133 - Round Up

Hours passed, and Vittoria stared at the detailed mind map she’d crafted with key images scraped from the memories of about twenty individuals: demons, humans, hybrids.

It would take her a long time to get everything straight, but so far this was what she had: the demonic realm was undergoing a type of power struggle that was not unlike that in Pyronis, between different factions. The demon King was dying his final death, and his four sons were essentially battling for dominance, and that fight was leaking into the human realm.

Mordius was a noble Lord who had backed the third son’s campaign, after being promised greater prominence and a soul dam of his own. As a father to human-mixed demonkin, he wanted to strengthen the positions of his sons and other hybrids in their realm. He had come to Earth to do just that, engaging with the hybrid society here and utilizing them for his own means.

He hadn't just infiltrated the demonic sect. That was only a small but vital portion of his plan, and his purpose in taking it over was to avoid detection of the other schemes he'd put in place.

Not to mention, he wasn't the only one from the third son's faction who had come to the human realm.

In fact, though Mordius was linked to it, the current plot was led by another demon Lord called Fabius. He was one Vittoria had heard of before, who frequently sent his Overlords into the human realm to capture souls, and had intended to take that of the flame giant, which he would then transform into one of his lieutenants in the demonic realm.

Of course, with that plan thwarted, and a big angry dragon after him, Vittoria doubted he would live long enough to cause any more problems.

The issue was that this was bigger than him and even bigger than Mordius.

If the third prince's faction won, then there might be an even bigger influx of demons into the human realm. Vittoria didn't know what his endgame was, but they were far too involved with humans, so it had to be something to do with Earth.

It certainly made this whole thing far more worrisome.

Of course, most of the humans in the scheme did not know in detail that any of this was happening. The hybrid, Nio, and his associates had set up a very elaborate system, his business as he called it, where each person was getting something from the other without knowing where it was coming from. He had managed to convince the Lethamons to part with a delicate combination of blood that just about passed the royal threshold to raise the giant. In return, he provided them with vital land bought from the Salvos, who he gave weapons imbued with magic as payment.

These weapons were made in a factory that used the waste essences he'd collected from the dragon. Vittoria assumed that was what Arielle called the free mini-orbs.

It was something they discovered by accident, when one of their weapons had begun heating up while they were near the Volcano.

Nio had then contracted a human scientist, who had discovered that the atmosphere, combined with a given purity of silver and obsidian, created magical flame blades, capable of shooting fire and slicing through almost anything.

The human scientist, and a hybrid skilled at differentiating essences, had helped them create a leyline tunnel, by which they had siphoned the free mini-orbs all the way to the factory.

The scientist, named Claudius in the memories, had only wanted the chance to publish his research when everything was said and done.

All of this had gone under the radar because the idiots in Pyronis were too busy fighting themselves to see it. There had been suspicions here and there, but Nio had been good at allaying them, keeping the wheel turning smoothly.

Vittoria exhaled.

Now that she had discovered this, there would be arrests and more investigations. Pyronis would also need to be under strict watch, as well as other nations that demons may have secretly infiltrated. Of course, she knew that she could not solve the conflict that had plagued Pyronis’ empire for centuries, as it was a problem no one person could solve, not even the so-called princess.

It would even be difficult to enforce martial rule.

Nevertheless, the council needed to keep a close eye on the situation as it was a powder keg waiting to go off, and with the demons involved, it could get even worse.

The last piece of the puzzle was to find those who had slipped through the cracks, certain members of the prominent families who had been involved but had never shown up in person and had used aliases and messengers instead. Some of them were obvious, some not so much. She would need to create a few more doors and ask a few more questions to finally round all of them up once and for all.

Vittoria received an alert, an urgent summons from the council. They must have gotten reports about the dragon's escape. She would have to explain in detail how she had resolved the issue, and also mention that the dragon had killed most of the people that she hunted.

But an agitated dragon did not heal easily. They either died or they went mad.

She would need to have a good explanation for how she was able to get it to leave calmly.

She didn’t want to involve anyone else, especially not Arielle, although that professor who helped her might need to get called in for questioning.

Vittoria would prefer to put that off, but if she couldn't, then they would need to have a conversation.

Ah. This was all getting so complicated.

Arielle could not hide for much longer. Vittoria could feel it. Soon enough, they would all need to confront the truth of who she was.

She finally got up and stretched her neck, looking outside to the high-hanging moon. It was late. It had only been evening when they left, but now it must be closer to midnight.

She hadn’t eaten dinner, which meant that Inara probably hadn’t either, damn it.

Vittoria had told Inara several times not to worry about her when it came to food, as she was used to skipping meals and just eating whenever the mood struck her. She'd only started truly stocking her pantry after Inara began living with her, and the other girl was free to use whatever she found to make herself a meal.

But she insisted on only doing it when Vittoria asked her to.

Typically, at regular meal intervals, Inara would knock tentatively on the door and ask Vittoria if she was hungry. Even that was a step up from how she used to be.

Previously, she would make food and simply stand there until Vittoria came out, at which point she would insist on reheating the food again. It didn't matter that Vittoria urged that all this exercise and formality wasn't necessary. Inara insisted on doing it anyway. She was like a golem that had been programmed to carry out certain tasks, and it caused her great discomfort not to stick to her routine.

Vittoria always wondered what would happen if she didn’t come out of her room all night. Would Inara simply pack up the food again without having a single bite of it? Or would she stand there until morning waiting for Vittoria to show up?

If Inara had been anyone else, Vittoria might have been tempted to test it out. But the girl had already been through enough, and she wasn’t yet at the point where she could be teased like that.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

They likely had to consider regular visits with someone who was far more adept at trauma counseling than Vittoria was. A mind healer probably. The issue was that Vittoria had to be careful with whoever she chose.

Despite their caution, Inara probably already knew some of their secrets. Vittoria wasn't worried she would intentionally reveal them. She knew Inara would rather die than betray Arielle or herself, but just the fact that she knew made her vulnerable to an attack.

She was especially vulnerable right now to emotional manipulation, which was why Vittoria had to be very careful with whatever mind healer she introduced Inara to.

There was one person she could think of as a good fit, but that would mean seeing Catriona again, and Vittoria wasn't sure she would escape this time without a hymn book to her skull.

As Vittoria got up and stepped out of the room, she was surprised to find that the table wasn’t set, nor were there any fragrant scents coming from the kitchen. Arielle was also not in her usual sleep spot, and Inara wasn’t standing around staring at her like a lovesick puppy.

What actually drew Vittoria's attention was the slight wheezing-snoring of the baby dragon coming from Inara's room.

She went over and pushed the door open, finding all three of them in a semi-tangled embrace.

Arielle was lying on her back, head up, mouth slightly ajar, signifying that she was in deep sleep.

She was still in disguise–Vittoria had given her a pill that was better for that and would last for many hours without her conscious effort–and had not even taken off her assassin-like clothes, which told Vittoria that she had never meant to fall asleep.

She slept as awkwardly as she existed, with her hands across her belly like she was in a casket.

Next to her was Sir Spendulon, whose heavy head was halfway on her chest as he snored in her face. It was a wonder she didn't wake up as a result.

Then there was Inara, who carried Sir Spendulon's bottom half and was curled into his back, facing Arielle.

Both girls seemed exhausted, which made sense as it had been an exhausting day.

Vittoria, on the other hand, didn’t need rest as much as other humans. She could keep going for days and days without sleep, but she should probably rest too, as her schedule was likely going to be hectic for the next few days.

Yet, she stood there for a few more minutes watching the group, a small smile curved into the corner of her mouth.

***

Arielle woke up to a heavy weight on her chest and loud inhuman snoring in her ears. It took her a second to reorient to her surroundings and notice that Sir Spendulon's entire prickly head was now plastering her to the ground.

"Ouch,” she muttered. There was probably going to be a large bruise where he rested. As she opened her eyes, his eyes opened too, and he blew an excited puff in her face.

“Your breath smells reptilian,” she told him, and in response, his long tongue swiped her jaw.

That jolted her fully awake.

She shot up with a push of air to elevate him, rushing off to wash off the saliva vigorously.

She noticed then that she had fallen asleep in her dirty assassin clothes. She had not washed up either, and now she had dragon saliva smeared on the side of her face.

Gross.

The only good thing was that the disguise Vittoria had given her was still active. She freely walked out of the privy to find Sir Spendulon standing in Inara's doorway, with his tail wagging.

“That was disgusting,” she told him as she went over and patted his head. “Never do that again.”

The dragon opened his mouth in a jagged smile, his tongue lolling out. Meanwhile, Inara was just rousing, rubbing her face.

“What time is it?” she murmured. Before Arielle could answer, Inara glanced out the small window in her room. At the light streaming in, she gasped, paling at the horror.

"It's morning?"

"Seems so."

"Oh no. I overslept."

"Yes." Arielle could sympathize with Inara's horror. She too had slept a lot longer than she had planned. In fact, she had only thought to lie down for five minutes before going to the basement to continue her soul meditation. But suddenly, five minutes had turned into an entire night.

Arielle was disappointed that she had lost time that could have been spent studying the demon's soul. Inara, though, looked like her entire world was falling apart. She put her hand to her face, scrambling to her feet.

"I never oversleep," Inara said. "Never. I didn’t make dinner. Lady Vittoria–”

“–managed just fine without you.” Vittoria stepped out from behind Arielle, eyeing the two girls with an amused look. “I don’t eat that much despite my size.”

“I’m sorry,” Inara said.

“There’s no need to apologize, Inara. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Inara pressed her lips together. Vittoria’s words didn’t do anything to dull her panic. If anything, she looked even more anxious.

Vittoria sighed. “But if it’s that important to you, you can prepare us a big breakfast to make up for it.”

“Yes. Right away.” Inara dashed out of the room, and Sir Spendulon waddled to follow her. He sniffed Vittoria once, but Vittoria stepped back so he wouldn’t touch her as he headed out.

“I guess she’s his favorite now,” Vittoria commented as she closed the door behind them. She leaned back on it. “Okay, while she’s gone, you have to explain to me exactly what happened between you and the dragon in that cave. So I know what to tell the council.”

Arielle nodded. She began from the point where Vittoria left, explaining her process and how she used the blue orb to locate the vital parts of the dragon’s body and how the dragon began speaking to her. She also explained what the spirit path was. Vittoria was quiet during her retelling, and it was a relief for Arielle not to have to hide anything, because the other woman already knew everything there was to know about Arielle’s power, or at least had guessed most of it. So Ari didn’t have to overthink every word.

Vittoria brushed her chin after she finished. She didn’t focus on the part that Arielle had thought she would focus on.

“You said the dragon touched your head with a single talon and it glowed?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.” She remarked. “The touch is a sign of respect. The glow is something else entirely.”

“Did yours glow?"

“I don't think so, but I did feel something. It was extremely subtle, and I almost thought I imagined it, but...did you see any essences forming?"

Arielle shook her head.

Vittoria was quiet for a few more minutes.

"What else could it possibly be?" Arielle asked.

"Perhaps a gift."

"What kind of gift?"

Vittoria shrugged. "I guess we'll find out when the time is right. I'll look into it, though.” She brushed her hand through her hair. “It’s crazy to think that the spirit path is real, and not at all how it was imagined. That’s…wow.”

“Did you know about dragons meditating and connecting to the universe?”

“No,” Vittoria said. “Although some of that does sound a little familiar.”

“Elves don’t do the same thing?”

“They probably do,” Vittoria said. “I wouldn’t know, though.”

“Aren’t you partially elf?”

“Yes, but such elven magical techniques would be confidential to humans, even from us partial elves. I wonder…” She trailed off and stared at a spot above Arielle’s head, ponderous.

Then she suddenly sighed. "Alright. I think I know what I'm going to tell the council now, although it's not going to be an easy sell. I'm assuming you want to continue your soul meditation exercises?"

Arielle nodded.

"You can do that after breakfast. Can you handle being down there on your own for that long? I won't be home till later, as I'll have to spend most of my day at the council and running several errands."

"Yes," Arielle said. "I'll be fine."

"Good. The dungeon heart will let me know if anything is amiss. And be careful. The Overlord has been waking up more often these days, and he might say things."

"What things?"

"It doesn't matter. Just don't listen to anything he says. Remember that they are famously liars. It’s better if you use a silencing spell once he starts speaking." She cracked her neck. "My portal bird will be with you regardless. You'll have to take care of Inara too. Be gentle with her and don't be...you know, too literal. Be nice."

"I'll try my best."

She grinned and then asked, "Have you made any progress with your soul meditation?"

"I don't know," Arielle said. "I don't think so."

"Truly? You haven't felt anything?"

Arielle shook her head.

Vittoria’s lips were downturned; there was a slightly worried look on her face, but Arielle said, "I’m not going to give up. Lyra needs me."

"Well, it seems like you and Lyra might be in the same spot, at least when it comes to soul magic," Vittoria murmured, her finger tapping her jaw. "Perhaps that's the trick."

"What is?"

"Perhaps you have to approach it as Lyra would," she said. "You said she has difficulty sensing other essences. How does she make spells in that case?"

"I made Vitae-only spells for her," Arielle said. "And spells that she can coat with Vitae.”

"Hmm," Valeria said. "That's difficult.” Vittoria considered it for a few more seconds, then released a breath. “Well, I would tell you it's hopeless, but I'm sure you'll find a way to prove me wrong. You are Arielle Blacksoil, after all."