd made a few friends quickly, but she always seemed to hold herself back. She never when she was going to be shuffled again, so she rarely ever got close to people.
Still, she found herself with a group of girls out past curfew, visiting a dance club where skeevy guys enjoyed hitting on the group of half-dressed, barely legal teenage girls and plying them with alcohol. If she'd known, she probably wouldn't have gone. It was so not her scene.
As she sipped at a soda, she looked around and realized that a couple of the girls had disappeared. Others were hanging out with aforementioned skeevy guys or "dancing" with them. The word dancing was used loosely as it was mostly just gyrating against each other vaguely in rhythm with the house music. The music was probably the most enjoyable thing about being there. She smiled slightly as she nodded her head in tune.
Something caught her eye. It was a flash of red near the entrance. She craned her neck trying to determine what she'd seen. She surveyed the crowd. She blinked when the lights began strobing. More flashes of red as someone or something moved through the crowd. She was so intent on tracking the red flashes that she froze when someone touched her hip.
"Hey, honey. Looking for some company?" a male voice drawled drunkenly at her ear.
She sucked in a deep breath. "No. Please remove your hand," she said and offered her admirer a polite smile.
Seeming to take her polite refusal as a coy invitation, he slid his hand lower. "C'mon, honey, don't be like that," he said.
Lainie exhaled now. She moved away from the hand at the same time, wrapped her hand around one of his fingers and twisted both it and her body sharply, bending it in a way that was beyond natural. He cried out and went to his knees. "You bitch! Let me go!"
She held him a position in which it was difficult for him to move without inflicting further pain on himself. "You should keep an eye on that wandering hand," she said and released him. He cradled his hand and heaped even more insults on her while making sure that no one had witnessed him getting owned by a girl.
Lainie ignored him. She frowned a couple of her friends on the dance floor and joined them for a dance, forgetting all about the red flashes.
Awhile later, she and the group of girls were heading back to school. "Where did you disappear to earlier, Bi?" one of the girls asked another, all the girls giggled, waiting for details.
"That one guy I was dancing with earlier was too cute. I couldn't help myself," the girl in question said.
"So, what? You blow him in the bathroom, or something?"
"Or something."
This statement earned a round of laughter and good-natured ribbing. Lainie was barely paying attention. She'd even fallen back a bit from the group. When she stopped all together, someone finally noticed her.
"What's up?" someone asked her.
"Maybe we should go another way," Lainie suggested. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with the well-lit street they were walking on. It was a shortcut through the city park. All streetlamps were well maintained, there was usually a guard patrolling regularly. It was a low crime area. There should have been no problem with them walking through there. She was getting the funniest looks.
"What's wrong? Tales of the Campus Cannibal getting to you?" the girls laughed. Someone linked her arm around Lainie's and they started walking again.
"The what?" Lainie asked.
"O.M.G. You haven't heard about it? They say that every seven years or so, seven virgins, guys and girls, get eaten from our school," Bi, who did something in the bathroom with a cute guy at the club, explained as she walked backwards ahead of the group. "This year is the seventh year since the last time it feasted," she said ominously.
"Well, lucky for you, you don't have to worry about a virgin eating cannibal," another girl teased her. The girls laughed.
"Bi-" Lainie gasped when the shadows around the path lengthened, darkened, and suddenly Bi was crumpled and sucked into the darkness as if she'd been vacuumed. The girls screamed, but under the screamed a slurping sound could be heard.
The shadow took human shape of a man in a sharp suit. "Virgins may be a treat to some, but sluts are more to my taste," he declared. He licked his lips with a lizard-like tongue. "Who's next?" he asked.
Square pieces of red paper with an arcane symbol stuck to the girls' foreheads and they crumpled against each other. A ball of crimson fire was flung at the man in the suit and hovered in front of his face. His eyes turned white while black shadows coalesced within them. He snarled and hissed, looking for the culprit who was interfering with his meal. "I don't usually eat men, but I'll make an exception!" He snarled and jumped over the group of girls.
Lainie couldn't see anything, but unlike the other girls, she hadn't been rendered completely unconscious. She heard behind her sounds of a fight. The metallic clanging of a sword, a man's grunts, a monster's snarls.
"Makai Knight?" said the inhuman voice of the man in a sharp suit as he was knocked back into her field of vision. He snarled and began to change shape into a black figure resembling a gargoyle with horns, lopsided wings, and a spaded tail. It was a truly horrible sight.
"It appears to be a low-level Horror," a voice said with a clicky sort of metallic sound underneath it.
"Mm," came a low response. The singing swish of a sword could be heard, and a bright reddish-light illuminated the area. The creature jumped forward, but he was knocked backwards by a man in a suit of gold and crimson armor. It seemed to glow with an inner power. What was most striking about it was the headpiece was wolf-like. Mostly crimson it had tall ears, a snarling snout and golden fangs. Fierce eyes glowed emerald green.
The creature was tougher than it appeared. Despite the man in armor being armed with a long, elegant, double edged sword, he couldn't seem to get the upper hand over his opponent. The creature whipped around and knocked the sword out of the knight's hand before kicking a devastating blow to his chest that sent him tumbling back.
"Low level?" he asked dryly, his voice somehow distorted by the armor. He gasped when suddenly the creature began to change shape again. He had to brace himself a sudden expulsion of dark energy.
Changing into a bloated caricature of a Victorian era man in a top hat and tailcoat with knives for fingers and a razor-teeth filled mouth, the Horror laughed.
"Ripper! He was hiding his energy!" the clicky voice declared. "Be careful. You don't have much time left!"
Lainie had been steadily moving toward the sword which landed near her. When she tried to move it, it was like trying to move a ton of bricks, but this armored man needed his sword. With almost the last of her energy, she managed to push the blade across the ground toward him just as he was knocked through the air. He landed on his feet just as the blade slid across the ground.
When the blade hit the knight's foot, he scooped it up with his toe and grabbed hold of it with one hand. The other hand produced a lighter that lit it up with crimson flames. He jumped through the air, the sword leaving a brilliant arc of fire as he slashed through the creature.
It gave a nerve fraying screech as it exploded into dark nothingness. A bright red circle appeared above the knight's head and sucked his armor into it before disappearing.
The last thing Lainie saw was a man in a long red great-coat. Her eyes finally closed as he began walking away, the coat flowing majestically behind him.
Days passed and Lainie had no idea what was going on. The group of girls she'd been out with woke up as if nothing had happened, forgetting that Bi had been with them. Lainie was the only one who remembered. The next day, it was said that Bi transferred schools suddenly. They hadn't even gotten in trouble for sneaking back into the dorms way past curfew, some of them noticeably intoxicated. It was if that night had never happened.
Except it had, and Lainie remembered everything. She remembered that a young girl had lost her life. Devoured by a monster called Ripper. It'd been defeated by a man in a long red coat who seemed to be able to mysteriously summon a set of a wolf-like armor. Maybe it would have been better if she had forgotten.
But she couldn't forget and she couldn't find the man in the red coat even though she went out into the city whenever she had the chance. During the day, anyway. She wasn't quite brave enough to venture out at night anymore. She was quickly becoming a social pariah, and a nag when she tried to suggest that perhaps others shouldn't either.
So far, nothing bad had happened again. She was sure she would know if it did. She tried to put it out of her mind as she walked from her dorm toward the school cafeteria to have breakfast. There was no reason to worry about things that hadn't happened yet. No reason at all.
Right?
There was someone watching the students scurrying around school from high on a hill overlooking the campus. A young man in a long red great coat stood under a tree with arms crossed over his chest. He was tall and lanky but his chest and shoulders were wide.
"Thinking of what could have been?" the clicky voice came from his hand where he wore a blackened silver ring of a dragon's skull with fierce ruby eyes. The clicking sound came from its lower jaw when it moved.
He raised his hand and looked at the Mystic Ring. "I went to school before I began training," he pointed out. "You wouldn't make a contract with me so Grandpa kept you in a box at the time," he reminded the ring.
The Ring seemed to make an irritated face. "I was not kept in a box. I was a very capable advisor to Priest Hiro," he declared proudly.
"Right," came the dry reply.
"Stop arguing with Shiba," a feminine voice said behind him. A tall blue-eyed, blond girl with silver glasses and long pigtails approached. She wore a pair of tall boots, a ruffled white shirt with a silvery waistcoat under a lush midnight blue frock coat. A pair of shorts were topped in a wide belt and a long elegant calligraphy brush hung from it. "We have work to do," she stated.
"You found out something?" he asked her, ignoring the ring now.
"The virgin eating cannibal legend has some merit. Going back at least twenty years, seven students do disappear from the campus every seven years. I cannot definitively say it's a Horror. But the fact that it keeps happening and only whispers about it are heard leads me to believe something is going on," she held out a red envelope. "Orders from the Watchdogs," she said.
He took the envelope and pulled an elegant lighter from his pocket and flicked it. Crimson flames engulfed the envelope. Arcane letters glowed in the air, spelling out his next instructions. "Looks like we're going to high school," he declared.
"My joy has no limits," she said crankily.
"Mine either," Shiba declared just as crankily.
A smile touched his face. "Let's go," he said. He turned, his coat billowing behind him as he began walking away. Still grimacing, she followed along behind him.
After breakfast, the first bell rang signaling it was time to get ready for the first class of the day. Lainie made her way to her locker. The hallway was loud and kids were jostling each other, generally just being loud obnoxious teenagers. It was good and she found herself smiling slightly.
She made her way to her homeroom class and took a seat at her desk. It was an elective science class and had mixture of juniors and seniors. She was familiar with everyone in the class. But something was off that day. Sitting where Bi used to sit was a blonde girl. She was playing on a tablet and generally ignoring everyone.
"What's up with that face?" a girl who sat in front of Lainie asked. Meaghan had become a quick friend when Lainie transferred in.
"Who's that girl? Did we get a new student?" she asked.
Meaghan looked puzzled. "You mean Willa? No. She's just anti-social," she said with a laugh and sat down.
Lainie frowned and sat down as well. She was certain there had never been a "Willa" in the class before.
As if sensing the scrutiny, the blonde girl glanced at Lainie through her silver framed glasses. Then as if dismissing her entirely, went back to playing on her tablet.
The bell rang again and everyone hurried to their seats. The homeroom teacher came in with a boy behind her. He towered over the petite woman. He was tall and lanky with a wider chest and shoulders. The navy blazer and tan pants of the uniform were neat as pin and expertly tailored to fit him. He had dark hair that was neat and styled. His ears stuck out a bit but it wasn't unattractive. His skin was dusky as if he spent a lot of time outdoors and there was an olive undertone. His face was not half bad either. He had green eyes but there was something about it him that suggested an East-Asian influence.
"Class, we have a new student joining us today. This is Tynan McKay," Mrs. Suffolk introduced. Red tinted his ears and he looked around awkwardly and cleared his throat. "Tynan, you can sit at the desk next to Lainie," the teacher said kindly.
He gave her a slight nod and walked to the desk and slid into it, unslinging a backpack from his shoulder and pulling out a notebook and several other supplies along with the correct text book for the class. He stilled in his movements and glanced at Lainie. She blinked, turned red and quickly began to dig in her bag as if she hadn't been staring at him this whole time.
Finally coming up with a highlighter, and wincing at the fact that's all she could muster, she sat back up, and brushed her long dark hair back over her shoulder and waited for the teacher to call her name for roll-call. She'd forgotten all about the strange girl in the back of the class, but Mrs. Suffolk called out "Willa Daniels," as if she'd been doing for weeks, and the girl answered just as naturally.
Lainie wondered if maybe she was the one going crazy. Shaking her head, she almost missed her own name being called. "Here," she squeaked. Almost tangible, she felt his gaze shift toward her. She was never so happy for class beginning than she was when roll call was over and Mrs. Suffolk started talking about that week's chapter.
Tynan McKay walked down the hallway of the school. The last class had just let out and now it was time for extracurricular activities. It seemed to be a requirement that everyone join at least one club or team there and he was invited to check out whichever ones he was interested in before deciding. He frankly felt a bit overwhelmed. He almost sighed in relief when he spotted Willa heading toward him.
"How's it going?" she asked him.
"I think I prefer facing down Horrors over high schoolers," he said.
Willa nodded. "Me, too. Any luck? Do you think it's a student?" she asked.
He shook his head. "You know better than me that Horrors don't usually possess teenagers. They don't usually have enough built up dark energy no matter how they misbehave," he said.
Willa nodded. "If it's a Horror that's been active for two decades, it's likely a member of the staff. If it's gone unnoticed by the Senate and the Watchdogs, it's probably really high level," she said. "I've compiled a list of staff members that have been here for longer than the time period, including a couple of teachers who were once students when the disappearances are suspected to have begun," she said and handed him a piece of paper.
He scanned the paper. It wasn't a very long list. "We'll investigate tonight," he said.
She nodded. "That one's a weird one, though," she said, nodding toward a girl at her locker with long dark hair that she kept pulled away from her face with a headband that matched her navy blazer. Tynan's stomach clenched slightly.
It was her.
He hadn't expected to end up in the same class as her even though he'd known she was a student of this school. She'd somehow resisted the memory charm he'd used on her and the other girls. Not only that but she'd been able to actually move his sword. His sword was made of Soul Metal and to anyone who hadn't trained for years to use it, it would be like trying to lift an anvil. Yet she'd somehow been able to.
"Oh?" he asked and cleared his throat.
Willa looked at him suspiciously. "Yeah. She seemed to realize I didn't belong in her class," she said. She narrowed her eyes. "I'll be keeping an eye on her," she declared.
"Right," he said. He was gone before Willa could comment on his attitude.
Lainie closed her locker and turned to walk away, but suddenly he was there, bracing his arms on either side of her, barely flinching when a baseball slammed into his shoulder. The thunk was audible and she gasped slightly as she realized he'd just saved her from getting hit. That they're faces were so close to each other.
So very close. Her oval face was fair, but had seen the sunshine. Her dark eyes were lined in dark lashes under delicate brows. There was even a few freckles across her nose and cheeks, only noticeable this close. So very close. Tynan might have forgotten how to breathe when his eyes were drawn to her lips. They were shiny, an eye catching pink shimmer.
Lainie had forgotten to breathe as well. She only remembered when he suddenly straightened away from her. His ears turned red again, and he rubbed the back of neck. "Are you okay?" she asked, wondering where the baseball had even come from. She saw a couple of guys from the baseball team trying to slip away unnoticed.
"Yeah. No problem," he mumbled and walked away.
Lainie opened her mouth to stop him but didn't know what to say. "Thank you," she finally called after him. She fanned her suddenly warm face. She looked at her watch and grimaced at the time. She had to hurry to her club activity.
-/-/-
The next day Lainie noticed something strange with the atmosphere at school. Over breakfast she heard people whispering about the Campus Cannibal. According to rumors, a freshman that lived off campus had gone missing. It was someone she didn't know, a boy. There was even a discussion that perhaps the boy hadn't even existed. She didn't know what to think.
After breakfast, she had to rush back to her room because she'd forgotten to bring a paper she'd written for a class. She was passing a storage building when she heard a loud bang. She rushed over quietly to investigate.
Tynan McKay and Willa Daniels were behind the building. Tynan shook out his hand and frowned at his bit of temper. "Serves you right," Shiba grumbled from his hand.
"Just because a student went missing doesn't mean it was a Horror or that it was your fault. We've received no word from Watchdogs about other suspected Horror activity," Willa stated.
"It's not just a rumor, then?" Tynan asked.
Willa shook her head. "I confirmed it personally," she said.
Tynan nodded. "We didn't get as far on the list as I'd hoped last night," he said. While investigating the staff members on the list, they'd run across a Horror that led them on a chase all over the city before they were able to corner it.
"We need to go. Best not to call attention to yourself by being late to class," Willa said.
"Speak for yourself," Tynan said.
"I'll go first then," Willa stated and walked off.
Tynan took Shiba off his finger and threaded him onto a silver chain. "Don't be shy about letting me know if you sense a Horror aura," he said, putting the chain around his neck. Shiba harrumphed as he was hidden under the white uniform shirt he wore.
He thought he heard something nearby and tried to see what it was, but when he came out from behind the building, he didn't see anything. He listened for anything else to prove he wasn't alone, but there were no more sounds. He cautiously started toward the main academic building when the homeroom bell rang.
From her hiding spot, Lainie watched him walk off. She let out the breath she'd been holding. Just what, exactly, was going on? She waited for him to put a fair amount of distance between them before she began heading toward her class room.
Tynan walked the campus grounds later that day. Throughout the day, they'd been systematically ruling out members of the staff being possessed by Horrors. He was headed toward a building that he was told housed several martial arts clubs. Since he was encouraged to join a club or team of some sort "for college application purposes", and a name on his list was the supervisor of the building, he figured his presence there wouldn't be called into question.
When he entered the building, he could hear various the sounds of students practicing. It was a nostalgic sort of sound. He could also hear the distinct sound of wooden swords clacking against each other. He wondered toward that sound. Sliding the door of the makeshift dojo open which read "Kendo Club", he glanced in.
There were about ten students in the club. Most of them were sitting on their legs around the central mat, where another two students were sparing. One was a lumbering guy with a pretty good form. The other was a slim, and good deal shorter than her opponent. But the skill in which she thoroughly defeated him was impressive to say the least.
When the match was over they bowed, and removed their protective headgear. It was her again. Lainie Hong. She shook out her hair and dabbed at the sweat on her brow.
A big hand settled on Tynan's shoulder and he froze. He slid the door closed and glanced behind him. His lighter was in his hand and flicked on before he even realized he was doing it. The dark skinned bald man towered over Tynan, which was a feat by itself, but he was also about three times as wide.
Other than the man's dark eyes contracting in response to the sudden light nothing else happened. The man grinned, flashing white teeth. "Ain't no need about that, boy," he said in a thick southern accent. "Put yo' doohickey away," he said. "No smoking allowed in school."
Tynan closed the lighter and slipped it back into his blazer. "Habit," he said.
On the list he had, the man's name was listed as Elvis Tierney. One more name to cross off the list. "If yo' thinkin' 'bout joinin' up, you can go one inside. They ain't gonna bite. I'm guessin' you ain't gonna be around that long," he said. The big man grinned again at Tynan's slightly confused expression. "Go on in for now," he said. He opened the door and pushed Tynan in with surprising ease.
Everyone looked at him when he stumbled in. Elvis Tierney blocked the door with his big body. "New kid's thinkin' bout joinin' ya'll," he said in his booming voice.
The lumbering guy who'd been sparring with Lainie Hong appeared to be the club's president or captain. He stepped forward. "This isn't a club just anybody can join, Mr. Tierney. If you don't even know the basics, there's no room for you," he told Tynan, puffing out his chest and trying to look important.
Before Tynan could answer, Mr. Tierney pushed him forward again. "Hand the boy a sword, see what he's made of," he suggested.
"This really isn't necessary. I don't know much about Kendo," Tynan declared.
"He's not wearing any protective gear either," Lainie stated. She could see that he wasn't comfortable being there or being the center of attention. His ears were glowing again.
"Go easy on him," Mr. Tierney stated. He didn't seem to be talking to the class but rather to Tynan.
Tynan could see that for whatever reason, he wasn't getting out of this without making things worse. He sighed and straightened his shoulders. He unbuttoned his blazer and loosened his tie and the first couple buttons of his shirt.
The Kendo captain smirked. He tossed him one of the wooden swords. "We'll make it fairer," he said and took off his protective chest covering and gauntlets.
"Baz, I'm not sure this is a good idea," Lainie said. She wasn't sure at the moment who she was worrying for. The moment Tynan McKay seemed to decide he was doing this, his entire demeanor changed. There was an air of absolute confidence hovering around him that she'd never seen before.
Baz ignored her and the two young men took to the mat. Both took their swords in two-handed stances. Lainie covered her mouth. Baz attacked. With quick concise movements, Tynan blocked every movement but didn't counter attack. Most of the other kids thought this was because Baz was taking it easy on the new kid but wasn't giving him a chance to retaliate.
Tynan was analyzing his attack style, watching his movements for weak points, and deciding the most efficient way to end this. Baz was slow to adapt when his opponent finally struck back. Tynan rose his sword to meet Baz's with a resounding clack. He twisted his body, hit the tip of the sword against his side and shoulder. Circling behind him, two quick slashed to the back of the knees had him falling to the floor. A final downward stroke was stopped short and he rested the sword against Baz's neck. The other boy swallowed hard. The students were stunned.
Tynan removed his sword. He rubbed the back of his neck again. "Yeah, that was probably against the rules, huh? Like I said, I don't know much about Kendo," he stated. He gave a slight bow and dropped the wooden sword. He forgot his blazer on the way out of the room and a grinning Elvis Tierney didn't stop him.
He shouldn't have done that. He was going to draw too much attention. If there was a Horror there, he didn't want to spook it or make it do anything drastic. Should he make them all forget what had just happened? No, memory spells were only to be used in necessary cases. He stopped under a tree and leaned against it. His mad flight from the building had propelled him a long way. He sighed and scraped a both hands through his hair and squeezed his eyes shut for a long moment.
When he opened them again, Lainie was standing in front of him holding his blazer. She was still dressed in her Kendo uniform but she'd removed her protective gear. She gave him a shy smile. "You left this," she said and held his blazer up to him.
He silently took it from her, nodded several times, cleared his throat, and finally managed to mumble thanks.
Lainie giggled. "It's okay. Look, don't worry too much about what happened. Martial arts nerds are low on the social radar. Aside from the other club kids, no one's going to care," she said.
Tynan nodded. "It wasn't that big of a deal. He's not that great. You were way better," he said, looking everywhere but at her.
She felt her face warm. "It's just luck. Our club is mostly a bunch of rich kids messing around. We don't even usually place in competitions," she said. Silence settled as she searched for something else to say. She wanted to ask him about this morning. About Horrors. About Willa Daniels. About the man in the red coat. About himself. Yet she couldn't find her voice to do so.
"You should get back. I should go. My grandfather will be looking for me," he said, swinging his blazer around as he slipped his arms into it. He hesitated. "Try not to wander around after dark," he said and walked past her.
Lainie turned and watched him walk away again. She found herself wondering how nice it'd be if he was walking toward her. Her cheeks grew warm at the thought. Not that the view of him walking away was a bad one. She covered her eyes and laughed at herself. Amid such terrible times, she was checking out a cute boy's butt. "Get ahold of yourself, girl," she scolded herself and walked back to the club.
Tynan entered his house. Located outside the city on a large plot of land that was protected by a mystical barrier, his house was a mixture of Eastern and Western influences. It was home to one of the most prestigious and famous Makai Priests in the Western world. Hiro Yamamoto. Willa was his apprentice.
"Is anyone home?" he asked a black clad figure by the door.
"Master Yamamoto is in his workshop with Miss Willa," a hollow voice answered.
"Thank you, Ichi," he said. The figure bowed to him.
It was one of two humanoid automatons that his grandfather had created to watch over his orphaned grandson and the house long ago. Tynan exited the house through the back doorway and walked across the back yard to the workshop. He entered the building. His grandfather was hunched over a worktable with a magnifying contraption placed over his eyes as he held a delicate brush over the innerworkings of a delicate mystic tool.
The old man wasn't a very impressive sight. On the short side, with iron colored hair. But in both mystical and magical skill, the old man couldn't be beat. He'd had the chance to become a Knight, but preferred becoming a Priest, leaving his twin brother to become the Knight instead. They'd been assigned to America together but eventually other assignments drew them apart.
Willa had a cauldron set up with computer code floating above it as she flicked it around with her brush. She could do amazing things with mysticism and modern technology. A genius in her own way and the only apprentice Hiro had ever taken aside from Tynan's mother.
"Grandpa. Do you know anything about a man named Elvis Tierney?" he asked.
"Isn't he one of the names from the list?" Willa asked absently.
Grandpa paused in his work. "He was chosen as Solaris, but a fierce battle with a Horror cost him an arm and part of his leg. He still teaches young knights, but mostly lives a civilian life," he answered. "Made his new limbs myself," he said.
Tynan nodded. "That explains it," he said. He hadn't noticed the man moving with any difficulty. Grandpa's work was impeccable as always. He slipped Shiba back onto his hand. The ring grumbled and complained but Tynan ignored him. "How many names did we clear today?" he asked Willa.
"Five. I've expanded my search parameters a bit to other people that may be connected to the school, but there aren't many more potential suspects," she said.
He nodded. "We'll head out after dinner. I'm famished. I could smell Ni cooking when I walked in," he said.
Willa slashed her brush over the top of the cauldron then hooked it on her belt. "Let's go," she said.
Grandpa was back in work mode, but Tynan knew that the automatons would make sure he ate something. "Ty," Grandpa said, surprising the young man. "If this is truly a Horror you face, it will be dangerous if it's this deceptive. Remember why I created Ichi and Ni. They aren't just butlers and babysitters," he said.
"Understood," Ty said. He and Willa left the workshop together.
A few more names were scratched off Willa's revised list that night. She had ways of finding out where people were. It was nearly mid-night when their travels took them back to the school. It was suspicious the night janitor would at the school so late.
Willa took a device out of her coat and blew on it. A small ball of blue-white flame was produced and it flew off. They followed it as it tracked down their prey.
Even though it was late, Lainie was wide awake. She'd already finished her homework for the day, but she was nervous. What if another student went missing? She wished there was something she could do, but she knew there wasn't. She sat in the window seat of her dorm room, watching the quiet grounds of the school where absolutely nothing was happening.
She was finally starting to doze off when she saw it. A flash of red. She blinked and looked harder. The man in the red coat was at the school. Knowing she was being a complete idiot and unable to stop herself, she quickly dressed and put on her shoes. She slipped out of her room and snuck downstairs.
Maybe tonight she'd get some answers. She just hoped she wouldn't regret it when she did.
Ty and Willa found the night janitor passed out in a supply closet in the main building. "Is he a Horror or just a drunk?" Willa asked sourly.
Ty squatted down and shook the man. With a great snort, the man opened his eyes. "Hmm? Is it dinner time yet?" he asked in a slur. Ty flipped out his lighter and held the flame in front of the man's face. His eyes paled and dark letters swirled around. He pushed the youth away and sprang to feet. "Two tasty treats just happened to wander by," he said with an evil grin that parted his face nearly in half.
"That's not happening, Horror," Ty declared. He produced a red sheathed sword.
The Horror hissed. "Makai Knight," he spat. He turned and seeming to turn into liquid, slid through the cracks of a small window in the store room.
Ty uttered a curse and ran out of the building. Willa was right on his tail.
Lainie was frantically searching for another sign of the man in the red coat when she almost literally ran into the night janitor. She froze at his sudden appearance. When he saw her he grinned. "Hello, tasty," he grinned and lunged at her.
She ducked under his reached and bounced back. "Who're you calling 'tasty', perve?" she demanded.
The janitor rounded on her again. She struck out with her fist and punched him in the nose. He cried out, gripping his face. "You little bitch!" He lunged again, this time earning a kick to his groin. His face distorted in pain. Then just distorted as he began to change shapes.
His face split in half as his teeth grew to improbable proportions and body contorted. His neck extended and a tail grew. He ended up looking like a weird mannequin with strange proportions. His head rotated up and down so that his grin turned into a frown and his eyes where below his mouth.
Lainie scrambled back. He swiped at her with strangely dinosaur-like but also human-like arms. She ducked and jumped, trying to get away. He swiped his tail at her. It hit her in the side and sent her knocking against the wall of the storage building. She hit the back of her head and her legs turned to jelly. She slid down as the Horror menaced closer to her.
A blast of bright energy knocked him away. He turned with a snarl. A blurry girl pointed her a paintbrush at him. The blurry man in the red coat ran forward, slinging the sheath from his double-edged sword. The Horror whipped out with his tail. A slash of the blade sent the tip of it flying. The Horror screamed in rage and pain and lashed out again. The tip of the tail regrew again.
The tail and sword engaged in combat, which had the man in the coat ducking, jumping and bouncing around in a way that Lainie's woozy vision couldn't keep up with. Groaning, she weakly raised her hand to her head.
In a change of tactics, the Horror's face whipped forward on its long neck. Rotating it's face again, it snapped its teeth at him. Ty barely had a moment to flip backwards. He raised his sword above his head and whipped the blade in a circle. The circle glowed red and opened, his armor covering his body, his sword changed form to the larger, more ornate form used for killing and sealing horrors.
With a distorted shout, he rushed forward. The Horror rushed at him as well. A two-pronged attacked swept toward him. The tail whipped forward, and the face tried to snap at him again. "Not happening!" He ducked under the tail, and pushed it up. The Horror bit its own tail. It shuddered and screamed in rage again. "Hah!" the Knight threw his lighter into the air. He jumped, slashed his blade through the flame and ignited himself.
With the Horror's gaping mouth coming at him, he slashed down, splitting the face in half, then the neck. When he touched the ground again, he continued his slash, cleaving the body. The Horror screamed as it died, evaporating into a dark nothing. The armor was sucked back up into the sky. Ty sheathed his sword and put it back into his coat.
"I was right," Elvis Tierney walked out of the darkness. "You is the Blazing Knight," he declared. "I'd heard there was a new Tyrant, but seein' it fo' myself?" he whistled in admiration. Ty bowed slightly.
Willa approached. "What do you know about the Campus Cannibal, Mr. Tierney?" she asked, giving him a respectful bow as well.
Elvis shook his head. "Started workin' here after I lost my bits an' pieces, but it was after the first time. When it happened again, I tried to figure out what was up, but couldn't find any proof it was a Horror," he explained. "I reckon if it was, it was him? He was workin' here when I started," he said, referring to the janitor.
Ty sighed and walked over the now unconscious Lainie. She'd lost the fight around the time he summoned his armor. He smiled slightly. She was kind of amazing. He brushed some hair out of her face. "We'll have to see," he said. He scooped the girl up into his arms.
"I'll go report to the Watchdogs," Willa declared.
"I bes' be on my way, too," Elvis declared. "It was an honor," he said to Ty and gave him a bow.
"The honor was mine. Solaris is a high title, not easily claimed," he stated.
Elvis didn't comment, instead his quietly disappeared into the shadows.
Ty tensed when the girl in his arms gave a sigh and snuggled her face against his shoulder. Instead of waking, she seemed to be making herself more comfortable. He swallowed. "You shouldn't do that," he mumbled.
He carried her back to her dormitory, slipping inside, making no noise he headed unerringly to her room. He slipped in and lay her on the bed. She sighed again as she snuggled into the bed. Ty forced himself to leave.
Lainie's eyes opened just as she saw her door close on a flash of red. She sat up, intending to finally catch him, but a wave of dizziness nixed that idea immediately. She pouted and lay back down. It finally occurred to her to wonder how he knew where her room was. She decided that wasn't the worst thing and closed her eyes again, settling into sleep.
Most students wouldn't know about the disappearance of the night janitor, but it was the whispers that a senior girl disappeared the night before. Willa thought it was possible that the night janitor had been behind it, but Ty wasn't convinced. The truth was, he'd beaten him too easily.
"I agree. His aura was easily detectable," Shiba had chimed in.
Ty thought it was best to attend school for a few more days just to be safe. When he entered his homeroom class and saw Lainie sitting at her desk gazing out the window, his stomach clenched. He hadn't used a memory charm on her. Doing that too often to one person could be dangerous. He slid into his desk.
Lainie glanced at him. She gave him a small smile before looking back out the window. She had questions for him, yes, but this wasn't the time or the place. She had to find out his connection to the man in the red coat.
He resisted asking her if she was okay. She didn't seem to have recognized him from the night before. He was relieved.
He met up with Willa during lunch. "Well, it's official. From what I've found out, if it is a Horror, it does seem to like virgins. The freshman who disappeared had never had a relationship. The senior was in the chastity club and her boyfriend often complained about her not putting out," she declared.
"For someone as cranky and anti-social as you, you always seem to get information," Ty said with a slight smile.
She made a face. "Who says I socialize to find things out?" she asked. "Maybe we should set a trap. We could use you as bait," she declared.
He gave her a dark look that she smirked at. "I have a few things to do before my next class," she said as she went her own way.
Ty smiled slightly and shook his head. He wandered off found a quiet spot to sit down under a shady tree. He pulled out the list. More names were crossed off. Very few remained. He hastily put it away when he heard someone approaching him. He glanced up to see that it was Lainie Hong. Her long hair was caught in the breeze. She had something in her hands and grimaced when it whipped across her face. "Mind if I join you?" she asked.
"Uh, yes. S-sure," he said.
"Thanks," she said and sat down beside him. She jerked her leg away when her knee accidentally grazed against his. She flushed and held out one of her hands, showing that she had a large muffin in it. "I noticed you didn't go to lunch. You should eat," she said.
He took the muffin. "Thank you," he said. She pulled a carton of cold milk out one of her pockets and handed it over as well. He smiled and took it. They ate in silence. Lainie sighed. She'd come out with the determination of demanding answers, but once again found herself unable to ask the questions.
"Is everything okay?" he asked. She must have a lot on her mind, especially after last night. He wondered how her head was feeling.
Lainie pursed her lips and looked at him for a long moment. She started laughing. "Geeze, are you a kid?" she asked. Without thinking, she reached out and used her thumb to brush the milk mustache from his upper lip. She gasped quietly and jerked her hand back when she realized what she was doing.
His ears turned red and he looked away. "Sorry," she murmured.
"For what?" he asked, looking at her again.
Oh, he really had beautiful eyes. She blinked and shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted.
Ty smiled and chuckled. "Whatever it is, you probably don't need to apologize for it," he said.
Lainie smiled. "I guess," she said. She stood up, and wobbled as she a wave of dizziness overtook her. Almost immediately, his hands steadied her.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Fine. I just bumped my head last night," she said. "I'm okay now," she said. He jerked his hands back and she instantly wished she hadn't said anything.
"If it's bad, you should see the nurse," he said.
She nodded. They headed back to the main building since the bell would be ringing soon. When they entered and headed toward the lockers, a group of girls descended on them. They ignored Lainie and looked at Ty.
"There's a party tonight. You should definitely come," one of the girls said. The other girls giggled.
"It's a cherry popping party," one admitted.
"It's to deprive the virgin eating cannibal of food," another said.
"You should definitely be there."
Lainie rolled her eyes but almost laughed at his panic-stricken expression. "If any of you need to protect yourselves from a virgin eating cannibal, I'm a tall blonde girl in disguise," she declared. "We have to get to our lockers or we'll be late for class," she said, taking his arm and barreling through the crowd.
He followed along meekly, but had to smile a bit. "Thank you. I think you just saved my virtue," he said when they reached their lockers.
"I definitely just saved your virtue," she shot back. Her demographic suddenly disgusted her. Instead of wisely staying inside and staying safe, the teenagers decided having a sex party was the best solution for what was happening. Although, she peeked at him, a few lockers down, a party for two wasn't the worst idea. She grimaced and shook her head, disgusted with herself. She cleared her throat. "Some first week you're having," she said.
"Yeah," he said. A similar thought had gone through his mind, he was frankly shocked at himself. He had a job to do and it did not involve a private party with Lainie Hong. He grumpily grabbed at his books and stopped short of slamming his locker. "Later," he muttered and headed to his next class.
Lainie let out a shaky breath. "Get a hold of yourself, for real," she said to herself. She closed her locker and headed to her next class.
Willa and Ty watched teenagers go into a warehouse owned by one of the rich kids' rich daddy. Willa had expressed similar disgust aloud as Lainie had mentally, but thought it'd be a good idea to monitor the area. Even if it wasn't the Horror they were after, this situation was likely to draw others.
"It's okay to like her, you know. It's not like Makai Knights take a vow of celibacy or anything. I mean, they don't produce the next generation through mitosis," she stated seemingly out of nowhere. "You exist because your dad met, liked, and married your mother," she pointed out.
"I am aware of how babies are made, thank you," he said dryly. "The problem is that she's an ordinary girl. She shouldn't need to be involved in our world," he said.
"At least you're aren't denying you like her. Wait 'til I tell Lex," she said.
"You tell him nothing," Ty denied flatly.
"I sense a Horror," Shiba said suddenly.
Willa pulled out her sounding plate and blew on it, producing the fiery orb. It flew off. "Let's go before he gets a chance to eat one of these idiots," she suggested. Ty nodded and they went off after the Horror.
Lainie had stayed up half the night wondering if she'd see the man in the red coat again. Eventually, she fell asleep. She overslept, missed breakfast, and rushed into her first period class only moments before the bell rang.
Ty noticed her flustered appearance and was thoroughly charmed by it. Though he wasn't sure how to point out that she'd misaligned her the buttons of her shirt. He cleared his throat and leaned over a bit. "Um," he started.
She glanced at him. His ears tinted. "Your shirt," he said, without looking at her he straightened back up.
Lainie was confused until she looked down. She gasped and blushed. She wouldn't be able to fix it until class was over, so she quickly pulled her blazer closed to hide it. That he'd been the one to see bothered her more than it should have. She wondered if anything bad happened last night. She hoped not.
Her hopes were dashed when she found out later that another student did indeed disappear. She didn't have the details, but she wondered if Willa and Ty did. She decided to try again at lunch to find out answers.
She found him alone again. Though not exactly frowning, there was a dark expression on his face, a crease between his brows. She hesitated to approach him. Maybe she should leave it alone. She was just being nosy after all.
Ty glanced up and noticed her standing there. He rubbed his face to ease his worry line. He waved at her and smiled. She continued her approach. "You came bearing food again," he said.
"I missed breakfast," she said and sat down next to him. This time she'd opted for some protein and brought wrapped turkey subs and cans of cola in her pockets. "And you shouldn't keep skipping lunch," she said and handed him one. "Also, thank you this morning," she added.
He gave a slight smile. He gratefully took the sandwich and cola. He waited until they finished eating before speaking again. "You keep approaching me with an ulterior motive but never get around to saying anything. What is it?" he asked.
She swallowed. "You knew?" she asked.
"I've thought about and there are really only two reasons someone would keep following me around like this. You either like me or you want something from me," he said.
That made sense, she realized. She looked down at her shoes. "And you assume it's not because I like you?" she asked. "You haven't thought that maybe I fell for you when you protected me the baseball in the hallway? That I was awe struck by your sword form? That you have the most beautiful eyes?" she said, and jutted her chin out. Why she was offended, she couldn't say. It was true, after all, that she wanted answers from him.
Ty rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. "No," he said. He didn't even know how to even begin processing that if it were even true. Was it? Did he want it to be?
"Well, that's your self-esteem issue," she declared. "It's both," she admitted. "Although 'fell for' is a bit extreme, but why wouldn't I want to get to know you better?" she said quickly. "I have been wanting to ask what you and Willa Daniels know about the missing kids, the man in the red coat and the monsters, the Horrors," she said with a serious expression.
He looked at her. "You shouldn't worry about any of that," he said.
"But I am worried. I could be next. I qualify. I overheard you and Willa talking the other morning," she admitted.
Ty sighed. "I thought that was probably you," he said. The bell rang signaling the end of the free lunch period. Neither of them moved. "I won't let anything happen to you," he vowed.
She smiled. "That's a nice sentiment, but knowledge is power. I need to know so that I can protect myself," she stated. She'd been shuffled around too much to depend on anyone other than herself.
"Come with me," he said, getting to his feet. He helped her to hers and they walked away. They headed for the storage building. He walked into the one of the rooms. Lainie was surprised to see Willa Daniels standing in front of a small cauldron on a pedestal waving a paint brush over it as information floated in the air above it. She blinked owlishly at the intruder.
Ty quickly closed the door behind them. He pulled Shiba out from under his shirt and put him back on his finger. The ring yawned and blinked at the change. "Is it time to leave this teenager infested cesspool?" he asked hopefully.
Lainie gasped at the talking ring.
"No such luck," Willa stated. "I suppose you brought her here for a reason?" she asked.
"Don't I always have a reason?" he said. "Shiba, I need a tracker," he said and held his hand out toward and empty desk. The ring opened its jaws and seemed to puke up a silver creature that formed itself into a ring. Lainie's eyes widened.
Ty held up the ring. "If you wear this, we'll always know where you are and if you're near a Horror. I told you, I won't let anything happen to you," he said.
Lainie took the ring and slid it onto her middle finger. "I still want answers," she said.
"Slowly. Trying to explain everything...trying to explain at once is impossible," he said.
"Then, what are Horrors?" she asked. "Where do they come from?" she asked.
"In our ancient language, we call it the Makai. It's a realm of demons that feed on people. They get to our world through what we call Gates. Dark objects with too much negative energy connected to them. They possess people who are willing to trade their souls for whatever the Horror offers them without realizing that means they no longer exist. On rare occasions, they do let the human mind coexist," as Willa explained, she waved her brush over her cauldron to show images illustrating her explanation.
Lainie nodded. "And the man in the red coat fights them?" she asked.
Willa smothered a laugh. "Yes, he does. He's a Makai Knight. They exist to fight the Horrors and protect humanity. Makai Priests such as myself do whatever we can to assist the Knights and protect humanity, whether using spells, building tools, gathering information, sometimes fighting Horrors as well," she added. She waved her brush again and the images stopped.
"What about the disappearing kids and the cannibal that strikes every seven years?" Lainie asked.
"We don't have proof it's Horror related, just very strong gut instincts. It possible it could be a run of the mill human crazy," Willa added.
"But you guys don't think so?" Lainie said, glancing between them.
Ty nodded. "I'm almost positive at this point. If the night janitor had been a Horror all along, we would have detected him sooner," he said.
Willa nodded. "I found out that the Horror from last night is a former member of the staff. She was laid off a couple years ago, but she was around when the first two incidents happened. And the kid who disappeared had gone to the party but never made it there," she said.
Ty rubbed the bridge of his nose. "That means it knows we're looking for it and is throwing up a smoke screen by giving us other suspects, but how does it know? It's gone this long without attracting attention, how would it know it's being investigated now?" he asked. He wasn't really expecting an answer.
"Maybe it heard Tyrant is back and is covering its bases so it doesn't get discovered?" Willa suggested. "Giving plausible scapegoats for disappearing students. Horrors have used other Horrors before. It's not impossible that it's happening now," she added.
"What's a Tyrant?" Lainie queried. She couldn't even believe she as standing here listening to such an insane conversation.
"Blazing Knight Tyrant. It's one of the most respected Makai Knight titles in the world. The last Tyrant died before the next one in line was ready to take up the mantle," Willa answered. "Now that he has, perhaps the horrors are spreading the news," she said and shrugged.
"It's possible, but even without Tyrant, there are other knights. Good ones," Ty said.
"When I know more, you'll know more. Please leave now and stop distracting me from my work," she said, shooing them with her brush.
"Come on, she's getting cranky. That's never a good sign," Ty said and led Lainie out of the storage room.
"You two seem really close," Lainie said.
"She's my grandpa's student," he said with a shrug.
Lainie nodded. "Thank you. For trusting me, I mean," she said.
"How's it feel know how scary the world really is?" he asked.
Lainie gave a humorless laugh. "It's awful, but it also makes me appreciate the good things more," she said. "I sound like a motivational meme," she said and grimaced.
Ty chuckled. "The next period will be starting soon, we should be heading back," he said.
Lainie glanced at the storage building then at him. "She doesn't go to classes?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Only first period so it looks like she belongs here if people happen to wonder about her," he said. "I, on the other hand, have to pretend to actually be a student," he said.
She shuffled her feet and fiddled with her headband. "So, when this is all over, you won't be coming back to school anymore?" she asked, trying to sound casual.
"Ah. No," he said. "I was technically homeschooled and graduated a couple years ago," he said.
"What? How old are you?" she asked.
"Oh, no. I'm the right age, I just finished already," he said. His ears turned red again as he wondered if she thought he was some too old for high school pervert trying to hit on her or something.
Lainie laughed. "Okay. I wasn't thinking anything weird. I just thought you were well preserved if you were older," she said. She giggled at the little frown he shot her. She continued to giggle at him as they headed toward the main building.
Another night of successful yet unsuccessful hunting went by. Another Horror was taken care of, but another student had gone missing. Lainie sought Ty out before class since he seemed to take it personally whenever that happened. She waited for him at the front entrance of the school. A black town car driven by a shadowy man in a chauffer's cap pulled up. The back door opened and Ty unfolded himself from within. He bid the driver farewell and closed the door. The car drove away.
Lainie was somewhat surprised. She didn't know why but she hadn't expected him to be the same sort of rich kid as most of the other students. He seemed to freeze when he noticed her standing there. He fidgeted and approached her. "Hey," he greeted.
"Hey. I heard that someone else is missing," she said. "I'm sorry."
He shook his head. "I'm the one that's sorry. We don't seem to be making any progress," he said. "This is the fourth one. Only three more days and we lose our window and three more people. You aren't wandering around at night, are you?" he asked.
She shook her head. "No. I swear," she said.
"Good," he said and walked with her inside the building toward their lockers. Somehow, just being around her made him feel better about things.
Ty wasn't sure when he'd gotten used to Lainie seeking him out during lunch. He was feeling a bit disappointed when she didn't. Maybe now that she had her answers, she didn't want to bother with him anymore. Maybe that was for the best. His life was dangerous and she was just an ordinary girl. An amazing one, but she didn't belong in his world.
"What are you over here pouting about?" Lainie approached. She had a plastic bag draped over one arm and she carried a box in her hands. She settled onto the ground beside him while he gaped at her. "Sorry for being a late. I'd gotten a message earlier that I'd received a package, so I went to check my mail," she explained. She sat down the box and pulled a couple of cold fruit drinks from her pockets.
"It's okay," he said, inordinately pleased that she showed up. "What's in the box?" he asked.
She grinned at him and opened the box. "Tacos," she said and opened the box to display a line of crunchy corn tortilla shells filled with meat and other toppings. "Dig in," she prompted as she dug in the plastic bag and pulled out her mail. She found a bubble mailer and opened it up, pulling out a headband that'd been decorated with some bells and red feathers. "Hmm? I didn't order this," she said looked in the envelope for a note or something. There was nothing.
The envelope had her name printed on it clearly but there was no return address. She put the headband back in the envelope and sorted through what was mostly junk mail, a martial arts magazine she subscribed to, and a creamy envelope with her name on it in golden calligraphy. The back was sealed with wax with impression of the school's crest.
She opened it up and scrunched her nose.
"What's wrong?" he asked. Even while he was eating, he'd been watching her the whole time. All the expressions flitting across her face were fascinating.
"It's an invitation to have dinner with the headmistress tonight to honor my academic accomplishments for the first quarter," she said. "I didn't think my grades were that impressive. Sure, all A's, but not like high ones or anything," she murmured herself.
"Congratulations, but be careful after dark," he warned her.
She nodded. She put her mail away and grabbed a taco.
The Headmistress lived in a regal house on campus. It was befitting the leader of a prestigious school like Greystone Armitage Redford Oxnard. Still finding it weird that she was invited to a dinner to celebrate her academic achievements, she nonetheless readied herself in a modest red dress and put on her new headband. Luckily it didn't incessantly jingle when she moved. There had to be some force before they made a sound.
Finally deciding she looked presentable enough, she left her dorm room and headed toward the Headmaster's home. She nervously turned the ring on her finger. She wondered what Tynan and Willa were doing. Were they having any luck? Were they safe? She hoped so. Pushing aside her worry, she straightened her shoulders and continued.
One of the last names on Willa's list was the librarian that had been with the school for nearly forty years. They reasoned it was possible that at some point in her career she'd been taken over a by a Horror. They tracked her to a park where some of the off-campus students like to go to play basketball.
"I doubt there's any innocent reason for a middle-aged librarian to be here," Willa declared. They could see the woman sitting on a nearby park bench. She wanted to appear to be reading, but the bench wasn't under a light, and she was watching the players with way too much interest.
"Kind of hoping she's a Horror," Ty admitted. "Figure out a way to get rid of those guys. I'll handle her," he said.
Willa nodded. He palmed her Brush and swished it. The bristles glowed. "Ha!" she thrust a magic spell at the basketball the boys were using. It exploded just as it bounced on the ground. The guys stumbled back, surprised. There was a lot of grousing and blaming each other and whoever owned the ball, but it was clear they were about to leave.
Ty sat down on the bench next to the librarian. She glanced at him, a smile curving her mouth. "It's dark out. Maybe I can help," he said. He held out his hand and flicked the lighter in front of her face. Dark characters swirled in her eyes. She hissed at him and recoiled. She sprang behind the bench and tried to take off running.
"Ha!" Willa managed to get in front of her and cut off her escape with a quick barrier spell.
The Horror looked between the two. She screamed in rage. Her skin split apart and like a snake a horrible part woman, part reptile slithered forth. She hissed at them. Her two serpentine tails whipped out at them both. "Why?" she demanded. "I haven't eaten anyone," she defended herself.
Willa got hit and was sent flying. "Ugh," she muttered. She flicked her Brush and turned herself invisible. Fighting wasn't her strong suit.
Ty jumped over the tail, rolled, and stood, unsheathing his sword. "No? What about the woman whose life you stole?" he demanded.
She hissed again. "She chose this," she said and ran a hand down her body. "She wanted to be beautiful enough attract luscious young men like you," she stated.
"They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In her instance the beholder must be blind," Shiba quipped.
A snarl of rage had her whipping out with her tails again. Ty used his sword to protect himself, but the blade, even made of Soul Metal, seemed to bounce off her scales. She laughed and spit acid at him. He managed to avoid it but lost his footing and went down. He rolled, avoiding another stream of acid. He managed to avoid a few more slashes and attacks from her tails.
He jumped back, landing in a crouch. He quickly whipped his sword in a circle and summoned his armor. He sprang forward with the intent to hit her hard and fast. "Haaaa!" A third tail that rather arbitrarily appeared at her will caught him off guard. It wept his feet out from under him. Another knocked his sword from his hand. The tails wrapped him tightly and lifted him from the ground.
He grunted and struggled. She slithered him closer to her. "I can't wait to taste you," she said, stroking a hand down his armored face. She threw her head back and laughed.
"That's totally gross and not happening!" Willa declared. She produced a ball of white-blue fire then caught with her Brush. She spun in a circle and a flicked her wrist at him. The ball hit him and he burst into crimson flames.
The Horror screamed and dropped him. He rolled over to his sword. It was set ablaze as he grabbed it. "Haaa!" He ran at her again. Each time a tail tried to hinder him, his blade slid through it like butter until he finally slashed his blade through her core. She let out a horrendous shriek as she died.
He canceled his armor. "Thanks for the save," he told Willa.
"No problem," she said.
"Tynan," Shiba said suddenly. "I can no longer detect that girl," he said.
"What?" Ty demanded.
Willa pulled a device out of her coat. She waved her brush over it and a small holographic map appeared. She shook her head. "It can't detect any traces of her Soul Metal ring either," she declared.
Ty uttered a curse under his breath. "The Headmistress. She was going to dinner with the Headmistress tonight," he said.
Willa blinked. "She wasn't on the list. She hasn't been there long enough," she said.
"Find out anything you can," Ty said and began running back toward the school. Willa bit her lip and started behind him.
Lainie entered the Headmistress's residence. The foyer was well lit and grand. Elegant and iron haired, the pale woman was a cool beauty. "Please come into the dining room," she invited.
Lainie followed her into a grand dining room. It seemed, however, that there wouldn't be on the two of them. There was a gentleman there as well. "My brother," the Headmistress, Ms. Bainbridge, introduced. "He has an avid interest in hardworking, academic students," she explained.
Mr. Bainbridge gave her a smile that frankly creeped Lainie out. She pushed a strand of hair behind her shoulder. "Thank you, but there really must be some sort of mistake," she said.
"Nonsense," Mr. Bainbridge said and held a chair out for her at the table. "Anyone willing to work hard despite difficult circumstances is worthy of admiration," he said. He was as iron haired and icy-pretty as his sister. She felt like she could take him if he tried anything skeevy.
She sat down. "Difficult circumstances?" she asked.
Mr. Bainbridge seated his sister at one end of the table as she answered. "Yes, dear. We can't imagine how difficult it must be without the support of a family," she said.
Mr. Bainbridge sat down at the other end of the table and smiled. "No offense was meant. Please, do enjoy your meal," he said, gesturing to the sumptuous dinner waiting for them.
Lainie gave a slight nod of her head. It was really none of these people's business whether she had a family. While the Bainbridge's tucked in, she merely picked at her food, answering questions when they were addressed to her.
"You really do tick all the boxes for us, child. Smart, hardworking, innocent, and alone," Mr. Bainbridge said finally, a pleased smile on his face.
Lainie stiffened. "Excuse me?" she asked.
Ms. Bainbridge gave an indulgent chuckle. "Why, my dear, who would even notice if you were to disappear?" she asked.
Lainie looked between the eerie pair and took a deep breath. "People know I was coming here," she declared.
"But no one knows if you made it or not, do they?" Mr. Bainbridge stated.
Although she suspected it was futile she jumped out of her chair and ran for the door. She tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. The Bainbridge's stood in the foyer watching her. "Sorry, dear, you can come in, but you can't go out," Ms. Bainbridge told her in a pleasant tone. "We'd really rather you didn't exert yourself trying to run," she said. She approached, Lainie, but the girl was quick. She ducked and kicked out, hitting the woman in the middle. Ms. Bainbridge was knocked back. "Oh, you wicked thing," she chided. "You're going to make my brother angry," she said.
"Misbehaving children are really my one pet peeve. And here we thought you were an obedient child," Mr. Bainbridge said chidingly. He reached an arm out. It stretched over the width of the foyer and knocked her away from the door.
She cried out when she hit the wall. The bells on her hairband jangled. The Bainbridge's seemed to flinch at the sound.
The door suddenly opened and someone stepped in. Another student dressed in the uniform. The Bainbridge's regrouped. "This is a private dinner, my boy," Mr. Bainbridge stated.
"It's also very rude to enter someone's home without being invited. You didn't even knock," Ms. Bainbridge scolded.
"Ty," Lainie gasped. "Why are you here? It's dangerous," she said.
Ty ignored the Bainbridge's. "I told you, didn't I? I won't let anything happen to you," he said.
"We can't leave," she said.
"Yeah, I know. Willa will work on the barrier," he said. He smiled and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Find somewhere safe to stay out of way," he said and turned his attention back to the Bainbridge's. "Now then," he said. He unbuttoned his blazer, and flicked it behind him. As he did so the tails billowed out behind him and it turned red.
Lainie gasped again. Ty didn't just know the man in the red coat. He was the man in the red coat. She probably should have figured that out sooner, but she didn't think someone as young as him was doing something so dangerous. He really did live in a different world than she did.
Ty flipped out his lighter and held it up the Bainbridge's. Dark characters swirled in their eyes. "So, you are the ones who've been eating the students here," he said.
Ms. Bainbridge laughed. "Look at this brat. They're letting toddlers become Makai Knights these days," she scoffed as she and her brother began circling around him. He reached into his coat for his sword and turned as they paced around him.
"Child. I've been eating people for longer than you've been alive," both of stated as one in the ancient language of the Horrors.
"Tynan, it's Manjanus. It's a two-faced Horror that has the ability to change shapes," Shiba explained.
The Bainbridge's laughed. "For so long, no one knew where I dwelled," Manjanus seethed. They lunged at the young Knight. He drew his sword and slashed at them, fighting them back. They laughed again. "So much spirit for one so young. We'll happily add you to our menu. Such a rare treat to have a two-course meal," they continued speaking as one as they approached each other.
They glowed and melded into one being. With flowing iron hair, the Horror they became ad two front, a white naked female front, and a white naked male front. A skirt of rags flew around as if caught in a wind storm. The panels of the skirt whipped out, propelling Manjanus along. Some of the rags reached for Lainie, who'd been trying to find her way out.
Ty ran over to her. He slashed at the rags. He grabbed her hand and ran up the stairs with her. They could hear Manjanus laughing behind them. Parts of the cloth continued to reach for them, coming from everywhere, as if the house itself was part of the creature.
Lainie yelped when one rag managed to wrap around her leg and jerk her back. She fell on the stairs and was pulled down a few, making her headband jangle loudly. For a moment, the rags around them retreated.
Ty quickly helped her to her feet and they continued up the stairs. He pulled her inside sitting room and rushed over to balcony doors he'd seen when he did reconnaissance before entering the house. He pulled them open. He able to step out on to the balcony but a barrier kept him from leaving it.
A ball of blue-white fire hovered just beyond the barrier. "It's on the highest point of the house. No matter what I try I can't get to it," Willa's voice told him. "If we don't deactivate the barrier, you won't be able to summon you're armor."
Lainie looked up. "I can get up there. You go do your thing," she told him.
He hesitated and she pushed him back toward the doors. "Let me help," she said. "This is something I can do," she assured him.
"Children? Where are you? Hiding is useless," Manjanus said, its voice seemingly coming from everywhere. Rags suddenly burst through the balcony door.
Ty stepped in front of Lainie and slashed at them. They gave a tiny shriek and retreated. He pulled a dagger out of his coat. He hesitated a moment but handed it to her. "Be careful," he said.
Lainie grunted when she took the dagger. It was much heavier than she expected. "Give me a boost," she said.
Ty knelt and cupped his hands. She put her foot in it. He lifted her up. She used the dagger to slam into the roof and drag herself up the rest of the way. Ivy that covered the house was also used to propel her along.
Ty stepped back into the house. She seemed confident and he decided to trust her. Almost immediately, rags shot out at him. He slashed again, trying to get through, but the rags had all but wrapped his legs and body like a mummy. They wrapped around his sword arm and smothered the blade.
Groaning he reached into his coat with his free hand and pulled out two silver spheres. "Ichi, Ni!" he cried and tossed the spheres. With a metallic clicking and clanking of gears and gizmos, the spheres began to grow, expand, taking on humanoid shapes, figures dressed in black with long, single bladed katanas.
The automatons slashed through the rags containing Ty. He took a deep relieved breath. He ran into the hallway, the automatons backing him up. Manjanus floated up the stairs. The female front glided toward him. "How hard you fight, child. It's almost impressive," she said in its dual voice. She rotated to the male front. "But useless!" His arms extended and shot toward him. He fought of the arms, more rags. Ichi and Ni attempted to help, but Manjanus had many appendages and they were busy fending for themselves.
Ty hoped Willa and Lainie were having more luck than he was.
Lainie scrambled onto the roof. The Horror's rags were everywhere and she swiped with the dagger. She could make out Willa on the ground attacking the barrier with her Brush, but it seemed to be a rather strong spell.
She wouldn't pretend she knew how any of this worked. The ball of fire had followed her up. "On the chimney, that piece of paper is the central force of the barrier. Destroy it and I'll break the rest," Willa informed her.
"Doing my best," Lainie said. She jumped over a rag coming at her. She slashed at it with the dagger. Another rag wrapped around her leg. Another grabbed at her arm holding the dagger. She grunted with exertion, trying to free herself. Her other leg was caught. Her headband jingled again when she jerked her body in an attempt to get away. The rags shrieked and loosed momentarily before tightening even more.
"Ah!" she cried out. With her free arm, she jerked the headband off her head and began to vigorously shake them. The jingles became louder and louder, purer and purer. The rags retreated from the sound, screaming. Now free, she threw the dagger at the piece of paper with the arcane symbols scrawled on it.
On the ground, Willa pulled a second brush out of her coat. She crossed them in front of her, blew on them, and slowly drew them apart. A few more intricate movement created several powerful floating fell. "Hiya!" Using the dual brushes, she flung the spells at the barrier. The resulting barrier threw her off her feet. The rest was up to Ty now.
A lucky attack send Ty crashing through the upper landing bannister. He tumbled through the air before crashing into the floor of the foyer with a resounding smack. The back of his head bounced and his world spun.
Manjanus laughed and began gliding back down the steps. "They don't make Makai Knights like they used to," it said. Rags began to wrap around him. "I will enjoy my meal." she declared.
The sound of bells cleared his head. The sound grew louder and louder. Like church bells. The sound reverberated off the walls and around.
Manjanus screamed, clutching at its head, the rags going wild.
Ty jumped to his feet. He lifted his sword and spun it a circle, summoning his armor. "Your reign of terror over this school is over. I will cut you down!" he said in his distorted voice. He lit his Sword on fire and slashed through the thrashing forest of rags as they tried to escape the sound of the bells.
Manjanus gave one lash horrible squeal when it's two-faced head went flying. It dissipated into dark nothingness, with the rags and the rest of its thrashing body following in its wake.
Lainie stopped jangling her headband and sat down hard at the top of the stairs. Ty canceled his armor and sheathed his sword. They stared at each other for a long moment, but Lainie was at her limited. She slumped against the unbroken bannister.
Willa rushed inside. She watched Ty walk up the stairs. He took the dagger out of one of Lainie's hands and slipped it back into his coat. He placed the headband back on her head and scooped her up. "Where on Earth did she get mystic bells?" she asked, perplexed. They were an incredibly rare and hard to make type of mystic tool.
Ty shook head. "Take Ichi and Ni back to Grandpa," he said. "I'll report to the Watchdogs later. You did good," he said.
Willa moved passed him to retrieve the metallic spears that the automatons had reverted to. "We all did good," she declared.
Ty smiled and nodded. He walked out of the Headmistress's residence with Lainie. She sighed and cracked her eyes open. "I'm heavy," she said, embarrassed that she had not only passed out, but he felt the need to carry her around.
"You're fine," he assured her.
She wanted to argue, but knew she'd probably be all wobbly if she attempted to walk. Instead she wound her arms around his neck and rested her cheek against his shoulder. She was supposed there were worse things than being carried princess style by a cute guy. Being eaten topped the list. She decided not to complain and enjoy the ride.
Monday dawned brightly. It was hard to believe it'd only been a week since students started disappearing. Only two that Bi had been devoured in the park and the man in the red coat saved Lainie and the rest of the girls she was with. It seemed a lifetime ago.
The official word was that Ms. Bainbridge retired early. The Deputy Headmaster was now acting Headmaster until the school's board of directors found a suitable replacement. The campus cannibal became just a legend again. And no one in school remembered Willa Daniels or Tynan McKay had ever been students.
That made Lainie rather sad. As friendly as she was with some of the other students, it didn't feel real anymore. She knew things she'd never be able to share with anyone else. At least with Ty around she hadn't felt so alone.
As she walked out of cafeteria during lunch, she realized she'd gotten enough food for two people by accident. Doing so had become a quick habit. She scoffed at herself and determined she was going to eat it all. With a pout, she walked toward the tree that Ty usually sat under to think.
She was almost there before she even realized that there was someone already there. She blinked, about to tell whoever it was to scram. "What a face. Should I leave?"
"Ty!" she gasped more jubilantly than she intended, which made her blush. She dropped her bag of food and wrapped her arms around his neck. She squeaked when she lost her balance and fell into his lap. She turned even redder.
He cleared his throat. "So, it's okay, me being here?" he asked. She nodded and attempted to scramble out of his lap. He didn't let her, his arms trapping her. She looked at him with wide eyes. Although his ears were brighter than ever, he smiled at her. He ducked his head and pressed his lips against hers. With a sigh of delight, she returned his kiss.
Her lonely little world collided with his. She realized she'd been afraid that she'd have to return to that world. She never wanted that happen. She'd finally let someone in and she couldn't imagine ever letting him go. The world of the Makai was dangerous and terrifying, but to Lainie Hong, it was where she needed to be. With Tynan McKay, the Blazing Knight Tyrant.
-The End-