Law of Shadows

“Fear is a good thing. It teaches the others to stay away from us.”

- A memory of the Old Ones.

***Carinthia***

***Magnus***

“...and the vampires are just parasites who prey on human blood. They-” The female fae and the nearby reporters disintegrate in a huge explosion. Chunks of flesh and body-parts are thrown high into the sky. The gathered crowd panics and people trample over each other as they try to escape the carnage. The public interview was cut short rather dramatically.

I clap my hands and take the remote to instruct the extra big wide-screen TV to replay the whole scene. “I love those guys in Russia! What's their clan’s name? Orvatschovs? They do the job properly! Each fae that shows his face in public is taken out shortly afterwards. And it always looks like humans are the ones behind it.”

Tina shakes her head with her hands crossed in front of her chest. She also saw the attack, but she isn't happy about it. “I don't think that this”—she gestures at the TV—“buys us any friends among the humans. I am sure that the fae are trying to provoke a war between humans and supernaturals. Once the whole world is a single, chaotic mess, they can sweep in and try to take over. The Orvatschovs are just playing into their hands with these ruthless assassinations. Their methods cause too much collateral damage.”

She may be right on that point. The speeches I've heard so far can be de-constructed to two statements. Fae are good and everyone else is evil. I shrug. “So what about your territory?”

Her expression turns thoughtful. “Same as yours. Nothing. The fae concentrate all their efforts on the major cities. They are trying to get the governments on their side. At times like these I am glad that my people chose a fairly rural area to settle down. It makes us less important in the eyes of the other clans, but that's sometimes a big advantage.”

My attention turns to Sely, who is lying on the living room's couch. Her gaze is fixed on the ceiling. She is deeply in thought. I step closer and take her hand, smiling. “Don't make such a face, Love! We are becoming parents!”

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Her expression turns puzzled. “I don't understand. Why are you suddenly so enthusiastic about it? Weren't you the one who asked if I'd made sure that our first encounter didn't have consequences? And it must've been the first time. Otherwise I wouldn't already show symptoms of pregnancy.”

The huge grin stays plastered on my face. “But that was before you and I became an item.” I actually had secret thoughts about having a family with Sely. That we are compatible is a gift from the gods. Whatever fate throws at us, we can work it out.

“Yes, but there are a lot of things to think about. Who is taking care of the baby with a war going on? Do you even know how much work a child is? I already had a close up experience with Annia. Let me tell you, taking care of a child with magic is a twenty-four-seven job! We already have Kath and we are just three people. Four if Cecilia really decides to stay with us.”

I must admit that my expression fell during her tirade. I started imagining different scenarios of myself having to take care of a child. None of them ended good. Like changing diapers, or stopping the child from using magic once she comes into her powers.

As if the mere thought summoned the catastrophe, I hear a loud 'Boom!' from the entrance hall.

I jump up and hurry to investigate the cause, just to find Kath fidgeting in front of a huge hole in the wall. Fiacre is nowhere in sight, so I step behind the child to investigate the damage. She punched a new entrance to the dining room. Most likely a case of accidental force magic. She has a lot of power for her age. If the girl starts casting wild magic and gets unlucky, she might level the mansion.

When she realizes that she isn't alone, she turns around and gasps upon seeing me. It's clear that she expects nothing good from me. I smile at her, viciously. “I am sure that you were told not to use magic unless someone instructs you to.”

She nods, her chin quivering. “I fell and it just... just came out, and whoosh, and bam!” She points at the wall.

“And where is Fiacre?” I ask.

Kath averts her eyes. “In the garden. Searching.”

Sely steps next to me. “Searching for what?”

“Me? She tried to teach me more control, but I can't get it right. So I slipped away,” Kath confesses.

I ponder over the problem. Kath is already eight years old. Control shouldn't be a problem for her, as her magic should have started developing at the age of five. But she isn't a normal child of our race. She was just a human before they manipulated her genetic code. Now she has all this power and never learned to control it.

It's as if someone gave her an additional limb and new senses. Add the short attention span of a child and we have on our hands a potential time bomb. I grab her clothes at her back and lift her like a sack of rice. She freezes up and allows herself to be carried while I walk deeper into the mansion.

“Hey! That's no way to treat a child,” Sely protests.

“She should be glad that I don't skin her for damaging my family's home. This house holds a lot of bad memories, but it's still precious to me.” I turn around a corner and open the door to a big training hall. Sely and Tina followed me, making sure that I don't hurt the child.

I drop Kath onto the soft, padded floor and step onto the rune which activates the training mannequin. The whole room lights up with magical circles. Blue energy particles gather to form a pair of feet, upper body and then the rest of the body. A man in black clothes appears in front of us. He has no face and just stands there, arms at his side.

“Training mode: Punching bag,” I instruct the mannequin. Then I turn my attention to Kath. “That's a training doll and this room is warded. You can't cause any destruction with your magic while you are in this room. The doll is similar to the spirit guardians who are following you around. You already met them?”

She nods.

“Good. The difference is that the doll has no self-awareness and it's much weaker. Doll: Simulate human.” I point at the mannequin and command Kath, “Hit it.”

She furrows her forehead, but does as told, hitting the mannequin in it's loins. That's the easiest spot to reach for her. Of course she achieves nothing. The mannequin doesn't even budge.

“This time focus on the power within you. Imagine a flow of warm water from your chest to your fist. Then let it burst outwards and away from the fist.”

She does it again with with no result. I say nothing as I watch the third and fourth attempt. When she tries it a fifth time I grab her shoulder and force my own power into her. I circulate the magic through her body, allowing her to concentrate on how it feels. “Do you feel that power moving around inside your body?”

She nods.

“Concentrate on that feeling and do as I told you.” I let go.

Kath forms her hand to a tiny fist and strikes the mannequin again. This time her movements are fast and the strike lands heavily. The mannequin is blown apart, flinging the legs sideways and the upper body away from us, splattering the room with blood and gore.

Sely is immediately at Kath's side, covering her eyes. “You can't show her such things!”

I frown. “Why not? She has to see what will happen if she doesn't get a grip on her abilities. Kath has to learn that she can hurt someone. Having such powers shouldn’t be treated lightly. So let her see what she did and don't interfere.”

Kath pulls Sely's hand away. “It's just a doll? Right? It's not real. The evil man just wants that I don't hurt myself. Or others.”

“Don’t deconstruct my guidance in such a way.” You’ll hurt plenty of people once you find a proper reason for it.

Kath watches as the remains dissolve and a new mannequin appears. I grunt. “Do it again. And then again. The room won't allow you to leave until you've exhausted your powers. You'll enter this room each morning and you won't get out to play unless you've spent all your magic, or you can prove that you can control it. Is that clear?”

The child looks at me with a sour expression. “Clear. But what if I have to pee?”

“Oilell will make sure that you have a chamber pot or a bucket in here.” I nod and ignore the child's horrified expression. Then I turn around to leave, but Tina and Sely bar my way.

“Don't you think that grounding her in such a manner is a little harsh?” Tina asks. It seems that she has taken a liking to the little one.

I stand my ground. “And the next time she loses control, she'll accidentally activate wild magic and take out the entire mansion. Herself included. I've no need for that. Kath's powers were given to her out of the blue and she has already shown that she can't control them. She has to learn the same way as everyone else. By training and experience. This room is the easiest way to teach her. Stop treating her like a normal Old One child who gradually got used to her abilities. As she is now, she poses a danger until she learns not to blast around her magic just because she trips.”

Sely sighs. “I think he is right in this case. But that doesn't mean that Kath has to pee in a bucket!”

Geez. Where is the fun in the whole punishment if she gets to go to the toilet? “Fine. I suggest we go and find Fiacre to tell her that Kath is in the training room. Where she will remain until she gets a grip on her power.” I turn my attention on the child.

The little runt looks at the ground, avoiding my eyes. I snort and head out of the room, leaving the child to the mannequin. Once outside, I crack my knuckles. “So... where are those two?”

“Who?” Sely asks from behind me. She followed me while Tina stayed with the child.

“That stupid bird and the bear. Why do I bother to attach two spirit guardians to the child if they don't do their job properly? They should have caught Kath the moment she ran away from Fiacre's tutelage. I'll teach them a lesson. The times of slacking off are over.”

***Carinthia***

***Sely***

It took us an hour to return the household back to normalcy. As normal as it can be. Magnus threatened to feed the two spirit guardians to Lindwurm, which caused a lot of kneeling and begging for mercy from their side. Apparently wyrms don't spurn a good portion of magic if it is offered to them.

Which leads us back to everyone being assembled in the living room, except for the children. We continue to watch the news. The media are feasting on the recent revelations. There is also group of mermaids in Iceland who went public to stop the fae from telling any more lies about them eating fishermen.

That's when Tina drops yet another bomb on us. “The fae, Hammons, Baucheaux, you have a lot of imminent and potential threats to deal with. Are you sure that you don't want to come back to our territory?”

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After a few moments I realize that Tina was addressing me. “Definitely not! I am staying right here. This is my new home.”

She sighs and raises her phone. “Then what are you going to do about the big congress in Atlantis? Many clan-heads are calling for a big congregation at the first city. Especially the Old Ones who were present and remember the first war with the fae. They want us to unite against a common enemy. Everyone with name and rank will be there. As a clan, you'll have to show your face, or they might sweep over your territory if it happens to turn into a point of strategic interest.”

Magnus hums, musing over something. “Won't the Baucheaux be there? I might be able to return their fallen to them in person.”

I shudder. Why is he so focused on returning those heads? “Won't that infuriate the Baucheaux even further?”

He smiles. “That's the point. I want to force Emil to take care of his own business. He already lost one minion who had quite the reputation. His followers will lose their trust in him if he keeps making such mistakes.”