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Falerè didn’t trust me either, as it turned out. After we went over the notes from Amana, she followed me to the balcony, where Genette set up a deck chair and a small side table for tea, then watched as I prepared. The first step to my plan was in full keeping with the promise I made to her and to Rod, that I would not fly. I took a seat.
I had been practicing using my spiritual vessel pretty consistently since leaving my mountain, following Immortal Mother’s instructions. Except for during the sleep period that a certain immortal wife had imposed on me, I had kept it open to the size I felt I could manage full time. But, as long as I took breaks once in a while, I could turn it up to a much higher strength long enough to allow a certain scholar to awaken for a while, and I did so now. I expanded it as far as I could in the normal environment of Huade and brought in my secret ally, Fan Li.
During my ‘vacation’ in Sky Ocean, Fan Li had grown interested in the various blood magic techniques in Senhion’s memory, which apparently resembled spiritual techniques from her world. I didn’t entirely get it, but…
— This scholar noted a resemblance between the blood-and-qi of the first stage of Huajie’s cultivation ladder and the condensed blood of the blood magic that Senhion had mastered. No doubt this small one’s strong aptitude for the former had somehow been inspired by the latter. When considered this way, it was possible to deduce how to adapt certain qi techniques to modify the spells of vampire magic.
… what she said. Anyhow, I leaned back in my deck chair, closed my eyes and let Fan Li go to work. Condensed blood and mana of both Light and Dark elements flowed out of my blood core into my right forearm.
A creature formed, similar to the crow-shaped daytime form of the [Blood Tracker] spell, but twenty times more complex, perched on the arm it was flowing out of as I held it up like a falconer. I forced myself not to smirk as Falerè and Genette gasped in unison.
The creature stretched its wings and cawed, then launched as I made a gentle casting motion to send it forth. In a flurry of wings, it rose into the sky and headed out on patrol.
Then I formed a second, a third and a fourth, sending each out in turn. Fan Li sent me an apology that she didn’t quite have the ability to create a fifth, then contracted the spiritual vessel to my normal size as she went back to sleep, as if she were pulling metaphorical covers over herself.
I dropped my arm, relaxed and tested my connection to them. They were brilliant blends of Blood Magic and fairy skills, made from a fusion of vampire techniques and Huajie’s scholarly arts. And, just as the scholar had predicted, I was able to use my fairy sense through them, and see with fairy sight through their eyes, something I could never have done with pure vampire magic.
The birds were completely autonomous, similar in function to Senhion’s and Diurhimath’s proxies that I didn’t yet have the power to reproduce, and they could coordinate with each other. I could ignore them, letting them work on their own. I could passively view the airspace through them as they flew under their own management. Or, I could control them. What’s more, I could fire off certain magics through them… probably. I wasn’t going to test that part out just yet. I wanted to wait until Falerè wasn’t watching, in case I lost the spell and had to rebuild them from scratch.
“What can these birds do, Your Highness?” the fairy captain wondered.
“They can defend themselves and patrol,” I replied, finally opening my eyes. “I can see through their eyes as they fly, but they can also work on their own. Anything flying into Narses’ airspace will be visible to them.”
“Even in stealth?” she asked, sounding doubtful.
“If I can detect it, they can detect it, Captain.”
I saw doubt clouding her eyes, and realized that, with someone as young as me, the ability to see through stealth is normally not very good.
Letting my lips curl up a little, I told her, “Captain, don’t judge me by normal fairy standards. I’m able to detect Lady Serera in stealth.”
Her eyes grew, then she frowned. “That’s a bit hard to believe, Your Highness.”
“Well, to tell the truth, she can get pretty close before I detect her,” I admitted. “But she can’t actually reach me before I notice her. I’ve warned you about judging me by common standards, Captain.”
Perhaps she was considering the strange magic she had just witnessed as she regarded me and thought. Her fairy sight had surely shown her how abnormal the magic was. Finally, she nodded.
“You promise you will alert me if anything comes into the airspace?”
“I shall do so immediately, Captain,” I promised. “Now please, hurry to those warehouses. Report back what’s happening there, and support the Pendor military when they arrive.”
Her hesitation was making me anxious. Who knew what evidence was disappearing while she stayed with me? But I couldn’t get angry at her for not wanting to go. She was not being insubordinate. On the contrary, she was being loyal to her boss, who had commanded her to guard me above all.
“I have more threats facing me than the ones in the sky, Captain,” I told her. “These events on the ground could become a direct danger to me.”
Falerè pressed her lips together, then nodded. Growing her wings– beautiful butterfly wings made of gold mixed with pastel blues and pinks– she launched into the air and departed.
Letting out a sigh, I closed my eyes again, then watched through magic bird vision as the fairy warrior squad converged on their captain and headed for the Lower Town.
I was still keeping an eye on the air as well, of course. I only needed one of my creatures to track the fairies, since they were making no attempt at stealth. The captain probably decided that making their presence known would have a damping effect on the rioters. I assigned the job of monitoring the birds to Sirth, who was now awake. Shortly after, I noticed Sirth also calling on her Wind spirits to help as well.
Genette set a cup of tea down on the side table. I thanked her, then noticed a calico cat, gray, orange and white, nosing around at the balcony doors.
Cats are nothing strange, of course. Castles always have a population of resident cats, keeping the rodent population under control. But I sipped my tea with a smile as I watched it, because this one had a distinctly different nature to it. I doubted Genette had realized it yet, but to my fairy sight, it was pretty obvious this was no normal cat.
Genette took up her station beside the entrance, near where the cat had been sniffing around, causing it to scamper to one side. It noticed me watching it, so I looked away out of habit. As a bit of wisdom I learned as Robert, I knew that cats dislike being stared at. but I wasn’t surprised in the least when this cat sauntered over and then, all of the sudden, sprang up onto my lap.
I smiled and gave its back a few strokes. Then I said, “Kiki, you’re fooling my maid, but you’re not fooling me.”
I heard a very non-feline titter of pixie laughter, but rather than transforming back, she just stretched like a normal cat, hard and long, then relaxed, turning quite liquid, just like any cat is prone to do, allowing me to continue petting.
“Kiki, Young Mistress?” Genette wondered. “Isn’t that the name of that pixie that’s been following you?”
“I wouldn’t say she was following me, per se,” I differed. “She just likes hanging around. And this is the pixie in question. Kiki, this is my lady’s maid, Genette.”
Kiki looked over at her, then meowed a greeting.
“I… had no idea that pixies can turn into cats,” Genette stated with her eyes wide.
“I don’t think most of them can,” I said. “This is an unusually old one. Older than the Fairy King, in fact. He calls her ‘Little Auntie’.”
My lady’s maid looked slightly gobsmacked. I chuckled, then looked back down at Kiki. “Why a cat, Kiki?”
She transformed back into her normal form, then switched from laying on her side to straddling my thigh, leaning forward on her hands as she looked up at me.
“Big Sis say Kiki scare maid ladies!” she told me with her chin up. “Kitty no scare!”
“So do you often pretend to be a cat?”
“Cat, bird, turtle, fish,” she said while counting on her fingers, then stared at her thumb. “Mmmmmm…”
Then she smacked her little fist on her palm and said, “Oh! Otter!”
“Otter?” I echoed. “Why an otter?”
“Otter fun fun! Play lots!”
“You transform into an otter so you can play with other otters?”
“Uh huh!” she answered with a brisk nod. “Fun fun!”
“Can other pixies transform?” I wondered. I seriously had never heard of such a thing.
“Some,” Kiki answered with a shrug. “Make easy hide.”
“Well… I guess it’s fine,” I decided. “You’re certainly less of a bother as a cat. Are you staying close to me on purpose?”
“Yup yup! Mama say!”
So Immortal Mother had told her to stay around me. I wanted to ask why, but I decided it wasn’t a subject to discuss in front of Genette.
Apparently Kiki decided that the conversation was over. She jumped down from my lap, transforming back into a cat on the way down, then ambled back toward the door.
Genette watched her as she went, still amazed.
“So she’s… your friend, Young Mistress?”
“She’s more than just a friend, I’d say,” I answered while watching her disappear into my suite. I didn’t want to say, She’s my little sister, but I felt like it was wrong to demote her to ‘friend’. “She’s helped me quite a lot.”
I picked up my teacup and took another sip while gazing out at the city below.
“Miss Genette, I have a favor to ask you.”
“Certainly, Young Mistress,” she answered promptly. “Whatever you wish.”
“I’m now the acting duchess of Pendor. You should know about that by now.”
“Yes, Young Mistress,” Genette replied.
“It is no longer appropriate to be calling me ‘Young Mistress’,” I stated, as lightly as I could.
Genette’s breath caught, then she said, “Ah.”
“Neither should I be called ‘Your Grace’ of course, as I am only acting in Mother’s stead. But please spread the word to others that, for decorum’s sake, they should be calling me ‘My Lady’. In third person, ‘Her Ladyship’.”
Sounding a bit chastened, Genette answered, “Of course, My Lady.”
I glanced over at her. Sure enough, her lupine ears were flat and her tail was drooping.
“I’m not upset,” I stated, firmly. “For years, you’ve been calling me ‘Young Mistress’, and habits are difficult to break. But I don’t want my fiancé or anyone else getting the idea that I’m being disrespected, so make sure to fix it.”
“Absolutely, My Lady,” she agreed.
I huffed. “Your ears, Miss Genette.”
Her hands went to the top of her head, discovered her flattened ears, and she gave an embarrassed smile.
“My lady’s maid must always look proud and confident,” I declared. “Keep them standing up straight.”
“Yes, My Lady!” she agreed, as she consciously raised her ears back to their usual position, tipping her chin up slightly as well.
