Ylva gave a slow nod before she turned and started walking once again.
Some part of Zoe had to remind herself that Ylva wasn’t actually a child. Watching her walk almost made her want to run up and hold Ylva’s hand. She looked innocent, especially from the back. Almost huggable.
Then, Zoe watched her walk. All the wrongness came out. Ylva walked with such certainty one would never find in a real eight year old. As if every step she made was a divine mandate. Wind curled around her–scared to get in her way.
Avoiding wind was perfectly possible for Zoe. But for an eight year old? Absolutely unnatural.
Another gust of wind sent further shivers down Zoe’s spine. She pulled out her dagger and cut the wind in two.
A class one aerothurge did not deal with the wind when they didn’t want to.
Chapter 018
Martina smiled as she looked over the assembled guards. Her office was somewhat crowded. It was never the largest room, even if it was the highest office at Brakket. Having herself, Zagan, two demons, three mage-knights, and an elf made it feel very small indeed.
The elf wasn’t her idea. He was some child elf that heard about Lurcher. Upon learning about the hiring of security, he applied. The school’s administrators approved. He was eager to make a name for himself defending human school children or some other foolish plan.
Martina didn’t anticipate many problems from him. He had yet to notice the three demons standing in the room.
Neither had two of the mage-knights for that matter. One had only just earned her pin. Fresh out of the guild. She only graduated from Brakket itself two years ago. Those two did not fill Martina with much confidence.
The oldest mage-knight had noticed Zagan at least. He kept shooting wary glances in the demon’s direction. It was highly likely that he had worked with or perhaps against demons in the past. Either that or he simply felt the power that Zagan was only barely containing.
Neither of the two demons were Martina’s first choice in that department. They were, however, agreeable in temperament and both had the ability to fully disguise themselves as a human.
One, a morail, was an expert in stealth. While not exceptionally strong on his own, he didn’t need to be in order to walk around slitting everyone’s throat. If he did not wish to be found, Martina would be relying on Zagan to bypass his abilities.
The other was normally an unshaped mess of toxic tentacles capable of crushing a car. The mass of limbs compressed itself into a brightly smiling female form and had used its natural camouflaging ability to appear human. A mildly sweaty human, but most of that would be covered by the thick cloaks both demons wore.
“Brakket Academy,” Martina said, “has had a troublesome last year. This year is shaping up to be no different. You all signed up to protect this school and the children attending. If any of you thought this would be a cushy job with easy money, you can get out right now.”
None of the security force moved. Good.
“I thought I would mention some goings on, in case you were unaware. One last chance to back out.
“Last year, necromancers set hordes of zombies loose to indiscriminately kill townspeople and students. They then proceeded to kidnap and experiment on one of our students. One necromancer was killed by the aforementioned kidnapped student. The Elysium Order showed up and scared the remainder off. They then made a right mess of things. They had some monster hunting down their order. They brought their battles into the school, injuring students and ultimately inciting a riot in the town.
“It gets worse. This year, we have evidence that a pair of demons, a carnivean and a jezebeth if that means anything to you, assaulted two of our instructors. While they were both killed, the original summoner is both at large and unknown.
“If that doesn’t sound like things you can handle, please leave and let us fill your slot with someone who can.”
Martina fell silent and waited. Once again, no one moved.
“Good. These two,” Martina said, gesturing towards the two black-cloaked demons, “are our specialists. If there is anything you feel you cannot handle, call one of them immediately. Especially in any matters you believe might be demonic in nature. They are listed in your cellphones as Daru and Lucy.”
The morail harrumphed. He had expressed displeasure towards his nickname. Daroth simply wasn’t suitable. While not exclusive to demons, the ending on his name was too common for Martina to be comfortable using it.
Giggles, or perhaps gurgles, erupted from the axopodia. They cut off quickly enough as Zagan casually turned to look at her.
Martina suppressed a frown. She… might need more lessons in being a human.
It couldn’t be helped. She had never been around people before in any capacity. If it wasn’t for Zagan, she might never have been summoned. Ever. Her eagerness to interact with humans was a major redeeming factor. It was curiosity in a new environment and not the ‘how many ways can I murder them’ kind of curiosity that most demons possessed.
Clearing her throat, Martina continued her speech. “Several of the staff at Brakket have histories in combat and may be called upon in emergencies. The combat capable staff have been entered into your phones with an asterisk before their names.”
Martina gestured towards the oldest mage-knight. “Gregory Lavero will be your primary coordinator. He draws up all schedules and partnerships. If you have an issue or need to change anything, speak to him.
“Any questions?”
The youngest mage-knight, Eleanore Lorre, lifted one of her hands into the air.
Martina had to try hard to avoid rolling her eyes. They weren’t in school anymore. Well, they weren’t students anymore. “Yes?” she said with a nod in the girl’s direction.
“You said demons, right?” Her voice came out with a slight tremble. Nervousness at demons or perhaps nervousness at her first job. Both were understandable.
“That is correct,” Martina said.
Eleanore flinched back slightly.
Her voice may have come out terse and clipped, but the girl should have been paying attention. Martina did not mind a few nerves showing at the mention of demons. It was healthy even. Failing to pay attention was significantly less healthy.
“Is there any dossier on what we can expect, strategies, and the like?”
Martina softened her face. “That is a good question.” Much better than what she had been expecting. “Apart from our two specialists, Rex Zagan,” she gestured to her side, “is something of an expert in demonic matters. He will be giving a full report on everything we know so far and will be happy to answer any questions you might have.”
“I’ll bet he’s an expert,” Gregory mumbled.
It probably wasn’t meant for her ears, but Martina couldn’t let that go. “Are we going to have a problem, Gregory?”
“So long as things remain smooth and in control, I don’t care.”
“Good. We’ll have no issues. Other questions?”
The elf stepped forwards after a moment of silence. His voice hummed out from the back of his throat, giving him a much deeper voice than his appearance would suggest. “Are there problematic students we need to watch out for?”
Martina raised an eyebrow. She had expected the topic of demons to dominate any questions. “Zagan, being one of our professors, will be able to give you a rundown on most students. The staff has been more than adequate at maintaining order, but if you see a fight break out or anything similar, intervene. Don’t hurt the students, obviously, but stop the fight. You can report students for discipline to myself or any professor.”
The elf nodded and moved back in line with the mage-knights.