Moon's breathing was shallow and ragged, her skin the color of ash and her lips had begun to take on a blue tinge. They had moved her away from the open window to the dining room table, but Ashvallen still refused to let her go, cradling her body protectively as Dr. Hideki desperately searched for the bullet still lodged in her chest. Kittany stalked nervously in the kitchen while Ayumi held the flashlight to give Tomoko more light to work.
"We don't have time for this shit," Kittany pointed out. "This isn't over, you know."
"She can't be moved," the doctor murmured, her attention focused on the wound. "She shouldn't have even been moved to the table. If we try anything more without finding out what I'm dealing with..." she trailed off, leaving the implications hanging in the air. Kittany sighed impatiently and resumed her pacing, ignoring Ashvallen's withering glare. She had signaled the other members of the Daughters of Disaster for help, but hadn't received a reply. Even if they did send someone it would probably be Sierra, assuming she could be coaxed out of whatever bar she was hunkered down in at the moment.
Her barrier should have been enough to stop the bullet and only Moon's most likely accidental move to put herself in front of the bullet had kept Ashvallen from dying. The fact the bullet made it through made it obvious a Princeps was involved. Small fish like Diana weren't a concern. A bunch of small fish with a Princeps as well as conventional weapons support troops and a trigger-happy group of policemen on their way was a recipe for disaster.
'Princeps' and 'acolyte' and 'Centurion' and the other names the group she was part of, the Daughters of Disaster, had come up with for them were all the work of Valeria, replacing the names the Daughters' resident werepanther, Sierra had given them. Though they'd been more accurate and pleasing to Kittany, 'witch', 'weak witch', 'weak ass witch', and 'cannon fodder' didn't carry the same gravitas.
Princeps had an annoying ability to enhance the magic and skills of those around them, not to mention they had some nasty magic of their own, and if one had shown up shit was definitely real. Kittany needed Ai. In more ways than just as support. She was useless at dealing with crap like this. It didn't fit her skillset; this was more Ai's forte. The mean old fox probably wouldn't pull Ai from her assignment in Taiwan to help, though.
The pounding of feet rising above the fading screams of panic as people fled their apartments meant only one thing, the main body of acolytes were fast approaching. No doubt the sniper, or more than one sniper most likely, was covering the living room so any move toward the hall and a bottleneck was inviting a crossfire she couldn't be goaded into.
"Do you have a gun?" Kittany asked Ayumi. The girl blinked at her and shook her head.
"I am a lover, not a fighter," Ayumi intoned without a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"Eh?" Kittany didn't know if she was kidding or not but figured it meant she was on her own. She flexed her shoulders to limber her muscles up and prepared for the onslaught.
The creatures erupting from the hall took Kittany by surprise for a moment. They looked to be shapeless lumps of clay with glowing yellow eyes propelled forward by malformed legs. They weren't quick, but their steps made the floor creak and shudder under their weight. With a flick of Kittany's wrist a wave of fire erupted from the ground in front of the creatures, washing over them like a roaring tide and turning them to ash in an instant, similarly setting parts of the wall framing the entryway aflame as well.
"Those were interesting. What were they?" Ayumi asked, a note of interest creeping into her voice.
"Constructs," Kittany scowled. This was worse than she'd thought. The presence of magical constructs, as crude as they were, meant at least one upper rank witch they'd dubbed a Centurion were among their ranks. It made sense, rather than throwing acolytes into an inferno, they would wear her down with constructs while the Princeps' acolytes maintained the shell preventing teleportation and the Princeps herself prepared to shatter Kittany's defenses.
Rivulets of sweat ran down Kittany's forehead and she was beginning to grow light-headed. It wasn't the quantity of magic she was using that was draining her, it was the consistent level of power she was being forced to maintain. The barrier would stop all magic and gunfire, but it came at a great cost. She was tiring. Quickly.
"You have got to hurry up, Doc," Kittany snapped irritably, once more ignoring the look of absolute contempt Ashvallen shot her way.
"I understand but this cannot be rushed," Dr. Hideki replied absently, her concentration fully on Moon.
She could hear them congregating, their voices hushed and wary in the hall outside the apartment. Kittany expected another rush, but they held back. Partly, she assumed, because the entryway was on fire now, but it also seemed like they were waiting for someone. Or something. Most likely the Princeps was nearly there. If there was to be a breakout from their current mess it would have to be before she arrived. Kittany glanced back and sighed. Dr. Hideki was still working on Moon's wound and Ashvallen wouldn't leave without her. Her shoulders sagged in defeat. They were, in a word, fucked.
This wasn't what was supposed to happen. How had the Coven gotten wind of them? They'd taken all the precautions they could. In hindsight they should have taken Ashvallen to one of the secure nests in the area, but she could also see why Bailey and the Fox had chosen to keep her in place. More guards, a different location, more vigilance, all meaningless, now, Kittany supposed. She shook her head in frustration. She was a match for ten of them individually. More, probably. She was definitely more than a match for a Princeps one on one. But all of them? No. She was outgunned, plain and simple.
Well, outgunned or no, she would make them earn each centimeter they took, she decided. Tactics were not her forte, she was more of a straight-line fighter. But no mage was as powerful as she was. After all, she was the Bolasaeg Manyeo, the Purple Witch, the guardian of the last Korean Queen, and she would be certain to show them the error of overlooking this fact. They would overwhelm her, but they would pay dearly for their victory. Kittany spun her iron staff in her hands with ease and brought it down on the hard wood floor with a crack, shattering the laminated boards and sending a shockwave in all directions.
"Come get some!" Kittany yelled in challenge.
As if in response more shambling constructs staggered through the flames licking along the entryway hall and made their way toward the dining room. Several shots from a sniper rifle shattered against her barrier, unable to pierce the shimmering wall without the Princeps' magic nearby. Kittany clenched her fist and the clay creatures erupted in flame, bits of blazing construct fluttering on the super-heated breeze all that remained.
Other mindless constructs quickly replaced those and suffered the same fate as those before. Soon the entryway was ankle deep in the dust of immolated clay constructs. Yet still they came. Pushing away her exhaustion Kittany continued to cut them down while the sniper's bullets evaporated harmlessly against her barrier. Sweat had drenched her face and clothes and she leaned on her staff for support but kept herself upright through sheer force of will.
"You cannot hope to win," A voice called from the entryway as the flames guttered and died, extinguished by a source from the doorway. The Princeps, no doubt. "You failed to protect Empress Myeongseong, just as you will fail to protect the otherworlder. You are a failure, Kyung Mi. Give up and we will give you the good death you should have received at the hands of the samurai."
"You keep Queen Min's name out of your disgusting mouth and don't call me Kyung Mi, you cur!" Kittany roared. "You want to give me a good death, you come try to deliver it yourself."
"Did I touch a nerve?" The woman who strode into the living room of Minji's devastated apartment hissed with a sardonic smile. She was quickly flanked by eight women clad in brilliant golden robes.
"I should have known it was you!" Kittany laughed, standing upright, trying her best to brush off her exhaustion. "Only the Goddess' favorite bitch would draw this assignment. Come to try to extract your pound of flesh for the thrashing you were handed down in Acre, Beth?" The woman's face darkened noticeably at Kittany's over-familiar shortening of her name. "Well, that's what happens when you try to put on your big girl panties and punch out of your league. I see you brought your court jesters with you this time. Typical bully behavior. Just what I'd expect."
"I don't need them to defeat you, Kyung Mi," the Princeps shot back venomously.
"So, they're here because they look fashionable in their clown costumes? I don't think so, Beth," Kittany grinned at her, ignoring the fact Elizabeth had used her real name once again. "If you want to play, I'm game. You've got all the doggie tricks the goddess taught you down well enough. Fetch. Shake. Speak. Play dead." Kittany's grin broadened ever further. "But I've got a few more lessons to teach you."
"Kill her!" the Princeps screamed, pointing a shaking finger at Kittany. It was at that point in time the screams from the hallway became noticeable. Panic had erupted from the acolytes, ending in abrupt silence. The Princeps' Centurions glanced nervously toward the door at the end of the hall before raising their hands from their robes. They began to cast their spells as Kittany funneled what little power she had left into her barrier.
The first Centurion slammed into the others suddenly as if a great hand had grabbed and thrown her like a rag doll. The Princeps froze for a moment as her servants flew across the room and into the far wall with devastating force, shattering the drywall in a shower of white dust before lying motionless. The Princeps turned, a barrier shimmering to life in front of her. From out of thin air a small, lithe girl in all black form-fitting armor appeared behind her as if stepping from a mote of swirling dust, the curved blade of one katana pressed against her throat while the pointed edge of a second jabbed into her back. The girl's long black hair had pulled partially loose from its ponytail and flowed down to the small of her back in waves.
"Ai!" Kittany breathed with gratitude and disbelief.
"You've got one chance to leave," Ai said quietly. "Please take it." The Princeps froze for a long moment and Ai's katana dug deeper into her skin, cutting through the fabric of her robes easily and drawing blood. "I've had a long trip and I'm rather tired. Please make the right choice, Elizabeth-san. And please do it quickly." The Princeps nodded quickly. "I've taken down your barrier. You can go home. Please think carefully about your actions when you arrive." The Princeps grabbed onto the brooch at her neck and closed her eyes, lips moving in a silent chant.
"I'll teach you that lesson next time, Beth," Kittany smirked. The Princeps scowled but finished her spell and vanished into the ether.
"I really do wish you would not antagonize people, Kit," Ai shook her head as her blades vanished back into her armor as if they'd never been.
"She started it!" Kittany protested weakly, drooping in exhaustion. Ai walked forward and hugged Kittany close.
"There, there," Ai soothed, her voice quiet and small, armored hand brushing Kittany's sweat-matted hair gently. "You did well." Kittany wrapped her arms around Ai and sagged into her gratefully.
"I didn't think you'd come," Kittany whispered.
"I'll always come for you, Kit," Ai replied, closing her eyes with a smile.
"But how many times?" Kittany waggled her eyebrows lasciviously. Ai disengaged herself quickly and stepped back nervously, straightening some imaginary uniform out of what looked to be habit.
"Please don't discuss things like that in front of others," Ai mumbled quietly, cheeks blazing. "Those are private conversations, Kit." She turned to Ashvallen and the others who were staring at her dumbly and bowed respectfully. "My name is Ai Ashikaga, please accept my apologies for not arriving sooner."
"Help me here," Dr. Hideki had ignored everything going on around her with astounding dedication and finally glanced up, taking the devastation of the apartment around her seemingly in stride. "I think I've got it." Kittany sank to the floor in exhaustion and frustration, hanging her head and shaking it in disbelief.
"Now she's got it," Kittany sighed. "Of course, she does."