Shoji and the Field of Memories
CHAPTER 11 - The Night, Take Two
(Bangkok Institute, Downworld Parlor)
"There is hardly a thing about you that isn't painfully mundane, you insipid dog. One would imagine that an ability to transfigure would bond you with nature a little more deeply."
"There is no need to 'bond' yourself with nature in the middle of the room!"
"That is precisely what a foolish canine would say."
"Says the tooth fairy digging holes in the floor."
"TOOTH fairy?! You forget who you are speaking to werewolf! I am a High Court Consul to the Seelie Queen!"
Shoji and Filly entered the parlor amidst the very loud argument and paused in the doorway to watch the events unfolding before them. There was, indeed, a hole in the center of the floor that scooped downward in a wide indentation, and at the center, Shakara was sitting cross-legged wearing a bright orange and yellow sarong.
The area rug there previously was rolled up and pushed clumsily under a chair. Eric was standing next to the hole with his hands on his hips looking down at Shakara like a father about to scold a child. Shakara was staring back up at him with a darkness spreading over her face where it seemed blackness was slowly spreading across her temples and forehead and charring her otherwise lavender hair.
The look was frightening and Eric took a step back in surprise. His own eyes were glowing green behind his glasses and he let out a low growl.
"Woah! Alright, everyone let's calm down. Shakara, you're scaring Eric," Filly spoke gently but firmly and walked toward the center of the room with both hands outstretched in front of her, like she was approaching a wild animal.
"I'm not scared of the likes of her!" Eric spat, but his body language betrayed him. He continued to back away from the hole, pushing his cuffed sleeves up his arms.
"You should be, mongrel," hissed the faerie. She was staring ahead now but the darkness on her face was subsiding and her eyes were returning to normal. At least, they were normal for Shakara; covered with various shades of eyeshadow and neon yellow eyeliner. Her long, pointed ears twitched in agitation.
Filly sighed to herself and dropped her hands. "Thank you, Shakara. Now would you mind explaining to us why you are sitting in a ditch?"
Shakara shrugged her shoulders and placed her hands in the dirt, rubbing the soil between her fingers. She didn't seem inclined to answer.
"And I thought it was dogs that liked to dig holes," Kevin said cheerfully as he entered the room, a half-eaten apple in one hand.
Eric turned towards him and growled loudly, barring a few sharpened teeth.
"Yikes, my bad. No offense Eric." Kevin held up his hands in mock defense and flopped into one of the heavily embroidered bean chairs on the floor. He crossed his legs and rested his arms on the sides, watching the room with mild interest.
Sho smiled and moved to stand beside Filly. Together they looked down at the silent seelie sitting in the hole.
"I bet it's nice and cool down there," he said. Shakara looked up at him happily. The air around her sparkled and her cheeks flushed an array of colors.
"I knew I liked you, Nephilim," she giggled.
They all turned to the door when a gentle procession of footsteps could be heard approaching. Bella and Arisa walked into the space together, with Damyun following behind dressed in full gear. Bella didn't look like she was intending to join them, she was wearing a denim dress and white sandals with her long hair bouncing slightly at the ends. Her eyes looked tired and transparent like she had been crying.
Arisa was also already dressed for the mission; all in black like the Shadowhunters with tight black jeans and a long-sleeve shirt with an eye-shaped cut across the chest. She had tall boots with a heel and a holster wrapped around her chest that emphasized all her curves. Her black hair was tied low in a big, neat bun.
She looked very confused at the scene before her, but rather than say anything she just rolled her eyes and went over to the drink bar by the door and began to pour herself a glass of scotch.
Damyun stepped forward. His eyes glanced over the odd situation with Shakara, but then looked up around the room.
"Right, um, it's time we started to talk about the night ahead. I have given orders to the rest of my Shadowhunters to stay behind. Aom's death has hit them all hard and combined with our other losses I fear that any more untimely ends would result in... complications with their performance." His own pained expression and that of Bella beside him had the room in an incredible stillness. Even Shakara got up carefully and lightly brushed herself off, little pebbles of dirt falling to the ground.
"So, Bella and I decided that it would be best for you all to go alone. I will accompany you of course, and we have one other Shadowhunters from the Clave sent to aid us."
He turned to the door and gestured for someone to come in. Sho saw the shorter woman from the Council meeting, Min Hee, enter the room in full gear. Her short black hair was frizzy and thick in the heat and she wore a long earring on one side with a little white feather on the end.
Kevin perked up immediately and jumped to his feet, tossing his apple core to the side. Min Hee looked a little uncomfortable in the crowded room but upon seeing Kevin she visibly relaxed and walked over to him. They clapped arms briefly, then turned to face everyone.
"The Clave thought you may need some extra hands after the encounters you had last night. My name is Min Hee, I'm a Shadowhunter from the Los Angeles Institute but I also work as a personal assistant to Consul Liam. I'm pleased to meet you all, again anyway." She nodded slightly and everyone tilted their heads back in kind. Arisa, who was standing behind them all simply took a sip of her drink, watching with guarded eyes. Kevin patted Min Hee on the back encouragingly.
"I think that with Min Hee's accompaniment we should be prepared to handle whatever we find tonight at the convergence. Filly was explaining to me earlier that the energy is powerful, enough for a tear at the very least, which explains why there were demons scattered around the mountains."
Damyun continued without pause. "It doesn't, however, explain the presence of fledglings since vampires are earthborn. So that's another mystery we need to solve tonight." Damyun looked back at Arisa who downed her drink without flinching and nodded in agreement.
"The plan I offer is this, we will portal to the location of the convergence and upon arriving, split into two groups. One will stay behind to investigate the convergence and the other will go into the surrounding jungle to seek out any or all fledglings that might lead us to their origins. Someone has to be siring these vampires and we need to know who that is because they are no friend to the Shadowhunters or the Downworld."
Sho looked around the room to get a feel for everyone's compliance and was heartened to see that they seemed on board. Personally, he didn't like the idea of leaving anyone behind, but with the added protection he couldn't argue against completing two tasks at the same time.
"How will we split the groups?" asked Eric.
"Filly had mentioned that it made sense for her and Shakara to stay at the convergence. Their abilities with magic are what we need to properly get an understanding of this thing. It was our hope that you would stay with them Eric, to act as protection and in the case of healing we know where you are at all times." Damyun looked at Eric expectantly.
"Sure thing. I don't think I should be accompanying any group that's looking for fledglings anyways. Bad blood you know, werewolves and vampires. No pun intended." Shakara giggled at Eric's bad joke, apparently back on good terms with him.
The ups and downs of seelie emotions were giving Sho whiplash.
"I'm also going to stay behind with you at the convergence, as is Min Hee. Two Shadowhunters and a werewolf should suffice for protection. And we will not be caught off guard this time." Damyun shot Shoji a look and he was instantly defensive. He already felt guilty about the attack that injured Filly and didn't need Damyun making him feel worse about it.
He killed the cursed thing in the end anyways!
"So that leaves Sho, Arisa and I to go track down the fledglings. Sounds great!" Kevin was looking pretty excited, he was picking his knees up to his stomach and stretching. Next to him Min Hee was mocking his movements and pointing out other muscles that may need to be loosened up.
Their light-hearted banter faded into the sounds of the room as various conversations started up at once. Bella and Damyun were talking in whispered tones, Damyun holding Bella's hand gently in his own. He seemed to be consoling her for not joining them.
Shakara was now completely out of her ditch and conversing with Eric by the window. They still had an air of agitation to their expressions but seemed to be civil enough while discussing tactics and healing techniques. Eric had his pointer finger resting on the bridge of his glasses like he normally did while thinking deeply.
Filly had crossed the room to Arisa at the drink bar. They were standing close, arms gently resting against each other and Filly's long blond hair and horns obscured her face. Arisa's scowl had softened as she laid her hand gently on Filly's lower back. As they spoke Filly was wringing her hands together but had a focus in her eyes. Sho imagined she was nervous about the night ahead, and he felt uncharacteristically touched when he realized how it might pain the two of them to be apart during the mission.
He also felt a familiar weight in his gut as he watched them. Even after talking with Filly outside the Institute he wasn't sure where his reactions came from. He felt a longing he had never experienced before for someone to feel that way about him. To send him off to battle, as it were.
He understood then, with a painful jolt, that he was standing alone in the crowded room. No one came up to talk with him or discuss the night ahead. He felt more an outsider than perhaps he had ever felt. With the weight in his stomach and loneliness heavy on his back he strode toward the door and returned to his room in silence.
Once he was changed and had centered himself for the night ahead, Sho returned to the parlor to join the group.
Everyone was already gathered and standing in a cluster. The ditch had been filled and covered again with the rug and all the furniture had been pushed back against the walls. Sho saw the other Shadowhunters were bringing in cots from the infirmary and medical supplies that may be needed upon their return.
They were keeping themselves busy preparing the room but Sho could tell they were all still in mourning. They walked around robotically with sad and defeated expressions on their faces and Sho realized Damyun had probably made the best decision ordering them to stay behind.
The curtains in the windows had been pulled shut but Sho knew that daylight had long since fled the sky. The room was brightly lit with old, incandescent bulbs hanging on the walls from ancient-looking metal fixtures. As he walked toward the group his heavy boots hit the carpet with an authoritative thrum. Kevin turned to face him as he approached and a wide, comforting grin spread across his face. He was alive and electric with the anticipation of the coming mission. Sho answered his zeal with his own smile and the parabatai clapped forearms together.
Kevin stepped back and allowed Sho into the circle. Everyone was ready; Filly and Shakara had changed but Eric was still wearing the same baggy khaki pants and oversized plaid button-down shirt rolled up at the sleeves. Filly was in shorts that emphasized her long legs and an oversized white mesh top with a solid block that wrapped around her back. Shakara was surprisingly understated in a short purple skater dress with black spanks and Keds, her chain and dagger wrapped around her waist like a belt.
"Is everyone alright if I begin?" Filly looked around at their faces and when no one answered she stepped forward, hands aglow, and carved the portal out of the air before them. The swirling darkness beckoned them like a pounding speaker and the falling sparks crashed soundlessly onto the carpet. Damyun led the charge forward through the portal, followed by the rest of the group.
Sho turned to see the Bangkok Shadowhunters watch them go, their sullen faces fading into the darkness as he stepped through and his feet sunk into the wet earth on the other side.
They had arrived beside the same crippled shack from before. The ground and tall grasses around them were glimmering with dew in the moonlight. The sole lantern was dark until Filly flicked a finger toward it and a weak glow spread across their silhouettes. The portal was already closing behind them with a gentle fizzing sound and then the stillness of night covered everything.
The view was spectacular when Sho looked up to the sky. The stars seemed to have brightened after the storms of the day and the Milky Way was clear and defined, arching its way from one mountaintop to another.
"Eric, we need a perimeter run if you can manage." Damyun was pulling out his katar and slipping them onto his hands. Eric nodded wordlessly and jogged off behind the hut. After a moment, Sho saw a large, black wolf with the thick mane of a lion darting off across the field at an unearthly speed. Werewolves were the fastest of all the Downworld in their transfigured form. Eric disappeared in a blur out of sight, making his way around the edge of the field.
Kevin finished drawing some runes on Min Hee's upturned arms and she shook her sleeve down thanking him. Then he walked over to Sho to draw runes on each other. Sho turned his back and lifted his shirt exposing the skin at his waist. Kevin leaned down and pressed the stele to his skin, carving out the runes for speed, agility, sure-footed steps, strength and night vision. Then Kevin turned and pulled his shirt collar down and Sho drew the same runes on his exposed shoulder. They finished by wiping the stele over their parabatai runes and then Sho felt the familiar sting of energy humming within him.
It was like the strongest caffeine high he could imagine.
Arisa gave Filly's hand one last touch and then walked over to join Kevin and Sho. The vampire's eyes were narrowed and the lantern light made her translucent skin appear tight over her cheekbones. She was as fierce and frightening in her beauty as Sho had ever recalled.
"Don't worry Arisa, we'll get to the bottom of these fledglings. Sho and I have your back, right my parabatai?" Kevin elbowed Sho hard in the ribs and Sho shot him an unamused glare. Arisa didn't say anything, but looked at the two of them thoughtfully and the smallest smile cracked under her stern expression.
"Just like old times, the boys and me. I'm glad we will do this together." She turned to Sho and he felt comforted by her gaze. When Arisa looked at him, he felt he was truly being seen.
He smiled at her and then they turned to the group. Eric had returned and was walking out from behind the hut in his disheveled clothing. His dark skin was shining with sweat and he was shaking his head at Damyun while adjusting his glasses.
"I couldn't find anything around here, but I picked up the scent of vampire over toward that mountain." He pointed over behind Sho to the dark outline of a rounded mountaintop that sloped up quickly from the field.
"It smelled like more than a few," he continued. "Are you sure you three can handle it alone?"
Arisa crossed her arms and answered firmly. "If we can find them I'm sure at least some can be reasoned with. If you could smell that many, there have to be some that have matured beyond a few days." She sounded hopeful and Sho found himself wanting to believe her. If there were any vampires that had survived beyond the first couple days they would be clear-headed enough to answer questions if nothing else.
"Let's get going then," Sho suggested, now eager to get going and find some answers.
"Yes, alright. Be safe you three. We will meet back here before dawn. If we encounter any trouble we cannot handle we will have Filly send up red sparks into the sky. If you're able, that will be your sign to assist." Damyun pressed his palms together in farewell and Sho's group returned the gesture.
Filly was watching them with a hand clenched in a fist against her chest. Shakara was beside her looking as serene and indifferent as ever. Eric nodded farewell and Min Hee stared down at the twin-bladed tonfa in her hands.
The three of them turned and started down the muddy path toward the ends of the field into the jungle at the foot of the mountain. Kevin and Arisa pulled ahead and were talking in hushed voices. Sho looked back over his shoulder seeing the others grow smaller and further away. He saw Filly standing in the same spot, her horns glowing under the yellow lantern light and her eyes fixed on him. Her gaze was strong and Sho felt the air between them pulled taut like a thread.
With considerable effort, he broke away and turned to catch up to Arisa and Kevin.
