//------------------------------// // Chapter 46: Last Prep // Story: Child of Mine // by Starscribe //------------------------------// Kyle hurried to find Kara, barely even remembering to close the message before she crossed the room. Fay followed behind her, floating lazily through the air. Kyle slowed in the doorway, waiting for her to catch up. The baby looked back in her direction, expression inquisitive.  “Don’t worry, Fay,” she said, her voice quavering. “Mommy will—” She stopped, trailing off. What was she saying? She slumped against the wall, reaching out to pull the baby against her with her wings. Fay squeaked once in protest, more surprised than anything. But she didn’t resist. Her little ferret dropped from her magical grip, bouncing to the floor. She froze there, whimpering and holding the baby up against her. Was she crying? “Your family might be coming for you,” she squeaked. She wasn’t even sure the baby was listening, let alone comprehending. But that didn’t matter. “They should’ve been here a month ago.”  Fay squealed in her usual baby way, squirming up to rest her head up against Kyle’s knee. There was no recognition on her face, no more than usual. But she could see Kyle’s tears, and that was enough. “Quit making that face.” She stuck out her tongue, blowing a raspberry at her. She hesitated, apparently discovering the sound for the first time. She did it again, giggling hysterically. Kyle smiled despite herself, catching the baby before she could roll right off onto the floor.  “Something happen?” Kara stood in the bathroom door, staring at her. “Or is the middle of the hallway just the best place to hang out now?” Kyle shook her head, struggling to her hooves. She settled Fay onto her back again, and this time the baby tolerated it. Though how long Fay’s patience would last, she couldn’t say. She gestured with one wing, and her sister approached. She leaned down, whispering. “Just got a message from Monday. Other magical creatures like Fay have been seen, in Riverside. They’re looking for her.” Kara beamed back. “That’s fantastic news! Grown-ups of whatever she is... her family, maybe? They’ve got to know how to fix us! That’s great!” She leaned forward in an awkward hug, made even more so by Kyle’s motionlessness, and their mutual lack of arms. “Beginning of the end, eh?” “I guess so.” Kyle’s tone was flat, but she managed to meet her eyes all the same. “Assuming they can find us here, and they’re willing to help. And the rumors are true, and…” She dropped to a low whisper. There was no telling if it made a difference. Maybe she should’ve cast her silence spell again just to be sure. But she didn’t. It wouldn’t be worth stopping to work for an hour when she wasn’t even sure Edgar wasn’t reading their email to begin with. “Even if they found us, they’d have to be allowed to get in. I dunno if Edgar would let them help.” Kara fell silent, recognition slowly crossing her face. She bit her lip, before finally shaking her head once. “We could tell him everything. Maybe he could get in contact with them, invite them here to help.” “Do you think we should?” Kyle met her eyes, inches away. “Loyalty is everything,” Kara said. “If he approves, he’ll help, let them in. Maybe send someone to help them find their way here. If he doesn’t… I don’t know what Akiko can do. He might have more of them.” “It would mean telling him about…” Something he probably already knew. Kyle helped Fay off her shoulders, levitating her there beside them. She couldn’t even say why she did it—the baby couldn’t offer her advice, she didn’t know what they were talking about. She waited anyway, half-expecting the baby to offer her input. Fay did, sticking her tongue out and blowing another raspberry in their direction. “Well that’s not very helpful,” Kyle said, annoyed. “Do you want us to try and get you rescued or not?” She didn’t answer. “I think we should tell him,” Kara said. “But it’s your information. You’re the one who must explain who you’ve been talking to this whole time. And I guess Fay’s your baby. I’m just the sister who got sucked up in this whole disaster.” My baby. Not for much longer, if the rumor was true. “Next time he visits,” she decided. “If they’re down in Riverside, it will take them ages to get up here. I’ll tell him when he visits.” He twitched, remembering something else. “Could you look after Fay for a few minutes? I want to practice some magic I worked out last night, but I think it might scare her.” Fay was not happy to be separated. But she knew Kara, and with a little persistence, she finally let her lead them away. Kyle turned back to the bedroom, shutting the oversized door behind her and dimming the glowing overhead lights. She searched all over for a target, finally settling on a little sculpture against the wall. It looked like a bright blue heart, wrapped in coiled brass. Or maybe gold. You haven’t seen the inside of this place, have you? Is there enough money in here for you to care? Kyle spread her spell-diagram out on the floor, aiming her horn squarely at the statue. She settled slowly onto the floor, letting her wings relax. By now she had plenty of practice casting her own spells.  She felt the energy leave her a second before she heard the crash of impact. She lifted one wing, shielding her eyes as the sculpture exploded, hissing and steaming from the point of impact. She jerked back, avoiding huge chunks of glass that glowed along their edges. The bright gold wrapping apparently connected to a core of metal through the sculpture, and it fell to the ground, torn in the center from the impact. Now that's a spell. Kyle held still, breathing heavily from the effort of the magic. But she didn't care. Kyle gathered up her spell, tossing it into the pillow moments before Kara appeared, racing through the open doorway and looking around wildly. "What the hell was that?" Kyle pointed to her horn, then the pile of broken crystal on the floor. "I think I figured out how to break stuff." How long would it take to memorize that? Maybe she could scrawl out one that didn't hit as hard in case she needed to hit a person instead of a sculpture. If magic can do that to rock, what would it do to bones and skin? "Damn." She turned to find Fay floating in the air behind her, holding her toy in her mouth. Her eyes fixed on the broken statue, confused. "I can see why you didn't want company for that. Do you need more time practicing?" "Not until I memorize it. Then I'll have to see if I can make it work again the second time." She turned to go, ears perking as something echoed through the Lodge from nearby. It was the phone.  Yeah, should've figured someone would hear that. Kyle hurried over, scooping up Fay along the way. It wasn't like she felt invincible after doing things once—but she didn't want to leave a baby alone with broken glass. She answered the phone the same way she had last time, with Kara just beside her. It wasn't that surprising that Grandpa would have sensors watching them. Even without cameras in the bedroom anymore, a gunshot going off in the middle of the Lodge would probably be easy to detect. It wasn't Grandpa, though. Akiko's voice was her usual mixture of nervous fear and barely suppressed eagerness. "Is everyone in there alright?" she asked. "My protection spell just went nuts. Did anyone else just break in? I can call the guards." "No," Kyle said. "Nothing like that, we're fine. I, uh... I kinda sorta accidentally blew something up. I was, uh—I was trying something more than just glowing with my horn. Yeah! I thought that I must have the same powers as Fay does, since I look like her. It didn't go quite the way I wanted." "Oh, really? Pity you didn't do it where I can see. Looks like... yeah, cameras don't show into the converted space. That room is still too hot for a human crew to come in and reinstall them. What happened, precisely?" Why should I tell you? You're the reason Fay blew up. If you didn't poke her, she would probably leave us all alone. "I knocked over a piece of art. It's not that big a deal, it can't be that different from my usual levitation. I'm sure I just knocked it over." "That wouldn't set off this ward," Akiko argued. She wasn't confrontational exactly, but her tone brooked no argument. "It only registers magical attacks. Levitation like yours couldn't trip it by mistake. A new power is worthy of investigation. It might hint at your true origin." Are you going to say anything about creatures like us being seen back in the real world? Maybe then I'd know we could trust you? The answer was no. Akiko did not mention it. "It's probably good enough for my assistant and I to come and look around in the new space. You can show me what you tried to do, and the results. The new information might be critical in returning you to normal." You don't sound like you really care about that. "It's fine," she said. "Honestly, there's nothing to investigate. We'd rather have a break after yesterday. Fay is still recovering." There was a long, uncomfortable silence. When Akiko finally spoke, her words were slow and deliberate, like she was explaining something Kyle should've understood already. "Fay doesn't have to be there, but you do. If you care at all about being changed back, then listen to me. The longer you spend in a body that isn't yours, the harder it will be to change you back. "Permanent transformation isn't easy. The body you know you should have resists the one you do have, and eventually reasserts itself. Our alien specimen has cast spells that violate those rules. But unless she chooses to do so again, the way to change you back will have to overcome your physical inertia. "I'm already in the drafting stages of a thaumaturgical prosthetic. When worn, it would fully return you to your original body. This device will be harder to design and operate the more complete your transformation becomes. Every day, every week, every month lowers my chances of success." It wasn't anything like telling her that aliens were coming for Fay after all, though in a way it might do just as much to build her trust. Monday never suggested anything like that. We can't be changed back, so just have us wear something. "Me, sure. Not Fay. Every time people try to mess with her it goes badly. You can come in and talk to me." She scooped the baby out of the air, pushing her towards Kara. "Go on, take her out front. Just get some distance and keep her away until they're gone." Kara nodded. Fay didn't seem terribly interested in compliance—but with a little tugging, she finally let go, looking pleading as Kara dragged her away. "We're on our way in," Akiko said. "It's time to accelerate this, before you and Kara run out of time."