Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.

Melody: Well, this wasn't as long as a wait as the last update was.

Authoress: See, I really try sometimes.

Anu: Of course, you have had this done since April right?

Authoress: *bolts*

Chapter 9: Shadow of the Vampire

January 17, 787

Del's 1st P.O.V.

I smirked as I glanced at the bone-powder drink in front of me. Melody made them special for me when I behaved and, since I had behaved lately...toward her, then I got the honor of getting this drink. She would spend a lot of time grinding bones to dust and then mixing them in with whatever substance I wanted and was appropriate for the time. Since it was about eight o'clock in the morning, that meant that it was mixed in with some coffee. It took a lot of bone powder to mix with the coffee though so I was even more appreciative of this drink. Raising the drink to my lips, I took a very gratifying drink and felt relaxed as the bone powder restored some of my magic reserves. That hit the spot just right.

Currently, besides myself, Melody, and Rosebud, the members of the guild who were currently here were Master Anu, Sorano, Sawyer, and Tolax. Erik, Eden, Pitch, and Narissa had taken a longer job out by Clover, something about a couple of dark guilds trying to team up. Richard and Macbeth were taking care of a rogue sea monster that had popped up near Hargeon, and James and Edorin were dealing with finding out how a thief was getting into a bank and catching him in Crocus. All interesting missions, but when they had all left for theirs a couple of days ago, I had just returned from a mission to Mt. Hakobe where I had to deal with some annoying wyvern.

So, now I was relaxing here at the bar and obviously thinking too much about everyone else.

"Del," I turned to Rosebud, who was on the counter next to me, as she spoke. "I think we need to take a mission soon.

I raised an eyebrow at her in return before speaking. "Why? Didn't you have enough fun with the wyvern?" I teased her at that because she definitely did not have fun with them. One of them tried to eat her and she was not happy about having a frozen tail.

Her frown at me at that confirmed that thought. "Not funny Del." She then let out a huff. "No, I just think that, with how much New Year dug into the guild account this year, that we should help get some funds returned." She crossed her arms and stared at me while saying this.

Impressively to me, I held the look for a bit before I looked away and sighed. I honestly really couldn't argue with her. New Year had been a big party and it had taken all of us a few days to recover from that. "Fine." I then grabbed my mug of bone coffee and finished it off in a gulp before leaving the necessary jewel for Melody. With Rosebud moving to my shoulder, I walked over to the request board to look at the jobs.

At first, though, nothing was really popping out at me. Help with lawn care, not such a great idea for an undead dragon slayer, help finding a book...no...just no, and so many other missions like those. I almost took down an escort mission, since it looked to be at least somewhat tolerable when I saw a mission that stood out. Taking it down, I read over it carefully.

Help Needed!

A Lich is Gathering Forces Against Us

Location: Communic

Reward: 800,000 Jewel

Please meet with Mayor Jacobo For More Details on Arrival

Now, this was something up to my speed. Since we didn't have any unofficial requests, then this was the best looking actual request that went through the Council that I had seen in a while. A chance to really use my magic against something that would give me a challenge. Lichs were undead creatures that were both smart and powerful. Exactly the kind of mission that I was looking for.

But, as I continued to look at the mission, I knew better than to try and take it alone. Like I thought before, Lichs were both powerful and smart and, not only that, but they could summon minions to help in their work. If I was to focus on the Lich, then I would need more backup than Rosebud to take on the minions. Plus, a Lich rarely just spawned on their own. So, there would be a summoner that we would be dealing with as well.

With a glance around the room, at those of us remaining, I found my eyes falling on Sawyer. He was fast and strong enough to help take care of everything else while I was dealing with the Lich. Plus, it had been a while since I had taken a mission with him and this would be a lot of fun. "Hey, Sawyer!" I called over to him.

He looked up from talking with Sorano. "Yeah?" He shot back at me.

I held up the mission paper in my hand. "Want to come with me on this mission to take care of a Lich?"

In return, he spoke something to Sorano before he joined me. "Sure, sounds like fun."

So, with that confirmation, the two of us moved over to the bar and, since Melody probably heard me ask Sawyer to come with me, it didn't take her long to come over and, once she read the mission, she took the guild stamp that we kept under the bar for missions and stamped the request. Great. Now we had to get moving. "If I remember the times at Old Fort correctly," I started as we made our way out of the guild. "then, if we keep moving we can catch a ride from here to Oak Town and from there we can get to Communic."

"So, I don't know much about Lichs," Sawyer started as we continued. "but I got a feeling that we aren't going to be fighting it tonight."

Shaking my head at that, I filled him in. "No, Lichs have too much power at night. We'll have to start our attack once the sun is out tomorrow morning. It'll still be dangerous, though, and that means we'll have to be on guard. It will have minions and whoever decided to summon it will be trouble as well. If they have enough power to summon a Lich, then they will be a difficult fight."

As we continued to move through the valley, Sawyer seemed to understand what I was saying. "So, we need to focus on this. Got it." We made it to one of the clearings in the valley. "So, from how you are talking, it sounds like you've fought a Lich before."

I nodded as memories from my past came to me, and one in particular about when I was training with Setophis and he had sent me out for some night scouting, to improve my vision at night. I had been ten at the time. "Yeah. Was out on a training run from Setophis. It was night and I ran into the Lich messing with a trade caravan. It was a hard fight, and if it wasn't for a mage that was with the party, then I would have been overcome by the mage when he appeared. I got quite a lecture from Set when I got back to the cave about confronting a Lich without making a plan of attack." My mind flinched at that when I remembered that lecture. It wasn't a nice one. "Remember that lichs are their own being. They are summoned by a mage and have to obey the first order their summoner gives."

Sawyer looked thoughtful at that. "So, we might be able to convince this Lich to go against its summoner then."

While that could happen, I honestly doubted it. "Possibly, but unlikely. Lichs feed off of the magic of the summoner and can only stay in our plane from the dark world a short time after they are cut off from the magic. So, even if they do separate from the mage, it is not likely that it will want to help us fight the mage."

A disappointed sigh came from him as we continued to move. "Well, that sucks."

The two of us continued to move toward Old Fort and, once we were there, it wasn't long until we were in the air. The flight from Old Fort went smoothly and, once we touched the ground, we made our way to Communic. The town was a small town and, even though it was dark here as we moved to the hotel, I could see that the town was an organized town. That was either a really good thing or a really bad thing. We would find out when we met with the mayor in the morning.

As we approached the hotel, a chill went through my spine and I turned, on alert. It felt like something was watching us. But, I knew that I had to be imagining things. We arrived at night and, while a Lich was in the area, it wouldn't risk being in the middle of even a town like this. I doubted that it missed me coming into town. My own power levels and magic scent would keep it away.

So, why did I feel so uncomfortable right now?

"You okay Del?" Sawyer asked me as he paused in front of the doors to the hotel.

After staring into the darkness in front of me for a bit, I nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright." I then shook my head and turned to follow Sawyer inside. It was probably nothing.

Hope's 1st P.O.V.

They are...interesting. The two obvious mages that I had observed walking into Communic. I didn't recognize the guild symbol that I saw on the back of the girl's neck. But, she was here. And he was here. And, even though I didn't have the proof yet from my shades, I had a feeling that they were here to take out the Lich. I couldn't let them. Not yet. I wasn't done with him yet and he wasn't done with me.

But, they did look interesting. The male looked like a previous dark guild mage, Racer, that should be in prison from the last information I had. But, the girl was strangely familiar to me as well. I couldn't remember where from, but she was. Maybe I needed to dig through my thoughts some more. However, that was not important now. My own goals and that of the Lich would be hindered if the two mages that just arrived caused us issues.

Jumping down from my view on the church steeple, I made my way out of town. The shadows, as they had since I was five, clung to my own shadow as I moved further into the woods. That incident all those years ago changed me...and while I couldn't go back and change what happened, I could keep moving forward.

Red eyes flashed in my mind as memories from that day so long ago moved through the shadows in my mind. A small house in the woods, a happy husband and his wife taking care of their two little girls who couldn't have been happier. A flash of lightning on a dark night. Screams, cries, and dark laughter were sounds that I wouldn't forget. The sight of flesh being torn from the bone, blood spraying in all directions. The feeling of long fingers with sharp unbreakable nails as they wrapped around my neck, squeezing as those same red eyes showed a hungry glee that the monster seemed to feel. The pain of sharp fangs grazing and slightly piercing my neck.

I snapped myself out of those thoughts as I arrived at a clearing that was shrouded in shadows. This was where the Lich was hiding for now. "What information do you have?" A soft but dark voice asked me from the shadows.

Staying standing tall, I answered him. "The town has sent a request to get rid of you. Two guild mages arrived just a little bit ago. I feel that they are here to take on that request."

The shadows in the area seemed to flinch at that. "I felt the presence of one that will cause me trouble not long ago. It must be one of the mages. Do you think that they can be persuaded to our cause?"

With the recent intake and outtake of mages that have tried to take on this mission, and our efforts to convert them, then I had my doubts. "Probably not. One looks like a mage that, as far as I know, should be in prison as a dark mage. But, he walks about freely so I need more information on him."

"That is time we do not have." The voice answered back. "These mages will probably act quickly and that will not even give you ample time to gather the information you need. No, we will have to take them out and we will have to be cautious in doing so. If this mage is still a dark mage, he will cause us difficulty. That is especially if he is the one that I sensed."

"I'll keep him distracted when they come while you deal with his companion." I offered him. "Then, we can both cooperate and tag team the dark mage." We would have to be prepared. From what I could sense from the two mages, they would be a challenge. Not impossible to beat, but a challenge.

The shadows slightly shrank away from me for a moment. "Very well. You will return before the sun rises?" I was asked.

In return, I nodded. "Yes. I will. If they have done their research into this mission, then that is when they will come for you. But, for now, I will be going to where I am staying. I shall see you tomorrow." The feeling of the shadows returning to my own shadow told me that the Lich was now gone.

After all the work that I had been doing lately, I wasn't going to let the mages ruin what we have moved toward and what we were willing to lose. But, as angry as I was with the mages for coming to stop us, it didn't stop thoughts that I had about joining a guild. For quite some time, I wondered what it would be like. But, then I found myself in this situation and it reminded me that, even though being in a guild would be nice, I couldn't see myself being in a place that could just blindly follow the words on a piece of paper without finding out the entire situation. I couldn't put myself in that sort of block. There was more going on with this situation and until I found a place that didn't act like its mages were soldiers blindly following orders I would remain without a guild.

When I arrived at the bed and breakfast that I was renting for the past few months, I used my key and walked inside. Not making a sound, I moved up the stairs and, once I was in my room, I laid down on my bed and closed my eyes.

As I drifted off to sleep, I let my mind wander to the mages that we were going to be facing tomorrow. We would have to be careful about facing them. We were so close to having the evidence we needed. But, if these mages caused problems, then they could unravel a month of hard work and determination that we had collected. We just needed a little more time...just a little more time.

January 18, 787

Sawyer's 1st P.O.V.

"Sawyer...I am going to murder you." Del grumbled to me as we moved to the mayor's office.

Thankfully, I wasn't the only one that seemed to be against Del. "But, you were the one who said we had to get up early so we had time to check in with the mayor and then go and hunt the Lich." Rosebud added in my defense as she flew above the two of us as we walked to the mayor's office.

Getting Del up this morning had not been fun and, when I finally got her up, I had been the target of growls and glares galore. When we finally did confront this Lich, it had better just fall down and give up. If it got her upset, then the battle was going to be vicious. It almost made me feel sorry for the Lich.

Almost.

Anyways, as we walked down the cobblestone streets, Del shook her head. "Fine, I guess you have a point. And the continental breakfast was pretty good." Of course, that might be the only time that I bet the hotel staff has ever seen a person more excited about the bones in the chicken then the actual regular food itself. Seriously, Del had been too excited about that. In her defense, however, the bones would help give her a power boost in the fight against the Lich that was coming up.

It didn't mean that those hotel workers weren't scarred for life now.

"No kidding it was." Hey, just because Del had scarred them all, that didn't mean that I didn't agree with her. It was a good bit of food.

After a few minutes of walking down the main street, I looked to see a building with a large steeple-like fixture that had a clock on the front. The ding that rang at eight o'clock caused me to flinch when it got a growl out of the slightly grumpy dragon slayer next to me. I really hoped that this mission didn't cause any anger issues in Del.

Once we walked inside, I saw a man who was about five foot eight and had silver hair and blue eyes, though he looked young, walking up with a woman who was about five foot five with orange hair and brown eyes. Once our two groups stopped in front of each other, the man held out his hand. "Hello, I am Mayor Jacobo. This is my assistant Kitty Gardner. Are you the mages we hired?" Something about how he was speaking seemed off but, he could just be worried and letting that interfere.

So, Del and I showed them our guild marks before she spoke. "Yeah, we're your mages. So, anything else you can tell us about this mission?"

Instead of the mayor answering, his assistant looked down from her glasses at the clipboard she was holding. "Only that the Lich is to the north of town and it seems like his summoner stays out there with him as well."

"Anything on the summoner?" I asked her.

The assistant paused for a moment and that uneasy feeling returned before she spoke. "Nasty piece of work that one. Saw her a few times and you could just see the evil coming off of her. Bat shit crazy was just coming off of her in waves." Kitty then shivered. "But her summoning powers are to be reckoned with. From what I saw from her, she has summoned creatures from the dark world that make the Lich look like child's play. You should be careful."

So, we could possibly be dealing with more than just the Lich. Shit, this was going to be difficult. But, this was what we were hired for and I was sure that we would be able to handle it. "We should be alright. Thank you for your concern though." I then motioned to Del before the two of us walked out.

"That was...weird," Del commented as we moved toward the north of town. "Was it just me or was that a really...stale conversation?"

Glad I wasn't the only one that noticed how that conversation went. "You're right about that. The mayor literally looked like he had a stick shoved up his ass and that assistant looked like she was almost excited to be giving us all that information."

"Of course," Del added. "she could have been excited that something was happening, no matter how difficult this situation is." Well, she did make a point. This kind of thing did not happen a lot for a lot of people. So, with this situation, she might be a little excited about something big happening...as weird as it was.

When we entered the woods, I felt a shiver run down my spine. Like I was being watched. It wasn't a good feeling at all. Reminded me of times when I was 'Racer' with the Seis. Not a good feeling now that I was a member of a light guild. It probably meant that something was going to come after me. This was not going to be a good thing if it was the summoner. We couldn't let her keep the two of us here when that Lich was still out there.

"Did you feel that?" I asked Del, just to make sure that I wasn't going crazy.

Even before she spoke, I could see the tension in both Rosebud and Del. That meant that not only did she sense it, but she was ready to combat it on pure instinct alone. "Yeah, it is surrounding us. But, it doesn't feel like a Lich. It has to be the summoner...and she has to be close." Crap this wasn't good.

Glancing around the woods, senses taking over, I motioned forward. "Go ahead and find the Lich. You know more about it and can fight it. I'll stay back and keep the other half busy until you get back." She looked hesitant. "Go Del I'll be fine. I've lived this long, a second rate mage like this shouldn't be that difficult." Del finally nodded and ran ahead.

Once I felt like she was out of the danger area, I activated my slowing magic to give me an edge on whatever this fight was going to be. Once I felt like I had spread my magic far enough, I stayed tense as I took a step…

...and immediately dodged as the shadows lashed out in front of me. "I can assure you, I am no second rate mage." I turned at the female voice and felt myself shiver as the woman stepped out of the shadows. Standing at least at six foot two, the long black haired red eyed girl...woman, walked toward me with shadows dancing at her feet. "That's smart words coming from a dark mage who should be in prison."

I flinched at her reminder of my past but shook it off. Something wasn't settling right with me about her just yet. "That was in the past. I've been let out and I'm part of a legal guild. Whatever you're planning to do to Communic with that Lich isn't going to happen."

Her red eyes narrowed at me and I had to dodge as move shadows attacked me. "You can't stop us now. We are too close!" She then charged at me.

It was when she reached me and I had to dodge her that I realized what was bothering me about her. "You aren't being slowed by my magic!" I exclaimed as I dodged another one of her strikes, barely, and struck out at her.

She dodged and smirked. "Oh, you are slowing me alright. But, I'm not your average person. This is slow for me." I then flinched as she struck out at me again with the shadows.

The two of us then continued to trade blows in my slow time area. This was crazy! How was this slowed down for her? It was like I was fighting her regularly. If this was slow for her, then she had to be something more than human. There was definitely human in her, but something else was in her DNA that allowed her to be this fast. "What are you?" I asked her as I dodged another of her strikes.

Her red eyes hardened at that. "I was born human. But, when I was young, a vampire attacked my family. It slaughtered everyone else and tried to turn me. But, I was saved by another vampire. However, the damage had already been done to my genetic code and, while I didn't get turned into a full vampire, I am no longer fully human."

Well, that was pretty forthcoming from a person who had summoned a Lich to attack this town. "And why in the hell did you just tell me all that?" I asked her as she dodged one of my attacks. "I mean, is this the whole bad guy give up their plan speech?"

She paused and backed up, which caused me to do the same before she studied me. "I am not the bad guy, as you so eloquently put it, here. And neither is the Lich."

Well, I guess if she was going to tell me her evil plan, I had better hear it. "What do you mean?"

Her eyes narrowed, and I noticed the shadows around her flinch slightly, and so I tensed for an attack. However, she didn't attack. "A month ago, I was passing through town when I heard that the mayor's sister, Aldith, had been attacked by a creature of shadows and had been sent to Crocus for healing. I sensed the power of a Lich and so I came here to defeat it. However, the Lich wasn't what I was expecting. It looked hurt that it had attacked Aldith but, if you know anything about Lichs then you know that,"

"they have to obey the first order their summoner gives them." I finished for her. Del did tell me that when we had been coming to Communic and, so far, this woman's story was making sense.

The eyes of the woman glinted at that, though I wasn't sure why, before she continued. "Yes. So, his order had been to make Aldith sick, though not kill her outright, and then hide out here. He can't leave here, since his summoner told him not to in that first order, and so he asked me to help figure out who his summoner was."

"You mean that you aren't the summoner?" I asked, just to make sure that I was hearing her correctly.

"Right." She sighed. "There have been a number of mages that have come through here and, each time, I use one of my shades to trick them into thinking that they have taken out the Lich. But, it doesn't fail that more come. That just tells us that his summoner is in the town and is able to send out the requests." She then paused and stared at me. "Do you actually believe me?"

Honestly, I did. Maybe it was too much time with the mutt, or maybe it was being around the other guild members. I wasn't sure. But, she didn't seem like she was lying. "Yeah. I don't think you are lying about your story and this mission has been giving me a bad feeling since the beginning. We can help you find the summoner."

Her eyes were wide when I said that. "Are you serious? You're a part of a light guild. Don't you have to finish your request, no matter what?"

I smirked at her question before shrugging my shoulders. "Jackal Fang isn't your normal guild. We take both unofficial requests and official ones. Our guild master gives us full judgment on our missions and, if we feel like something is hinky about it, like this one, then we can go against it." I then paused and thought about the wording on the request. "Of course, the actual request didn't specify that we had to defeat the Lich or its helpers. It just asked for help because the Lich was gathering forces against the town. From the information I have on Lichs, then they won't last long once the magic its summoner is feeding it is cut off."

She nodded. "Ten minutes tops if they resist the pullback to the dark world. Ix is ready to return though, so he will probably disappear right away." She then studied me. "It looks like I was wrong about light guild mages. You aren't all mindless drones at the command of the council."

I laughed at that, thinking about the mutt and our other members. "Yeah, our guild isn't exactly a normal guild."

In return, she nodded and walked up to me. She stared at me for a moment, seemingly studying me, and I felt nervous. Was trusting her like this a bad idea, or was there something I was forgetting. It really felt, now that I was thinking about this, that I was forgetting something important. But, what could I forget right now that would be nagging me?

The girl's eyes widened for a second and stayed wide. "Where did your guildmate go?"

Oh shit Del! She was fighting the Lich and she didn't know that they were really on our side. "We have to find the Lich. Del went to fight it while I distracted you! This is not good!"

The girl moved in a direction and so, taking down my magic, I followed her. As we ran though, it seemed like I wasn't the only one with questions. "Why are you so worried about your guildmate? You were the one with the power that we detected. Dark mages, even ex-dark mages always put off more power than other mages. You ex-dark mages have more power than regular mages."

I shook my head at that. "Maybe in most guilds, but as I said before, Jackal Fang is a little different than most guilds. And ex-dark guild mages don't even have more power in our guild compared to a number of our mages. Del is one who is more powerful than I am. She's a slayer."

"Dragonslayer?" The girl asked me in shock, though there was a worry in her tone.

Nodding, I continued to follow her. "And not just any dragon slayer. The undead dragon slayer."

That caused a choke to come out of the woman. "Undead!? We need to get to Ix now!"

An explosion shook the ground beneath us and, even though the situation was iffy, I had to smirk. "Just follow the explosions. That'll lead you to Del."

She gave me a strange look at that before she shook her head and we continued moving toward where Del should be. If Del was one thing, it was dependable when trying to find her. That girl did not do anything quietly. As this girl and I arrived at the battle scene, I could see a couple of things. One was that Del was completely focused on her fight, which was good and bad. Good if this was a normal fight, but bad since it was almost impossible to snap her out of it.

A flash of pink in front of me reminded me of that almost part.

"Sawyer, what's going on? Who's that?" Rosebud asked me.

"I'll explain in a bit." I comforted the exceed. "First, I need you to stop Del from attacking the Lich. We didn't have the full story before. Can you snap your dragon out of the battle drive she's in?"

The exceed looked between us and Del before she nodded. "Give me a minute." She then flew down.

While she did, I turned to the girl and realized something. "So, I don't have your name. I'm Sawyer." I then held out my hand to her.

She stared at me before taking my hand. "Hope...Hope Ravensmith." The two of us shook hands as a yelp came down from below.

"Damn it Rosebud what do you want?" Del growled as she paused. In turn, Rosebud pointed toward us and Del looked. "What the hell is going on Sawyer?"

Hope and I moved over to Del, and Ix the Lich hesitantly moved toward Hope and me. Once the four of us were gathered, with Rosebud on Del's shoulder, I spoke. "Hope didn't summon Ix here, and they want to take out his summoner." I then recounted, with Hope and Ix's help, the circumstances that brought us up to her.

A huff came out of Del once we were done before she sat on the ground. "Figures the one legit mission I've taken in months turns out to be a messed up one." She then looked between the three of us. "So who's the summoner?"

Hope and Ix exchanged a glance before Ix spoke. "We have narrowed it down to someone in the mayor's office. But, between the mayor and his assistant...we just don't know."

As I thought about everything we knew, and what happened when we went into the main hall, I realized just who it was. But, I didn't have enough actual proof. I would need the person responsible to slip on their own. "I think I do." The other three looked at me before I continued. "But, I'll need you all to trust me."

Hope's 1st P.O.V.

As I walked into town with Del and Sawyer, I found myself curious. All the other guild mages that I had come across during my life always acted like drones doing whatever missions the Council allows through. But, this Jackal Fang guild seemed to have a different sort of mage, if what Sawyer and Del were showing was any indication. They had been on this mission, fighting us, but Sawyer had allowed me to tell him what was really going on. Then, once that exceed was able to snap Del out of her battle drive, something that was hard to snap slayers out of from what I have heard, then she had listened as well.

Jackal Fang. I hadn't heard about the guild before. Must be a new guild. I knew a lot about guilds that were around. Even some more obscure ones like Jade Shadow, Eaglebow, and Moonfall. But, this Jackal Fang was not on my radar. I think that they deserved a look.

That is especially since, as we moved closer to the mayor's office, I still hadn't figured out which of the two, the mayor or his assistant, was responsible for bringing Ix out of the dark world and who wanted the mayor's sister to get sick. Both had a motive, from the studying that I had done, but that meant nothing if you didn't have proof. Many people had motives to do a lot of things, but it didn't make a difference about motive if they didn't act on it.

But, Sawyer seemed positive that he knew who did it and, that with just me coming into town and meeting up with the mayor and his assistant, that he would have the proof that he would need to say one hundred percent who the guilty party was. Maybe something happened when they first checked in with the mayor that I didn't know about. But, if that was the case, then why did Del look just as confused as I did when Sawyer said that he would know who it is?

That guy, he seemed to be much more open than I would picture for someone who was a past dark guild member. After this was done, I would have to find out where this guild of theirs was. It would probably be a good fit for me. I figured that, since the two mages that I had met so far were good mages, then I would learn to like the other mages as well. Since he was in the guild as well, I also had a feeling that others who had dark guild pasts were in the guild as well. Well, my own past wasn't so pure so I was sure we would all get along eventually.

Glancing at Sawyer, I realized that was a very strong possibility.

We soon made our way inside and, as we walked down the main hall, I saw that the mayor and his assistant had stopped, the assistant with a surprised look on her face. But, the mayor looked like he was running the best poker face that I had ever seen. He had to be responsible. With us returning, even though I had not met either of these two like I told Sawyer on our way here, he seemed to be tense. He must have figured out that we knew about his plot. Both Jacobo and Kitty had motives, Jacobo because he had just been voted out of office and was in a lame-duck period before his sister took over and Kitty because it was no secret to the people in town that she had Jacobo's ear and would use him to get things she wanted to happen in town possible through him. Both had the motive, but by the looks of it, Jacobo was the one who had given in to the temptation that was presented.

"Oh, thank goodness you are all alright!" The assistant greeted us. "And I see you found a friend to help you. That is all very good." She shook each of our hands as she said that before she continued. "Did you take out the summoner? Without them taken out, the Lich is only temporarily gone." She must have done some research with this Lich plaguing the town as it has. Well, once we got the mayor in cuffs, then Ix could return to the dark world.

A smile came on Sawyer's face and I had a feeling that he was just about to announce that Jacobo was the summoner. "I am so glad that you agree with us, Kitty." He then grabbed some magic restraining cuffs from a counter, where I was guessing a guard would normally be stationed before he continued with that same smile. "So, if you would be so kind, please turn around so I can handcuff you and stop your magic...Kitty."

…..Say what!?

"Me?"

"Kitty?"

"The assistant!" I was the last one to speak in shock. I was sure that it was the mayor and, yet, Sawyer seemed confident...and it was his confidence that had him listen to Ix and me about our story, so it was a good thing. But, I didn't see how he knew that it was Kitty and not Jacobo.

But, I noticed that Kitty did flinch slightly when Sawyer pointed her out. Plus, it was weird that the mayor had not said a word about the accusation. What the hell was his deal? For a mayor, he was awfully quiet about his assistant being called out as being the one who was guilty of attacking his sister. But, he just continued to stare ahead. "Where do you get off saying that? I'm the one who hired you all!"

Sawyer, instead of looking worried, just shook his head. "Honestly, it was your own words that gave you up. When Del and I first checked in with you this morning, do you remember what you said? Describing the Lich and his summoner? You said that she was going to be a formidable opponent and that she could summon worse things than a Lich from the dark world. But, how would you know that? The only woman that we saw out there can only summon shades and, no offense to shades, they aren't near the same power level as Lichs. Plus, if you had seen her, then you would have immediately pointed out Hope here as the woman helping the Lich. But, you greeted her just like you greeted us."

Now I understood! This woman had literally given herself up to Sawyer and she hadn't realized it. Sawyer was smart but it took this meeting to give him the evidence he needed to put the final nail in. Clever man. "What, but...that's just…" Kitty must not have been ready for this kind of action against her.

But, suddenly, I noticed that Del had a look of realization spread across her face before she spoke. "And you aren't just a summoning mage, are you?" Now it was Sawyer's turn to look out of the loop. "I have been wondering why the mayor hasn't been reacting to our accusations and that is because you have hypnotism magic...don't you? Your time as the mayor's secretary has given you time to slowly take away his free will and place it under your control. Minimal magic needed even with your lower power levels. Not the worst plan in the world but," Her fist then lit up in a gray cloud. "I think it is time for you to figure out if you want to surrender to Sawyer or...well, we can do this the fun way."

The woman's face dropped into fear at Del's look and she immediately raised her hands in surrender. Well, that was easy enough. Before Sawyer put the cuffs on Kitty, though, I sent a quick prayer of good luck to Ix before he would vanish. As soon as I did, Sawyer put on the magic canceling cuffs and, in an instant, I felt an influence spell drop. That included the dull look in mayor Jacobo's eyes.

I could see the anger in his eyes as he looked at Kitty but, that look was brief before he sighed. "I am glad that is over." As the rune knights, who had come in at the disturbance in magic, came and took Kitty away, the mayor looked to us and I saw gratitude in his eyes. "I would like to thank all three of you for this mission. Even though it was a fake mission, since Kitty gave it to you under the pretense that you were helping her, I would like to pay you the full amount. Which guild should I send the excellence report to?"

With my decision made, I answered him before Sawyer or Del could. "I believe the guild is called Jackal Fang. Send the report there for all three of us, please."

He nodded toward us. "Very well, and I will keep Jackal Fang in mind for problems that come up for us in the future. Again, my deepest thanks to all of you." He then walked away.

Feeling eyes on me, I turned and smiled knowingly when I saw Sawyer and Del staring at me. "All...all three of us?" Del started. "Does that mean what I think it does?"

I nodded at her. "Yes, I believe that it is time for me to join a guild, and Jackal Fang seems like the guild for me. How soon can we get back to the guild?"

Sawyer seemed to be doing some quick calculations. "We can be back by ten tonight if we can catch the flight from Oak Town to Old Fort." Old Fort? So they were in the mountains and not in a town. That was just another positive for this guild in my books.

The three of us then started walking before a thought came to me and I mentally hesitated. "Oh, but there will be just one condition for my joining."

Both looked back to me, though we didn't stop moving. "What's that?" Sawyer asked as we neared the tree line that would eventually lead to Oak Town.

I smirked at that. "Sawyer, I want to be on your team."

He smiled at that and cheered, while I noticed that Del looked downcast. Rosebud, the exceed, seemed to have seen this coming and was just relaxing on Del's shoulder. "Ah, but I wanted you on Team Everfall."

Sawyer gave her a playful shove at that. "You already have four members including you, not to mention both exceeds. I don't have anyone on my team yet...well, except Hope now."

"Team Everfall?" They both turned to me. "What is that about?"

Sawyer, thankfully, answered me. "In Jackal Fang, for now, there are five teams that you can join. Team Dark Angel, Team Everfall, Team Poison Song, Team Heavenly Terra, and my team...which doesn't have a name yet. We have everyone who joins pick a team. That doesn't stop us from going on missions with other teams, obviously, and we can still go on solo missions. But, the team system helps when we do guild training and it gives us all accountability even on solo missions."

"Well, then I guess there is nothing stopping me from joining Team Nightingale," I stated, with a possible name for the team.

And it looked like Sawyer was on the same page as me. "Then Team Nightingale is happy to have you, Hope."

"As is Jackal Fang," Del stated with a grin. "Trust me, the guild is going to get a lot more crazy with you here with us."

I shook my head but a smile stayed on my face. When they first got here, I hadn't even seen myself joining a guild. But, with my interactions with these two, I now found myself excited to meet this guild that wasn't made of mindless drones. Perfect for me. I wasn't a fan of being led around on a chain. I was as free as the shadows that clung to my own...and that included the shadows of Jackal Fang now.

Hope: So, there is something I have been meaning to ask.

Tolax: What?

Hope: Just where does everyone fit in this space?

Tolax: *pauses* It is probably best not to question things that are outside of our control.

AN: And that is the next chapter! I hope you all enjoyed...well, meeting Hope. Her chapter was a lot of fun to type and I hope that you all had just as much of a good time reading about this adventure of the Jackal Fang guild. I actually don't have a lot to talk about here, though, so I guess it is time to announce the names of the next chapters.

Chapter 10: Honor

Chapter 11: Shifting Sands

Chapter 12:... (find out next time!)

And that is all for now. Don't forget to leave a review, either to review or to say hello. Until next time, TTYL! *wonders why she hasn't started putting sunscreen on for long drives*