She smiled a little self-consciously, then said self-consciously, “Sorry, I can’t completely reproduce the technology of my world, but in any case, I should be able to eradicate the virus. And then…” She thought of the new skill she’d taken. Mentally, she pictured a life where she just spent her time learning magic and tinkering in her workshop, playing with friends at ease. She sighed. “When I’ve become stronger, we’ll hunt them to extinction.”
“Extinction?” Eric was always curious about the words she used.
She smiled wanly at him. “Until there are no more. Dead as a species.”
Raphael chimed in finally at this point, “It’s a great sentiment, but as Eric said, finding them is…”
Jade smiled and shook her head. “When I’m stronger, that won’t be a problem. I told you of my ability… Well, mana sense just showed up on my list. I plan to use their own weapon against them.”
“You can do that?” Kaylee looked awestruck. Well, most of them did, but she was the one who voiced it aloud.
Jade nodded. “I’m not sure what form it will take, but I’ll start experimenting tomorrow.” Along with the other bazillion things she still felt like she still needed to do. Starting a crusade against a magical bogeyman would just be on the list. It wasn’t exactly how she’d planned on spending her last free day before classes, but she’d just have to deal with it. She wanted a peaceful life, but she didn’t want to be targeted by the so-called mage stealers either. To have peace, she’d have to make an undesirable choice.
She yawned, then glanced around at the five of them. Now that she was feeling better, she wanted to sleep, but in order to do that, she seriously felt the need to be clean, and the fastest way… She considered Eric and Stephen. Whatever, the other three already knew and the jig would be up tomorrow anyway.
She grabbed a cup she’d emptied earlier, putting it directly in front of her before concentrating. Everyone looked bewildered except Raphael, who seemed to put things together first. Feeling the warm tingles, she pulled the blood and ichor away from her, making it leave her clothes clean. She turned to Stephen, pulling the blood she’d rubbed off on him away. Left with a floating ball of blood and ichor, she let it drop into the cup as she heard Eric whisper, “You’re a blood mage too?”
She smiled apologetically at him. “It was the second magic I learned, actually. My need to be clean after healing was strong.” She heard Stephen curse quietly behind her.
Eric was just staring at her, asking quietly, “Who all knows?”
She glanced at the five of them and then said, “Just those in this room. The other three already knew.” Eric and Stephen were both giving Raphael an ‘and you didn’t tell us, why?’ look. She smiled and continued, “I made them swear they’d keep my secret. Now that I know more, I know blood mages aren’t considered completely evil like I thought they would be, but it’s not something I’d like to actively publicize, all the same. I realize that I’m not going to be able to hide it though, because tomorrow I’m going to need it.”
She was staring at the blood and ichor in the cup, a new idea coming to mind. “And maybe...I have a way to catch more mesmer when they invade. I don’t know if it’ll work, but it’s worth trying.” She turned to Kaylee and Jessica. “I need a jar that will seal tightly. The virus is still in my blood there, and I think it will still attract a mesmer unless it’s completely destroyed.”
Looking thoroughly alarmed, Kaylee jumped up and rushed off to the kitchen. A moment later, the front door opened and a weary-looking Lucas came in, wholly out of breath. His eyes scanned the room, quickly spotting their small group as a huge grin spread across his face and he bounded over like a happy puppy.
“Jade! You’re okay, thank heavens.” He sat down and then looked at Stephen and Eric before he reported, “Two wounded on the wall, but no one’s dead. It was alone this time.” Eric, Stephen, and Raphael all seemed to release a little of the tension she hadn’t noticed they’d been holding in until just now.
Curious, she asked, “Do they normally come in pairs?”
Lucas focused on her, then glanced at Eric, who nodded in a ‘go ahead’ gesture. “Yes. We were lucky this time that there was only one. They normally come with anywhere from one to four in their raids.”
Jade nodded grimly as she mused aloud, “I guess it depends on how much they need the food.” Scrutinizing them, she asked the next hard question, “How many were taken last time?”
It was Lucas who responded quietly again, “Three.”
She realized that the idea of sleeping in her dark room all alone was no longer quite as appealing. An idea came to mind, and she smiled at Lucas, who regarded her warily. Hers was the smile of a woman who wanted something. “Lucas, would you escort me to my room? I need to light it up before I’ll be able to sleep. Help me?” Her voice was sweet as sugar as she cajoled him.
The others laughed softly, and Lucas, who still appeared exhausted, sighed and nodded as he gave her a little mocking bow. “Of course, Lady Jade.”
She smiled. “Thanks.” She glanced at Stephen, who was a known dark mage. He was her friend, though she considered him more like a big brother. He’d given her a safe harbor and just accepted her. It bothered her a little that she might be afraid of what he taught.
He whispered, “It’s okay to be afraid of the dark.” She stared at him, wondering idly if he was a mind reader too.
Finally, she replied, “The dark is neither good nor bad, just another side of the coin, but tonight, you’re right. I’ll take comfort in the light.”
She hugged each of them goodnight, grateful for their presence in her life, before letting Lucas escort her upstairs. They’d light up her room, she’d pick some Siphon options while she finished cleaning up, eat some more and make sure she had stuff in easy reach of her bed, and then she’d sleep.
Tomorrow was going to be another long day.
Chapter Thirty-Two – Happy
Day Five
When Jade woke up the next morning, she was relieved. She’d made it through the night without harm, even though she’d done another decent upgrade to her physical stats. Granted, she’d still woken up after five hours completely ravenous, but eating before she passed out and having food next to her proved to be sufficient. She figured one of these days she would actually go to sleep without using Siphon so that she got a full night’s rest at least once a week.
Getting up, she glanced out the window, seeing the town as it just started to awaken. It was only dawn, but the light was comforting, even though her room was already lit up like noonday. People were just starting to go about their business, and she heard the distant toll of the bells from Priom Square welcoming the day.
Turning back to her room, she collected her clothes and made her way to the bathroom, where she drew a bath. It was time for a good soak, something she hadn’t done in seemingly ages. She just luxuriated in the warm water, enjoying the time to relax as she checked her profile.
Name: Jade Winward
Age: 18
Strength: 11.02
Dexterity: 12.01
Constitution: 10.97
Intelligence: 17.64
Magic: 13.06
Charisma: 11.53
Luck: 14.74
Special Abilities: Siphon
Skills: Acrobatics, Appraisal, Archery, Athletics, Blood Magic, Bluff, Cleaning, Compulsion Magic, Dark Magic, Deception, Diplomacy, Dodge, Earth Magic, Eating, Engineering, Fire Magic, Glasscraft, Haggle, Healing Magic, Heat Resistance, Herbology, Illusion Magic, Information Gathering, Insight, Intimidate, Life Magic, Light Armor, Light Magic, Lightning Magic, Mana Sense, Mathematics, Mental Fortitude, Metal Magic, Modeling, Nature Magic, Navigation, Perception, Perseverance, Persuasion, Running, Sense Motive, Singing, Sleight of Hand, Small Blades, Speed Reading, Stealth, Tailoring, Unarmed Combat, Walking, Water Magic, Wind Magic, Writing