Shattered Pentacle

by Starscribe

Chapter 12

Lyra paced nervously back and forth in her bedroom. She'd circled the ground there so many times that a thin layer had worked its way into the wood. Every few seconds she stopped, took out her phone, then stuck it back without sending anything.

Her old self would never have hesitated to send a message instantly, but she was wiser now. The Free Council was clear in their rules—magical affairs could never be sent using unprotected methods. There were too many ways to overhear, too many listening ears who might take whatever they learned and use it against the Awakened.

If she was a little more important—enough that they thought she had anything interesting to say—she might have one of their magically-reinforced devices by now. But for reasons Lyra didn't know, only Tabitha had enough prestige in the organization to earn one.

“Let me guess, she found one of the cat pictures? She's afraid you want to adopt yourself.” Capper spoke from behind her, perched elegantly on the dresser. How he'd gotten there, or how long he'd been watching, she couldn't say.

Her usual attentiveness was certainly weaker than it ought to be, given the stress on her mind. She could always tell where Capper was lurking, if she bothered to concentrate.

“Nothing like that.” She stopped beside the dresser, resting one hand on his side. “My girlfriend left to fight again. I think she's hunting the Seers... I hope she is. But she doesn't know enough about the different factions to even know for sure who she's after.”

“She was scared enough to lock you in tight,” the cat said, nuzzling up against her hand. His usual pride and disdain for her was absent then. “Didn't make it easy for me to get in. But she couldn't patch up every hole. Humans never look close enough for that.”

Lyra said nothing for a few moments, petting the cat as she might've done for a real animal. In some ways, maybe he was—or maybe he was both a real animal and her familiar. “She thinks there's gonna be some kind of... disaster. It can't be what Akiko was up to, could it? Charging up a key... no one would get hurt except us! And there's like five of us, not some army. Sounds like half of VALKYRIE will be here.”

The cat slipped past her, batting her fingers away from his side. “You've just now discovered something that should've been obvious. You are one small figure in Awakened society. The Pentacle's five arms all work in secrecy, rarely communicating with each other. Then there are others—the Seers, and worse lunatics outside the Pentacle's embrace. Your lover could be concerned with one or any of those. But what will you do about it?”

She turned away from the cat, stalking over to the window. Usually she would look out on Ponyville, remind herself of what still connected her to her lifetime of old friends and family. But now she couldn't even do that—she only had a metal barrier, sturdy enough to stop bullets. “Akiko needs to know something awful is happening tomorrow night. Charging up her key can't be worth the risk of getting killed. If we have to hide it and come back in six months... better than getting caught out with half the army.”

Capper hopped up onto her bed. He walked slowly along the edge, knocking each of Lyra's stuffed dolls and pillows to the floor in quick succession. “You should be warned. Your lover did more than physically bar the doors and windows. Devices watch over this place—if it opens, she will know.”

Lyra balled both hands into fists. “She’s babysitting me. She didn't trust me to stay inside.”

“You are planning on leaving. She knows you well, though she simultaneously remains entirely ignorant. Like all humans, she is trapped by her biases—only a monster could be a mage, which you are not.”

“Is there a... magical way to disable them?” she asked. “Wait, don't say anything. I know there is. Is there a way I can use?”

“Not easily. Your study of the Spirit Arcanum lags far behind. I doubt you could convince the mind of the machine to obey you. Fail once, and the alarm might sound. I would not attempt it in your place.”

You wouldn't need to. Lyra picked up her phone again, flipping through her contacts. Any message she sent might get read at some point. Bonnie could probably hack and read everything on her device, even if she insisted otherwise. But she didn't say I couldn't tell anyone. I just can't get specific.

Her fingers danced over the touchscreen, composing a message to Akiko and Tabitha. The other two would hear from one of them—but if Lyra sent every message to the same group, it might provoke its own kind of suspicion. “I've just learned some very bad news. Bonnie has canceled our weekend plans, and told me not to leave the house. It's going to be very dangerous for a while—I think everyone should keep their heads down and play it safe.”

Not a great message, so far as codes went. But if anyone was clever enough to assemble hidden meaning from what she didn't include, it was Akiko.

She sent the message, then stuck the phone back into her pocket before the anxiety could swallow her. Right now they would be reading over it, trying to figure out why she sent it, and what it could mean.

“You think that will be enough?” her familiar asked, hopping down beside her. “Whisper to the others in your Cabal, and they'll undo whatever nightmares? You think the Obrimos will abandon her ambition? I don't. I smell it on her every time she speaks—she is consumed by her need. Nothing matters more to her than mysteries solved, power reclaimed. She will not change for this, you'll see.”

She did, a few seconds later. The phone flashed, and a message appeared there. “If you think the danger is real, we should talk about it. Tabitha's is closest.”

Seconds later Tabitha's message appeared at the bottom of the group text. Even so, the message was short and noncommittal. “I planned to burn the midnight oil. I'll listen for the door if you stop by.”

Lyra slumped onto the bed, beside a pile of discarded plush toys. “They don't know about Bonnie. If they knew my information came from the ones hunting for mages—I think they'd listen better.”

“Maybe. But then you would need to decide which loyalty was more important. They might expect you to probe deeper, report her movements, and eventually lead you to acts that could get her killed. The perils of loving a Sleeper—in all things you will be so tormented.”

She whimpered, resting her head against her knees. “I don't even know what's gonna happen. Except—Bonnie's not dumb. If she thinks it's bad, she's right. It can't be a coincidence that it's happening the same night, can it?”

“Anything could be,” Capper said. “Yet I agree with your assessment. Someone moves among the traitor kings. That Seer you encountered the night of your Awakening, perhaps. But much more than just a single soul, or mortal authorities would not have mobilized so strongly. They believe great numbers are here arrayed. They are right to bring force against the Awakened if they hope to succeed. Only such an overwhelming response has any merit.”

“And my friends will be out in it,” she said. “And me. We could get caught with the evil ones.”

“You could.” Capper pawed at her shoulder, nudging her into a proper sitting position. “Or you could tell the other Willworkers in your Cabal what you know, convince them to change their course. They might.”

“I'd have to get out first.” Lyra stood up, hurrying down the steps. She stopped beside the reinforced window and door covers, squinting over each one for signs of whatever anti-tamper system her girlfriend had left. They were only held in place by mechanical lock, meant to be opened from her side. Lyra could open any of them.

But if she did, her girlfriend would know. She might be so consumed with worry that she didn't fight well. Worse, she might even suspect Lyra had something to do with the new enemy she was fighting.

This was so much easier when she hunted the Kindred.

“Okay, I give up,” she said, after completing one circuit of the house. She didn't have to turn around to know her familiar was following close behind. “How do you think I should get out?”

The cat laughed. “Eat well, so your mind will be clear. Then hang up your clothes, take your knife, and follow me.”

She hurried back into the kitchen and tossed several slices of pizza onto a plate. “After today? If I follow you out the same way...”

Capper shrugged. “I would not have allowed your mind to wander. They interfered in my lesson. No one is here to do so a second time. Trust me, Lyra. Have I ever taught you false magic? Have I made promises I couldn't keep?”

She scarfed down a few slices of reheated pizza, wishing very much that her girlfriend could be there to share them. It took her only a few minutes—long enough to make up her mind.

“I have to trust someone,” she said, tossing her plate into the trash. She went through the house then, switching off lights, closing doors. She reached her bedroom, where she paused to check her phone one last time. No new messages.

Lyra settled it into the charger, removing only her magical tool from her purse before putting the rest aside.

“We need something soft to bind it with—bandage, leave that within reach. You'll thank me when you don't have those thumbs anymore.”

She obeyed, tossing down a little roll of bandage from the first aid kit, before removing her clothes one item at a time.

That wouldn't be an option in the Free Council's Hallow, but in her own bedroom—she would manage. Her familiar surely didn't care. “The same spell as last time? Do you think I can cast it without the book?”

She settled onto one of the discarded pillows, then took her knife carefully in one hand. More so than usual, considering how little she wore.

“You will, and you must. Any other method risks detection by your lover. Besides—there may not be another opportunity to instruct you. Given the danger, it is likely we will need this magic again in the next two days. Better to practice now, when the wave hasn’t yet come crashing down.”

“I thought you said I'd hate it. Cats and water, I mean...”

“You will,” he agreed. “But so will I. Misery loves company. As it turns out, most mortal snipers are somewhat less likely to shoot alley cats than mysterious figures in the shadows. Let's not see your promising career ended by a bullet tonight.”

She nodded tearfully, wiping away moisture on her arm. “Right. I think I'm ready. I remember the words.”

“Begin,” he ordered. “Make no mistakes. You have no Hallow to sustain you this time. Invoke no paradox—we have too much to do.”

Comments

[Elsaack]

Lyra is in a hard spot between Bonnie and her friends, which is such a World of Darkness theme it probably has a section if every rulebook.

[Nez12213]

Bonnie is gonna find out sooner or later. If she doesn’t have a hidden camera watching this spell, she’ll eventually snoop through Harper’s purse and find the knife. She’s already snooped through her purse before to find the empty gun.

[FanOfMostEverything]

As has been noted, the tension between mundane life and the supernatural is as much a part of WoD as dice pools. Lyra’s going to face this kind of decision far more often in the future. Here’s hoping she makes it through the night with minimum pain and misery borne mostly from being a wet cat.