A doorway to my left opened to a living room, and stairs on my right led to a short balcony overlooking the front door. The hallway behind me led deeper into the house. A plastic bulletproof target Alex found in the garage was strapped to my left forearm with duct tape.
I closed my eyes and found the beast through the mana cord. It slinked across the neighbor’s roof.
“It’s outside,” I whispered just loud enough for Alex to hear up on the balcony. I didn’t expect her to respond. I extended a thread of mana, covering half my blade, and held the idea of the edge being blunt in my mind.
The minutes ticked by in silence. I could only sense the beast’s shape in a blank void, leaving me to infer its actions as it leapt to our roof and crept down the side of the house. Its proximity now revealed its proportions. It stretched nearly seven feet long, and its shoulders stood about two feet off the ground, almost like a leopard had been squished and then stretched. Six legs, with the front two pairs closer together, stepped slowly with precision, as if correct placement was critical. It prowled on all three sets of legs but would occasionally raise its front pair independently. Its movement reminded me of a centipede.
It paused above the open front door. I opened my eyes. My mana cord arched from my chest to above the doorframe. I raised the shield to my chest and shifted my weight to the balls of my feet.
The creature stuck its face around the top lip of the door and scanned the house’s interior. Thick whiskers sprouted from a vaguely feline face. Its head swayed from side to side before it crawled down and around the doorframe. My eyes tracked it to the corner of the ceiling. Its front two feet rarely touched the walls, only using them for balance.
I remained still.
Five minutes later, it curled and silently sprang onto the chandelier. I tightened my chest to stifle my scream. My heart pounded in my ears. I couldn’t see it anymore. Hopefully Alex wouldn’t do anything rash. The chandelier was not a variable we had considered.
I eased off the stool, lowered the machete to my side, and looked up. The creature climbed around the chandelier with its back four chameleon-like feet. It positioned itself head down, its front body tightly coiled, dangling in the air.
I tightened my grip on the machete, ready for it to strike. Another minute passed in silence, the monster unmoving. My thighs began to burn.
I studied its brown-and-gray furred body. Its back half draped across the chandelier, its feet latched tight.
Moving the tip of the machete to my other hand, I covered the top half of the blade with mana, maintaining the same blunt intent.
In a single motion, I stood and swung. A fraction of a second later, the beast pounced. Searing pain ripped through my shoulder, and a heavy weight slammed into my shield as my blade made contact. The creature yowled and collapsed to the floor. I stepped away from its thrashing body as a net dropped from above, ensnaring both of us.
I crouched low, angling my shield above my head while keeping it between me and the cat monster. The net draped over the shield, tenting over me. A sandbag thudded to the floor, pinning that side of the net.
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The beast coiled like a snake, poised to strike. I stepped forward as its weight crashed into the shield. Its claws gouged into the plastic, the tape stretching the skin on my arm. Focusing on the promptings, I kept my balance. Falling now would be catastrophic. Two more thuds struck the ground.
The creature backed away, and I took the opportunity to do the same. Another thud hit the ground. The beast sank to its belly and squirmed toward the loose side of the net. I yelled and took two aggressive steps forward, brandishing my shield. A sharp pain burned beneath my skin on my left arm. My yell curved into a growl as I pushed the unexpected pain to the back of my mind. The cat monster jumped and reared up on its back four legs, hissing as it swiped at me with its front paws. Another sandbag thudded to the floor.
I roared another challenge and thrust my shield forward. The beast curled up again. Two more bags fell to the floor. I braced for its attack. It lunged, only to crash face-first into the floor, its back foot entangled in the net. Seizing the opportunity, I scrambled out from beneath the net.
“I’m clear!” I backed up against the wall as the final sandbag fell in front of me.
I dropped the machete and dashed down the hall to grab one of the many sandbags we had prepared. I returned as Alex dropped the second net.
The eight sandbags anchored the first net in a wide circle. The beast yanked at its entangled foot, jerking the far sandbags closer, gaining some slack. Another sandbag dropped from above.
The beast used the slack to attempt to crawl out from under the net. Shifting the bag in my hand, I crashed it down onto the beast’s head. I swung again. The creature slowly rolled and whimpered. I swung a third time, and it fell silent. I dropped the sandbag next to the creature and ran to grab another.
“It’s down! Pack them in tight,” I called out. One by one, I stacked two dozen sandbags around and onto the beast, covering it completely. At some point, Alex joined me from upstairs.
Sometime later, I dropped the last bag. I hung my hands on my head and took several deep breaths.
“We did it. We actually did it.” Alex breathed heavily beside me, hands on her knees. “That was so scary. Did you see the way it crawled on the ceiling and walls? I think I almost peed my pants when it jumped. I can’t believe you stayed so calm. It almost got you. But you fought it off like an actual gladiator or something. You were so cool. Don’t worry, Aurora is fine. Upstairs on the bed, just like we planned. It’s a good thing you didn’t keep her with you.” The words tumbled out of her mouth in a single sentence.
I put my hand on her shoulder. “Let’s focus on catching our breath for a moment, alright?”
“Okay, okay.” Alex nodded.
I stepped over the net and shut the front door, blocking most of the light. “Go ahead and head to bed. I’ll keep a watch on this guy for now.” I spotted the stool at the edge of the room beneath the net.
The stairs creaked. “You sure you don’t want to come to bed as well?” Alex asked.
“No, someone should watch it. Plus, I’ve got things to do.” I fished the stool from under the net and placed it next to the pile of sandbags. My shoulder burned, but it wasn’t bleeding anymore, or at least not bleeding all over my shoulder anymore. I probably should have asked Alex to take a look, but it was the middle of the night. It could wait until morning. “I’m good. Go to bed.”
“Oh... okay.” Her words faded as if she’d expected a different response. The stairs creaked again.
An idea struck me as she reached the top of the stairs. “Hey, Alex.”
“Yes?” Her voice sounded hopeful.
“Make sure you talk to Ami tonight about your class. It’d be good for you to know.” I picked the machete up off the floor.
The house fell silent for a moment. “Amy who?” Alex asked.
“The AI in your—or I guess our—head.” I pinned the shield between my legs and pulled my arm away from it. I slid the machete along the tape, but it didn’t cut. Confused, I tested the edge of the blade with my thumb.
“Her name is Amy?”
“Did you not talk to her before?” I asked as I sharpened the blade with my mana.
“I, uh... I hardly remember anything from last night.” Alex nervously chuckled.
“She’s technically called an artificial mana-weave interface...” I trailed off, lost in thought. “Or A.M.I. for short. I like to call her Ami.” I tried cutting the tape again and it slid through like butter.
“Oh, not Amy. .”
“Uh, yeah, I guess? Just be sure to ask about the details of your class.” I inspected the blade.
I set the machete on the ground and peeled the shield from my arm. I rubbed the sticky residue off my skin and picked the machete back up. I carefully pulled my thumb across the blade. Still sharp. I stared at the machete. Somewhere along the line, I had gotten confused in the stupidest way.
It was obvious now that I thought about it. Why would I need to hold my mana along the blade to keep it sharp—or dull, for that matter? If I dulled the edge with magic, it wouldn’t spontaneously become sharp again. There was probably some benefit to constant sharpening, but that was because blades naturally dulled with use, not because the sharpness was a timed buff.
I sighed and blamed video games. A timed buff or an active ability was precisely how it would work in one. I needed to remember to think more critically in the future. There were too many unintentional lies in my head.
I laid the machete across my lap and turned toward the beast. It wasn’t moving, but the mana cord still stretched from my chest. It still lived. I closed my eyes.
“How do I, uh... how do I do that exactly?”
I tilted my head to the side.
“How do you do what?”
“Talk to Ami?”
“Just go to sleep wanting to talk to her. Should send you right there.”
“Okay. I’ll try.”
I heard Alex turn and walk down the hall. Shifting my shoulder to ease the pain, I focused on the mana cord and studied the connection between me and the beast, meticulously analyzing every strand to understand its purpose. Somewhere in the web of mana had to be the answer to saving Aurora.
It had to be.
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