-Pruning the Roses, Part 7-

Neither of the children looked quite so fragile anymore, having committed to their adrenaline-fueled gamble.

Well, shit.

Things were continuing on a downward spiral, and I was having doubts I'd ever get to have any real fun. It had only been the opposite, actually, and I was getting a headache from the sheer burden of recent happenings.

"Let's not do anything rash," I said in as calm a tone I could manage, "From the start, all we wanted was to talk and it's not too late for that."

I had to hold myself back from continuing on.

Threats like, 'And if you harm her, your options will be limited,' danced in the back of my mouth. The collective of voices wasn't helping either. They wanted to ignore all consequences and were demanding we pop CHAOS BOLTS into both kids.

If we did something like that, I had no doubt that Hikita and Akari would act as well and we'd end up killing one or both kids in an instant.

None of us truly wanted that, but war is a hell of a drug.

The boy clutched his weapon with shaky hands. "You already ruined everything!"

"What was ruined—" Hailey tried to ask.

The girl, Jeanne, flinched, drawing a thin line of blood on Hailey's neck.

"Stop! Don't speak, don't move. Nothing!"

"We have to save Momma Hailey!"

Akari's panicked voice resounded in my head.

I know, but Hails wouldn't want us to hurt these kids. Would she?

"No…"

I clutched Akari in my left arm, and slowly motioned to Hikita to retreat further back, but she either missed it or chose to ignore it.

Two status blocks appeared in my vision at the thought of checking the kids' statuses.

- - - - - -TARGET- - - - - -

[Jeanne Renault] HEALTH: (50 / 50) STAMINA: (32 / 50) MAGICKA: (50 / 50)

» ACTIVE EFFECT: COVENANT OF THE VOID

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - -TARGET- - - - - -

[Lucien Renault] HEALTH: (50 / 50) STAMINA: (45 / 50) MAGICKA: (50 / 50)

» ACTIVE EFFECT: COVENANT OF THE VOID

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Both of them had the same void-related effect as Audrey. I really wanted to ask if Hikita knew anything about it.

"What was ruined, Lucien?"

He tensed up, retreating a step, "How do you…"

I had repeated Hailey's question, but I deliberately called the boy's name to see if I could distract him even for a moment.

Can you put up a barrier around Hailey? A real tiny one, that divides the dagger and her body?

Akari took a moment to consider.

"I think so. But I'll need to do it from my sleep."

She, like me, needed to enter a state of gnosis to make complex alterations to spells using chaos magick—or for her, using her near-identical ki.

Okay. Do it whenever you're ready, I'll try my best to stall.

Her body went limp in my arms, and I repositioned my weight naturally.

I placed my free hand on my chest.

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"I'm Airis. This is Akari, and her name is Hikita," I said, pointing at Hikita, "We'd really like to just talk, Lucien, Jeanne. I mean it."

"I don't know you." The boy was still on the defensive.

The girl was less suspecting, "But she knew your name, Luci. If we just tell her—"

"It's a trick. Remember what we were told. Anyone in red coats was our enemy, and they couldn't be trusted because of the witch leading them."

I frowned.

A witch… Ouch.

The boy's expression became more agitated, and I caught the sounds of soldiers repositioning behind us. Julius had likely noticed something was wrong and on the move, but that would only escalate the situation.

I tapped the rune beneath my ear and made a show of turning toward the soldiers while talking on the open channel.

"You don't have to worry about them. The scary knights will keep their distance from us because of Hailey's orders earlier. She was trying to help you, and so am I."

Julius immediately stopped whatever he was planning, and our forces dispersed around the other side of the chamber to seem less noticeable.

"See?" I suggested, "There aren't any witches here, we also sent the knights away, so it's okay to talk to me. I don't think we're enemies."

It appeared I had bought a little trust.

The girl withdrew her blade quite a bit, and the boy's nervous hands stabilized.

Hailey exhaled heavily.

"You were here to help your father, right?" I prodded.

Jeanne nodded, "We have to stay here. The consulars said if we did that, our father would defeat the evil witch."

"Was one of those consulars named Audrey?"

Lucien's eyes brightened, "That's our Aunt. Have you seen her?"

I stifled a grimace, sparing a glance at Hikita.

We'd guessed, and I had all but confirmed with their names in the inspection window, but now she too had confirmation that these two were almost guaranteed to be her siblings—though with a different mother.

Haah. I was growing more concerned about the void effect in their status windows.

"She was here," I admitted, children had a weird habit of knowing when adults were lying—well, in Airis' foundational memories that I had built myself around, she definitely did.

"But she left in a hurry," I continued, "So, we didn't get the chance to hear much from her. That's why we're a little confused."

Lucien's expression darkened.

"Oh."

"Maybe things have changed. We could return to the city together and look for her, would that be okay?"

Jeanne looked like she might have followed us with a little more nudging, but Lucien was still adamant about staying.

"No. We can't. Father needs us." He started to spiral, muttering the same thing over and over, "They told us to stay, so we must stay…"

Hikita's solemn voice cut in over his low murmuring.

"It's a kind of thought alteration. Years of brainwashing to follow the orders they were given. I've seen it before, but they didn't bother to use it on me because Renault's curse was already in place."

"Is there nothing we can do?"

She remained expressionless, "Maybe if we had a month to do the same thing and remove that part of the conditioning."

Troubles often came in threes.

Julius's voice in my ear made that the reality.

"That Alaetüs' body has started glowing, we'll manage things here, but I suggest getting a handle on the kids." He delivered the bad news in a steady voice.

Lucien's madness was growing. Not only in his repeating mantra, but his skin was turning pallid and his eyes took on a sheen of violet.

Shit.

Jeanne had almost completely pulled her blade away from Hailey, her attention having turned to her brother.

Now's the time, even if your barrier isn't perfect, there is a lot of wiggle room.

Akari had a track record of coming in clutch when it mattered most, and now was no different.

A blazing barrier encased Hailey, and Hikita burst into action.

"Eep!"

In the blink of an eye, she had disarmed the younger girl and kicked Hailey toward me. The barrier flashed on impact, but I imagined with Akari's power it was more than sturdy enough to resist a hundred such blows.

Akari snapped back awake in my arms and squirmed.

I let her down, and she rushed to Hailey's side.

She took a look at her handiwork and breathed out in relief. The body-tight barrier fizzled out, and a new one encased the three of us in a sphere of fire.

Hikita dropped the now limp Jeanne by the scruff of her gown with her left hand, her right held one of her blades, now devoid of any magicks.

"Hey! What're you…" My voice wavered at her sharp expression.

"We're out of time," She replied coldly, "They're changing, becoming like those void-beasts. I can feel it."

"But they're… No. We stopped it? Right? That woman ran."

I looked to Hailey for support, but was met with a heart-wrenching look. Her lips quivered.

"Dammit!" I shouted, slamming my fist against the barrier, "Let me out. I'll do it. She doesn't have to do this."

The barrier shifted, but not in the sense I wanted. A second and then a third sphere sprang up around us.

"Akari!"

"I'm sorry, Momma. But I feel this is what Momma Hailey thinks is best." Her voice in my head was as distraught as I was.

"Hails? No way—Those are Hikita's…"

My throat caught.

I frantically gestured at Hikita, who'd closed the distance and was bearing down on Lucien.

"I know," Hailey sobbed, "But you… when Airis wakes up, she won't have the same resolve. It'll consume her."

Hikita pulled her arm back, readying a strike at Lucien's chest—who was still lost in his mania.

Her blade was already stained crimson.

"I pray you find peace, Brother."

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