An Angel’s Road to Hell

Cassandra Pendragon

I was distracted, even though the conversation was anything but boring. Still… something felt strange. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but every time I sent a trickle of power rushing through my body, a familiar but yet alien, maybe forgotten would have been the better description, sensation tickled the back of my mind and I just couldn’t figure out what the hells was going on.

We, that is my sister, her friends, Alassara, our three fey and elves, the Brightblaze sisters, Captain Nightshade, Vanya, Will and Liz, were seated in the deep shade, provided by one of the cherry trees, the farthest away form the centre of the square. Brianna had still been wholly occupied with her friends and the two girls, I had saved during the raid on Alassara’s place, had been deeply engrossed in a conversation with a handful of others. Long story short, I hadn’t planned on forcefully dragging them away.

After the first awkward round of hesitant introductions, we had pretty quickly managed to get to the more juicy topics, namely our plans for the immediate future. Since most of them hinged somewhat on my participation, I had already been talking for quite a while… which made my lack of concentration all the more embarrassing. By now, I could hardly focus on my words anymore, my eyes darting back and forth, my ears and tails quivering.

Consequentially I wasn’t surprised when Reia gently touched one of my tails and whispered:

“What’s wrong?” Still torn between whatever was bugging me and the need to answer somewhat coherently I hesitantly replied:

“I don’t know. There’s…” I included everyone with a quick gesture. “Do me a favour and focus for a moment. Does any one of you sense anything… strange?” The humans among us looked at each other dubiously, apparently at a loss, but the rest did as I had asked. Unfortunately my troubles were rewarded by nothing but noncommittal shrugs and questioning glances.

Alassara even said: “I hear and smell people, trees, quite a few animals, the magic of your people, a bit of blood from one scuffle or the other, unwashed bodies… but that’s about it. Why?”

“I don’t…,” even while I was struggling to form the words for my reply, it suddenly clicked. I knew the feeling because I was dispelling an illusion. Someone out there was trying to hide with magic and I had automatically protected myself. Distraction and curiosity immediately turned into weariness and I slowly got to my feet, my eyes shimmering much more pronouncedly. The rather amicable chittering ended in a nervous silence, the ones who knew me well enough tensed up while the rest grew even more confused.

Faintly I heard Erya explain that I was most likely using my powers to search for whatever had caught my attention but I didn’t really listen. Instead, I took a few steps to the right to get the cherry trunk out of my line of sight and scanned the crowd, my magic swelling in my veins with every heartbeat. I wasn’t scared but an illusion, strong enough to make me use a noticeable amount of energy, wasn’t something to be taken lightly. There weren’t that many mages powerful enough for this kind of stunt and I was decently convinced I had made friends with all of them around here, except for one. And since I had already ousted Amon’s puppets, the emperor probably wasn’t the culprit. Who, then? A dragon? I had never asked Viyara what her grandfather had said, but I just couldn’t imagine that one of them had already arrived, even if they had immediately agreed. A powerful fey? Maybe one of Erya’s children? Seemed equally unlikely. As far as I knew they were busy up north and there wasn’t even a portal to their realm close by.

My eyes travelled from left to right and I breathed in deeply again, but just like Alassara I couldn’t smell anything out of the ordinary. I couldn’t even see anything overly strange. Sure, kitsune mingling with humans and other beats kin was a bit odd and a fairy-like garden, filled with cherry trees where palm and citrus trees should’ve grown, wasn’t an everyday occurrence, nor were the brigands populating it, but that was my fault. What I wasn’t responsible for, though, was amicably conversing with Sylvia, close to the pond, while I was, at the same time, staring at myself, my jaw slowly dropping to the ground. I blinked but the scene didn’t change, not much at least.

True, on second glance I realised it wasn’t me, big surprise, but someone who looked uncannily similar. She was about my height, had the same, raven black hair with silver streaks and an almost identical figure. Her face was slightly different, she looked older, somewhere in her thirties, her eyes were a bit smaller and grey instead of silver, her nose was a tiny bit longer and ever so slightly crooked, as if it had been broken and healed sloppily, and her lips were narrower, which gave her a more strict, distant air. But the overall form, her fur colour, her tails... By the Great Fox! Whoever that girl was, she had eight silvery tails and they looked just like mine! Flowing silver, the only difference were their glittering golden tips. And the small fact that she had eight of them!

And nobody cared? I blinked again and swallowed audibly. The illusion… somehow I would have bet most of my worldly possessions, which had become much more numerous in the last few weeks, that I was the only one who could actually see her for what she was. Ahri probably could, as well, but she would have to focus. Hard. And there was no reason to, was there? After all, she was just another elderly, human woman, the flickering outline of the phantasmal body had appeared before my eyes, once I had actually looked for it, who was genuinely friendly towards my people. One of the few, I might add. Most still treated us either with fear or, at the very least, mistrust. Why ever would she scrutinise the gentle granny?

I whistled through my teeth and whispered: “I’ll be damned… would you look at that? That plait really looks good on her….” With a self deprecating grin I said over my shoulder: “pray, give me a few moments. I’ll soon be back.” More sharply I added: “Reia, you’ll stay here. Don’t follow me.” Quickly and quietly I made my way over, ignoring the indignant protests behind me, while my mind was scrambling for an explanation. I came up with quite a few, one more outlandish than the next, ranging from conspiracies to long lost relatives, but guessing was ultimately futile. I’d have to ask her, resolutely but most nicely of course. Unless she wasn’t willing to talk. Then we would have to have a different kind of conversation. It’d probably be for the best to hope she wouldn’t share my character traits, as well. Otherwise I’d soon provide Free Land with the next intimidating spectacle and that would most likely turn out to be more than the town could handle.

Unfortunately I couldn’t quite keep my approach a secret, people rushing out of my way, like ripples in a pond, made it rather obvious, which prompted Sylvia and the… not so elderly lady to turn around.

“Cassy, we’ve just been talking about you,” my brother’s wife greeted me with real warmth.

“Have you, now,” I mumbled distractedly while I crossed the last few metres, my eyes glued to my counterfeit twin. Up close it was slightly better, but her appearance still made my fur stand on edge. Still, I forced my lips into a bright smile and said: “pray tell, how badly have you exaggerated?” I turned towards the ominous imposter, looking for a reaction, and added: “I’ll have you know, I’m not half as dangerous or temperamental as I’m made out to be.” I inclined my head ever so slightly. “I simply protect what I cherish and I’ve developed quite the dislike for being manipulated.” Sylvia was showing the same expression as the people I had left behind, which is to say a mixture of exasperation and befuddlement, but the one I was taking to smiled, the illusion perfectly mimicking the movement underneath.

“I see,” she croaked in her old lady’s voice. Another spell. “But that’s understandable. I try to do the same, unfortunately I haven’t been around my family for quite a while. Quite a long while.”

“Quite a long while,” I mused. “Decades?” More quietly I asked: “or even longer?”

“What,” Sylvia spluttered. “Cassandra, what are you…” I couldn’t quite follow her words, as the angel and dragoness on my shoulder picked that precise moment to make themselves known. They had probably already felt my rising anxiety but when I had come face to face with my veiled twin, the spike of uncertainty would have been pretty hard to ignore.

“Cassy, what…,” “who’s…,” I could feel them brushing through my memories like a soft breeze, their incredulity rising with every glimpse they got.

“I haven’t got the foggiest,” I admitted, “but I do intend to find you who she is, one way or the other.”

“No need to become overly dramatic,” Ahri replied distractedly, most of her attention still focused on the image of the beautiful vixen, sluggishly floating through my thoughts. “I think I know who she is, even though I haven’t met her, yet, and neither have you. Do you want me to ask your mom? She’ll know for sure.”

“I don’t think I can…” follow, I meant to say, but the scenes in Ahri’s mind cut me off. She was rushing through the royal wing back on Boseiju, the tattered remains of a dress I had managed to “improve” sadly dangling from her arm. She was taking the stairs, three at a time, but she still manage to cast a sideway glance at the statues of our deceased ancestors, her eyes quickly roving over my grandfather and the empty pedestal at his side, where his wife should have been depicted. Except… the woman was still alive, for all we knew, even though she hadn’t been seen for over two centuries.

“You’ve got to be… do you really think,” I stammered, which was pretty impressive, considering we were talking telepathically.

“Who else could it be? I’ve heard your parents say more than once that you look like her, even though you were hardly more than a toddler, back then… Shouldn’t we include Helena? If I’m right, she’d want to know and if I’m not, she has to.”

“Talk to her, but make sure my brothers don’t overhear. She’s got eight tails. If this goes south, I don’t want anyone but us and my mom to be involved.” I could practically see her nod.

“Probably for the best. If her magic is strong enough to trigger yours… what are you going to do?”

“Keep her occupied. Don’t worry, I don’t plan on starting a fight.”

“You rarely do, but yet… fine, try to get her away from Sylvia, depending on how your conversation goes, I imagine we don’t want anyone close by.”

“While you fetch my mom, could you, Viyara, make sure that my sister doesn’t get any stupid ideas? She’s still where I left her with the others. Just tell them I’ll be gone for a few more minutes. Shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to most of them.”

“And if they want to know why,” the dragoness inquired sceptically.

“Invent something, anything, really, but I’ve got to go. Judging from the looks they’re throwing my way I’ve been quiet for too long already. See you soon. And keep the connection open.” Reaffirming thoughts fluttered through my mind before their presence drifted away until it was nothing more than the ghost of an idea, somewhere close to the edge of my consciousness.

“Sorry,” I said out loud with a pinched smile. “I became distracted… and I didn’t mean to sound cryptic, I was just taken aback by your friend’s appearance, is all.”

“Her appearance,” Sylvia echoed, still trying to make sense of my behaviour. The veiled kitsune raised a hand, her benign smile transforming into something more… complex. I was decently convinced she knew I could see her for what she really was, if the curious glimmer in her stormy eyes was any indication, but for the time being she still played along. Her raspy, hoarse voice made her chuckle sound more like grinding rocks when she turned to face me fully.

“Surprised a human can become as old as me and still walk without a cane? Sometimes there’s more than meets the eye, isn’t there? And you don’t have to worry…,” she paused, eyeing me strangely before she added: “the fantastic tales your sister in law told me haven’t painted you as anything but a true treasure… someone I’d be proud to call granddaughter.” By now Sylvia was utterly confused, her eyes darting form her to me while her mouth worked silently. I shrugged and chose to ignore her entirely. One, I was still a tiny bit miffed, when I thought back on how she had greeted me the first time we had met, and two… what was I supposed to say? That old crone is, in actuality, an eight tailed vixen you couldn’t possibly hope to match in terms of strength and probably your grandmother in law? Somehow I didn’t see the appeal… instead I stuck out my hand and offered it to my… grandma? Well, it was either that or she was some kind of genius imposter. Which I didn’t think likely. I mean, I had taken her for my twin when I had spotted her from afar. Speaking of familial resemblance, it didn’t get more glaring than that.

My smile widening I said: “you’ve probably already heard, but I’m Cassandra, Cassandra Pendragon. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” She took my hand without a second’s hesitation and I could feel the illusion melt away around my fingers until her smooth skin brushed against mine.

“Likewise. Say, would you mind sacrificing a bit of your time to speak with an old woman?” Mimicking the reaction perfectly, her eyes suddenly went wide as she turned on the spot and added timidly in Sylvia’s direction: “I don’t mean to be rude, but after everything you’ve already told me…” The blue furred vixen only shrugged, still trying to make heads or tails of the unfolding play. I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from giggling. One thing I already knew, the both of us shared a common sense of humour, at the very least.

“Thank you so much,” the elderly woman exclaimed with quite the surprising amount of energy and joy. She grabbed Sylvia’s limp hand and shook it enthusiastically before she retook mine with astonishing strength. I allowed her to lead me away like a child while I casted an apologetic glance over my shoulder but my dear sister in law was much to occupied to even see it. She stared after us with an almost vacant expression on her face and this time, I couldn’t stifle my laughter.

“What’s so funny?” My companion’s voice had changed. It had become softer, silkier… entirely unbefitting of her hunched over posture and tottering steps.

“Nothing much, really, but you have to admit, the whole situation is comical, especially since I’m probably the only one who can see whom Sylvia has been talking to.” She nodded slowly.

“But yet, you didn’t tell her. I wonder why…”

“I thought you might have a reason for your secrecy. Also… I’m still trying to figure out if you’re friend or foe. In case of the latter, I thought it would be much easier if I simply had to tell everyone you vanished back to where you came from instead of explaining what happened to the eight tailed kitsune. Which begs the question… are you a foe?” I felt her fingers tense around mine.

“I guess that depends on the answers to some of my questions. And while I can already tell you that I don’t appreciate being threatened, I’m not stupid enough to take it personally. Still… this I might take personally. I want to know what happened to my son, your father.”