Chapter 12: Chapter Twelve

Rantano's was...swank. Plush, high end carpet, carved marble columns, elegant chandeliers and curtains on the walls. The kind of upscale you see at opera performances and piano concerts. Probably. I'd never really gone to those, but Benny had, and it fit with what he told me. Still, I was impressed with the luxury, and judging by her gaping jaw so was Jessie. The two senior capes had been here before so they didn't seem phased, but for us newbies this place was a pretty big deal.

When we stepped inside we had a minute to look around before a man in a plush red velvet jacket appeared out of nowhere to greet us. He bowed deeply before the four of us, but his eyes were mainly focused on Nightstrike. "Miss, welcome back. Might I escort you to the same table as last time?" His voice was humble and polite, but I could tell just from standing in front of him that he was much stronger than me or Jessie. I couldn't exactly gauge a persons Impact just by meeting them yet, but I could get a basic feel for how they measured up to me, and this guy was more than just a bit weightier. He was G rank at least.

Nightstrike shook her head serenely. "Sorry Gus, can't stop to eat this time. We're here to talk to Suki. Is she in?" The man's formal but relaxed manner became stiff in an instant. He glanced around furtively, as if worried someone might have overheard, but when he realized we weren't being listened in on he nodded sharply. Nightstrike smiled, exhaling in relief. "Oh good. I was worried I might have to slum it down at the Rusty Nickel to find Tiberius. He's the only person around with the kind of hookups she has. Can you tell her I'm here to see her?"

Gus looked like he wanted to say no, but after a moment he nodded grudgingly. "I'll let her know of your presence, miss. Please wait here, I'll return forthwith with her reply." In the blink of an eye Gus vanished, leaving us alone here. Nightstrike stepped closer to Cap, as if she was trying to eliminate a direction of attack, and I wasn't the only one worried by that motion. Cap drew himself up tall, clearly preparing in case he needed to fight.

Nightstrike leaned in to talk to us. "Listen to me and listen close. Suki is a very knowledgeable person, but she's also very
dangerous. She's from Fairyland, and she synergized her ability with multiple skills to create a racial trait. Rather than having a power she became a different species. Suki is a Kelpie, and like all Kelpies she likes to lure in unsuspecting prey. She's pretty and sweet and she'll get you to let down your guard and literally the second you trust her she will kill you. When we go inside don't speak to her first. If she asks you a question answer yes or no only or defer to me."

My eyes went wide at that. "You can change your species?" That...explained a lot about the Fairyland. It was one of the more insular and mysterious members of the five faction alliance, second only to the Black Sorrow Cult. I knew the Fairyland was a monarchy and they had a Queen, but other than that no one talked about the place. I mostly suspected now the lack of proper knowledge of the other factions was to prevent their Ascendants from gaining free renown from us.

Cap nodded. "It's a complex process. Aside from having the proper skills and a matching ability you need an alchemist who is willing to make you a catalyst elixir. The catalyst is different based on what the abilities, skills, and species in question are, so the alchemist has to be extremely skilled. Almost no one outside Fairyland knows the process. Of course, some people just naturally awaken a racial trait when they Ascend, but it's extremely rare, so about ninety nine percent of all the Unpeople live there."

Nightstrike smacked him in the head, her eyes widening in fear as she hissed. "Are you crazy? You can't say that here! They hate when people call them that. Suki will eat your bones if she hears you say that out loud, and your mommy's reputation won't stop her." He winced, rubbing his head and looking worried. She turned to us. "The term he used is extremely offensive, don't ever say it in front of anyone with a racial trait. Some of them will kill you just for speaking the word. Just call them Fae. Most of them fall under that umbrella." She paused. "Well, some are devils or spirits but if you're lucky you'll never meet one of those. They tend to be... tricky."

We didn't have time to talk any more because Gus came back, looking somber and tense. He addressed Nightstrike again, but his earlier friendly formality was gone, replaced by wariness. "She says she can meet with you, she's taking her tea in the garden at the moment." He gestured off to one side. "If you'll all follow me please." Turning on his heel the well dressed host led us quickly through the restaurant. We passed multiple people who I was positive were Ascendants of a pretty high rank, but we didn't slow down as we wove through the tables.

We veered around a corner and down a hallway until we found a door. Gus knocked four times in a sharp staccato pattern and then twice much more softly, then pushed the door open, ushering us in. When we stepped inside we I couldn't help but freeze. Sunlight. Lots and lots of sunlight, pouring down from above and soaking into boxes full of beautiful flowers and plants. There was a bright blue sky above us somehow, and in the middle of the large room was a wide pond with water lilies floating across the top of it.

Next to the pond, casually sunning herself, was a small Asian girl with aqua blue hair cut shaggily to shoulder length. She was sitting cross legged at the shore of the pond, wearing khaki cargo pants and a white tank top under a baggy black hoodie. It was hard to think of her as a threat, she looked so tiny and harmless. That said, when I paid attention I could somewhat sense the weight of her in the world, a sense of Impact, though she seemed to have somehow dimmed it.

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I hadn't known it was possible to suppress that weight, though I suppose it made sense. If it wasn't high rankers would be crushing everyone around them with their presence all the time. I already knew of ways to interact with Impact, like my enchanting, so being able to suppress that feeling of weight wasn't completely out of left field. Well, that or she was just an H ranker like me, but somehow I doubted Nightstrike would be so worried about someone lower ranked than she was.

Jessie and I stayed quiet as we were told though, despite the non threatening show she was putting on, we weren't stupid enough to ignore our mentors. We both kept our damn mouths shut as Nightstrike led us up to the diminutive fae. As we got closer she smiled down at the girl. "Suki, so good to see you. It's been a while." I noticed her smile was bland and a bit wooden, like she was just going through the motions. I made a mental note to ask Zeke about this Kelpie girl, might be information worth having if she was such a big deal here.

Suki looked up at us, and I almost flinched. Her eyes were green. Not like Jessie's eyes, which had green irises, they were seaweed green across the entire orb. No pupil or anything. It was deeply unsettling. Because she had no pupil it was impossible to tell where she was looking, so I kept getting the simultaneous impression I was being ignored and stared at. Her lips peeled back in a slow smile, exposing grey teeth the color of rocks on the shore, all much sharper than they had any right to be. "Calliope, darling. So good to see you. What brings you to my pond?"

Nightstrike winced at the use of what I imagined was her real name, but didn't correct the fae. "We're looking for information, Suki. There's been another murder, and this time a G ranker was killed. We think the killer might have used some high end gear they got here. Do you know of anyone local who bought anything that might help them kill someone up a rank?" She was incredibly formal and polite about the request, clearly erring on the side of caution, but I could still see the excitement in her bearing. She could feel that we might be close to getting answers.

Nightstrike and the rest of the Unity had been hunting this guy for more than a year. He'd killed several people she knew already, so I imagine she was pretty gung ho about his capture. Suki's smile widened, her lips peeling back even more to expose even more of those sharp, gravel-like teeth. A disturbing amount of them actually. It was super creepy. "Oh, I might have seen something. But you know as well as I do that the fae don't trade information for nothing. What exactly do I get for helping with your little problem."

I saw Jessie tense, but before she could speak I reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it a bit harder than necessary. She winced and pulled away but got control of herself back and nodded gratefully at me. Nightstrike reached into a pocket and withdrew an aquamarine stone. She passed it over to the Kelpie, whose head cocked with interest as she studied the rock. " Sea Agate. A hundred and thirty points of Fantasy. It's got a natural form rune with a water variation." She squinted and pursed her lips, tossing the rock up and catching it again.

After a minute or so of contemplation she nodded. "This is useful. Very well. Your offering is accepted, but you may not be satisfied with what it bought you. The person you're asking about came here in disguise a few months ago. They purchased a high rank blood drinker blade. Their disguise was well crafted, and I didn't bother to pierce it, but there was one notable thing about them. They stank of the magic of the stars. They were someone in regular contact with that unbearable harpy's Cosmic Witchcraft ability."

She closed her hand with a snap around the stone and it vanished from right in front of me, then she turned back to the shore of the pond and once again began to ignore us. I expected Nightstrike to ask for more, but she just motioned for us to follow her out. We walked back out to the main dining room and Nightstrike signaled Gus to get us a table, which he did in short order. Once we were led to an out of the way spot we all sat down, before I finally couldn't take it anymore. "Ok what the hell was that? What did that mean?"

Nightstrike looked at Cap with a frown, and he nodded. She turned back to us. "Cosmic Witchcraft is a rare created ability that involves the synergizing of several obscure star related skills with the Minor Hex ability. It belongs to exactly one person in the entire city, someone you've already met. Cosmic Witchcraft is the signature ability of the guild master of the Valen branch. If the killer is in regular contact with her that means they have to be a high ranking member of the Unity." She looked grim at the thought. "Whoever has been performing these killings isn't just targeting our members. They're one of us. We have a traitor in our midst."

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