Book 7, Chapter Twenty-seven – Death Becomes Hare

In Gacha Love, there were only six types of Dark elementals, compared to dozens or possibly hundreds of different kinds in each of the other affinities. It was an anomaly, but not one that Pandy had ever really paid attention to as anything other than ‘the way the game works’. That meant that when she started meeting real Dark elementals, she knew exactly how they looked and what their strengths and weaknesses were.

One thing that was never discussed clearly was where most elementals came from or went. The game mentioned that weaker elementals had shorter ‘lifespans’, with some lasting only a few seconds, such as the mindless Umblinks that looked like nothing more than the fuzzy dots that appeared when you rubbed your eyes.

Duskin formed in abandoned places, not unknown ones. Humans had to have lived there, then left it completely untouched and preferably forgotten for at least a few years before the small aggregate elementals would appear. The more of them there were, the smarter and stronger they became, until a large mass of them like those in the buried waterfront beneath Knightmere or in Lady Mossley’s rooms became somehow self-sustaining, surviving even after people returned to the area.

Neither game nor reality ever said where Tenebron, Echowretches, Apparitions, or Demons came from, and it turned out that was because no one knew how Tenebron or Demons came to be, while the methods for making Echowretches and Apparitions were both forbidden and at least moderately horrible.

Apparitions, it turned out, appeared when human bodies were allowed to decompose where they died, without burial or mourning.  It took at least three years or until the body was nothing but bones for an Apparition to arise, and often the elemental dispersed if the remains were found and properly buried.

Most of them were produced when someone met their end through accident, illness, or age, and had no one to find them, but they could also be intentionally created, which was why the process was kept a secret. Unscrupulous Dark mages who wanted a powerful elemental without going through the licensing process could – and had been known to – DIY the job.

Echowretches, on the other hand, were not only the result of murder, but required that the person be tortured, terrified, and betrayed at the time of their death. There was no way for the elementals to exist without a horrible crime being committed. The good news for the Dark mages involved – and bad news for everyone else – was that if you were willing to do what you had to do to make one, it was significantly faster than making an Apparition.

Apparently, the vrakhul nobles of East Altheric made Echowretches like someone performing a party trick. There were an unknown number of the elementals, all scouring the countryside, looking for anyone who didn’t belong. Which, in this case, meant anyone who wasn’t descended from the desert nomads. Everyone else carried a special, unforgeable card that told the Echowretches to leave them alone. The person received it when their birth was registered, and a Dark elementalist applied their blood to it, along with that of a local vrakhul noble.

“Fortunately, I can forge them,” Professor Beeswick said blithely, utterly ignoring what he, himself, had just said about the cards being unforgeable. Reaching into the front of his robe, which hung slightly loose over the wide sash around his trim waist, he pulled out several strips of paper, each about six inches long and three inches wide. Splaying them like fancy playing cards, he gave a toothy grin.

“As it happens, I occasionally have reason to venture into East Altheric myself, and while Echowretches are no danger to me,” here he looked like Miss Cupcakes when Lord Winston attempted to play with her, “I did manage to acquire a book with the instructions for making the cards.”

Augustus’s eyebrows attempted to merge with his hairline, and did a credible job of it. “We’ve tried to get one of those multiple times, and you had one all along?”

The Dragon had the grace to cough and glance away. “Not ‘all along’. Only for fifty or sixty years.” Meeting Augustus’s eyes again, he said, “Do you think I’m unaware of what would happen if the balance of power between East and West Altheric was broken? It’s bad enough that they cross our borders and raid our towns, but if we believed we could simply march over there without having to face the Echowretches? Who do you think would be called to act if war broke out again? I have seen enough death, Kingsman.”

Augustus had his mouth open to say something, but at this he closed it with a sigh. “You’re right. I… forget. That this isn’t who you truly are.”

“That this is only a game I’m allowed to play until someone decides blood must be spilled?” Elarion asked, his eyes fully silver. “I don’t. I will never forget. Not in all my long years.”

Silence fell over the group, with Pandy and Isidor left awkwardly to the side while something passed between the Dragon and the chancellor. Then Professor Beeswick’s eyes shifted back toward violet and he lifted the strips of paper again.

“Now, I need a Dark mage and a vrakhul noble’s blood, and how convenient it is that we have both,” the Dragon said cheerfully. “I will not, however, need either of you for several hours, so you may return to preparing for your journey. I, ah, do have access to a door rather closer to the border than Knightmere, but it is still in West Altheric, so you should be prepared for a few days of travel.”

Augustus froze, then closed his eyes. “Beeswick,” he said, his voice a bit strangled, “are you saying your domain has a connection outside of Knightmere or your… home?”

Professor Beeswick watched as the map rolled itself back up, then folded in half, then quarters, then whatever came next, until it vanished with a small pop. Only then did he say, “Yes.”

Pandy wasn’t certain why that was such a big deal, but Augustus looked more gobsmacked than he had when Isidor’s true parentage was revealed. He rubbed his temples, hard, before opening his eyes with a sigh and saying, “Well, that’s very convenient. Thank you.” 

The professor nodded, and they all started for the stairs, only for Isidor to stop abruptly, almost but not quite grasping the Dragon’s sleeve. “Are those all the cards you have?” he asked.

Professor Beeswick looked surprised. “I do have a few more. Finding the materials to make them was, hmm, a challenge. Some items that are only uncommon in East Altheric are next to nonexistent here.”

“I want to go,” Isidor said.

“And so do we,” said two more voices, rather stealing Isidor’s moment, at least in Pandy’s opinion.

Everyone turned, seeing Dorian and Edgar standing at the top of the stairs. Stairs which were supposed to be unusable without Professor Beeswick’s express permission. Students were almost never allowed up to the third floor, and if someone tried sneaking up, they’d get an unpleasant surprise when they were blown back down the stairs and deposited on a chair like a naughty child until Beeswick deigned to deal with them.

The Dragon gave a rolling kind-of-shrug that also could have been a ‘what are you going to do about it?’ as the boys joined them. To Pandy’s surprise, they weren’t alone. Clara and Keros were there too, trailing along behind. Clara’s expression was as blank as ever, while Keros looked… worried? Maybe even frightened. Which was very strange, because he’d been doing all that sweaty, smelly exercise because he said he needed to ‘bulk up before we go’.

“Kaden wanted to come too, but his mother’s disapproval was… quite forceful,” Edgar said, coming to a halt beside Dorian. Both boys were wearing sturdy, practical garments, including heavy boots. That wasn’t unusual for Dorian, even when he went on game-dates with Clara, but it was very strange for Edgar, who was prone to silver buttons, gothic styles in satin, and wearing a bit of lace around his wrists and throat.

“My father will also be travelling with us,” Clara announced, shaking out her skirts so they fell in perfect folds around her slender form. She was wearing a standard early-game outfit, which was a two-piece blouse and relatively un-fussy skirt and ankle-boots. Still, she was so lovely, even at this young age, that the simple clothes only emphasized her beauty, rather than hiding it. Pandy barely managed to hold back a teeny, tiny sigh of envy.

All eyes turned to Keros, who was actually wearing a shirt and pants that didn’t look like he’d been poured – or smooshed – into them. Mrs. Farrier, the school seamstress, must have finished altering the oversized costume she’d found in storage. Not that the maybe-former god looked particularly happy about it, since he kept shifting from foot to foot in a decidedly uncomfortable manner.

“I… need to-” He stopped. Attempted to say something else, stopped again, and finally met Pandy’s eyes and blurted out, “I need to speak with you.”

Well, that was true, but not what she’d expected after he came up with the others. Keros had been insistent that he needed to go with them, but then he’d just retreated to the back shelves and his exercise routine, barely coming out to eat and use the restroom. Since he’d never before experienced this particular biological function, it was an experience which everyone involved had agreed should never be discussed.

“Of course,” Pandy said. She needed to talk to him, too, though this wasn’t at all how she’d expected to go about it. She had no idea why, but she could feel her cheeks heat as all eyes turned to her.

Professor Beeswick stepped away from the group, moving toward a section of wall that Pandy was absolutely certain hadn’t had a door in it thirty seconds ago. The door opened as the Dragon approached, somehow managing to reveal absolutely nothing about the space – if there was one – that lay beyond.

“I have work to do,” the librarian said. “And you should all make such plans as you may. Mr. Farrier and Captain Reedsley gathered the basics from the school before I began moving the door again, but you have about six hours during which to eat, sleep, talk, and,” he gave Pandy, Augustus, and Isidor Looks of Firm Command, “clean up.”

That sounded like excellent advice to Pandy, but first she needed to talk to Keros, a fact which Professor Beeswick hadn’t forgotten. “Pandora and Kappa, you may sit here,” he gestured to the small table that had a disconcerting tendency to be there only when it was convenient to him.

Everyone else nodded, and once again the now-expanded group began to descend the stairs. Honestly, why had they come up if they were just going to go down again? But Pandy had a suspicion that Beeswick had intended to allow the whole group to remain up here, and Keros’s obvious unease had made him change his plan. Not that Keros seemed to notice, since he just crossed to the small table and sat, making the elegant chair groan beneath his bulk and the small table appear practically toy-sized in comparison.

Augustus gave Pandy’s hand a squeeze. “I’m sure Mr. Farrier left us some treats. I’ll save some for you, if the children haven’t already eaten it all.”

The odds of there being food left over were small, given that Abbington, especially, ate like he had a whole other child hiding in each leg. He didn’t even seem to notice he was doing it, just ate anything within reach that was even vaguely edible. Pandy was fairly certain she’d seen him eat part of the centerpiece once, and she’d thought she was the only one who did that.

Pandy smiled and, refusing to stop and think about what she was doing, reached up and tried to kiss Augustus’s cheek. Unfortunately, he moved just as she did so, and rather than perform the classic romcom cheek-into-lip-kiss, she chomped on his earlobe. Still, there was no blood, and he Twinkled at her before going down the stairs after the others, so hopefully he just thought it was some kind of perfectly normal farewell from her old world.

By the time she turned around again, Professor Beeswick was gone, along with the door, and Keros was sitting at the small table, his face buried in his hands. Pandy crossed to him, daring to pat his shoulder in the most comforting manner she could manage, then sat down across from him. Somehow, there always managed to be exactly the number of chairs necessary for whoever needed to sit, which in this case meant the other two chairs that had been there were now as absent as the Dragon. Though Pandy was all too aware that didn’t mean said Dragon wasn’t listening in.

“How do you do it?” Keros asked, his voice miserable and muffled by his hands.

“Do what?” she asked gently, starting to worry that there might be something genuinely wrong with her god-friend.

Raising his chiseled face from his palms, Keros said, “Deal with the fact that you’re dying, all the time. Just… slowly sloughing off your mortal form until one day it ceases to function. Or… or….”

“Or you get hit by a truck?” Pandy asked, beginning to get the picture.

Keros nodded, his expression so absolutely tragic and wretched that there was only one possible response. It wasn’t kind. It wasn’t the reaction she would have chosen, if she’d had a choice. But after the day she’d had… No, the lives she’d lived – both of them – it was the only one she was capable of. Pandy laughed so hard she nearly fell out of her chair.