I looked at the twitg, disiing corpse of the fool who had rushed at us with speed rivalling Akio’s, watg as mushrooms and fungus sprouted from the flesh visible between his torn clothes. Rather vile. A pitiful way to die. But I do not care, the foht it upon himself…

  Instead, I looked at Hyath, who was grinning, her powerful nature energy dying down as she pulled herself to her feet. She coughed, a trickle of blood running down her face, and I absently reached over, wiping it from her mouth. Hyath paused, frozen, eyes wide, before she shook her head rapidly, displeased.

  “Yooou must nooot, mistress!” she insisted. “Hyath is but a maid, you should nooot dirty your hands with…”

  My tender wiping ged, and my fingers dug into her cheek and . She squealed a little, tears in her eyes, but I was resolute. No, this will not do, not at all. I will not tolerate backsliding. “Do you not-not uand why I am upset, Hyath?” I asked, my amber eyes no doubt glittering with anger.

  “Soooooorry…” she managed, and I released her, still frustrated.

  “I uand you enjoy serving. Boggart, Brownie or something else, I would not-not rob you of joys. But you are not-not just a maid. You are also my equal, one of the wives of Akio. Use-use my name, not-not merely mistress. As for dirtying my hands…” I scowled. “… how-how is wiping the blood from the precious face of one of my fellow sisters dirty, especially when you have just-just sin a foe that Akio wishes dead, taking a wound in the process?”

  Hyath looked down at that. “I uand. Sooometimes Hyath fets. It is… it is easier when Akio is here with me.”

  My scowl ged to a gentle smile. That is quite true. “Ihat I uand. I wish we were with him now. But as, we are not-not. We have more work to do. Then…” I licked my lips, eager. “We shall celebrate. With poor Eri unable, wifely duties will fall to us, will they not-not?”

  “Hyath will warm the bed!” she agreed, alshtening up, coughing a little more blood, which I again wiped away, no more protests this time. Hyath is powerful, yes, and has grown more so, but pared to me she is still fragile.

  “Are you injured badly?” I asked, ed. After destroying a helicopter and disposing of a number of mortal soldiers, who had the ill-grace to rise again as disgusting dead creatures, we had headed deeper into Kyoto, searg for pces where the heavy ordihe enemy had somehht to the Boundary lurked. Even now, we could see trails streaking across the silvery sky, smoking and hot, followed by a series of distant, deafening explosions, as more of the architecture of this city was destroyed with reckless disregard and abandon.

  It was then we ced on… that. I she smell of fungus and mould unpleasant. The wretched fool had raced at us, waving some equally wretched bde of what looked like bone, which radiated a debauched kind ness. Even seeing it now, where it y on the floor, quivering and drooling, was enough to make me feel ill. Fungus and mould was growing on it, slowly eating into it, but it fought back, dirty violet energies trying to expuhe tainted parts. Not that it will succeed against Hyath’s spores. She is now as dangerous as the Myids ever were, perhaps more so.

  Hyath had reflexively released a cloud of spores. They were harmless to me, for I had already assimited with such usiher Healing, a most painful process, but one most satisfying in that when the agony was done, Akio would praise me and rub my head, perhaps even kiss me, telling me I had grown stronger, more skilled. Holding in a happy giggle, I stepped over the rotting husk, eyeing the screaming bde cautiously. “Well, when that brute struck you, I was quite-quite ed.” I said, using tendrils of wind to probe the bde, frowning as it started to draw the jade energies in, drinking them.

  “Hyath is fine, dooo not worry, mistress Shaeu. Though… I am happy fooor your .” She giggled, good humour restored. The fool had pouhrough the cloud of spores, sealing his iable fate, and had struck a mighty blow against Hyath, knog her down. “Fortunately, the gift frooom Akio protected me well enough.” She tapped her fist on the armour of dark feathers she wore, much as I did. Several bluesteel batteries glowing with olivine energies were attached to the back, and the feathers were humming softly. “I dooo wish it was cuter though, this is nooot proper for a maid.”

  “I agree. I am rather taken with the manner of dress-dress I use normally.” I said absently, probing the filthy sword with fire, light and water. The Spirit Water seemed to aggravate it, accelerating the speed the spores and fungi were ing it, so with a grin I trickled more in, and soon the cursed bde was little more than deg slime, a seedbed for new spores. “Well, it is a great-great relief to me that you were not cut by this. I fear it would cause grave harm.”

  “Hyath thinks sooo too.” She nodded. “I know bad when I see it.” She shuddered. “Well, shall we gooo? There are more enemies Akio wishes for us tooo defeat!”

  I urning away from the destroyed bde. “Yes, we shall. The trails came from over there. I do not-not approve of them destroying a city my mother seems to have-have fondness for, much less one Akio wishes to protect. We shall advahe Hyakki Yagyō must have moved on from here, else these invaders would hardly be having su easy time. Well, their leisure ends here. I am quite sure Akio is also reaping a toll of his enemies. It would be good to fight sutruders. Akio was too kind, and I loved that about him, but enemies… while some could be made friends, and even I had to accept and five Duke Formor, for the sake of the Seelie Court, others… others had to be put down, and I would like Akio to learn the difference. “He will need-o, if he is to be the King of the Seelie Court…” I murmured.

  “What was that, mistress Shaeu?” Hyath asked, as we headed through the chaos, seeing monsters, Yokai and more alike scattering in all dires, trying to escape the catastrophe happening around them.

  “Nothing. I was-was merely thinking out loud.” I demurred. It is far too soon to think of such things, though the Oath I swore when we first met… it still binds my heart, even though it was a shameful one, Akio has tur into a true promise.

  “There.” I gestured, and I saw anroup of these soldiers, this group apanying a long vehicle, somewhat like a truck, only with a series e tubes on the back. While I had no i in make or model, not being like that etric ratkin Ixitt, I did reise it as a mobile missile battery, havihem on the news, or depicted in anime.

  “We will destroy it!” I cried, and at my words the interlopers turned, panig. They drew guns and started firing, and I swirled wind around us, as well as infused my armour. Most projectiles were deflected, and the few that struck us deformed and bounced away harmlessly, no more than annoying stings. “Farewell!” I decred, fihreads of wind lopping them to pieces, blood scattering silver and red.

  “Crush, twist, tear!” Hyath caused vio sprout around the vehicle, digging into the tubes, and moments ter it exploded in a bright fsh of fmes, something ionating violently. The vines cushioned most of the force of the bst, though our hair still streamed behind us in the sudden breeze.

  “Mortal devices truly are impressive. Su explosion would-would require a talented Fae of fmes to create. Aalentless mortals - replicate it, and unch it tinuously. Were the Seelie Court and a mortal army to e to blows, I ot-not see it ending well for us. Perhaps the lords of the Fae, and the eldest, with their powerful Leagues, would weather the storm, but-but others…”

  “Doooes it matter, mistress Shaeu?” Hyath cocked her head, wiping debris from her clothing. “If Akio wishes the Fae destroyed, we shooould happily help him. If he wants to kill mooortals, then we should do so. And if…” she smiled then, a genuine one, ae her callous, almost cruel pronous, I could see she was lucid. As she grew stronger, her miled. Though this is likely more due to the care and love Akio shows her. I do as well, and Eri. “… Akio wishes fooor them to all get along, then we should make it sooo!”

  “Indeed.” I agreed, ughing regally. “And these scum threaten the peace-peace Akio seeks. Therefore, we shall show them no mercy.” I eyed the distance, where the remaining helicopter had ducked below the horizon. “First, we shall-shall bring down their final helicopter. I am a Fae of wind first of all, the sky belongs to me!”

  ********

  “Well, what do we have here?” I was thrown backwards by a shuddering impact, blood in my mouth. I spat silver, and looked up balefully at the helicopter h overhead. Beside me, Hyath was twitg, smoke rising from her armour and skin, and her expression was oddly… ecstatiever mind that. What matters is…

  “Most of the rest of the rabble here died to that. Impressive.” There was a man in the helicopter, the side door open. He was a little pin, dark hair and eyes onp the nd Akio called home, but the skin-tone and facial features were a little different, fn. As he raised one hand, I saw gleaming sparks cascade around it, a vivid chartreuse shine glowing. Seeing that, my eyes lit up, and I found myself smiling. To think I resemble Hyath now. How ironic.

  “I would thank you not-not to lump me in with such-such weaklings.” I said, cmbering to my feet. I then elled wind into my armour, the feathers vibrating rapidly, while gathering wind and water element, ready for use. “Still, I do not-not think that is the way a male should great a female such as myself.”

  He barked a ugh, seeming genuinely amused. “I apologise. You’re quite right. But as… the situation makes fools of us all. After all, whearts riding a tiger, even if forced on at gunpoint, one ’t simply get off, he has to go where the tiger takes him.”

  “I see.” Hyath had risen to her feet as well, scowling at the man. She reparing to cast her spores, but I raised a hand, stopping her. “Well, you seem a male we talk to. The st… well, he merely rushed at us without any-any preamble, and was thus destroyed.”

  “Someone’s goo the belly of that thing already then, huh? Well, we khat not all of us would get off the tiger alive.” He shrugged. “So, excuse my rudeness, but are you a kami, as they call them here?”

  “Kami? No, I am merely reinforts called here-here to protect this pce. So I fear your schemes will surely fail. The female Tsukiko, who Akio wishes to protect, she will-will remain safe, without fail.” Beside me, Hyath nodded frantically in agreement.

  “Reinforts, huh? So our attack was foreseen, was it? Well, sidering how I ended up on this tiger, I shouldn’t be surprised at anything. Tsukiko, is it? I wonder…” he looked at his waist, where another of the bone bdes was belted, leaking thick violet haze, and through my eyes I could see a vast wealth of polluted aether being drawn into him, far more than his body could ha even exceeds Akio’s in terms of amount. As, this male…

  “My dolences.” I said regally, my sympathies. “Even should you triumph here, which I assure you shall not-not happen, your Astral body is being torn apart by the excessive aether you have no-nht to wield. tinuing surely means your death.”

  “I thought so.” He agreed. “Well, I’d be happy enough with just death now, taking my ces with what lies beyond, rather than end up in the belly of the beast, but… first. My name is Ma Quon. A pleasure.” He bowed politely.

  “A male of manners. I do approve.” I said haughtily. “I am Shaeu Tu Shae Dannan, Duchess and Princess of the Seelie Court. This here is Hyath. I say one final time, surrender, and perhaps I - persuade my husband to be le. We have many-many skills, perhaps we fix yed body.”

  “So a fine dy such as yourself is married huh? A shame.” He grinned cheerfully, but his eyes were shadowed. “Well, much as I’d love to take up your offer, if I try, I’ll just end up devoured all the sooner. If I’d have known this would be how it turned out, I’d have listeo the Ministry, but my father was treated so badly by the Party and… well, you don’t want to hear my life story, do you? Suffice to say, I made mistakes, driven by emotion and now… well, now it es down to this. So, don’t hate me, Shaeu Tu Shae Dannan, Hyath. At least you’ll die quickly! Refleg Lightning Mirrors!” With that shout, two crag silvery masses of lightning formed oher side of his hands, yellow and green energies mixing.

  “Hyath. I wish-wish to face him. Support me, but do not-not sy him!”

  “As yooou wish. But…” Hyath surprised me by not fully obeying. “If it looooooks like you will die, Hyath will nooot stand by. Akio would grieve if you fall.”

  “Very well…” I agreed, only for silver and yellow-green lightning to sm down onto me in a torrent as thick as my waist. Air heated and exploded outwards in a crack of thunder, whipping at our hair once more.

  “You talk too much, a on failing of women. By Diànmǔ, she who calls the lightning, be struck down!” He was taking no ces, as more lightning fell. I swatted Hyath aside with wind as I was engulfed in aorrent.

  Well, up there I ot reach you… as a third wave came down, I focussed my light energy. I did not have a great deal, nor the trol that Akio had, but I uood the attack he favoured, the ser. A fsh of light pierced the lightning, and moments ter I heard a curse, my vision still obscured by the tinual rain of bolts that was crashing down on me.

  “Shit, the ‘copter…” as my vision cleared, my Mystic Eyes w hard to pee the lightning, I could see the helicopter spinning out of trol, the tral axis of the bdes pierced aed, the bdes no longer in position.

  “Yes, e down here.” I coughed, staggering heavily. “I do not-not approve of you looking down ohe helicopter crashed, exploding, and I was satisfied I had achieved my aim of freeing the skies, only to pause, as the man was standing on another disk of crag silver, still airborne.

  “I guess you still have a few tricks.” He appuded me. “And you’re a tough ohe silver lightning of Diànmǔ is potent, it melt through tank armour. And here’s you, still standing.” He arched an eyebrow at me sardonically, and I felt a surge of annoyahough barely it seems. Try this!” More silvery lightning mirrors appeared, until he was surrounded by five of them, and standing on the sixth. “Sixfold Lightning Blitz!”

  Bsted from all dires, I was tossed about like a rag-doll, nding heavily, more lightning falling down on top of me. When the rain finally subsided, the ground was shimmering silver, vitrified and gssy. Rolling onto my ba a crater, I looked up at him, still standing smugly in the sky.

  “My turn.” I decred, and I unleashed a volley of fireballs. He looked a little panicked, before leaping to another of his lightning mirrors, dodging. But I am hardly dory this… the fireballs reversed course, and he was taken unawares, explosions filling the sky. When the smoke cleared, he was standing there, rather burned but still intact. With a grimace, he touched his charred face gingerly.

  “I was careless. I admit it. But not this time. Farewell!” The streams of lightning merged, f a bzing silver hat pierced the heavens before smming down into the crater I was in. The thunder unleashed made my bones creak, and I coughed up more blood, smearing my grin red and silver.

  “Is that it? Disappointing.” I muttered, and he must have heard me, as another wave came down, answering my mockery, followed by a third, somehow even more massive. Thunder roared, and I felt my internal injuries piling up. Although… Aether ed, Ether Healing w to restore me, and I blinked, my sensitive eyes showing brilliant afterimages.

  “Why… how?” he asked, frustrated. “My lightning is Divihere should be no way you withstand it!”

  “Indeed. While I have never-never seen it, it surely rivals the Queen’s. I am most impressed.” I cpped my hands together gleefully. “Lightning, so much residue.” My eyes could see the leftover elemental lightning from the bst. It was rather impure, mixed with something else, but it was still a wele sight. Standing, I watched as he unleashed more lightning towards me.

  “I have tested this enough.” I said, flipping a hand dismissively, and the lightning halted, uo pee the shimmering yer of thick water energy I had jured, lightning f arouhe sedary impact from the thuill rocked me, but I merely ughed as blood trickled from my ed.

  “How? Why?” he asked again.

  “Really now, how - I know more than a mortal about lightning? Well, I fess to have studied it in my free-free time. After all…” I smirked happily, pleased at my jecture being proven. “… the Queen must wield Lightning, it is known-known.” I threw out some more fireballs, sg him. “I trol water, the purest Spirit Water. And pure water, it is a perfesutor, is it not-not? I merely covered myself in a yer of it.”

  “Of course I know that, I’m not an idiot!” he snapped. “But a thin yer like that ’t protect against my silver lightning! That’s uific!”

  “Yes. But where your sce meets-meets the power of a, many things are possible. This is no ordinary water, it is most-most powerful. It is surely not-not a stretagihat I strehe properties it holds, is it?”

  “I see.” The man ughed. “Even so, the thunder…”

  “Yes, that hurt a lot, but I was not-not in danger of defeat.” I patted my chest proudly. “After all, what is thunder but the pressure of the air? I create a vacuum with wind element, and shield myself, though I fess to not-not needing to. Your thunder is strong, but it is not-not enough.”

  “I see. Well, I guess I’m beaten.” The man ughed bitterly. “But there’s still no way you stop me esg, is there?”

  Hyath, atg from below, suddenly smirked. “Really? Hyath thinks she stooop you and already has.”

  I looked as puzzled as he must have felt, as Hyath giggled, expining. “Mistress Shaeu said nooot to kill him, so all I did was make him sleepy.” At her expnation I narrowed my eyes, and I could indeed see a haze of microscopivisible spores.

  “I wondered why I was so tired.” He sighed. “I thought it was overuse of its poisonous gifts. Well, ry but…” he put a hand to his chest, and silver lightning surged out. His skin burned, worse than when I did it, and he shuddered, befrinning bitterly. “That woke me up. Ugh, this has been a bad day. Well, I’d best kill you at least, Hyath, since I ’t seem to take out your panion.”

  “I think not-not.” I unleashed my pinwheels, which had been ed around my waist, and they darted out towards him.

  “Bad move. They look like excellent ductors.” He grinned, lightning fshing down. My pinwheels bzed silver, the cords lit up brilliantly, and indeed, I screamed as lightning poured into me. Hyath cried out, panicked, but I reassured her with my eyes, even as smoke rose from my skin, wafted away by the vibrations of my armour.

  “They are. I am not-not a fool.” I sniffed, smoke leaking from my open mouth, and with a faint clig, the wires hidden in the heads of my pinwheels erupted out, and both of his hands were sliced off by the wind-irings. He screamed, losing trol of his elemental mirrors, and as they vanished, he plummeted.

  “Hyath, catch him!” I called out, and she unleashed vines, grabbing him oo-gently, making me wince as I heard bones d snap. Even so, he hit the ground alive. Striding over, my insides agony, but Ether Healing slowly rest me, I stood over him.

  “Well, you got me.” He managed weakly, barely able to move, one leg grotesquely broken, his arms missing. “Damn, I didn’t want to end up like this. But…” he coughed more blood. “A question. Didn’t you have other ways to kill me, ones… less risky? She could have fatally poisoned me at any time, right?” he Hyath, who giggled back.

  “Indeed, you are not-not a fool, Ma Quon.” I decred, and he chuckled bitterly.

  “So you do remember my name. Ah well, there are worse fates than being killed by beautiful women.”

  “That sounds like something rather foolish Akio would say.” I sniffed. “Well, it is only natural to remember the name of someone I wish-wish a favour from.”

  “A favour? I’m dying. Even now… I feel it reg what it thinks belongs to it. We were only sent to find it some meals it wanted. In the end… we are its prey…” the bone sword was squirming, and I could see with my Mystic Eyes his chakra work was crumbling, beien away, the energy drawn into the sword, sent elsewhere.

  “Be destroyed!” I enveloped the bde in Moonlight Spirit Water. It resisted, screaming and trying to absorb it, but my will was resolute, and soon it shattered. Hyath spread her spores over the wreckage, but the man merely shrugged.

  “I appreciate it, but that won’t stop it. It touched us all, ged us. There’s some of it in us too. Filthy one-eyed piece of shit.” He swore for the first time. Indeed, I could see that while the rate of damage had slowed, he was still breaking apart.

  “My dolehen. But… while I ot-not save your life, I believe I send you to death painlessly, without being food. You fought well, and I grant you that much at least.”

  “You ?” Hope fred in his eyes, and I nodded.

  “Though first, a favour. And a little revenge.” I smirked nastily. Akio often told me he loved all my smiles, even this wicked one.

  “Revenge?” he asked, and I nodded.

  “Hyath, keep watch, and when I remove it, destroy it with your spores. I have no-no wish to be disturbed, this is most-most delicate work. And I must-must be swift. Akio will not-not be pleased if I tarry, but he will uand and five me. He is quite-quite sweet to us, no?”

  As Hyath ughingly agreed, I expio the man what I wished. His eyes opened in surprise, but he ughed, pained. “Very well. Yes, it is fitting. I’ll do it…” He then started pulling in a huge amount of aether from the distant source that was ing him, verting it all to lightning. Meanwhile, I started w Chirurgery, rummaging around in his ruined body, tearing out what seemed to be some sort of transparent, faintly yellowish slime, heedless of the surrounding damage. The man howled in pain, but he tio pull in further lightning, his very body beginning to burn. I caught a glimpse of the Divine Favour within him, surrounded by most of the slime being devoured, and I tore into it. My body was wracked by lightning, my skin burning, the pain rather excruciating, but I had little time or leisure to care. It would not kill me, and what could be endured was nothing to fear.

  “I dooo hate this icky goo.” Hyath decred as it was ed by her ravenous spores, which had adapted to it, being more able to feast on it, though even as her spores went through geion after geion, the slime too fought back, eating it more rapidly. Even so, it was a battle that Hyath was destio win, and soon all the fn matter was removed, the air around us full of shimmering chartreuse energies, the man broken, dying, but at peace.

  “I thank you.” He manged. “At least… I won’t end up as food. Perhaps I find pea the afterlife. Well, we killed many, so perhaps… not.” His eyes slid shut.

  “Not yet, Ma Quon.” I warned, and his eyes cracked open a little. “Your e is severed, so you ot-not draw on more aether, but… the Divine Favour is close to breaking. Draw deep, and pass with it.”

  “Svedriver.” He muttered, and as his eyes slid shut a brilliant silver glow surrounded him, driving us back. Then lightning fshed, and his body exploded, reduced to a faint mist of silvery ash.

  “Farewell, Ma Quon.” I said quietly. “He was not-not an evil man. A shame. Perhaps he could have been an ally for Akio. Well, that is another foe sin. One each, I would say.”

  Hyath nodded. “Are yooou well, Mistress Shaeu? You suffered many burns.”

  ”Of course I did. After all, did not-not Aiko boast that she truly uood the fmes when she burned her hand?” I looked around the area, which was saturated with elemental lightning energies. “I have studied. I know what it represents to the Fae. Swift retribution, the power to purify evil. I know what it represents to mortals, of electricity, and more. I know what it means to me.” I grinned, my teeth bloody. “I was born with wind, I mastered fme. Lightning is created by cold and warm air colliding, well I do-do know it is more plicated, but… wind…” I grinned, starting to pull in the lightning element that Ma Quon had given his life to create, scattering it to the surroundings peacefully at my request. “… wind I know like few others. And fme… well, lightning burns.” I giggled madly. There was little resistance, as I had no opposing or plementary elements to lightning, and my sor plexus a chakras, as well as my lunar one, were well aced to the elements that made up lightning.

  “Yes, but Akio was very angry at her, was he nooot?” she pointed out, and my grin faltered for a moment. How could I fet that? Am I such a fool?

  “Well, perhaps we will not-not tell him.” I said, shame-faced. Energy into me, and though there were traces of ination still present, with the purity of my body powered by the Spirit Water, I could filter them out. “I wish for this-this to be a happy event, where he praises me!”

  I remembered the powerful thunder buffetihe feel of electricity c through me, burning my spiritual self. I remembered the wonderful teology of the mortal world, mostly powered by the same phenomenon, if on smaller scale. As the energy rapidly diminished around me, I finally felt it, energy settling around my three relevant chakras. So… so powerful. I grinned, flig my wrist, and a bolt of lightning coursed out, fshing through the air, thurailing behind it.

  “You have dooo!” Hyath cpped excitedly. “Mistress Shaeu has mastered a Roooyal Element, that of the Queen!”

  “I have.” I said, proud, before narrowing my eyes. “Though do you not-not know Nature Element, the one of the King? So I suppose I should not-not be too proud. Even so…” I could hardly wait to face my father and siblings again, resple with such rare and royal energy. As I thought of that, I felt Hyath patting my head, fused, I looked up to see her tutting at me, expression stern.

  “Your hair, it is such a mess nooow! All stig up! You ooot see Akio like this!” she fussed, and I felt myself flush with embarrassment.

  “Fine. But we have tarried here long…” I paused, a n of fme rising like a majestic tree to the north. “… enough.” I finished, as it died down. “That was Akio. I reise Foehn, since I was there-there when he acquired it.” My own half of Foehn reised its fiery twin too. Well, it sems Akio has grown strooo.

  “Well, I dare say Akio is dealing with others, much-much as we are. Now, let us proceed.” And with that, we tinued eastwards, towards the distant sounds of battle…

  ShipTeaser