Chapter 39: Rescue(1)

(Jahi PoV)

"What happened?"

Hearing the low voice of the Empress, I turned slightly, staying quiet.

I didn't trust myself to speak at the moment. I was a mess emotionally, and the last thing I wanted to do is offend the Empress...

"Someone kidnapped Katherine..."

My Mom told the Empress, keeping Julie's shaking form close to her.

The Empress nodded, before looking at Mother.

"Well, are we going to use the soul bond to track her down?"

"We were about to..."

Looking towards me, the Empress kneeled, saying "Alright, focus your mind. Think about Katherine, about finding her. You should feel something leading you towards her..."

Nodding, I closed my eyes, concentrating.

I started thinking about her, about the moment we shared...

Although it has only been a little above a month, I couldn't comprehend the idea of a life without her.

Maybe it was the bond, or maybe, just maybe, we were meant to be...

Feeling my heart clench, I started focusing on her appearance.

Her fluffy ears, her long brown hair, those hazel eyes that glowed gold in the sunlight. Her carefree smile, the way she blushed easily...

The warmth she provided, the way she felt when I held her close...

The girl that made my heart beat faster...

Remembering when we first met, I was enamored by how she acted. She tried to copy her mother, to be a proper maid. Smiling, I remembered how shocked she looked when she saw how both my parents treated her mother, and how quickly she grew red when I teased her.

Slowly, more and more scenes appeared in my mind.

Her leaning over her notebook, scribbling down various sequences as she nibbled on the end of the pen, too focused on her work to notice.

Her gentle touch when she cleaned me off after my spars with mom.

Her eyes blazing with desire when we were in the bath, only to be masked by embarrassment moments later.

Everything about her captivated me, and now...

Now, I needed to find her.

"Good. She's in the forest north of here. About... fifty miles or so."

Opening my eyes, I looked up at the Empress, who smiled down at me, before turning to look at my mom.

"That's the old fort you abandoned a decade ago, right?"

Nodding, my mom had to hold Julie closer, before saying "Yeah, Fort Abraxas..."

Sighing, she looked down at Julie before saying "Calm down... We'll get to her soon now..."

While she stopped struggling to break free, I could hear a guttural growl coming from her. Looking around, both mother and Kio had mixed looks, appearing both worried and slightly excited.

"So, we going?"

Hearing Kio, everyone nodded. However, Lorelei said "I'll take the children back to the estate, along wi-"

"I'm going."

Looking at me, I could see a mix of emotions.

Mom was looking at me with pride.

Mother was glaring at me, her face a blend of anger and worry.

The Empress smiled down at me.

Lorelei looked at me with worry.

The Sultana gave me a nod.

Kio shrugged.

Anput ground her teeth, but looked at the ground, quiet.

Leone's orange eyes were ablaze with worry, and she gave me a serious look before nodding.

However, when I saw the look Julie gave me from the corner of her eye...

I shivered.

Her blue eye was a cold void. Normally a glimmer of warmth could be seen, her hazel eyes reminiscent of honey. Now, they were the depths of the ocean; cold, dark, utterly uncaring.

I grit my teeth, before repeating myself.

"I'm going."

Sighing, mom looked down at me before nodding.

"Well, I was thinking about taking you out somewhere soon anyways..."

Mother's glare alternated between mom and I, before she sighed.

"Lorelei, take Anput and Leone back please."

Hearing the Empress, Lorelei nodded before scooping both of them up, making her way back towards the carriage.

"Kio, join them..."

The Sultana's raspy voice made Kio flinch, but she nodded and followed behind Lorelei.

"Alright, let's go. Ria, carry Jahi. We need to get there quick..."

Nodding, mother picked me up. Looking around, I could see everyone taking a deep breath before mana flared around them. Then...

The buildings around us flew by, as we sped towards the north, towards Fort Abraxas.

Gradually, we made our way out of the city, and into a large forest. Seeing everything blur past us, I was stunned. I had just started learning how to apply mana to myself, and I could barely move at a sixth of this speed in a straight line, let alone weaving around trees and roots...

"Are you thinking about how fast we are going? I hate to break it to you, but this is not as fast as we could be going..."

I looked up at mother in surprise, before asking "How..."

Chuckling, she said "I am by far the weakest one here, excluding Julie, and even with lightning magic I am outclassed by those three. The Sultana and Empress have reached a peak that few can even see, let alone climb to. Chordeva is one of those people though. If we were in a time of war, she would have reached that peak..."

Giving a wry smile, she looked back up, focussing on running.

Sadly, as much as I wanted to continue asking about that, I could feel my stomach drop, before my heart clenched. Taking a sharp breath, I couldn't focus on anything else, worrying about what that feeling could possibly mean.

Hearing that, mother looked down at me in worry before shouting "Speed up!"

Slowly the forest turned into a blur, and it took a few minuets to eventually reach a large, stone ruin.

Standing in front of it, we all looked up, taking in the dozens of people lining the ramparts.

One stepped forwards, a tall, swarthy man.

"If you don't wa-"

Before he could finish, an arrow made of water pierced his skull, making him slump to the ground.

Silence descended, and everyone looked towards the glowing dogkin, water swirling around her.

Her hands flashing, two complex runs appeared in front of her, and a barrage of arrows shot towards the ramparts, killing many.

Shouting, the enemy returned fire, normal arrows and spears shooting towards us, only to be blocked by a dome of water.

I could hear a low growl, and when I turned back to Julie, I saw a large ritual circle flare behind her.

Glowing a bright blue, it slowly started to fade.

Confused, I looked around, only to see mother grinning slightly as she looked up.

Following her gaze, I saw the same ritual circle appear above the castle, before it started to rain.

Each droplet of water was sharp, and slowly I could hear the sounds of the enemy screaming in pain, as well as the sound of flesh hitting the floor.

I looked towards Julie, shocked. A spell like that is...

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Hearing the warmth in my mothers voice, I looked at her in shock.

Smiling widely, she was looking at Julie with a heated gaze, before looking back up.

"A work of art."

I was confused, and slightly worried, so I jumped out of my mothers arms.

Moving towards the rest of the group, I felt someone grab my arm, and when I turned I saw mom.

"Focus again. Try to find where Kat is."

I nodded, before refocusing, trying to find her.

I could feel a pull towards the ruins, and I slowly grabbed that feeling, trying to narrow the pull. Feeling it move downwards, I said "Below..."

"Well, that certainly helps. Hah... whatever, the basement of Abraxas is small."

Opening my eyes, I saw that the rain had stopped, and Julie walking forwards, into the ruins.

We followed her, and when I looked to my mom in confusion, she said "I may be stronger than her, but I am not getting in her way."

The Empress nodded, smiling. "A woman searching for her child is quite dangerous. Besides, if she needs help, we're here."

Saying so, we all watched as a man charged at her, swinging an axe towards her. Pivoting, she avoided the swing before her hand shot forward and pierced his chest, blood spraying everywhere.

Gulping slightly, I made sure to never piss her off. After all, her face never changed the entire time. It just stayed cold, unfeeling, even as blood sprayed on her cheek.

She continued, quickly killing anyone who approached. Making her way into the ruins of Abraxas, we looked around.

Without turning, Julie asked "Which way."

"Room to our left, stairs are on the right side."

She turned left, her hand flickering as she caught an arrow. Without a word, she flung it back towards the archer, and we heard a scream.

Hearing people behind us, mother sighed before flickering away, reappearing a few seconds later, accompanied by the thuds of bodies hitting the floor.

We entered the room, where another dozen men stood, weapons in hand.

A man with scars littering his face stepped forwards, and chuckled when a water arrow stopped an inch from his face.

"That's not nice, now is it? Hmm... Oh! Boys, bow! You are in the presence of the oh so great Empress and Sultana!"

Saying so, he gave an exaggerated bow, before looking back up. Chuckling, he raised a scroll with a ritual circle drawn on it. It started glowing, and jumped off the scroll.

It looked exactly like the one from the city, and I watched as some... thing walked out.