Chương 76: The Invitation

Day 9 I put the elf's corpse, chest torn open, into my inventory.

"I didn't know you could do people. Can you do anyone? Did you eat that guy's heart?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, I did. Right now I got some variations of, well, me. And a kobold." I dismissed the bow and gestured down at myself.

"This is temporary." Sarah smirked.

"Shame. Bet those are really sensitive. No twisting those." And now I could only imagine how those were glowing bright red. I didn't look at either her or Helene.

"Uhh—" I stammered, before Alex and Inaaya came to my rescue.

"Hey, Eve. We didn't have an opportunity to do so earlier," Alex said.

"But we wanted to thank you. Without you, and by extension, Claire, we wouldn't have made it out of there." Inaaya took my hand into hers, ignoring the blood.

"Thank you." It took an awkwardly long moment of me not knowing what to say before she let go of me again.

"I did say 'thank you' earlier, didn't I?" Sarah asked.

"If not, here it is. Thank you. Ten out of ten. Would get saved again."

"It's… It's not nothing, I know. But also, it wasn't like I had a choice, you know? Well, when I was in trouble, people worked hard to get me out of it. I'm paying it forward." Inaaya gave me a smile that was warmer than what I'd seen from the Druid so far.

"As Anthony told the story, you started this apocalypse with saving people and never really stopped."

"Just doing my part. As everyone has so far." Alex looked up at Inaaya and nodded when she met his eyes.

"We'll do our best to pay it forward, too."

"Where are the others? I thought they were coming, too?"

"Taking a short detour," Sarah said.

"They left in a bit of a rush this morning, some silly rescue operation where they weren't needed at all, so they have some things to take care of." She looked over at Helene.

"So where are your dogs? Helene was it, right?"

"Yes, Sarah, I'm Helene. Jamie took care of them while Eve and I took a slightly risky path to get me to my subclass. But the risk paid off."

"Damn. Another twenty. Doubt there are many of those around. What's your subclass?"

"I'll only learn my options once I enter a sanctified space. But I already have some objectives in mind. Hopefully at least one or two will match them."

"I had about a dozen choices. Many good ones. However, I don't regret my pick even a bit," I said.

"What even is an Apex Seeker?" Inaaya asked.

"It's—" I heard another group approaching. With one trio of very eager good boys among them.

"Jamie and the others are here." The moment they stepped into sight, and Helene whistled for her dogs, Jamie dropped their leashes and they rushed for her. For a moment there was nothing else, except Helene being reunited with her boys. I turned my attention back toward the jungle. My first instinct when I saw those moments of joy was to anticipate something ruining them. Stephen stepped next to me and tapped me on the shoulder.

"All good, chief? Found elves in there?"

"Yeah. Xenophobic, but they seem to hate Nemesis as much as us. How are you doing?"

"Better than one would expect. Considering the world ended." I remembered the book I had seen him reading, when I had been on the boat for the first time.

"How's your French cuisine coming along?" Stephen laughed.

"The details you remember. Better than I expected."

"Feeling up to cooking for all of them?" Stephen looked over his shoulder.

"All?"

"Yeah. It's a bit of a risk to bring everyone into a profane space, but that's why you picked that class, right? Leaving behind your old life as a figurative servant of Mammon to provide for others?" If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Stephen was quiet for a while.

"Yeah, not wrong. Helene mentioned that she enjoyed the food from back home. Figured it would cheer her up." I looked up at him and over to Helene.

"You know, when I saw that book, I thought it was because she had charmed you. But it's not just that, is it?" Stephen looked down at me, grinning.

"Not all of us are quite as desperate as you are. She definitely charmed all of us. But this is just for her."

"Pah. Desperate? I got a date, I'll have you know." I turned from the jungle to look at the assembled people. Ash was already chatting with Helene about her hopes for her subclass. Jamie was chatting up Team Zoo. Stephen also turned.

"Helene?"

"Nah. Sarah. Asked me about, like, five minutes after we were out of danger."

"Nice." I just laughed. Anthony and the others were also approaching.

"Today?" I asked.

"Sure." I walked back over to Helene and joined her in spoiling the dogs.

"I enjoyed our time," I said.

"We made a good team."

"You make this farewell sound quite dreary, Eve. We will meet again. We will collaborate again. I will certainly seek your unusual perspective on things sooner rather than later."

"I'll drop by the club. I'm the fastest Blessed around. I can make a detour when I visit the hyenas." I glanced over at Anthony and the others.

"And ideally we'll already meet again later today." I stepped up on the bench next to Helene. Within moments the conversations died down. I immediately wished I had thought about what I'd say beforehand.

"Last week Anthony and Stephen cornered me and bullied me into participating in their barbecue. And that was my best night in this whole nightmare so far. Yesterday I laid claim to Mammon Tower. Today I'd like to invite you all for dinner. Don't worry. Stephen will be cooking—""You'll assist me, Eve. That's too many people."

"Stephen and I will be cooking." Constance stepped up.

"Is it still a profane space?"

"Yes, it is. It is also more than that. It has a mind. And I'd really like to teach this mind the value of community. Of sharing and of caring. This risks more of us ending up with devil guides. But that would always be an eventual risk. This way we get it out of the way, and if it happens, we can be open about it and help each other deal with it. Secrecy and isolation is how they get us." I stepped off the bench.

"And that's the most words I'll speak to a group of this size ever again." Anthony was already at work selling the doubters on the idea. I hadn't been sure if he'd be on board with getting everyone exposed at once. I was glad he was. And then I noticed it. Behind one of the blown-out windows of the medical building we'd gathered in earlier. A shimmer in the air. Definitely not that of an elf. ["Everyone, stay cool and keep talking. We are being observed."] To my surprise, most people kept a straight face.

I proceeded to coordinate a plan. The demon might have caught on that something weird was going on, but they didn't move away from their spot. Picking an indoor spot was their death. A dozen coordinated Blessed going after a single demon? Wasn't even a fight. We didn't even need half that number. I took Ash and Alex aside, as if I were seeking a private discussion. This got them into position, so they had a clean shot. I showed Alex my new bow, explaining my issue with the arrows.

This gave him an excuse to show me his own bow. He demonstrated aiming with an arrow filled with one of Inaaya's seeds, and then shot for the window. The demon did dodge the arrow—but it had never meant to hit the demon. Behind the demon, an entire room was succumbing to a blood-sucking bramble wall, thanks to Inaaya's new feat, which had upgraded her plant magic. For a moment the demon had vanished into the room. I, Jamie, and Sarah were already running for the building. When the shimmer returned, I signaled Ash.

Precisely when the demon jumped, Ash's spell slammed into them. The spell was a 'failed' experiment. A laser beam, with very little damage but disproportionate knockback. The demon scout slammed into the wall behind them, and before they could even hit the ground, Constance hit them with her Holy Bolt. Luckily, the demon had a tiny bit of health left—just as planned—and my elven shape's claws were just as sharp as my human self's. I took out the demon's throat, finishing them off. Another first kill Task done.

After this encounter, we decided to part ways for now. While I wanted to speak with just about every Blessed present, that could wait until later in the day. We didn't know who sent the scout and if there'd be reinforcements coming. I was finally back in a party with Jamie, Liz, Ash, and Stephen. And now I'd show them to my new home. The only issue was getting there. We could obviously split up, but I needed to know the path through the tunnels to get up here.

It crossed a large stretch of the city, and if I ever needed to escort Team Zoo—or a single one of them for a date—I couldn't just fly. We stopped at the entrance to a subway station. The others pulled out flashlights.

"Any preference for how to do this, Eve?" Jamie asked.

"Just a moment." On a whim, I cast Seek the Unseen, seeking a mythborn creature capable of flight. I had some specific creatures in mind, but the more specific I was with the spell, the less range it would cover. And it found something. The pull was vague, as was expected with such a vague query, but there was something out there. I'd file that away for later. We had objectives, and my desire to avoid the tunnels was not on the list.

"Found us something to check out another time. For now? Let's just take it slowly. One step at a time." Jamie took point, Ash stayed by my side, and Liz and Stephen had our backs. Five steps down the stairs, I stopped. Nope, this wasn't it. The elf was far too alert. I already began imagining noises of pursuers. Maybe taking no steps would do. I swapped to the crow and fluttered up on Jamie's shoulder.

"I would have carried the elf, too, you know?" Jamie said. The oath carried his steady loyalty.

"I'd have felt much more silly in that shape."