Lucky Rabbit

Well, that was one way to get through, but not a good way. Pandy sprawled backwards, desperately trying to avoid the touch of those vaporous appendages. She needed all of her Corruption Points, thank you very much, and they could keep their greedy pseudo-pseudopods off.

“Air of Superiority!” she shouted for the second time that night, opting for the less-destructive of her two most powerful spells. She forgot to throw in an Innate Magic this time, and while a good part of the force of the gale went out through the hole the elementals had already made, that opening also grew quite a bit bigger as roof tiles shattered and wooden underboards splintered. A whirlwind of debris swelled overhead, but the important thing was that the elementals were blown away as well.

Pandy could feel her long hair and white dress whipping around her as she turned back to Bryan. He was staring at her, mouth agape, but he’d at least had the good sense to duck behind one of the wooden beams that had been holding the roof up. That and the remainder of the roof itself had protected him from the worst of the debris, and the wind was already dying down.

“Come on!” she shouted, and, very sensibly, he shook his head. Pandy growled, frustrated, and held out her hand. “Come on,” she said again, holding out her hand. “If you want to save Thaniel for real, you need to come now.”

This time he jerked, his arms convulsively squeezing the simulacrum. It was looking a bit worse for wear at this point, but Bryan still held it as protectively as if it were actually his son. He swallowed hard, but edged out along the nearest rafter. Pandy wiggled her fingers, urging him to move faster, and he sped up by approximately two and half snails.

The instant Bryan Conroy was within reach, Pandy lunged for him, using her Strength and Agility to best advantage as she easily lifted him into her arms while balancing on one foot. The moment she had a good grip, she thought, <Hop, then Wings of Glory,> and together they rocketed into the night sky. Bryan shrieked but Pandy’s wings were already bursting free, causing almost no pain now that the spell was over level ten.

Hop successful.

Four hundred twenty-three uses remaining to level 26.

Wings of Glory successful.

Thirteen uses remain before level 12.

-5 LF

That’s how it’s done!

Pandy still wasn’t sure what to make of how supportive the System was being. Usually it spent its time being snarky and making suggestions on ridiculous ways she could use it and her magic. Of course, she was already using her magic in fairly ridiculous ways, and apparently that was all it took to satisfy the thing. Who knew?

She hadn’t really made any attempt to direct her Hop, in no small part because she had no idea where she was or which way she needed to go. Without walls or ceilings to slow her down, and with desperation driving her Hop, it turned out that she could jump pretty high now, and she was well above the tops of the trees by the time she leveled out and began to glide.

In her arms, Bryan first screamed, then clutched at her like Lanis Loe holding onto Stuperman after yet another daring rescue. Now, however, he raised his head, and when she glanced down, she saw wonder on his face as he stared around. His gaze lingered on the house that was already shrinking in the distance, but which still stood out from its surroundings by virtue of being partially engulfed in flames.

“How is this possible?” he asked. Assuming the question was rhetorical, Pandy didn’t answer, just flapping around as she tried to find…there! A looming shadow, darker than the moonlit night – she could see Celestine Point. As she banked and headed toward what was either an oversized hill or an undersized mountain, Bryan cleared his throat and tried again.

“I know you’re a Dark mage,” he insisted, “but I’ve also seen you use Air and Fire magic.” She glanced down, to see his eyes scanning the parts of her he could see from his close-up perspective. “You don’t seem to have any jewelry except a single necklace, which clearly holds the enchantment that transformed you into this shape. Does it control the wings, too?”

His eyes were almost hungry as they locked onto the slender golden chain of Augustus’s latest gift, but he didn’t try to touch it. Pandy shook her head. “It’s, um, a…secret.” That was lame. Of course something that could do what the people of this world believed to be impossible would be a secret. But she didn’t like the way Bryan was looking at her, like he’d like to take her apart in order to see what made her tick. Or tock.

“I work for Queen Louisa,” she told him, which was technically true, since the queen had given her money in exchange for allowing Eleanor to live at her house. And didn’t the royal family pay for the three schools, which by extension meant they hired Falconet’s staff and teachers? Not that Pandy had gotten paid for her teacher gig yet, but she also hadn’t done much real teacher-work, so there was that.

Somewhat to her surprise, relief warred with…was that anger on Bryan’s face? “I see,” he said in a tone so neutral that it was like a slap in the face.

Celestine Point was growing larger by the wing-beat, and Pandy debated following up on whatever was bothering Bryan versus just flying and asking about it later. The question became moot however, as pain burst upward from her left buttock, burning through her back and making her wobble and drop several feet.

-21 Corruption Points

Pandy swore as she banked sharply to the right, then back-winged, allowing the next attack to pass by in a shuddering ball of chaotic darkness. She dropped further, and Bryan clutched at her again, reminding her that he currently had no protection other than her body. <Shield of Darkness, Bryan Conroy,> she thought, and a shell of shadow formed around the man in her arms. He didn’t look like he had a lot of health points, but as long as it was more than ten, it was better than using herself as the spell’s target.

Celestine Point wasn’t that far ahead, and Augustus had promised that he would wait for her there, along with ‘some help’. She wasn’t certain what help he planned to bring, but it had to be better than facing these things alone. She wasn’t even certain what they were, much less how to defeat them, so they would just keep taking more of her Corruption Points every time they caught up. She couldn’t even try to blow them away or burn them up while she was carrying Bryan.

As she tried to figure out what to do, she continued darting around like a drunken hummingbird. Unfortunately, both of the miasmic balls of shadow had caught up to her by now, and they didn’t need wings to fly, so they were able to perform aerial acrobatics Pandy couldn’t even dream of. She’d lost almost a hundred more Corruption Points and her toes were brushing the tops of the trees. She needed help, but there was no way to let Augustus know where she was.

Or was there? As she dodged another ball of Darkness, Pandy thought, <Innate Magic, Radiant Presence. Light me up!>

Innate magic successful.

Three hundred eighty-seven uses until level 24.

Radiant Presence successful.

Thirty-one uses until level 13.

Pandy-light 1, Moths 6, but who’s counting?

Pandy took back any thoughts she might have had about the System being either supportive or helpful as her body flared into brilliant light, far brighter than ever before. She folded her wings, sharply dropping another five feet in order to avoid the next surge of blackness heading in her direction. A rather pointy tree branch came up at her as she did so, and she had to snap her wings back out to halt her descent, knowing as she did so that she’d failed to dodge completely. She braced herself for pain even as she beat her wings to regain as much height as possible.

She’d nearly forgotten her living burden, even though he was the reason she couldn’t maneuver or fly freely, but she was abruptly reminded when Bryan gasped and said, “You can use Light magic as well? Why didn’t you do that sooner?”

Pandy frowned, only then realizing that she hadn’t lost any Corruption Points or been struck by the expected attack. She jinked to the side, moving to dodge a blow that didn’t come. Taking advantage of the lull, she flew up even further, though her own glow was making it difficult to see where she was going.

“Can you see Celestine Point?” she asked Bryan, squinting against the glare. His shield had failed at some point, and she briefly wondered if it was because there wasn’t any shadow remaining. She was flying at the heart of a star, only with significantly less fission. Hopefully.

Bryan turned his head, peering around Pandy. He raised his hand and pointed off to their right. “That way, I think.”

Pandy swung wide, still dodging left, right, and down, even though the attacks had abruptly stopped. She didn’t want to find out the hard way that her pursuers had only paused in order to come up with something even worse.

On she flew, surrounded by light, through the silence that fell over the world when the night creatures ended their efforts to find food or fun, and the day creatures, including most humans, had yet to stir. The only sound was the beating of her wings and the panicked gasps of the man she clutched against her chest. Her twenty minutes had to be almost up, but surely she was nearing Celestine Point and Augustus, wasn’t she?

A shout came from somewhere above her, and Pandy veered sharply to the side as she realized she’d nearly run straight into the very mini-mountain she was trying to find. Its steep sides reflected her light back at her, illuminating determined trees clinging tenaciously to cracks and crevices even a mountain goat would have found challenging to climb.

“Here!” It was Augustus’s voice, and Pandy looked up, then put one final burst of effort into flapping. Why was she tired? She didn’t get tired. Yet here she was, and though her eyelids didn’t exactly feel heavy, her whole body seemed to be made of lead.

Hands reached into her aura of light, tugging at Bryan and the simulacrum. The false Thaniel tumbled free, collapsing bonelessly to the ground to the sound of muffled gasps. Pandy tried to pull away, but a familiar voice said, “It’s all right now,” and she let go, allowing Bryan to fall as Pandy tumbled into Augustus’s embrace. Her wings vanished as her light blinked out.

Eight Mana remaining.

Wow, you cut that one close.

Pandy could practically feel the glee in the letters. Why was it that the more trouble she was in, the happier the System seemed to be? Was it sitting out there eating virtual popcorn while she suffered? If so, it could at least share. She hadn’t had popcorn in months.

“There are Dark elementals after us,” she said, leaning her head against her probably-boyfriend’s chest. She could hear the steady thump thump of his heart, and it was very reassuring that it didn’t seem to be going much faster than usual.

Augustus was in his element as he snapped, “Get Lian out here. We need a Light mage.”

Pandy’s head popped up. Her Mana must be starting to recover, because her head felt a little clearer already. “The man I brought with me is Bryan. Conroy. Lian’s father. It turns out he wasn’t dead after all, and-”

“Oh, I recognized him,” Augustus said, and there was no sign of the twinkle she was used to seeing in his eyes. “We worked together a few times, though he wouldn’t recognize me. We’ll keep him out of Lian’s sight until we can figure out what in Ismara’s name is going on. I can see you have quite a story to tell, Rabbit.”

Pandy gasped, grabbing hold of Augustus’s coat and trying to pull one side of it to cover her head. No hair got in the way, so the blonde illusion was definitely gone. “That’s another thing,” she said, voice muffled. “Bryan thinks Thaniel’s rabbit is going to fall apart. He can’t see Bunny, either. And,” she pulled her head partway out again, looking up to see that some of that frightening coldness had left Augustus’s gaze, and he was now watching her with a bemused warmth that was much more what she was used to. “I maybe kind of let a bunch of wild Demons loose in the city.”

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