Shattered Pentacle

Reagan and Tabitha returned at some point that day. Lyra wasn’t exactly sure when—long enough that she didn’t feel so tired, or too anxious to stalk along behind them as they came inside. Tabitha went straight down the hall to the Sanctum’s luxurious indoor spa (her own addition, of course), while Reagan made her way to the kitchen.

Lyra followed her inside, hopping up on the counter to watch as Reagan worked. Disinterested at first, until she took a fresh fish from the fridge along with a knife.

“Well?” Lyra asked. It took a little effort to make herself understood, a simple enough spell. Thanks to Capper, she had plenty of practice.

“Oh, here.” Reagan flicked a thin filet up into the air with the knife, right towards her. Lyra caught it and chewed thoughtfully.

She usually hated sushi, or anything else raw—they reminded her a little too much of the taste of blood. Cat-Lyra had no such qualms, however.

“Thanks,” she said, licking the flavor off her face. “But not what I meant.” She kept far enough away, perched on the other counter. “Did you find the girl?”

Reagan kept focused on her work, rolling out sticky rice onto sheets of seaweed. “Yep. Exactly where I was afraid of—in the Underworld.”

Lyra stood up, pawing as close to Reagan as she could without falling off the counter. “But she’s not dead?”

The other mage shrugged. “Not so far as I can tell. We scried her, and she seemed alive to me. Not in good shape, though. Lean, scared, looked like she’d been going through it.”

“Did you... talk to her?”

Reagan tossed another piece of fish her way, the bony bit ending with the tail. Few humans would want to eat that—but she caught it anyway. That kept her occupied for a few minutes. Not so much that she couldn’t follow her friend into the dining room, though.

Reagan was even polite enough to set an empty plate on the table next to her, where Lyra could set her meal when she wasn’t chewing.

“We didn’t try to make contact,” Reagan continued. “Reaching magic through the Underworld like that... it’s tough, even with the right sympathy. We decided to wait until we had everything packed, then go to her.”

Lyra set down her meal, attention fixed on her friend again. “So, it should be easy. You portal us right to her, then we walk out together.”

Reagan patted her back, running a gentle hand along her fur. Some part of her still felt a little self-conscious about it—when it wasn’t Bonnie petting her. But the cat part was louder, and that part enjoyed the contact. If there weren’t many other cats around, this way-too-big one would do.

Besides, Reagan was the only member of the cabal who had been a cat with her before. Besides her, only Akiko had been willing... but she was always too busy. They probably wouldn’t be going on any more adventures together, not until the ruins were open.

“Can’t teleport to her. Scry, yeah. Talking, probably. But portals won’t work where she is. She’s too deep in the Underworld. The details are... probably not worth explaining right now.”

She let go, pushing Lyra gently back towards her plate. “This Jaqueline isn’t in a safe place. But even if we can get to her, we have to climb high enough to teleport to the exit.”

“Oh.” She ate in silence for a few minutes, picking the tail clean and licking the juices from her fur afterwards. Not as fresh as what she caught herself—Capper would mock her for it. But she wasn’t too proud to eat something nice. “Can Tabitha get us there?”

“Probably?” Reagan shrugged. “She’s gonna talk to an old friend, see if we can bring in some backup. Otherwise, we might have to tell Akiko no. Nothing in that ruin is worth getting ourselves killed.”

That would get the door open too. I wonder if she figured that out yet.

“We’ll know by tonight. We can talk to Akiko, see if she still wants to do it. If she does...” Reagan stood up, picking up both plates. “You still want those bones?”

She turned up her nose, sticking her tongue out at Reagan. “You look like you need a catnap more than me.”

“Plan on it. No, don’t need your help. My bed’s fine.”

She watched Reagan go, considering how to keep herself busy in the meantime. She could go back to Capper, maybe learn something more about this ‘Underworld’ they had to visit. But Capper wasn’t the one who needed her most.

She followed her nose through the Sanctum, trailing behind wherever Bonnie had been. She padded up and down the steps a few times, tracing her through empty hallways, until she finally came to the library.

Their Sanctum’s library was easily its largest single room, and Akiko’s proudest possession. Multiple levels, huge shelves, and dozens of rare magical books. Cat-Lyra had no interest in it, but someone else had.

Her girlfriend’s scent lingered in one of the study chairs, surrounded by a smattering of magical books. She peered at their subjects, spending the extra second of conscious effort it took to understand written language again.

Some of them were written in Atlantean, with text that would be mostly meaningless to Bonnie. All were about the same subject, familiars. You were researching.

Her girlfriend had been there recently. She might even have been studying when Lyra returned from her vampire mission. If she’d come straight upstairs, maybe they could’ve...

Too late for that now. Capper isn’t a threat! Why are you so afraid of him?

No answer, of course. Bonnie wasn’t here. She sniffed the spot her girlfriend had been sitting, then curled up there to rest, tucked into the gap between a book and the seat. The others would find her when they needed her...

They all met a few hours later. Lyra wasn’t still a cat, though the temptation to stay that way was particularly strong. If her girlfriend wasn’t going to show up anyway, she couldn’t make fun of her for it...

Besides, they weren’t in the Sanctum that day, or even alone. Tabitha brought them to a neighboring farm, not far down the road from Reagan’s property.

They met outside, just as dusk turned the sky deep shades of purple.

“This is AJ,” Tabitha began, nodding towards the woman.

She looked stocky, muscular, with a distinct farmer’s tan and a smattering of freckles. “Died a bit there. My parents didn’t get better—but I did.”

She nodded over her shoulder, towards the lights rising from a distant farmhouse. “Wasn’t ready to leave my family on their own, ya know? Somebody had to keep an eye on things back here. Tabitha tells me you’re planning to mount a rescue down to the Dead Dominions.”

They shared a nervous look. Starlight broke the silence. “We don’t have a ton of experience going down there. Whatever a Dead Dominion is... but it sounds dangerous.”

AJ set her hands on her hips; expression harsh. “You expect me to bring all these down there? Tabby... this isn’t happening. They’re clueless.”

“Maybe,” Tabitha agreed, voice reluctant. “So, they don’t know the Underworld as well as you. We aren’t making some grand raid on the place! A quick in and out. Surely our odds improve the more of us attend. My friends are all... skilled.”

“I know what you are,” AJ said, voice suddenly flat. “Don’t insult my intelligence. There are two things you could be and I can see it’s not one of them right plain. I still mean what I said. You aren’t all coming. A big group of living people attracts a lot of attention. We have to be careful with the ones we pick.”

She looked between them, scratching her chin again. “Who do we need?”

Reagan raised a hand. “I’m the one who finds our target. Without me...”

“And me too, obviously,” Tabitha said. “Not that my understanding of the practice is anywhere near the equal of yours, AJ. But I’m the closest thing to an expert we have.”

AJ straightened, circling around the group. She eyed Lyra, then Starlight. But it was Lyra who attracted her attention the most. “What can you do?”

“Health,” she said, without hesitation. “And animals. Been a bunch, talk to them, that kind of stuff.”

“Really?” AJ raised an eyebrow. “Maybe that’s why you feel different. More… alive, than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

The farmer’s daughter was just a farmer now, after her parents died. Her reason for dropping out of high school was noble—she had no reason to feel ashamed.

I don’t either, anymore. That life is over. “What’s that mean?”

The farmer looked away, back at her friends. “Something I have. A sense for... how much longer someone has. Death waits for all of us, no matter how magic you are. Sometimes it doesn’t work, if you’re dead already. You know the type.”

She nodded, face turning dark. “Wouldn’t be standing in the sun if I was one of them.”

“Yeah. It isn’t like that, anyhow. Must be seeing things.” She turned her back on Lyra. “I want her too. You... Starlight? You can play support by the door. We need someone to listen and call for help. You have that look about you anyhow. Happier playing backup.”

“I...” She folded both arms, glaring at the farmer. “I don’t know what that means. But if the others think it’s a good idea, I can do that.”

Tabitha nodded. “Larger groups attract more attention, it’s true. We don’t belong down there. I can... disguise us, somewhat. But the magic won’t hold for very long. We will have to be quick, or else drown in the hosts of dead admirers.”

“I’ll be ready in a minute,” AJ said. “Just need to talk to my brother. Make sure the chores are covered tomorrow.” She turned, then jogged up the road to the nearby house.

That left the mages together in privacy, at least for a few moments.

“What was that about?” Reagan asked, eyes on Lyra. “Anything we should be worried about, Tabitha?”

She shrugged. “I wish I could tell you. But the Sin-Eaters are a rather private bunch. Even my old friend... she’s never been too clear about what drives her. Respecting ghosts, helping the dead to fulfill their last wishes... something of that sort. To be honest, our friendship got easier once she learned I don’t have very much to do with the dead. Seems to feel as though it isn’t our business.”

Lyra glanced down to where Capper would usually be lurking. She hadn’t seen him during the conversation, but he was there now. “You know what she was talking about?”

“I might.” The cat turned his back on her, tail lifted high. “I can’t go down there with you, Lyra. If I stay in the Underworld too long, I might not be able to leave again. I will be eagerly awaiting your return in the living world.”

That alone made Lyra hesitate. Anywhere she had to go without her familiar meant far less of her powers available than she usually had. No extra help with an extra spell she hadn’t learned yet.

“Well?” Tabitha urged. “Did your mysterious familiar have anything that might clarify things for the rest of us?”

She shook her head weakly. Not a lie exactly, though it wasn’t the truth. “He can’t come with me when we go down there. But if you still think you need me...”

Tabitha nodded. “Undoubtedly. Once you see for yourself, you’ll understand. Your magic might hold no sway over the creatures there, but... we might need it. Each time I visit the Underworld, someone nearly dies. I hope tonight becomes the happy exception.”