Mari:

  Mari sprang out of bed, hand whipping to her hanging holster and drawing her Remera, going so far as to flick the safety off.

  Her heart raced, and her body tensed for danger.

  Something had pulled her out of her terrible night of sleep by shaking the house.

  The cold morning air on her bare skin had her instantly shivering, but every muscle remained incredibly tense as she moved towards the doorway, opening it and flicking her gun’s sights down the hall towards the stairs.

  Just get dressed. Anise’s voice reached her through telepathy, filled with exasperation. You two lesbians have some communication issues.

  Mari, annoyed, didn’t respond, but she did go back into the room and find some workout clothes from what had been prepared and delivered the evening before. She’d managed to arrange her own green and grey camo pattern and got a matching workout top and something that resembled yoga pants in that style.

  Once she was almost dressed, the entire home shook again, only instead of being sudden and inexplicable, the tremor was accompanied with a mechanical whine of something being moved by heavy machinery.

  She glanced out the window and noted that it was a little past dawn.

  Mari descended the stairs to find Anise cooking in the kitchen using telekinesis while remaining in place on a stool. She seemed to be making a breakfast pizza.

  Something scraped across the ground beneath her, and Mari finally resolved herself to look in the basement of their new home.

  “Go, sate your curiosity. You have another half hour before I have this ready anyway.” Anise shooed her away, and she navigated down the hatch in record time. Except, Kris’ basement workshop was bustling with activity.

  A chunk of the wall was peeled back to reveal a heavy loader on thick wheels, carrying a strange containment pod into an unusually spacious room that was already the home of two large machines she had never seen before.

  “Good morning, Mari.” Alynne greeted her from where she was leaning against the wall, halfway behind one of the large machines, fiddling with cables there.

  “What is all of this?”

  “It’s a larger fabricator that Kris requested for a few of her ideas. That pod is carrying the unusual mana-infused metal from beneath the Citadel. The machine over there is a precision engraving system I had no use for.”

  Mari sighed, not that anyone heard it over the pod being lowered into the center of the workshop. “Where is she?”

  Alynne pointed, and Mari finally noticed a section of the wall that was cocked sideways on the far side of the room. She carefully navigated around the retreating loader and into the hidden wall. Based on the layout of their house, being at the edge of the city, what she entered extended beneath the cliff that towered over the east of Elitheen. A rectangular room that had to be at least a hundred meters deep and ten meters wide, supported by pillars every ten meters down.

  And there were targets on tracks that created a grid for the first forty meters of the space. Definitely not just a hobbyist’s shooting range, but certainly a shooting range nonetheless.

  “Hello, love.” Kris chirped happily as she stalked over, giving a quick peck on the cheek.

  Mari closed her eyes, inhaled deeply, then let it out as her shoulders slumped. “Why did I wake up to the feeling of the entire house shaking? And what is a shooting range doing beneath said house?”

  “That isn’t even the best part!” Kris smirked as she walked across the floor mats towards the north wall of the range. At a touch on some hidden panel, a five meter section of that wall popped towards her and swung on a hidden hinge to reveal an arsenal. Sure, the guns were missing, but there were also a trio of crossbows and plenty of accessories for weapons in Sylpharien designs.

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  “Apparently, the former residents of this house had a secret armory. Which was why mom never allowed anyone else to take this house. But based on Marielle’s background, she felt this place might be useful for you.”

  Mari massaged her temples. “I jumped out of bed thinking there was a fight. I grabbed my gun and everything. You never thought to warn me?”

  Kris’ expression turned taut, and the regret showed before she opened her mouth to speak. “I’m sorry. I should’ve gotten you up first. My mistake.”

  Mari rolled her eyes as she realized there was no world in which she would ever be mad at Kris. She scooped her up in a hug and kissed her, then let a little excitement pass into her as they separated and she reached for the largest of the crossbows.

  “You know how to use that?” Kris cocked her head to the side.

  “The premise is easy enough.” She lifted it, then carefully studied the cable for damage. Then she checked over the limbs and trigger mechanism. Finally, she lowered it to the ground, set the stock between her breasts, planted the end, and hauled back on the cable.

  It was easily a three hundred pound weight. The handles for setting the string were meant to help a lot, but it was still a struggle.

  Finally, it clicked into place and she stood upright, red in the face. “I may need to figure out how to reduce that.” Then she grabbed a quarrel and set it into the crossbow until it also clicked into place.

  Ready, she stepped up to the range and aimed at a target all the way at the hundred meter distance. The head wasn’t meant for target shooting, though. It was meant for shattering bone.

  When she leaned down to plant her elbows on the table and set her legs to support the stance, she absently fiddled with the switches and knob on the scope. The knob handled the focus, the switches shifted the color and shape of the display in the scope. Once she had her target in sight, she braced, set the stock against her elbow firmly, and steadied her breathing.

  With a gentle pressure on the trigger, she felt the crossbow shudder, the scope shifting back into her face with the sudden force. The sound was not quiet. Not as loud as a gunshot, but certainly with a bit of bark to announce its fury. The far target snapped, and Mari used the scope to take a better look at the arrow where it had embedded itself in the far wall.

  “That looked fun.” Kris chuckled from behind her, shading her eyes pointlessly as she tried to see from so far away.

  “For someone who always wanted peace, you like weapons a lot.” Mari couldn’t help the smile tugging at her lips as she teased her lover.

  Kris pouted, crossing her arms and frowning at her. “They’re a bit cool. That’s all, okay?”

  Mari couldn’t suppress a giggle at the cute frowning face her lover made.

  “We have school today, right? I want to get a run in before we have to get ready. Don’t hurt yourself, yeah?” Mari leaned forward, rising onto her tiptoes to kiss Kris on the forehead, then ducked out of the room to see Relkur sealing the opening the equipment had been brought in through. She waved to him in greeting, then darted up the stairs to get her shoes on for some morning exercise.

  Despite her cheerful words with Kris, a cold fear tore through her as she thought about their upcoming school day and having to face the tormentors she’d known her whole life. That gnawed at her as she continued on, only breaking as an interruption hit her thoughts.

  Good morning. How long was I out? Marielle muttered from the back of her mind.

  She absently decided to skip the extra detour up the wall, on account of the mental discussion she was about to have.

  Morning. You’ve been out for… a day and a half. Which I have spent trying to recover from your rash decisions. She didn’t even try to hide her venom in those words.

  How is Anise?

  Mari would’ve sighed had she not been running at a pace slightly faster than a jog.

  She’s fine. Been living in the top floor greenhouse, since she doesn’t sleep.

  Hm. And what do you think of her?

  Mari took a brief rest as she reached the harbor residential district, placing her hands on top of her head. Sometimes, she’s like a grandma. Venerable and wise. I believe that childish side she displays is mostly just an act. Does it upset you that you didn’t get to see her grow up?

  Perhaps. Marielle paused, sounding conflicted. I never thought I’d be a parent. I suppose I’m not, either. Seeing as I’m just a bunch of incomplete memories.

  Brace yourself. Today is bound to be eye-opening. I return to class soon. I’m sure you know what that means. She turned, setting into a fast pace on the uphill roads back to the house.

  Marielle stirred in the back of her head, mentally sitting in the dojo in the lotus position. Are you asking for my help?

  The thought was enticing, but she stuffed it down. No. I need to solve some of my own problems.

  Very well, then.

  She could only hope a few of the ideas she’d put together to handle her usual problems would work out well. If nothing else, she could mitigate the impending disasters ahead of her.

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