Chapter 30 [Drawbacks]

Kasamira dropped to her knees and slid down the slanted wall of one of the many toppled buildings. She leaned back, narrowly avoiding the claws of a Feline Class Beast she was facing, then lashed out with the Plagued Talons that had replaced her nails.

Her talons shone with a red hue that extended the full height of the Beast, rending it in two as she passed beneath it. Instead of the thrilling shower of gore she was inured with, the cleaved monster flickered a few times before fading from existence.

“This challengeis just hunting without the fun,” Kas muttered, kicking at the ground where the Beast had been. After checking the area and finding nothing of note, she skipped over to where Rowan had just dealt with his own Beast, then laced her fingers through his.

Why is this—

She looked at their hands, at how tiny her fingers looked with his wrapped around them. Her mind wandered back to the crumbling doorway, where her playful teasing had led to him leaning over her. Every time he’d breathed in, and his lungs expanded, the man’s lean-muscled chest had lightly brushed her own. Then, every time he’d breathed out… the familiar scent of home flourished.

Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. He knew exactly who I was the first time we met—I could see the acknowledgement in his eyes. He was much weaker then than he is now, and I still hadn’t been enough to faze him. He’s just so…

Her cheeks warmed and she shivered in delight, causing the man to slow and look down at her—his silver eyes shimmering brightly in contrast to the dull grey clouds above.

“Everything alright, Kas?” he asked, genuine concern in his voice.

“I’m fine,” she lied, then pointed over her shoulder with a thumb. “Another bust. What’s that make? Half-a-hundred at least, and we’ve only managed eight of these little blocks.”

That’s believable, right? she asked herself.

“Fifty-nine…” Rowan twirled his cane with his free hand and looked to the sky. “Closer to one in seven than one in eight. Should the pattern hold, we’re looking at another sixty—Aurora may have been fine, but Locke isn’t in a position to farm his share, and I didn’t want to leave him out there on his own. On a brighter note, the drop rate appears to be more consistent here in the in-between than out on the Floors.”

Success. Kas breathed a quiet sigh. I really didn’t want to explain that I’m having trouble not swooning like some young Academy girl. Why is it he’s so much different from other men?

It was unusual. Much like when her mother would toy with men, Kas’ teasing was typically met with bashful acknowledgement or, in some cases, flat out disdain. Men just didn’t seem to appreciate when theywere the ones on the receiving end of coquettish banter.

Kas had always modelled her behavior somewhat after her mother’s—using her wiles and position to manipulate others into getting what she needed, whether that be resources or information. Of course, while the Domina of the Vladimir Family acted so shamelessly, her mother had forever remained loyal to her father.

Is this what mother meant when she said the right person makes you feel there’s no one else like them in the Tower? She looked at Rowan again, his silky black hair, flawless skin, receding chin, and silver eyes all eerily similar to the direct descendants of the Wales Family. No. The way he carries himself is something else entirely. There really isn’t anyone like him in the Tower.

Kas felt she’d found a kindred spirit the man—someone she could relate to that wasn’t part of her family. Rowan was an old soul trapped within a young body, though she understood the paths that led them to their current predicaments weren’t the same. If they were, her Blood Proprioception would have given that away the first time they’d met.

His body is actually the age it looks, yet his spirit… his Essence Limit must be extraordinary. It’s too far beyond my current abilities to even attempt to assume his true age. Kas looked down, at her feet and legs, her waist and chest, then the back of her hand, where she could see the years she’d lived in the form of scars across her knuckles imperceptible to those without a sufficient Level of Perception.

How’d he do it without the drawbacks?

The benefits of being born on anywhere above the Origin Floor were well known throughout the upper ranks of the esteemed families. To most, the gains weren’t worth the cost. While the children were born stronger, faster, and smarter, with naturally higher Essence Limits and greater ease when training them… the aging process was drastically slowed.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the same beneficial slowing of bodily decay that Wielders ascending from Floor to Floor received, it was a deeper, more primal change. Kas was still an infant two years after her birth. It wasn’t until she was twenty-one that she was the size of children who entered the Academy at eight. Even now, at almost forty-two, she’d only developed as much as a normal woman of sixteen or seventeen.

Then, there was the pain. The pains of growing so slowly while having senses multiple times more potent than most Wielders despite not having any Cards equipped—if it weren’t for salves and creams from the O’Connel Family, she wasn’t sure any Vladimir child would survive beyond infancy.

While that was all bad enough, if she were to bear children, she’d remain with child for over two-and-a-half-years, and they would have a similar disposition to her regardless of the Floor they were birthed on. The Vladimir Family had experimented for years, learning these nuances of the first children born on the Fortieth Floor before coming to the conclusion that the path to greater power was to invest massive amounts of resources and training into the strongest born every decade during their extended growth period.

What would he think if he knew? If he knew how I suffered—how every generation suffers… I should walk away while this doesn’t mean anything… Kas tightened her grip slightly on Rowan’s hand. It—It’d be for the best if my Family just died out…

***

I’d been monitoring Kas’ body language as we trekked hand in hand around the second ring and instantly noticed the shift in her mood. Though her grip tightened on mine, she now kept almost half a pace between us.

Regret? I wasn’t expecting this particular development myself… Perhaps she feels that this was a mistake? I looked up and noticed the meter above her head—that had previously moved two more notches toward the center throughout our stroll—was now three marks deeper in the corruption. There’s more to it.

Despite the sudden change demeanor, her thumb still lightly traced shapes across my skin. I wasn’t sure what had affected her so deeply, but I felt I needed to do something.

“Kas—”

“Rowan, I—Sorry.” Kas looked down, then said, “You go ahead.”

“Ladies first,” I replied with a smile.

“After we’re back on the Origin Floor…” She trailed off and seemed to be hesitating. I stopped walking and waited patiently. Rather than continue with what she was saying, she asked, “Are you truly going to reveal your secrets to your Party?”

Not what I’d been expecting.

I nodded. “I have every intention to do so, yes.”

“What if one of them betrays you?” she pushed. “I don’t know the method you used to put yourself in that body, but I doknow plenty of Wielders who would do anything to get their hands on it if they found out. What makes you think you can trust anyone?”

“They’re a good group of youngsters.” I grinned, lifted her hand, then lightly pressed it to my lips before adding, “Don’t think I’ve forgotten my promise. Whether or not you decide to join our Party, I fully expect you’ll be sitting in on our conversation. I’m a man of my word, after all.”

“You’re such a scheming old man,” she said, covering her smile with her free hand. The tension in the air faded and Kas returned to her typical, playful self. “What am I to do now? Fall to my knees and thank you for your graciousness?”

I caught her before she could act out that scenario, then winked and asked, “How’s about we murder another couple dozen Beasts, get to the meet-up point, then start the Third-Tier and we’ll call it even.”

“Fine.” Kas huffed and pretended to pout, though she did press herself against my side as we began to walk. She closed her eyes and tilted her head. “There are three behind us, two to our left, and—Oh! That’s strange…”

“Something wrong?” I asked.

“Maybe…” she said uncertainly, then pointed forward. “There’s a group of at least forty running straight for us.”

“David?” I thought at my ghostly Summon.

“Sorry, boss.” Came the reply. “It seemed like you two were having a moment. No need to worry, though!”

Her hand slipped from my grasp and red, crystalline talons grew from each of her fingers. I unsheathed my blade and bent my knees slightly, readying myself for what was to come.

“I can’t say the forty Beasts concern me as much as why they’re running directly—” My thoughts were cut short when a tall, menacing figure rounded the rooftop of a toppled building. “Hoho! It seems this unexpected turn of events was by design.”

Nathaniel was almost before them when I felt the ground rumble beneath my feet. Small bits of loose debris shook and vibrated across the broken stone road until they fell into the deeper fissures. By the time Nathaniel stopped, the first of the Beasts rounded the corner and the quaking had intensified to such an extent that large chunks were falling from the felled structures.

“David mentioned the two of you were nearby and still needed keys for the others,” Nathaniel answered the forming question before I could ask, then casually placed himself next to me. “I’m sitting on six at present.”

He positioned the tip of his glaive downward and slightly behind him. The blade faced the oncoming Beasts—of which half a dozen were now visible—and his arms were twisted in a way that would allow him to sweep the weapon in an upward arc then move into another stance without having to adjust his grip.

“Good work, lad,” I said, watching the creatures’ rapid approach. My Appraising Eye identified three different Classes of Beasts: Canines, Felines, and Rodents. “David, Frost Field.”

“You got it!” David dropped into the horde’s path, clapped his hands together, then pulled them apart. As his arms spread, the dying and purple-veined plants covering the area were blanketed in a layer of frost that continued to unfurl until the Summon’s arms were fully extended. A wave of frigid air slammed into me and kept going.

“What terrifying range…” I heard Kas whisper.

The Beasts opposite us slowed by at least a third, and Nathaniel used that opportunity to make his first move. I heard a sharp snapand scarcely had time to blink before seeing the young man appear in front of an Ashen Canis—a Canine Class Beast with fangs protruding from its jowls and a stream of purple and black mist constantly leaking from its spine.

Nathaniel’s glaive swung into the underside of the creature’s snout. The power and speed behind the strike not only cleaved the first Beast in half, but created enough pressure to gouge the stone earth and tear through two more Beasts running behind the first. He took another step as his arms continued to move, carrying him to the side of a Feline Beast that was ripped open from chest to rear across its flank.

Not one to let a job be done for me, I Dashed into the crowd, passing by David with my sword extended. I ducked beneath a clawed swipe, thrust my blade into the neck of the offending Feline Class Beast—an Ashen Smilodon almost twice my height—then bashed the head of a nearby Rodent, called an Ashen Murinae, with the butt of my sheath.

I leapt over the lunge of another Murinae and simultaneously ripped my blade from the throat of the Smilodon. A shrill cry pierced the cacophony of snarls and growls. The corpse of the Smilodon I’d skewered vanished, revealing a scowling Kas with the same Rodent he’d avoided dangling from her talons.

The dead Murinae flickered briefly, then ceased to exist, leaving a thin black object in its place. In that same instant, the remaining Beasts froze, the deafening noise came to a halt, and after a moment, David was the only non-Wielder remaining. My Summon retracted his arms and the chill around me eased. I turned back to the still-scowling Kas.

“What a look,” I said jokingly while sheathing my sword.

“This place is awful,” she replied quickly, similarly hiding away her talons. “My build needs blood to be useful. Mine would work, but I’m no masochist.”

There was a shift in the air, and I looked over to find Nathaniel standing next to me with an open hand. Three items similar to the one held by Kas rested on his palm.

“I’ve got one!” David called out so the three of us could hear.

We’re still one short. Where—Ah!

I walked closer to Kas, then knelt and grabbed the final piece, which appeared to have been dropped by the Smilodon I’d slain. It was an odd-looking object. Much like the vault door back at the bank, there was very little in the way of a description, and it wasn’t a Relic.

[Name: Memory Stick]

[Description: A small device that is used for storing or transferring data]

Just like the rest. Its functions sound similar to that of a Memory Pearl. I pictured the pea-sized Relics I’d received with information on the Vladimir Family. I stood and glanced at my directional Relic. “Right, if the two of you wish to return to the southern-most rooms, I’ll head north and distribute these to Aurora and Locke. Kas, do you have any information on the room in the northwest that I can pass on to Aurora? Anything that will keep her from getting to it? David’s time is almost up, so I’ll wait out his cooldown and send him to look after her.”

“Nothing of note.” Kas tapped her chin, then snapped her fingers and said, “Just make sure you tell her it’s in the basement. She’ll find a blue door on the back side of the building which opens to a flight of stairs that’ll take her right to the room.”

“Are we still meeting north of the inner circle once the Third-Tier is active?” Nathaniel asked while I collected the extra keys from Kas.

“We should,” I replied, taking the memory sticks that he offered me. “You said the challenge is chosen at random, so I think that’s for the best.”

He nodded, turned and sprinted toward the southeast, then disappeared behind the same toppled building from which he’d arrived. A tiny hand touched my neck and gently pulled me down until a pair of soft lips pressed against my cheek.

“Don’t take too long,” Kas whispered in my ear.

I turned to tell her I’d be quick, but she was already gone.

“I think she likes you.” David floated in front of me, making kissing noises.

“You may be right.” I touched my cheek, then laughed at the boy’s continued antics. “Come now, let’s not keep everyone waiting.”

David made one last mocking noise before flying north, heading toward the place where we’d arrived.

I tucked the memory sticks in my jacket pocket and followed behind.