The War Chronicles of a Little Demon
Set in the Diyu Demons verse
A Saga of Tanya the Evil fic.
By Sunshine Temple
Naturally, I do not own Youjo Senki. So here's the disclaimer:
Saga of Tanya the Evil its characters and settings belong Carlo Zen, Shinobu Shinotsuki, and NUT Co., Ltd.
Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.
fic/
C&C as always is wanted.
Chapter 31: REDACTED
The Spatha shook with the gusting winds as we shot down to the surface of Forlorn Prospect. To our west, the horizon lit up with sunset as the world's misleadingly too-bright star slipped out of view. The Ventus Pilot at the stick must have been ordered to treat this as a combat drop given the aplomb and alacrity the little VTOL was being maneuvered with.
"Well, this is a new experience," Fabia dryly noted as she looked past Invidia's shoulder to a small window mounted in one of the side doors. We were sitting across from Invidia and the Lady Legate on the Spatha's small jump seats.
"I suppose this type of deployment is a novelty for a RP Pilot," Invidia remarked, the frostiness in her tone clearly coming over our headsets.
"That and that we're doing it in full mess-dress," Fabia said with slight exaggeration while adjusting the restraints over her Legion Blacks. The white leather holster to her loaned sidearm did match her belt, but to anyone familiar with Legion sartorial themes, the clear bit of Fleet kit would stand out.
"Ah, I suppose that is a novelty," Invidia allowed. Her gaze drifted to the dark green crate that had been secured to a low-slung cart chained to the deck in the aft of the Spatha's main compartment. A fair bit wider than a Ritual Plate casket, the crate none-the-less had a coffin-like aspect.
My attention went from the ominous container with its securing bands and bindings to my... companions. Invidia was similarly dressed to myself and Fabia. With her sharp features, ebony feathers, and black uniform devoid of any specialization or rank beyond that of a centurion, Invidia Fidelis Nihilus was less than reassuring. However, she was not lacking in honors. She bore a small number of highly select Phalera in polished gold and silver.
Phalera, little sculpted disks with intricate devices, usually served as an officer's Curriculum Vitae; for those fluent in their sigils, a line of Phalera revealed the lines of an officer's entire career, indicating the theaters and campaigns they had served in. My own abbreviated line indicated my brief time in House Vualia and my extended tour in the Crocelli jungles, though the less said about my Preserver Award, the better. Fabia's own rack, which was just as lengthy as Invidia's, displayed her own status as an Imperial Heroine and noted a rich history serving in myriad colonial brush wars, including the Laotia Crisis, the Storming of Sevillia, and the Siege of Bononia, not to mention a tour supporting the Empty Quarter Patrol.
Meanwhile, despite bearing commendations and medals, none of Invidia's commemorated any particular campaign, battle, or even theater. Instead, all her honors were for the quality of her service without going into any specifics. Noticing my interest, Invidia gave me that chill smile as if to ask, what I had expected from the CSR?
I simply shrugged my mute reply. At least she was wearing a uniform instead of aping a civilian this time.
She had clearly left such pretensions to our Lady Legate. Dressed in an ash-grey suit and matching bodice with a dark tan overcoat, the only symbol of military authority Lady JadeJavelin bore was the polished brass and jade Legate's scepter. Which, I had to admit, more than sufficed.
"We'll be down soon enough," the Lady Legate stated. "See, we're over the settlement now."
The "settlement" was more of a company mining town, and looked thoroughly dead. Gazing out the window as the little VTOL banked about, I could see a group of buildings at the head of a valley. No lights were on, and nothing moved below us. It was unnatural, especially considering all the industrial infrastructure. The abandoned town sat in the shadows of a silent refinery from which spread rails to sealed mineheads. We flew over lines of snow-covered hills, showing the vast number of tailings from the closed mines.
For it all to be quiet and still seemed… ominous.
"Alecton Duraluminum really had an amber mine here?" Fabia asked. She tried to sound respectful, but the skepticism was still there. Aether Amber was a major energetic component in ship power systems and was thus critical for any Great House's war and merchant fleets.
"They have several on Forlorn Prospect, but with rich veins being discovered on Oncaster the lower performing hardship posts here on Forlorn Prospect were mothballed like Byrnsville down there," JadeJavelin explained.
I nodded along. Oncaster was a far more pleasant world. It was also, like Forlorn Prospect, one jump from the Alecton hub world of New Batavaia, but unlike the frosty mostly-wasteland we were on right now, Oncaster was also far closer to Diyu.
"Really?" Fabia shook her head. "And here I thought Oncaster was just a stopover world in part of the chain linking New Batavia to Diyu."
JadeJavelin gave her a dry smile. "Oh, it was. Initial surveys found a pleasant enough world, but one with few connections and fewer still obvious resources, so it was passed over for development." She shrugged. "Just another minor piece in the Great Game of carving up the Dimensional Spine."
Invidia gave an equally cold grin. "At least until later on, prospectors got curious. Thankfully, this time the arcana they found buried and forgotten was a benefit to their House."
I gave a noncommittal shrug. Despite discovering over a hundred worlds, our kind tended to fight over the handful that were strategically vital by the resources they bore, the infrastructure upon them, the travel options they facilitated, or, in the case of Diyu, all three. There were dozens and dozens of worlds that had minimal settlement: nothing more than a few counties and maybe a city or two of note.
"Eyes to the horizon, we risk missing the adder at our feet," JadeJavelin chuckled
The Satha's propulsion pods raised in pitch as they rotated as we came in for a final descent. Landing gears came down with a thunk. The short buildings of the abandoned town rose up to meet us as the flaps and engines flared, and we landed in an empty square. Snow blew up around us, and, for a moment, the windows went into whiteout.
The Lady Legate stood up, and with her eyes softly glowing, hit the button to lower the aft ramp. It took me a moment to realize that the VTOL had not landed and instead was hovering just off the ground. As the Legate talked with the Spatha's pilot, Invidia and Fabia started removing the chains that had secured the SilverHold to the deck.
By the time I got my sword adjusted and the side door open, the thin snow cover had all been blown away and I was able to make the modest jump onto the cracked paved street.
I had a brief moment of wonder at their paranoia before the sound of Fabia exiting the other side door grabbed my attention. Without any need for words, Fabia and I took up positions bracketing the open ramp, backs towards the VTOL and facing out towards the empty street. While the likelihood of a sudden assault, much less a sudden assault that we could do anything about without our Ritual Plates, was minimal, there were appearances to keep. While we kept our self-appointed and mostly honorary vigil, the two CSR officers carefully rolled their precious cargo off the ramp onto the ground.
Invidia followed the crate down and kept watch while JadeJavelin secured the side doors. For a moment, a trio of feathered women stood a mute watch on Forlorn Prospect. The wind blew up, as my wings fluttered and a chill bit into my limbs.
Then, with the measured stride of a conquering general, Lady Legate JadeJavelin stepped down the ramp and set foot on the surface. The ramp closed behind her, and without so much as a by-your-leave, the Spatha shot back up into the air, almost as if fleeing the empty husk that was Byrnsville.
I had a moment to reflect on my spike of anxiety. Once again, I was stranded sans RP on the surface of a strange world. Unlike Harp's World, however, I was not alone. Fabia was by my side, with JadeJavelin and Invidia by the cart holding the SilverHold.
JadeJavelin gave a toothy smile as she waved a set of carefully crooked fingers with her free hand, and all the dark lamps in the plaza flicked into life with cold, antiseptic light. The Lady Legate had not used kinetomancy to turn on the valves or pyromancy to ignite the burners; I doubted there was any gas in the lines.
No, this was an illusion, a comprehensive and far-ranging one. And she was using it to light our way. The casual display of power was as overdramatic as it was pointed with intent.
"Come, ladies, we have an appointment to keep," the Lady Legate encouraged as Invidia took the handle to the crate and pulled it along. "Our guests are not the type to graciously welcome the fashionably late."
Exhaling, Fabia and I followed. Despite the way my breath steamed in clouds behind me, the sudden, almost stifling warmth that had wrapped itself over my shoulders since my heels touched the planet's surface clung to me, resolute despite the cold.
I resolved to do my best to ignore it.
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The Lady Legate halted our little procession in what had been the town's market square. With a bit of denial and imagination, I could pretend that the merchants had shut down for the night, had gone home, and were ready to open their stalls and hawk their wares again come morning.
A comforting delusion, but a delusion nonetheless. While there were the remains of a few folded-up stalls and booths, most everything else had been cleared out. Besides, this was a mining town, shifts at all hours of the day would not be uncommon, and even if not, our species was quite comfortable in darkness. More than a few of us lived functionally nocturnal lives.
A bit of melancholy swept through me as I scanned our surroundings. The Lady Legate's illuminating magic could only do so much to thaw my melancholy. I could see a deconsecrated church of DarkStar standing next to a synagogue. That was interesting in and of itself, as neither religion was particularly common in House Alecto. But what struck me more was the idea of the last service each place offered and what had happened to their congregations.
My eyes went to the schoolhouse with its carefully installed storm-shutters. Whole families had been pulled out when the shifting politics of the Great Game suddenly left these mines redundant to Alecto's interest. That so much care had been taken in protecting the windows of the now-vacated buildings indicated that the residents of Byrnsville had hoped they might one day return.
The optimist in me, such as it was, theorized the residents had moved to one of the mines closer to the equator and would likely have been happy enough to find new homes in a more temperate, almost livable clime. Perhaps they had moved to Oncaseter.
The cynic in me pointed out that those places already had plenty of miners.
"There's always New Van Zandt," Fabia suddenly murmured next to me.
"What?" I asked, my tail stiffening at the abrupt comment that drew me out of musing about the town and the Legate's magic. Despite the frosty weather there was no chill in the air, just an… absence of temperature. I had growing concerns that the Lady Legate's magic was far more than it seemed.
"It's only one jump from here," Fabia continued in a soft and casual tone. "They have their own mines, nothing as glamorous as Amber, but they've got coal, useful metals, and even a Black Salt supply. There are worse independent colonies out here."
I frowned at her, suspicion raised. "Where are you going with this?"
"Oh don't worry, your empathy for the miners was obvious. You really can be a merciful little thing." Fabia's mirth waned. "Though you might want to get your game face on."
My heart faded back into a steady rhythm at her words of reason. Nodding, I put all my senses on high alert. Keen eyes probing the dark shadows, sharp ears picked to catch what they couldn't; I even sniffed the air searching for a whiff of something out of place. The Lady Legate was doing a masterful job of concealing what had to be impatience, even her tail swished to and fro with casual ease. For her part, Invidia was almost as good, but her tail flicked pensively as her stern expression became more focused.
The elder demon gave her aide a minute nod. Invidia tapped her headset. "Flight Ops, this is Ground Team."
"Flight Ops to Ground Team. Flight Ops to Ground Team," a voice rang in my ear. "We have you on telemetry. What's the situation?" asked a far more mature and... cynical voice than the typical chipper but professional Fleet dispatcher.
That one of JadeJavelin's associates had taken over our comms was disquieting, but at least we still had comms. Given all the heavy restrictions the Lady Legate had put on this mission, I had been concerned we would be under a total blackout as well. Our air cover held back to keep some pilot from seeing something they shouldn't. Thankfully, there seemed to be limits to CSR's paranoia. Or maybe their worries of an eleventh-hour betrayal had at least outweighed their fetish for compartmentalization.
"Flight Ops, we are in position. Waiting for pickup of the package. The guests are running a bit late," Invidia stated. Her voice was calm, and she had not used any of the duress codes I had been briefed on. However, for a mission like this, I was sure Fabia and I had not been given the whole story.
Tilting her head, JadeJavelin gave a not-to-ladylike snort.
"Understood Ground Team. DarkStar be with you," the comm spook said before the channel closed.
Then the near-oppressive silence returned. This time, however, we thankfully weren't left long to stew in the ominous quiet. Soon, Fabia's nostrils flared and she gave a slight frown, alerting me that her sensitive nose had noticed something at last.
Almost at the same time as I saw that frown, a sickly sweet scent, reminiscent of cranberries, drifted across my nose. It was faint, but quickly intensifying. I felt the weight of the sword of the HFV DarkStar pulling on my hip. The illusionary lights grew brighter as the Lady Legate stepped around the cart with its tied-down crate.
Then, from the old guildhall for the Sisterhood of Miners, Steamfitters, Refinery Artificers, and Alchemists, the sound of footsteps echoed, strange in the starry cold that should have flooded the square.
The sweet smell grew more intense as a tall figure bled into existence and sauntered towards us. I blinked. The person looked like a male human, albeit one that moved with the grace of a dancer. A long leather coat swayed at his thighs, and a bright red knit woolen cap crowned fine black hair.
The sickly smell, a scent that I at last placed as lingonberry, came from the iced treat he carried, deep red syrup poured over shaved ice in a paper cone whose sheer bland mundanity became a punchline by dint of its holder. The man's vaguely vulpine face gave us a hungry smile as he took a toothy bite out of the sweet confection.
"Ah, returning the queen's stolen property are we?" he asked in arrogant lilted Silvan Latin. But for his slight, lilting Atalian accent, his voice could have passed for a native's. His stride shifted to a predatory prowl as he smiled teeth too sharp for a mere human. The artificial lights cut harsh, jagged shadows in his wake.
"One might suppose that would be the minimum of grace that can be expected from parties who had wronged us and come prostrate begging for succor and forgiveness," the man continued.
Blinking, Fabia managed to keep her composure while Invidia's tail flicked with a weary exhaustion. The Lady Legate squared her shoulders and managed to look down her nose at the Sidhe man. For my part, I was reminded of the petty squabbles of the spoiled noble cadets in the capital who thought that surviving a few duels to first blood made them Mistresses of War.
I cut that line of thinking off with a sharp breath. Right. Playing the aggressive foppish dandy is an excellent way to convince someone to underestimate you, or to provoke foolish or aggressive behavior.
With a slow deliberate motion, Lady Legate JadeJavelin took her ornate scepter, the symbol of her office, and slipped it into a jacket pocket. She sent us the briefest flickers of approval at our composure. "Your suppositions, veiled-threats, and postures are not relevant to tonight's business, Gentle Lord of the Winter Court."
The sweet dessert was tossed to the ground. The casual littering offended me more than the blatant symbolism of the red fluid spreading out onto the cobbles. "You would spoil my fun, Angela? Bring a motley flock like this to honor my Queen? Is that the has-been I see?" He gave a smirking bow laden with mockery to Invidia. His shadow mirrored the gesture a beat later.
"And the..." his words trailed off as he met Fabia's gaze. The wind rose as a gust came down the hill bringing with it creaks from the refinery's pipes and conduits. Deftly stepping away from the mess he made, the fae's gaze went to me. "Ah... the Legion's finest. Heroines, rising stars... darkly but still rising."
Was that a hitch in his voice I detected? Was that a ploy on his part? There were too many unknowns. What I did know was that the man was deliberately avoiding even looking in the direction of the crate.
"Mayhap, I've been a poor host; I should apologize," he smiled winningly, and however much it may have been filled with bright teeth and honeyed words, it remained empty of any true apology. I wasn't entirely sure how much I could trust the CSR's word that the fae couldn't lie, but my instincts screamed that his every action dripped with deception.
The Lady Legate held out a hand as if to capture a falling snowflake. Her illusionary gas lamps turned a shade brighter making the shadows starker and giving an artificial, almost harsh contrast. "We are in Alecton territory. My command has host-right."
The man's smile flickered. It was a tiny thing, a ghost of a moment. If I had not been looking, I would have missed it; clearly, the Lady Legate had not. Her usage of the declarative could be nothing but deliberate.
"Challenges are to be relished, and where are my manners? We haven't done introductions. How rude," this time, his smile seemed genuine and lovely. But I had spent this life around pretty, alluring predators. "Would it be too much trouble to have your names?" the man in the red cap crooned.
The Lady Legate laughed. It was not a bell-like pearl of mirth, or even a throaty purring chuckle. She cackled derisively and motioned to Invidia. The back-winged woman stepped to the crate and drew a gold-etched dagger that shone in the harsh lights.
Now the fae's attention was to the crate that contained the SilverHold.
An ugly expression flicked over him as his body tensed; I suspected a lupine lunge, but he regained his composure when Invidia merely sliced through one of the bands securing the crate to its low-slung cart.
"Posturing and veiled-threats have no place here, Redcap," the Lady Legate stated, her tone iron. "We shall not question your Queen's word. Perhaps you should not question our Imperatrix's resolve."
The fae, the Redcap's, hard eyes went to me. Now those cold blue eyes gave more than a cursory glance and his head rapidly went up to the sky, as if he could see the waiting flotilla. "If one comes bearing the sigils, ships, and saints of the DarkStar-"
The Lady Legate cut him off. "Yes, then the story of BlackSky's wroth is not far behind. Do we have an understanding?"
I swallowed at the escalation. I knew that the HFV DarkStar had a considerable religious complement, but I should have expected that Praefectus Commodore Countess SunsetFrost had brought a living saint with her. The Order of Our Hallowed Lady only had a handful of non-posthumous saints, but if anyone could get their attention, it would be the captain of the DarkStar.
"I suppose that is the question," a silken voice said as a woman appeared on the steps of the abandoned church. She was tall, with luminous gold-green eyes and tumbling crimson tresses. Her pale skin aside, she reminded me of an older, more human-looking VioletBlood. Though her haughty expression was a bit more crazed than my Baroness's. Her tall shadow stretched behind her, moving just out of beat with her steps.
The Lady Legate did not seem surprised at her appearance, and the elder demoness even bowed her horns to the approaching Sidhe Lady.
The lamps closest to the redhead shifted from harsh antiseptic light to a cold blue as she approached, her long emerald green dress swishing on the sparsely snow-covered street. Her gaze set upon the other fae. And then she looked down to the spilled crimson iced confection. "Rude."
Her single word cracked across the plaza. Her hand snaked out, and, like a conjuror, a whip appeared between her fingers. The air sang with thunder, and the Redcap fell to his knees, a thin blue cord taunt around his neck.
Instinct took over. I took a step forward to adjust my stance. My hand darted to the hilt of my loaned sword. Wings fluffed with the roiling currents of my Zephyr, eager to play. My heart pounded with adrenaline at the sudden turn.
The Lady of Winter languidly rotated her wrist, forcing the man to gasp as he was pulled down to his hands and knees, practically baring the back of his neck. "La, good help is hard to find, is it not Lady Legate?" the woman studied the nearly prostrate man with a hungry gleam. I could smell the tall woman's blood-madness.
"I can't say I've had that complaint," JadeJavelin noted with the barest echo of dry wit.
"Ah, they do seem so very eager," the woman's feline-slitted eyes set upon me with naked interest. "My, she already has a sword ready. Would the Redcap's head make a proper gift? An... Apology, as you call it?"
The faerie rolled the word around on her tongue, sampling it as if it were some new and unfamiliar flavor, a concept intriguingly foreign to her sensibilities. But, given the vast bloody potential inherent to such a gesture, not one she found entirely distasteful.
I tried to control my heart. This woman was not something new. I had spent this whole life around violence-crazed women. I had worked under elder demonesses and dealt with their casually oppressive power. DarkStar's blood, I was engaged to Baroness VioletBlood, a woman for whom violence was only ever an errant twitch away!
But then I noticed I had started to draw, and several inches of engraved silvery blade had been exposed.
The Lady Legate stepped closer. "Peace, Leanansidhe; no offense was given. Countess, you may be at ease."
I snapped the sword back into its scabbard and shifted to standing with legs separated and arms clasped behind my back. This Leanansidhe may couch her offer in the Diyu Convention of Apology, but it was still a gift. And a gift from a Fae was a dangerous obligation.
"A shame," the Leanansidhe rotated her wrist the other way, and the whip slackened. "Get up," she ordered the Redcap.
Gasping, he rose in a single sinuous motion and immediately put on a composed, arrogant bearing. He gave Fabia a sarcastically gallant bow that did little to conceal the murderous look in his eyes.
"Do not fret, poppet," the Leanansidhe smiled almost maternally at me, showing her own set of delicate fangs. "Patience, patience, you shall have plenty of opportunities to wet your claws."
Fabia gave Invidia a questioning look, and the dark-winged spy passed that expression to the Lady Legate.
JadeJavelin simply shrugged.
"Come, crimson highwayman," the fae woman ordered her subordinate, who, with some reluctance, fell at her heel. "We are guests, are we not?"
This inquiry was pointedly at the Lady Legate. The duties of guest and host were important on much of Diyu, but apparently, they were unto a law of nature among the Lords and Ladies. Extending guest-right to these two fae would mean they would have an obligation to comport themselves as guests, but also that we would have an obligation to act as proper hosts. Extending that courtesy would be an obligation, but not extending it would be seen as rude.
"You are welcome in Byrnsville as our guests, but alas House Alecto has only delegated such authority to me for a brief window," the Lady Legate smoothly said. "As such I must apologize for the lack of amenities at such a venue."
Leanansidhe gave a small smirk at that.
"One of your ships would be more comfortable," the Redcap sneered.
"Ah, but good Sir, I am afraid those are not my ships. They are the Imperatrix's and through her the Household Fleet, where I am merely a Legate of the Imperial Legions," JadeJavelin shrugged and hung her head, as if this was some grand tragedy out of her hands. Yes, she was not in command of any of the vessels in our flotilla, but said captains would take her suggestions with all due consideration. It was a bare technicality, but among the fae that was what counted more than any practical truth.
Redcap scowled while the Leanansidhe laughed; it was lyrical and discordant. Unlike him, she seemed to have no concern about the spy mistress and her associates. I could imagine several reasons for that. Perhaps it was merely her madness that lurked just below the surface, like a reef for an unwary ship. Maybe she was confident that this deal would go her way in the end or was dedicated towards bluffing that scenario into reality. It could also be as simple as she was fully aware of the power arrayed against her and, in an utterly rational evaluation of her own abilities, saw us as no great threat.
The fact that the last possibility doesn't seem so slim… I thought, resisting the urge to grasp the hilt of my loaned sword once more. I don't like it. Not one bit.
JadeJavelin nodded to Invidia. The dagger came out, and the other bands securing the crate were cut away. The Leanansidhe rubbed her hands, and even the Redcap dripped with anticipation. Thunder rolled in, and the flurries above us started to fall with greater regularity.
Fabia shared a tiny frown with me. Apparently, she too hoped that we could simply hand the crate over without seeing what the SilverHold actually was. We had bled and suffered and lost good people to get to this moment. I would be lying if I denied having any curiosity, but that was tempered by knowing every bit of knowledge I gained drew me deeper and deeper into this world of shadows and lies.
By the time Invidia had her hands on the sides of the lid, the sky had grown overcast.
"Members of the Winter Court of the Fae. Emissaries from the Queen of Air and Darkness. House BlackSky returns the queen's property," Lady Legate JadeJavelin stated as Invidia lifted and slid out the wooden lid. It fell to the cobbles with a whirlwind of new snow. Brown corrugated paper packing material billowed up.
For a moment it looked like the box was full of frozen water. A level surface reflected the dark clouds and blue lights like an icy pond. As more of the packing material was cleared out, the object looked more like a puddle of quicksilver set in an ebony tray.
Gazing down into the crate, the Leanansidhe gave a contented sigh. "It is unspoiled?" she asked with a languid dreaminess. In the soft azure-tinged illusionary lamp-light, her shadow seemed far less threatening.
The Lady Legate nodded. "We have reconstructed much of Elena's research and testing data. Their focus was on meteorological manipulation."
In the end, I could not resist the siren's call. I looked into the crate. Inside, among the silver, was a pale demoness with white feathers and blond hair. It was my reflection. The SilverHold was a mirror. In an ebony frame, the oval mirror was a wide full-length cheval style piece supported by a frame of the same dark wood intricately carved and polished to shine like the night sky.
The Leanansidhe laughed. It was a musical noise that excited my Zephyr and made me want to take to the air and fire my Lances on an enemy armored column. "The weather? Your Imperatrix's sister beheld the Mirror of Reason and she used it to play with the weather?" she shook her head in disbelief. "Will the wonders of your little games never cease…"
JadeJavelin kept in her slight irritation at that name being spoken. I could understand why she would have preferred to use codenames.
"Perhaps Elena used all their cleverness in purloining the mirror," the Redcap stated.
"That they managed it at all speaks of their will, if not their judgment, and that it took... effort to get it back." The Leanansidhe directed her manic joy to Fabia and myself. "Oh, yes."
JadeJavelin gave us an overtly bland look.
"Such heroics should be rewarded, no?" the Leanansidhe purred.
"I was merely doing my duty to the Imperatrix and the Legions," Fabia stated.
"All honors and rewards would be bestowed at her behest," I added.
The redhead frowned. "La, so formal, poppet. Perhaps it would not kill you to loosen up? To enjoy your duties and indulge in your artistic side?" She then directed her attention to Fabia. "And you radiate stiffness. I suppose you more than earned the name Firmitas."
Fabia stiffly nodded.
The redhead gave her a vicious smile before nodding to JadeJavelin. "At least this time, you brought pretty little killers."
"We are Legion," the Lady Legate said.
The Leanansidhe ran a finger down the mirror's frame. Sparkling blue tracery lit up on the ebony wood as she watched the fluffy flakes fall onto the mirror's silvery surface and melt into glistening beads. "You can make that claim. Indeed, most of Diyu's claims seem founded."
Redcap scoffed, but it was held back by Invidia's level, flat glare.
"The Silverhold is in your custody, Lady Leanansidhe," the Lady Legate reminded.
Leanansidhe removed her hand from the mirror. "Ah, I suppose I must deal with business. Highwayman, you may call upon the porters."
I frowned at the Sihde woman's almost... dismissive attitude towards the Mirror of Reason. Did she even care about the mirror for what it did? Or just that it was her Queen's, and having it stolen was an affront. Was this even really about mirrors?
She seemed more interested in... us. The little anxiety within me worried that this was some sort of... trial. No, was it more of an evaluation by the Fae? Could Elena steal such an artifact? Could we recover and return it? Desolate Stars, Alecto could have been measured. They quietly, deniably, assisted us every step of the way.
If true, that meant we had been played. My tail stilled, and I exhaled. Invidia was giving me a gimlet stare as her angular features seemed to will me into quiet compliance. She knew; of course the spy knew. I just gave her a stiff nod.
No wonder CSR was keeping the fae's role in this locked down. The Lords and Ladies were eager. If they had their way, they would have many such little tasks for us. As Uriel seemed to have let me alone, I had thought I was free of other such puppetmasters.
Before this meeting, I had allowed myself the luxury of hope. I deluded myself with the ephemeral dream that the SilverHold, that this DarkStar-cursed mirror was worth the deaths, was worth the trauma, was worth risking a new war. I had told my pilots, I had told my Vs. I gave them hope and told them their pain had meaning.
That hope died.
I stared into the mirror and saw my reflection pale and angry. Hundreds had died on Harp's World. And all for a test, a game. Because we feared a threat that even CSR dared not openly name. My hand clenched on the hilt of the sword of the HFV DarkStar. Cold wind and snow started to rise up around me as my Zephyr thought it might be time to play.
"Oh, such righteous, bloody fury, poppet," the Leanansidhe purred with obvious pleasure as she faced me. "I haven't felt that since my godson-", the wind drowned the rest out.
"Centurion DiamondDust!" The Lady Legate shouted, but it was too late.
I saw myself.
I saw my sword, firm and perfectly weighted and pressing against the palm of my left hand. Silver light flared along the intricately engraved blade as I spread my wings, blowing the snow and wind around in a great crescendo.
I saw that Invidia had her dagger out. Fabia's own borrowed gun was out of her holster like a magic trick. Pain and indecision crossed her face. My spirits raised, and I knew. I knew that despite the elder demon's power, despite the skills of the fae, I would strike.
I saw the blade sweep out. The Leanansidhe was an ancient being of power and skill in her own right. A lean predator of madness and inspiration. She stood across me, eyes glittering in anticipation. Redcap moved up by his liege lady, shining teeth and suddenly misshapen hands ready to rend alongside her.
But I was not alone. And the Hallowed Lady would guide my hand. It would not be the first time I had sacrificed everything to slay a monster. My luminescent blade would quickly cleave through the Redcap before striking true through the heart of one who would play games with me and mine.
I saw.
I saw all this in the quicksilver stilled surface of the Mirror of Reason. My hand let go of the hilt, and the sword seated back into its scabbard with a click. The cascade of snow and winds around us died with it, and my Zephyr floated languidly back to me. It was not worth it.
I turned from the mirror to face the Leanansidhe. Invidia's dagger was sheathed. Fabia's holster was still secured. Neither seemed to have seen the mirror's vision. The Lady Legate, however, gave me a tiny nod.
Redcap had taken a step back and was rubbing his neck anew. I was sure he was still hurting from the whip attack earlier in the night.
The Leanansidhe was watching me with even more intense interest. "Ah, the Watchman always picks such interesting strays."
I looked away. That sounded too much like a title for a certain archangel. Without staring into that cursed reflection, I instead watched the growing gentle rain of snowflakes pattering onto the mirror's surface. Contrary to the fae's assertions, I suspected it was not a lack of creativity that held Elena's hand. I suspected that the Onyx Institute had focused on weather manipulation out of caution, out of wisdom. Given the guests the Lady Legate had on the Tarantula Hawk, I was sure that question would be answered in due time.
"Wary of what you'll see next, poppet?" the Leanansidhe asked.
"Maybe, she saw enough," Redcap sneered, voice full of bravado.
"Lady, Sir, my curiosity is not germane to this conclave," I stated.
"La, such self-denial." The redhead's mad gleam grew as her smile grew. "Still, you have all brought the Mirror and you have been polite hosts."
"We only performed our duty," the Lady Legate stated.
"How can a species of temptresses be so dry?" the Leanansidhe shook her head, and, with a wave of her, hand a snow-squall fell around us. The whiteout was brief and centered around the fae woman.
A motion from the Lady Legate had us stand down, but in a moment, the precipitation cleared to the steady flurries. And now instead of a whip, the Leanansidhe held a quaint woven basket and a bottle of wine. Handing the basket over to Redcap, she pulled out a pair of glasses and opened the bottle.
In the newly harsh lamp-light, the crimson wine in the thin-stemmed glasses was put in stark relief. "As a guest, refreshments would only be polite."
I stilled at that, and even the Lady Legate's wariness was palatable. We had been cautioned. Beyond the risk of incurring debt to the Lords and Ladies was the concern that their foodstuff was biologically incompatible to most other forms of life.
"Your offer is gracious and generous. However, and with no implication on your intentions, our biological differences may be a point of concern," the Lady Legate said with deliberate smoothness.
"The mighty Elder Demoness, the Imperatrix's Hatchetwoman, is afraid of mere wine?" Redcap opened the basket and rummaged around. "Or is it the charcuterie that threatens you so?"
JadeJavelin raised an eyebrow as if the younger-looking UnSeelie Lord's goading was not worthy of a response.
"Oh peace, Highwayman," the Leanansidhe chided. "What if I assured that these libations originated from the human world?"
"If you said such a thing that would ameliorate some of the risks," the Lady Legate pulled out a slim copper flask and seemed to study it. "Come now Lea, how would you react if we insisted you have Diyu foods without any assurances as to the quality of the meats?"
"Oh? Did your Countess save any of the vittles she acquired on Harp's World?" the Leanansidhe eagerly asked and then gave a wistful pout as her green-gold eyes gleamed feverously. "It has been too long since I sampled the sweet pleasures of Diyu."
The Lady Legate glanced at me.
No wonder CSR was so paranoid. The fae knew much about our raid. I wondered if they were covertly observing or if they had... interviewed some of the Elenese survivors. "I must admit with regret to have already shared such... bounty with my betrothed and mistress."
"Ah young love." The redhead smiled. "There is much to commend about your people's culture."
I kept in a sigh. Of the most positive aspects of my latest life, that there were socially acceptable forms of cannibalism was not something I was terribly enamored with. By the frown and related emotions Fabia sent to me, I could tell she shared my mild disquiet.
Redcap snorted. "It was with great patience that the paltry conditions of this venue have been overlooked. With what one could say is due to no fault of the hostess."
Smirking, JadeJavelin handed the flask to Invidia. "The first duty of a host is to ensure the safety of her guests. Are you really challenging that my, good sir?" she asked Redcap with a flash of fang.
He glowered.
The Lady Legate raised a hand. "If you insist, a demonstration would be trivial. Bringing in an abundance of servers, cooks, and guards would hardly be provocation on our part if the Good Gentlemen requested their presence. If you insist on the full hospitality of House BlackSky with the... vittles desired, who am I to deny such a request?"
Lea sipped her wine. "A threat to overwhelm us with catering and exotic foodstuffs is quite the novelty."
Invidia undid the cap to the flask and gave the contents a thoughtful sniff. A slight anise smell drifted out that seemed to shift to a sweeter scent as it dispersed into the snow-filled air. The sharp-faced spy took a dainty sip.
"Was not your godson presented with a virgin sacrifice as a ploy?" Redcap countered.
"La, the poor dear was less than willing to make a show of that particular offering, but he more than made up for it," Lea sighed.
"I suppose it would be proper to celebrate the successful transfer of the mirror with mutual refreshments to symbolize the balance between our peoples," JadeJavelin allowed.
"But Ma'am, that would require concluding our business here," Invidia said, returning the flask to the Lady Legate.
For the third time, Lea laughed; it was a beautiful and terrible thing. "So, you can bargain, Angela." She clapped her hands.
"It is a matter of finding the correct levers." The Lady Legate bowed her horns and gestured towards the mirror. "What levers does this have?"
Something like confused anger flittered across Redcap's face. "You possessed an artifact of great interest to our queen and you deny the power it brings you?"
JadeJavelin shrugged. "I am merely a courier. Lady Leanansidhe has possession now."
"And the terms for this transfer? One could count this as a gift to our Court and thus worthy of a considerable boon," Redcap proposed.
Invidia tilted her head. "Or it could be taken as us rectifying a past offense on the part of Elena."
"Is such humility common among your organization?" Lea inquired.
The Lady Legate held a hand. "It is academic, for any boons or deals regarding this specific transfer shall be decided by authorities higher than us."
The fae woman inclined her head slightly. While I doubted BlackSky herself would take the Vault of the Heavens to Winter for a summit with the Unseelie Queen, knowing that the negotiations were taking place far, far above my pay-grade was both a relief and a new burden.
On one wing, I would not be present, and thus not at risk, during such negotiations. On the other Wing, knowing that our mission had a direct role for the Imperatrix, or perhaps one of her Daughters, was a fair amount of pressure after-the-fact. And what did it say about a spy mistress to pointedly decline a boon from the fae? Possibly that the Lady Legate was far more wise about the cost of favors and cautious about accumulating power, especially power that came with strings attached. Which made her more dangerous in my book.
Lea gave a small sigh. "Shame, but I can not deny my queen and you cannot deny your liege either, Angela."
"Hence, why perhaps a celebration after the conclusion of our market-place business would sooth such feelings," the spy-chief assured.
Both Fae's hungry attention fell upon Fabia, myself, and even Invidia. This time, I managed to keep my hand off the sword, if barely. The snake had stated that as Imperial Heroines, we were beings wreathed in story, beings that the Lords and Ladies would find tantalizing. The old monster was using us as a lure to distract them!
"Oh poppet, please be at peace. Such stress does little for one's health and happiness," Lea assured with a purr. "especially, for one so little as yourself."
"I am not stressed," I said, effortlessly maintaining my professional and mature demeanor.
"Mayhap it's the venue?" Lea offered.
"She's kind of like this all the time," Fabia admitted.
I glared at her. Betrayal from every angle!
"You're not wrong but... that is a bit personal," Invidia admitted.
I sighed. At least I expected the spy to stab me in the back.
"Poppet, do you want worry wrinkles?" the fae teased. "I would say you should live a bit more, like your fellow Imperial Heroine."
Redcap snorted. "The other Heroine seems just as stiff."
"Oh hush." Lea waved him off. "Perhaps it is that our Countess and the Unbending merely have old souls: both so mature, so sober. Ah, but on Harp's World, neither seemed satisfied merely killing in flight."
I managed to keep my tail from stilling. For a moment, despite the Lady Legate's magic, the winter chill went through me. Were the fae reading me? Mentally? Emotionally? Even if Lea were merely very observant that was concerning enough.
"I suppose we will not lack for dinner conversation then," the Lady Legate offered, completing the use of myself as a lure.
"So be it," Lea drained her wineglass and handed it to Redcap. She put one hand on the frame of the Mirror of Rationality and extended her arm down the length of the abandoned marketplace.
The snowfall increased. It was densest in the area where Lea pointed, but a veritable white-out had formed all around us. Large figures started to loom out of the snow and march towards us in two lines.
"DarkStar's Blood," Fabia swore as a quartet of massive figures lumbered towards us.
Each was several feet taller than Lares. Bulkier and shaggier than any Forest Person I had seen with off-white pelts, the beady-eyed beings wore engraved armor seemingly shaped from vast slabs of ice.
Behind the veritable ogres, six sidhe in silvery-purple armor astride dark predatory-looking steeds cantered up with barbed lances held high. I eyed the fae knights. Their plate armor seemed well designed and, despite the great artistry in their craft, seemed more than functional.
The eyeless equines with the spiraling horns and broad fangs were another question. I wondered as to the industrial capacity of the Lords and Ladies. Doubtless, this was the Winter Court's honor guard, so a degree of ceremonial pageantry was expected. And did not my own House have mounted troops on horses and raptors?
A forest of banner-tipped lances lowered in salute as the knights split and formed a guard formation with perfect coordination. Lea's mad smile spread as she directed the brutish quartet. With surprising dexterity, each took a corner of the crate and, as if it weighed nothing, lifted.
Where the steeds gave a comfortingly-mundane equine smell, the brutes had the slight odor of anyone who had spent a long day of heavy labor out in the cold. Even that, however, was preferable to the knights who were utterly without scent, sound, or emotional presence, and made for barely visible phantoms in the snowfall.
Fabia's wings ruffled as she studied the fae knights. Her Zephyr blew up as their interest matched hers. Invidia had affected an aloof stance that almost hid her apprehension. Meanwhile, the Lady Legate had taken out her flask and took a fairly large sip. The lights around her returned to the harsh white color as her tail swished with amusement.
I found a similar confidence growing in my breast. Both by the fact that the Fae soldiery, now bearing that damnable-mirror, had started to return to whence they came and by that Flight Ops had announced Squadron Three was being fed targeting telemetry. With Visha and VioletBlood watching over, there was little for me to fear.
Redcap made a move to follow the knights and the mirror, but with a single finger, Lea held him in place. The wind blew up and the Fae troops, and their burden, marched into a fresh squall and soon vanished leaving the six of us alone in the plaza. Lea then turned to the rest of us and gave a razor-sharp smile. "Now that the business is conducted, shall we eat?"
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The negotiations were involved, pedantic, and exhausting. Fortunately, the Lady Legate managed all of them, and I simply had to stand still and keep my mouth shut. Having spent two lives, short they might be, in the military, this was a skill I was well-practiced in.
JadeJavelin formalized the deal with the Leanansidhe with a pair of thin silver shot glasses filled with amber liquid poured measuringly from her flask. She held both out and let the Sidhe pick one while she downed the other. Fabia managed to not roll her eyes at the drama of the pact. Redcap had no such restraint. During the celebratory toasting, Invidia had called her associates to set up our part of the logistics.
And now I stood on the front steps of the guildhall for the Sisterhood of Miners, Steamfitters, Refinery Artificers, and Alchemists. Fabia and the Redcap had pried off the beam that had secured the large wooden doors and were now busily shuffling some furniture around.
Even at this relatively temperate latitude, the residents of Forlorn Prospect constructed buildings to last. This "mild" winter in desolate Byrnsville would have cut through me if not for the Lady Legate's magic.
I would have rubbed my arms in worry, but Lea had offered some cheese and sausage from her gift basket, and I had to use my hands to take the food. With this deal in place, it would have been rude for me to refuse. So, I had taken a polite amount of what was, admittedly, a very good appetizer.
The redheaded Sidhe gave me a languid smile. "And what mayhap comes next, dear poppet?"
"You're not talking about tonight?" I asked.
"That was implied," she laughed, sipping her wine.
My tail flicked as I frowned. That was the question. The last two months of my life had been preparing for, executing, and then surviving this DarkStar cursed operation. But the mirror had been returned. It was over.
I looked up at the sky. "Serving my Imperatrix," I stated while taking a fresh sausage offered from the Fae lady. It would not do to be rude.
She rolled her eyes at that. "Obviously. Your blood debt has, what, sixteen years of tribute remaining? What is next?"
My head tilted. Partially to concede her point, partially in confusion at her choice of words. I had volunteered. Granted, I had done so out of a feeling of societal and familial pressure. Or so… or so I had thought at the time.
"I could be clever Lady Lea, but I genuinely do not know." I shrugged.
"You do not have suspicions?" she asked with a disappointed pout.
"A Wing like Tribune Quirinus's is quite valuable. I'm sure we'll have another assignment," I allowed. We had seven pilots dead, and I would not be surprised if we got more empty arming-chairs due to medical discharges. The four Squadrons would need time to heal and train to get back to full strength. Hopefully, we would get it.
Lea held out a hand to capture the falling snowflakes that sparkled on her palm. "Duty is weighty for the warders of the Spine."
I had a moment to ponder her words before a quartet of gleaming figures burst through the overcast cloud cover in a screech of maximum thrust. Wreathed in droplets and whipping fog, the Polyxo Suits shone with all their might and power. This had been to plan, but something...
I immediately spotted that they were in strike configuration with full on Lances. In addition to the flasks for the Lances, familiar canisters were bolted onto the suits. That I could identify their equipment was due to years of experience, heightened senses, and that those four madwomen were running without any kind of Veiling.
Descending, the Flight looked like an errant tail from any of them could cut roof-tiles. Before I could frown at the lack of Veiling, the Flight lit up in sparkling comets as the staggered diamond formation shone with contrails of silver, cobalt, and obsidian glitter that rained down onto the street.
Midway through their journey, the members of Flight Two, this had to be VioletBlood's doing, ripple-fired the mortars they had bolted onto their suits and shells launched to the sides where they burst into waterfalls of red flames that screamed and flashed as they fell.
The tri-colored sparkles of the detonating fireworks rained down, adding to the swirling white flakes. Before the first quartet had crossed over us, another pair of RP shot past a hair's breadth higher. Wind blew in a gale and a pair of sonic booms slammed over us. In a blink, the two Polyxo had vanished back into the clouds, their wakes disturbing the sparkly contrails of the slightly slower formation.
My eyes were dazzled with spots and my ears rang. Sniffing the air, my nose was filled with the scent of pyrotechnics that I had not smelled since my days as a cadet.
Or that night over Narvos before my twelfth birthday. The night where I made ace. The first time LoveBlood and I flew in combat.
Watching the flight fly back up into the clouds, I scowled. This was the Lady Legate's doing. She had been banking on my exploits. Had she brought along a set of glitter dispensers and pyrotechnics mortars? Or had VioletBlood ordered her Ritualista to hide such indulgences among Flight Two's equipment. Was this why VioletBlood was being so... familiar yesterday? She must have known about this and had made sure her people were trained up. Her Flight was the only one in my Squadron that was at full strength.
I glanced over and saw that Lea had gleefully clapped her hands. "Oh lovely! Poppet, I would so want to see those Lances, are they not called? Yes, those Lances fire. Missing out on experiencing such carnage is so very lamentable."
"That was an adequate display," Redcap begrudgingly admitted as he and Fabia stood at the threshold of the now open front door.
Tail swishing, Fabia gave him a smug look.
Meanwhile, Lea's attention was on the half dozen Broadcast Recon troops in their light lorica that blended into the background. Six cubical shipping crates were lowered by their carrying loops, and deposited onto the cobbles where they disturbed drifts of sparkling, sulfurous snow.
Despite the secured lids, a more appetizing aroma came from the crates. The Hoof-sloggers looked up to us, exposing their necks, and saluted Fabia and I before they vanished in another flare of arcane light.
Will the wonders never cease? I resisted the urge to let out a tired sigh I felt with all my many years.
Personal teleportation troops were one of the rarest specializations in the Legions, and the Lady Legate had just used them as food delivery girls. I wondered what those Broadcast Recon troopers thought of all this? Did they get enough of a bead on Lea and the Redcap to realize who they were, what they were?
Or were they old enough hands at CSR nonsense to not ask any questions? Regardless, as LoveBlood had shown, there were plenty of eyes in the sky. This included the other six pilots in my Squadron. While VioletBlood had surprised me, Visha's role was something I had planned. And Visha had obeyed by keeping a Flight's worth of RP to stay above the cloud cover, ready to provide heavy fire support at a moment's notice. She just happened to have six more suits at her disposal, which I had assumed could be moved to support the other Squadrons in our Demi-Wing.
"Dinner and a show?" Lea asked once more, glancing up into the sky.
"As a multi-role rapid deployment platform, the Polyxo has much to offer," I stated.
"Oh poppet, for a nun must you use such clinical terminology?" Lea sighed as she walked towards the crates. "Would you drain the passion, the mystery, the magic, out of everything the grand tapestry of existence has to offer?"
"The Countess? She's merely reserved; it is how she grapples with the chaos of life," Invidia stated with an almost genuine-seeming smile as she approached us.
I eyed the black-haired woman; she had stepped aside to set up the supply drop but could have also been doing some other sinister scheming.
"Ah, excellent timing," JadeJavelin came out the front doors that Fabia and Redcap had left open. "Shall we?" she asked, walking towards the neat line of crates.
I followed the others with Lea at my side. The tempting scents grew as we drew ever closer. Unbidden, I could feel temptation gnaw at my gut, but I tried to maintain my composure, to guard myself against fae prying.
"The ship's cooks have outdone themselves," Fabia noted as she lifted a lid. Inside were stacked metal baking pans with foil lids. Tendrils of steam wafted up, and I paused to take in the scent of sausages, steak, and baked chicken.
Invidia quickly checked a crate packed with ice and had various bottles and cartons, while the Lady Legate took one that had been filled with fresh fruit. I was not too proud to admit that I eyed that collection covetously.
Having been on the Tarantula Hawk for not even two weeks, I was already craving fresh produce. I suppose this was part of the resupply when we rendezvoused with the DarkStar and the fleet train.
My spirits lifted a bit at the prospect of a meal with some variety. I went to an unopened crate. This one had a sweet but spiced smell coming from it. I pulled the lid and frowned. Inside was a collection of flatware, plates, and glassware carefully packed in napkins and other linens. The scent was coming from a couple potpourri packets off to one side. I stared at the dried flowers and herbs.
I could only laugh at the absurdity of the preparations and games CSR went through for this operation. There was enough bric-a-brac here to set up a formal dinner. Truly, they were all crazy demons; it seemed that those lessons in etiquette would not be wasted.
Despite there being six crates and six of us, it was obvious that our guests were less than willing to do such mundane tasks as moving crates. While even the Lady Legate had taken a burden of produce, Lea seemed comfortable sipping her wine glass, and Redcap watched with amusement.
Regardless, bringing everything into the guildhall and unpacking it was done with relative ease. Inside, thanks to the Lady Legate's magic it actually felt warm. The artificial lighting was bright, revealing a pair of long old wood tables with a set of chairs around one. The food was unpacked around the other table with the plates and glassware to one end.
"I am afraid serving will be buffet style," the Lady Legate noted as she opened a bottle.
"Alas, such suffering must be borne when one roughs it in the field," Lea noted somberly as she intricately folded napkins at each seating place. Her own basket had been portioned out to make an oeuvres platter. "Yet is it not said that these minor inconveniences only serve to make the true indulgences all the richer."
"Yeah, we've hardly got a full bar here," Fabia dryly said as she put a splash of pail green oily-looking anise-smelling liquor into a stout glass and mixed it with a dash of sugar and a spray from a seltzer bottle. "But it beats field rations. Or… you know. 'Field Rations'."
I decided to ignore that. Instead, taking my own refreshment with a glass of cider, I gave the lone still-closed crate a quick peek. Inside was a collection of sorbets and gelatos.
"Spoiling your appetite?" Invidia inquired.
I glanced at the small plate she bore, which had a collection of petit fours and other little pastries, and simply raised an eyebrow.
"As if I would begrudge you from indulging a bit to celebrate. I'm hardly that cruel, Countess. You more than earned a tasty treat," Invidia assured, the conciliatory tone seeming at odds with her sharp features and cold eyes. "If nothing else… think of this as my small way of paying an investment towards a worthwhile asset, hmm?"
That, if nothing else, set my mind somewhat at ease.
"It would not be the first time for her, no?" Redcap asked with his own plate of cheese, sausage, and ribs. Despite being inside, he had kept his woolen cap on, though he had at least divested himself of his coat.
"Those times were different," I argued as I picked up a plate and approached the buffet line. I did have to angle to one side to keep from knocking the table with the hilt of my loaned sword. Out of politeness, I took some of the cheese and crackers that Lea had brought.
"Different in the indulgence or the choice of meat?" Redcap asked, his own pointed white teeth flashing.
As I filled my plate with some smoked fish and a fruit salad, I eyed him. "Why the questions?" I asked as I took some honeyed dates. "I doubt a man of your experience and rank would indulge in squeamishness over such things."
His crooked grin was dashing and roguish, but those eyes were still flat as a predator's. "Oh, I'm not. But you will pardon someone taking fascination in a warrior society's stories venerating anthropophagy."
Tail flicking, I returned the smile. Fabia and the Lady Legate had approached. Both were having a little nosh, though the elder demoness was watching with the same politely-interested expression. JadeJavelin nodded to me as if to allow me to respond.
"I can't deny that my actions haven't been the source of stories," I shrugged, gamely trying to conceal my amusement at the Fae's misreading of BlackSkyvian culture. We were not a warrior society.
Oh yes, the Legionnaires, Fleet personnel, and Axillaries were greatly respected. And individual heroism was elevated, much to my personal annoyance. However, the BlackSkyvian military was a collection of soldiery, not warriors.
The Lady Legate's lack of displeasure showed I had made the right decision in not correcting Redcap's misconception. One might point out that the history of Diyu, or a least the first three Epochs, was all about learning the folly of being a "warrior culture", said culture being extinguished in the War of Reprisal alongside the doctrine of Elder Demonesses being the key strategic and tactical war-fighting asset.
Though a real cynic would point out that the "modern" Diyu of the Fourth Epoch has seen more global conflict in four hundred years than in any of the preceding Epochs, each roughly sixteen hundred years. A roughly four-fold increase in war. "Admittedly, we do have a long history of conflict," I allowed.
"The Great Houses do pride themselves on being so very civilized," Lea added with her own vicious smile. She seemed most pleased with herself for having negotiated this meal with the Lady Legate.
Redcap's smile slashed anew. "Civilized," he enunciated as if tasting the word and then thoughtfully chewed on a spare-rib. "I can't say I've ever seen the appeal before, but now..."
"History is full of gratifying examples," Invidia stated.
Redcap rolled his eyes. "If one relishes washing out all the blood, terror, and intrigue."
Lea shrugged. "My associate prefers a more hands-on perspective."
"Understandable, none of us here are shy about getting our claws wet," Invidia said.
This drew an amused smile from Fabia as she ate some ribs of her own, put her glass down, and took a seat.
Lea took a place across from her and, using silverware, ate with surprising delicacy. "I've been told it's a rare treat to use your wargear in such close confines."
"And this was not your first time." Redcap said almost eagerly, as he sat down next to Lea.
"Oh? You mean when I was a cadet?" Fabia asked.
"La, that time's been well-told," Lea leaned closer. "Our interest is the second time."
Fabia's composure slipped for a bare moment, but she rallied gamely. "Ah, when I was nineteen?"
To give moral support, I took a seat at Fabia's left. It also put the table between myself and the fae. The two CSR spies were of little help with the Lady Legate at the head of the table and Invidia across from her at the foot.
"That raid on Sevillia?" my fellow Squadron leader clarified.
After sipping her wine, Lea shrugged. "I care little for those trifles."
"Perhaps you're talking of the time she ate Trosic flesh," Redcap helpfully added.
The aggressive redhead's smile grew as she clapped her hands. "Oh yes, if we're thinking of the same story then our aqua-feathered centurion was in quite the vicious spot."
Fabia met JadeJavelin's eye and, without breaking her gaze, emptied her glass and handed it to me. "Make it neat, Countess."
I obliged her and went to find the absinthe bottle. My trip was delayed when the Lady Legate had gotten up to refill her own whiskey glass.
"We just have to last a social function," she assured me, putting the amber bottle back with the other on the impromptu bar. The elder demon's tail swished as she looked over her shoulder.
Fabia was well into her story and was talking about how the Fleet had bugged out, leaving her team high and dry on an enemy world. She was most grateful when I walked up and neatly snatched the glass with its green fluid out of my hands.
She caught herself before our fingers could touch, if barely, and pulled her hand back.
"Thank you, Tauria," Fabia said cupping her palm so I could place the glass.
Taking a long drink, Fabia tapped her fingers on the table before resuming her story.
Eating my meal, I tried to be supportive and nod alone in all the right places. It was made easier by Fabia's "misadventure" being a harrowing tale told with a wry wit that gave the collection of screwups from the Fleet's early withdrawal, to the weapons misfires on a Flight's worth of Sarpedona due to a maintenance screwup, to Trosic Marines discovering the ground team calling down air support which due to a navigational error ends with Trosic RP firing on their own Marines.
By the time Fabia got to the bloody climax, I had gotten up to refill my plate.
I was mulling over if I wanted to risk the potential mess that came with stew when Fabia's recounting concluded, and, with her blue wings drooping, she went to her meal.
My tail straightened in shock as the fae woman suddenly slipped up next to me. "Quite the story, Countess?" she asked.
"It was... vivid," I allowed as I refreshed my own glass.
"I must admit that my curiosity is not fully sated." Lea gave me a sharp smile.
"Oh?" I asked carefully, feeling very much like I'd just been handed a live grenade.
"Who you are makes for a most enticing tale," Lea's smile widened as she opened a fresh bottle of wine and looked over the petite fours and other desserts. " Your story makes who you are. Why not indulge me? I suspect yours to be a tale most enticing."
"I'm sure you've read plenty about me," I said, affecting boredom as I finished refilling my own plate.
"Poppet, I am aware that the storied version those tales portray is but a shadow," Lea actually had the gall to wag a chiding finger in my face.
I managed not to glare at the fae. "That reputation has followed me for years. It is flattering, but over-exaggerated in its enthusiasm."
"Shadows do more than follow. La, one would think you would not be so... young." Drinking the deep red wine, the Unseelie studied me critically. "You should know the power of such things, especially for one such as you. It is not just Names that have power, poppet. Even an echo, even a shadow has a power, if properly wielded."
I frowned. "Thank you... but I'm not sure I need to learn such a thing."
The redhead gave a very patiently haughty sigh that reminded me of the few times my Duchess was disappointed in me. Nobles always had a way of expressing themselves. "Do not let your pride result in your untimely death, poppet. Few are so secure as to turn down knowledge."
"But at what cost?" Invidia asked as she came up bearing a small platter of glasses. Back at the table, Redcap was having a surprisingly animated conversation with the Lady Legate while Fabia watched.
"Always a cost, the scales must be balanced." Lea's smile grew warm and delighted.
Tail flicking, I tried to keep the pensive expression off my face. A lot of blood had been spilled to get that cursed mirror, and we had just handed it over.
"Indeed," Lea gave a light laugh. "Do you want to know what your Imperatrix is getting from my Queen?"
"That knowledge seems ill-worth the cost." Invidia's face was impassive. "Given what else is on offer."
I held my tongue. I knew a leading question and would not play their game.
Lea laughed. "Oh, do not fret. I am used to the stubbornness of youth."
My mouth opened to protest, but my mind managed to get control of my mouth. I stared at her. Cold paranoia ran down my spine from my wings to the tip of my tail. "As you say, I still have years of youth. That, years is before I'm grown," I carefully stated with all the fumbling delicacy of trying to defuse an old mine with shaking hands.
"Did I say such a thing?" Lea teased and looked to Invidia for confirmation.
"I can't say," the black-winged spy allowed while refilling the various drinks. Her flat almost-grey eyes pierced me.
I nodded. I had been warned. She had warned me: the fae could lie with the truth. And Lea didn't say that I was a youth. She merely implied it. That left open... My mouth dried. I picked up my own glass of cider and nearly drained it.
I felt dread at being caught between beings with vastly more power than myself. Yes, I was a soldier oathed to serve my Imperatrix against her peers and rivals among the Diyu Great Houses, but that was... impersonal. I was just another cog in a vast imperial war-machine.
This... this felt like being a toy. I was a bauble the Lady Legate was dangling in front of the fae as a shiny lure to entrance the Lords and Ladies. I had been the plaything of eldritch beings before, and I cared little to repeat it.
"Poppet, have you considered learning to relax? All this dourness and stress could be the death of you," Lea laughed as she beckoned for me to go back to the dining table "Come, I would love to hear more of your stories."
I gave Invidia a frosty glance, which she returned impassively. "Come, Countess, we require just a bit more of your forbearance tonight," she stated, typically and frustratingly aloof.
Giving a sigh, I made my excuses to the others and went to the facilities Fabia and Invidia had set up earlier. As field-improvised latrines went, the guildhall's old bathroom was more than acceptable despite the lack of running water. There were already filled buckets of water and even some soap for washing. True luxury.
After returning, I refilled my glass. I decided to go for the stew and filled a small bowl. When I finally got back to the table, I found Invidia finishing up a quick story.
"The key thing is to remember that freeport Harbor-Mistresses are eminently practical ladies. One has to be out on the edge of the Spine. They know their livelihoods are caught between the whims of the local ruler and her bully-girls, merchant conglomerates looking to squeeze outworlders for a few denarii more, and any Great House fleet that decides to burn anyone providing aid and comfort to pirates.
"And that's not even counting the pirates themselves. Who range from idled mercenaries driven to the meanest of work, to desperate tramp freighters turning second-hand weapons on their former kin, to privateers flush with surplus gear of quite deniable origins." Invidia said her delivery, dry with just a bit of a sarcastic edge.
Pondering the trailing-end of her tale, I used the opportunity alone to eat. Contrary to the proclamations of the Great Houses, Diyu itself was far from a peaceful bastion of civilization. However, things got even harder the further one went out in the Dimensional Spine. And despite the massive military expenditures the Great Houses put into securing their offworld colonies, said fleets were still dwarfed by the amount of commercial traffic. Traffic that both provided targets and camouflage to a variety of predators.
"At any moment a Harbor-Mistress has to worry that such... independent traders might tire of using her port for fencing their ill-gotten gains and instead turn to pillaging said port. Which I don't need to explain is exactly the opposite type of commercial exchange a small independent port needs to survive."
Redcap's eyes gleamed. "Ah, such people wouldn't truck with brigands if they didn't need their money, would they?"
"Quite. But the dock-workers aren't powerless. A sloppy crew may not look too closely at what stevedores are loading or unloading. Not until they're up into the sky and their hold gets turned inside out. " Invidia paused to sip her drink. "Or so I've been told."
"And for those who are cautious?" Lea inquired.
"The Harbor-mistress is not without friends. The local dives, provisioners, artificers, and brothels all depend on the port not being razed to the ground. More than a few troublesome pirates have spent their last moments in companionable then surprised silence with a woman of negotiable affection. The trick is to use your claws at the most unguarded and... intimate moment. Though, it does make quite the unfortunate mess."
"Or so you've been told?" Lea teased.
Invidia smirked. "Oh, some things I can speak with direct experience."
It was hard to imagine Invidia in such a role. It was not a lack of physical charms. She was literally from a species of seductresses after all. The problem was that while her body might technically meet all the physical requirements to be the equal of any seductress on Diyu, her demeanor and personality were utterly charmless. But, she was a spy and, presumably, could act.
That didn't make hearing such stories of the CSR operative conducting such lurid wetwork exactly appetizing, though.
I slowly put down my fork at that unpleasant mental image of Invidia conducting a honey pot act with all the vitality of rigor mortis. Though at a glance around the table, I saw that everyone else was merrily eating, even Fabia. Crazy fae. Crazy demons.
"It was supporting such a mission where I met Tribune Quirinus," Invidia mildly stated.
My tail stiffened slightly, and despite her poker-face even Fabia twitched at that.
Invidia caught our looks and just rolled her eyes, "Oh nothing so tawdry. Besides that's a waste of a valuable pilot; her Flight was providing fire support in case our operation missed any of the target ship's officers or the vessel tried to take off."
"That mission resulted in several fruitful new relations," the Lady Legate commented idly.
"Sounds lovely." Lea relished her wing before turning to me. "And what about you, Countess? I am quite curious about your own adventures. Perhaps when you were young and desperate?"
My tail flicked. I attempted to deflect. "I've told the story of how I earned the Preserver Crown quite often. Perhaps something more…unique would be more to your tastes?"
Lea pouted. "I suppose I could hear about your romantic life with your betrothed and your mistress."
My tail dropped. Maybe talking about the Preserver Crown and that fight wouldn't be so bad? I reconsidered. "Well..."
I could just feel the amusement coming from Fabia and Invidia.
"It all sounds so romantic!" Lea clapped her hands.
"The flower of nobility nourished in the glory of war," the Lady Legate observed, her tone desert-dry.
"Fine, fine." I looked into my glass. "I was part of a ballet troupe that was visiting the Andromachin city of Narvos. It was supposed to be a peaceful night at the opera but my mother Duchess SilverFlight had a favor for me..."
I fell into the familiar rhythm of telling the tale of the first time in this life where I was forced to kill, forced to feed. I was not lying. I had told this story many times, and as much as I disliked the notoriety it engendered, I was not above using the advantages it gave me.
It was disquieting to see the naked glee that Lea and the Redcap reveled in, especially when I got to the bloodier parts. Fabia's professional interest was not expected, but even the two CSR spooks were amused, with Invidia actually giving a chuckle when I got to the end and how I used glitter to blind and defeat the War Mistress.
I must confess that after I concluded telling my tale, I felt a bit more at ease. And while it was not comfortable being caught between such... dangerous dinner guests, I was able to at least enjoy the food and let the meal pass with less open anxiety.
After the warm guildhall, going back into the bitter wind outside was an unpleasant surprise. The food and drink had been boxed up with the crates lined up to one side of the plaza.
Holding her picnic basket, Lea watched us work with some amusement.
"What else would they do?" Redcap asked, gnawing meat off one last plate of ribs.
"No reason to leave it behind," Fabia said.
"Ah, a reward for your subordinates?" Lea asked.
"Quite," the Lady Legate said as she raised a hand and, with an extended finger, and a bright green beam of light shot up like a flare that punched through the heavy cloud cover.
A fresh gust of wind rustled my wings. Exhaling, I looked up into the sky. Thunder rolled above us, followed by more heartening sounds.
The clouds blew apart as a Flight of familiar Polyxo descended and took position over the abandoned down circling in an ominous formation. Another RP Flight flew in their wake, these were Sarpedona that formed a closer ring that flew with naked bellicosity as the air practically hummed with charged weapons.
Finally, a Spatha descended through this protective cordon. Engines growling, the VTOL made a direct line towards the plaza. Snow whipped around us as it approached. Landing gears lowering, the Spatha set down and the rear ramp lowered.
I joined Invidia and Fabia to form a line and bucket-brigade style passed the crates to the VTOL's load mistress, who worked to secure the cargo. While this happened, the Lady Legate exchanged a few words with the fae.
JadeJavelin walked towards us. "Good job," she told myself and Fabia, her voice carrying over the idled engines before walking past us and up the Spatha's ramp. Invidia shrugged and gave the plaza one last scan.
"We'll be watching your careers with great interest," Lea gave us a confident little smile and a wave.
Fabia awkwardly returned the wave while the three of us went into the Spatha. I turned back and saw Redcap had pulled off his crimson chapeau and held it over his chest in a mock salute. His cold eyes met mine, and he flashed his sharp teeth before the ramp rose up and closed with a thud.
Shaking my head, I went over to an open seat and strapped in. The engines increased in power and, with a roar, the Spatha took off, and I closed my eyes. I had spent enough time dealing with Harp's World, Forlorn Prospect, and meddling fae.
End Chapter 31
And here we are at the end of the Harp's World arc. It's been a bit of a paranoid and fraught journey but at least Tauria should be on her way home and can how focus on fretting about the mission's fallout and her next assignment.
Ch 32 stands at one scene and over 4k written, and there is a bunch of upcoming art.
Thanks to Ahuva, DCG , ellfangor8 , Green Sea, Larc , Readhead, metaldragon868 , WhoWhatWhere, and ScarletFox for checking and editing this chapter and helping with this whole arc. And Special thanks to ScarletFox for helping punch up Tauria's vision