Slayers: Academy Years

“Inconclusive?” Liz cringed at Diana’s tone, watching as the mini-coven of witches they had working with them did much the same. Just as the Academy trained Slayers, it too trained witches, and each miniature coven of girls and boys trained in such was assigned to work with certain units of slayers. Amusing the thought that there had once been only one or two slayers, depending on when, to work with countless magicks and covens, and now there were so many that the training covens had to be spread among slayer units. “How can it be inconclusive!”

The girl shrank back for only a moment before attempting to stand tall. Liz had to at least give her brownie points for having some spine against Diana’s incredulous frustration. “By being inconclusive, that’s how.” The response wasn’t what any of them would have expected, and she could see Mary try to hide a smile. “The damn thing shines, Diana. To magical sight, it radiates. It’s got so many spells around it that it’s as if its magic itself… and one is a spell that links it to Talon. By all rights, that should mean that it’s easier to track her through it. But it’s not. In fact, its’ close to impossible. We’d have to have a full, full-trained coven to break it, and that’s a maybe. That jacket… Brennon Talon can find it wherever it is, I think. I think, likely, it’s so that she can find us, instead. Not like that’d be hard. Every demon in the city’s gotta know where the Academy.”

“Then why’s it so hard to reverse that and make it so we can track her?” Diana insisted, pointing imperiously at the jacket and making Liz shake her head with a sigh. It wasn’t that simple, even she knew that.

“I told you, Diana, it’s got magic all wrapped up around it. There are so many binding and warding spells on it that it’s dangerous for me and the girls to try even poking at the magic more than we already have.” The girl shook her head, frowning. “If anything, one of the things I sensed on there, it’s keyed to Summers. If Talon can be tracked through it, she probably had it keyed to Liz so that only Liz can find her, and only when she wants. And if she did, that was long before it entered grounds.” Diana looked surprised. “If it was keyed to Summers, Diana, it had to be done outside of our wards. There’s no way even the mage that did all of these spells could brake through Rosenberg’s protections here. And you know what it means if it was keyed to her outside of grounds… it was keyed before your little confrontation… and it would mean it was planned.”

“Liz… take the jacket.” Diana ordered, eyes wide and trying not to smile. If this was all planned, all-the-better. She didn’t want her friend’s prowess compromised, no, but it would explain things a great deal better. Liz was careful to step inside of the circles of sand, even though she knew nothing would happen to her, and pick up the jacket. “Go ahead… see if you can get a sense of her…”

Liz prayed silently that she didn’t get any indication of where Talon was. How could she explain to them then that it hadn’t been pre-meditated? Even if it was keyed to her, it would have happened last night when Talon had dragged her off to that demon bar. Closing her eyes, and breathing deeply, she concentrated. These girls were experienced to know if she was lying, and if she tried, that was the unfortunate thing. A moment passed, and then two, and then three. By the time five passed, and she hadn’t even gotten a stirring of sensation or instinct, she inwardly smiled, but shook her head with the best disappointed expression she could manage. Then, she smirked just slightly and cracked an eye at Diana, “Though I have to admit I’m kind of glad I won’t be used as a bloodhound on her… that would get tiring, and frustrating.”

“Well, even the Head Watcher didn’t think it would pan out…” Diana sighed, nodding, and the gesturing the other three Slayers away with her, nodding to their Watcher and the witches in thanks. “But try and keep it with you, Liz. Maybe we’ll be able to flush her out… or maybe you might be able to get a lock on her eventually. Lets go suit up for tonight’s patrol.”

~

“Why are you wearing that thing?” Kelleigh’s voice was surprised, and Liz had to glance back at her to see if the girl really was glowering at her like she suspected.

“You wanna carry it? It’s a hassle, and the coven didn’t say anything about spells that would make it strangle or control its wearer or anything like that.” Liz sighed and rolled her eyes at the fellow Slayer. “Besides, there’s more of a chance that I’ll be able to get some sort of premonition or feeling if I wear it…” She didn’t have to look to the side to see Mary giving her a skeptical and disgusted look. “So where are we heading tonight, Diana?”

“There’s rumors of a big kitty-poker game going on tonight in one of the sub-houses, below a feeding bordello. Other games of chance probably too, they usually have other gambling and entertainments at the big one.” Diana offered, leading them through the streets toward one of the rattier ends of town, where a lot of the houses where vampires went to feed on willing humans were located. Only four of them had underground, basement sections, meant for gambling and entertainment other than feeding. Only one of those four was attached to the sewer system for easy escape. That happened to be the one in their assigned territory for the week. “I think it might be one of Talon’s, Liz, so keep a sharp eye… and good thinking with the jacket, you won’t have to throw it somewhere for fighting either.”

Mary held back a skeptical snort, and Liz held back her blush. This was just getting too complicated, but Liz couldn’t help but remember the conversations she’d held with the half-demon. As they neared the large building, Liz got a strange feeling down the back of her neck. Glancing around, she shivered a bit, and saw no one watching them. Just as they were about to bust through the windows and doors, the sensation of something trailing down her spine happened again, and she shivered more. It granted her a few strange looks, but she waved that everything was okay, and jumped through the boarded up windows at the same time as the others… to find the place completely vacant. The girls all looked at each other, and then everyone looked at Diana.

At the signal to move forward, cautiously, the girls pulled out their stakes, Diana drawing the sword across her back, and aimed for the basement stairs. The slight rumble of conversation, and a few piteous mews of kittens drifted upward, and their squad leader nodded. Just as they were about to kick in the door, there was a slight noise that drifted down from the upstairs. At that shiver down her neck again, Liz paused.

“I’ll check it out. You guys can handle the idiots downstairs… it’s probably just a bite-whore and its feed.” She whispered, earning a nod of approval from Diana, and another strange look from Mary. Her cheeks flushed, but she turned and snuck up the stairs as quietly as possible.

“Shh….” A hand wrapped around her mouth, an arm around hers, and she was pressed back into the body behind her. Even as she began to struggle, the feel of a tail ghosted across her leg, and she turned her head enough to see Brennon bend forward to whisper. “You’re wearing my jacket again.” Slowly the hand eased from her mouth. “Hey.”

“What’re you doing here?” She hissed, pulling away and looking around to see if anyone else was nearby. The entire top floor was empty except for them. “Was that you, making that tingle go down my neck? You can’t be here.”

“I wanted to see you.” The tone was casual as Brennon leaned against the wall, keeping an eye on the stairs as well as the girl. “Miss me?”

“My team is down there right now facing off against some random poker big-wigs, and you drew me up here?” Liz sounded incredulous.

“Actually, they’re all vampires, except the loan shark demon.” Brennon corrected, smirking softly. “I have no love for the blood-suckers, and the shark’s been skimming. Your friends shouldn’t really be in any danger if they’re any good at what they do. How much time do you think it’ll take them to take out fifteen vampires and a demon?” Liz stared at her. True, facing off against a room full of vampires wasn’t a stroll in the park, but that wasn’t really so big of a deal for the three Slayers she was teamed with. “I wanted to apologize for my brother… he’s an ass.”

“No kidding…” Liz smiled softly, blushing a little. “Um… did you really set this up just to talk to me? It sounds kind of… reckless. What if one of the others had come up to investigate?”

“I’m a half-demon. Of course it’s reckless.” Bren chuckled softly and brushed hair out of Liz’s face casually. “If it had been one of them, I would have smelled it, and kept hidden. Listen… um… I know we don’t have a lot of time… but I wanted to know… Well I wanted to see you again. We didn’t end on a great note last night so…. Besides, you haven’t gotten a lot of information for your research, and you could stand to learn a few more demonic hangouts around here.”

“I…” Liz couldn’t believe she was about to say this, “I’d love to. Just… god this is going to be odd…”

“You’re telling me.” Bren smiled brilliantly, leaning forward and pressing a hard kiss to the girl’s lips. “Now did I just laugh as you tried to take me down, or do you want me to hit you so it looks like you were in a fight…” Liz stared at her, touching her lips and looking confused. “I mussed up the room behind me… I figured it’d be better to explain why you were up here for so long.”

“Er…” Liz gulped, still surprised from the kiss, and the feel of the tail still wrapped firmly around her leg. Was she ever going to get used to that? Why was she even wondering at such a thing? “G… go ahead and hit me.”

Bren brushed a thumb across Liz’s lip, whispered an apology, and then hauled back and hit her. It surprised the young slayer, who stumbled for balance and shook her head, dazed. Looking up, she watched as Brennon waved, looking pained, and then threw herself outward by one of the few still in-tact windows of the place. Running to the ledge, she watched as the half-demon landed easily, rolled a bit, and then took off running. At the same time, she heard the thumps of feet on the stairs. “Liz!”

Diana, Kelleigh, and Mary all piled into the room, looked around at where some of the rickety furniture of the run-down room was shattered, and then at Liz. “You’re bleeding! What was it? Was it…”

“I’m fine.” Liz smiled, wincing almost as it pulled on the new cut to her lip, surprised. Looking through the window again, she shook her head and turned back to the others. They looked expectant.

“What happened?” Diana looked anxious, excited, and Mary was watching her warily.

“Oh, um, nothing. Just a demon… er… another of the loan sharks. I think it worked for Talon.” She shrugged, sighed, and put the stake into the back of her pants. Diana raised an eyebrow, as did Mary, but no one said anything. “When I kicked it, it went through the window… but it ran off just as I heard you guys coming.”

Mary was still looking at her skeptically, but Diana sighed with a nod, having hoped for something better, perhaps an encounter with Brennon Talon herself. “Right o. Nothing big downstairs, a bunch of vamps, gaming, and one loan shark demon. Must not have been that big of a game…”

“Must not have.” Liz shrugged, attempting to look as casual and unconcerned as possible. Half of her couldn’t believe that she’d agreed to see Brennon again; the other half of her wondered how it would be possible, as no arrangements had been made. With a big sigh from Diana at the lack of any significant threats, they turned, moving out of the building and back to their patrol. Liz realized as they walked out that, other than vampires, it was likely Brennon had warned off any demons in the area for the night, since she knew that the Slayers would be patrolling. Then again, with the Academy so close by, it was a given that Slayers could and would be patrolling any given area, so why the demons had remained in this town at all was a mystery to her. It would argue intelligence to not have hoards of demons settled into a town overseen by an entire Academy of slayers… but no one ever said that the majority of the demon population was intelligent… just some of them.

Patrol was neither more, nor less, eventful than any other given night, and Liz spent the majority of it with her mind swirling between wondering how Brennon planned to meet with her again, if it would be another late-night kidnapping, and if the half-demon had spread the word that Slayers would be hunting the area that night.

TBC