Even though she was left quite literally hanging she wasn’t upset, she was tired.

  Actually, she thought, hanging out here isn’t so bad. Maybe her roommate was right about those sensory deprivation tanks. Unfortunately for her, just before she could she was able to relax, she started falling once again. This fall ended with an abrupt and painful stop.

  Her eyes whipped open as she rolled onto her back to reorient herself. Once her eyes cleared she found herself on the barracks cement floor. She rubbed her shoulder that was hurting from falling off the bunk. Was that real? She wondered as she stood and brushed the dust off.

  She shook her head and sat on the bunk. She wanted to know how long she was asleep and instinctively reached for her phone. She felt the standard “oh shit, where’s my phone” panic response before remembering she had left it in her tent, in India, thousands of miles away from her.

  Her focus turned to her should-be sore shoulder to find it feeling perfectly fine. Normally, landing directly on hardened cement would have left it sore for at least a few minutes, but there was nothing. She sighed and decided not to question the occurrence and attribute it to her new abilities. She once again laid down on the bed and attempted to fall back asleep. Her efforts, however, were thwarted by her continual thoughts of her meeting with Durga and Dawon.

  After plenty of time tossing and turning, trying to find a comfortable position, she gave up and sat crossed legged on the stiff mattress. Her exhaustion now replaced with boredom. She looked around for anything to occupy herself until she saw what was resting on the bunk opposite her.

  Gleaming under the light was a sword in a curved sheath. The sheath was pitch black and was covered in gold filigree. It depicted a battle of a tiger striving against a swarm of evil looking creatures. Behind the tiger sat a female figure with ten arms, each one holding her body as if she was protecting herself from the cold. The blade’s hilt was shaped like a closed tiger’s maw facing down toward the wielder’s hand.

  She picked up the sword and with a smooth motion drew it. Even though it was the first time she had ever taken hold of it, it almost felt right in her hand. It was a little over two and a half feet long from pommel to tip. The blade itself was curved and was about two inches wide before tapering into a sharp tip. When she swung it around a few times it felt like the whole thing was somehow alive. Like it was reading her mind and acting accordingly. The sword shone like polished silver as it reflected the room’s light.

  Under the sword there was a small note. The handwriting was immaculate in a language she didn’t initially recognize. It was like Sanskrit with more flourishes and the words were spelled incorrectly. It was like comparing modern and Tudor age English. Yet, she somehow understood.

  I give you one of my personal weapons in the hope that it will serve you well and slay your enemies. This sword can cut through any curse or hypnotic effects that might be affecting you or an ally. Beware its defenses. If any try to use it against your will it will take flesh and blood from them.

  Sarah sat amazed at the weapon. Not only was it a magic sword, it was also given to her by a real goddess. She jumped when someone knocked on the door.

  “Hey Sarah, you up yet?” Logan said from the other side.

  She put the sword back and leapt to her feet. “Ye-yea, I’m up.”

  Logan let himself in. He was dressed like he was when they first met. A pure black shirt with cargo pants, gun holster, and his ever-present sword. He was about to say something but stopped when he saw her new sword. His eyebrows rose drastically before sinking into a scowl.

  “Where did you get that?” He asked roughly.

  “I think Durga visited me in my dreams. When I woke up, this was here.”

  Logan looked worried for some reason. “That shouldn’t be possible.” He said half to himself. “I’m going to have to tell Master Sigurd about this.” He turned and left with a “follow me.”

  She did as instructed and kept close. Instead of turning right like she expected they turned left further into the building’s sub-level. As she was wondering why she was being taken in a different direction, Logan spoke.

  “We are going to get you outfitted.” He said without looking back at her. “You will be getting clothes like mine. They are specially designed to allow unhindered movement while being able to expand when we change into our hybrid forms.”

  She was once again about to ask him a question when he ran into the brick wall that was his back.

  She stepped back, rubbing her nose. “Hey, don’t just stop like that.”

  “We’re here.” He said while opening another metal door and leading her through. The room was quite spacious. It was at least eighty feet long and one hundred feet deep. There were four different sections with each one holding distinct styles of clothing.

  The first section contained clothing similar to Logan’s, pure black shirts with dark cargo pants. The next set of clothes was the same style but instead of being pure black they were gray. The third was also gray but held varied sized outfits making it look like a circus clearance rack. Some sets were large enough to look baggy on a body builder while others were small enough to only fit a doll. The final rack was similar to the second set but half was pure black and the other pure white. The biggest difference was they all had what looked to be two long slits down the shoulder blades. She noticed that none of them held any of the symbols on their chest and shoulder that the people she had seen in these suits have.

  As they entered, she suddenly felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle. She spun around to find herself face to face with the barrel of an enormous pistol. She yelped in before stumbling back and falling. She looked to where the gun came from and was surprised by the holder.

  Standing perfectly still and holding a pistol five sizes too big was a smiling man unlike anything she’d seen outside a video game. He possessed unusually high cheekbones, dark gray skin, pointed ears, short silver hair, and blood red eyes. He was wearing a black trench coat that looked like he picked it up from a sci-fi movie prop sale. What surprised Sarah the most was that Logan was already holding his sword up to the man’s neck, like he was ready to slit the stranger’s throat with a twitch.

  “Alright Ravus, you’ve had your fun. Now put the gun away before we need to look for a new ranker.”

  The man, who was apparently named Ravus, smiled. “Ah, Logan, how nice it is to see you again.”

  His voice reminded Sarah of a con-artist trying to convince someone to buy the most beat up junker for Prius level prices.

  “I wish I could say the same. Gun?” Logan moved his sword up an inch.

  With one slow motion Ravus pulled back his gun, opened his coat and deposited it in a holster on his chest. Once the coat closed and covered the weapon, Logan pulled his sword back and returned it to its place on his back. “What do you want, Ravus? We’re in a time crunch.”

  “Your’re always so serious.” He turned his almost glowing red gaze to Sarah. “I figured out we had a new member joining us and just wanted to see what she was like. Suffice to say, I'm not impressed.”

  Sarah released a low growl, the feeling inside her telling her to not allow such disrespect.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Ravus laughed, “there we go, just what I was looking for. A little fire in her spirit. It feels like every cursed being they bring in starts out as scarred children.” He glanced at Logan. “Present company excluded of course.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Whatever. How did you figure it out? It’s supposed to be classified.”

  Ravus shrugged. “I just so happened to be in the shadows when you and the fox came in with a new girl. I could feel her curse but didn’t recognize her. I assumed you two brought in some new meat.”

  “Sometimes I wonder why you’ve decided to stay a Guardian when you’d be a better Hunter.”

  “You know I avoid work like a disease. As a Guardian I can just laze about while waiting for something to happen.”

  “Now If you’d excuse us, I need to get our newest comrade into proper gear.”

  Ravus made a quick mocking bow before turning towards the door. As he was leaving he noticed the sword she was still holding. “Pretty sword,” was all he said before disappearing into the hall.

  Sarah shook her head in disbelief. “Who was that?”.

  “That was a D?kkálfar named Ravus.” He answered while helping her to her feet.

  “A D?kkálfar?”

  “A dark elf. They are the demented version of their paler counterpart.” He went to the section holding the uniforms like his. “Supposedly they were normal elves that were twisted by dark magic and darker emotions. As such they forsook the light and turned to the underground to thrive.”

  She stood next to him as he sorted through the uniforms. “What do you mean by demented?”

  “I mean they are seriously messed up. Normal elves base their lives on nature and peace. Dark elves live in an underground city and make a habit of, and draw pleasure from, killing each other to better their positions. They are extremely skilled in shadow magic and infiltration. They often make the best assassins. In fact, our third ranked Hunter is a d?kkálfar named Dulnea.” He checked a few more before picking two sets that included a shirt, pants, and shoes. They were both about Sarah’s size.

  She took the pair when he held them out to her, “City? They really live in an underground city?”

  “It’s more like an independent city-state. There are only about fifty thousand of their entire race. Their population would be bigger if they would stop killing each other. They claimed a large pocket realm for themselves and built three distinct cities inside it, each ruled over by a noble house. The worst part is that the whole place is slowly growing into one big metropolis. You’d be horrified by the territory wars that keep starting up. ”

  Sarah inspected the clothing in her hands to find how unusually heavy it was. When she lifted a hanger’s worth, she found that the suits were at least 10 pounds heavier than they should be.

  “Why are these so heavy?” She hefted the not-so bulky clothing.

  “It’s because they are weaved and treated with special materials and elements in addition to the chest and back having a layer of bullet proof material. Just the cloth is stab, slash, and impact resistant. It’ll stop knives and daggers while doing nothing to an incoming bullet. That’s what the discs are for.”

  She checked the sizes of the clothes in her hands and found one set to be too small for her while the other was a little large but close enough. “I’m guessing you want me to change into these?” He nodded. She wondered where she was supposed to change. Surely, she wasn’t expected to get naked and do it in front of Him.

  “You wouldn’t happen to have a changing room or locker room, would you?”

  “No,” he answered, not seeing any problem and simply stood there.

  She stared at him for a moment in disbelief before dropping the clothes and forcefully turned him towards the open door. She pushed him from behind and out of the room.

  “Then get out!” She slammed it close behind him. She sighed and shook her head.

  While undressing she noticed that her body had already begun to change. Before then she was so focused on her surroundings and what was happening to pay more focus on her own body. She didn’t necessarily have folds, but neither was she fit. The diet and sedentary lifestyle of a college student at work. After taking off her clothes she discovered that her entire body had lost nearly all the fat she had before.

  She couldn’t help but shiver. She felt as if it wasn’t ever her own body anymore. With her worry bubbling up the mysterious feeling that had repeatedly given her strength returned and reassured her that she was only improving, not being replaced.

  She thought back to when Miyuki said that her beast would keep her in the same condition. She said nothing about her body being changed, though it might explain Logan’s own physique. Even if the changes seemed to only be beneficial, they were still unauthorized.

  After taking a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down and focus on the present. She put on the clothes Logan gave her. The shirt was comfortable and felt as if it was made from a latex/cotton blend. When she looked closely at the inside of the shirt’s collar, she noticed multiple lines of connected circles with symbols in a language she couldn’t identify. The strange ridges down the front turned out to be made of small hard circular plates layered in a scale pattern. The pants felt as if they were made of some sort of breathable canvas. The military-like garb was not the most comfortable.

  After rolling her shoulders and stretching a little she felt that she might have become more flexible. To test her hypothesis, she decided to try and touch her toes. Before she could do it with some work, now she was able to do it without any discomfort. She pushed forward by placing her entire hands on the floor, an act she believed was only possible to contortionists and gymnasts. She only started to feel discomfort when she attempted to go further and put her head closer to her knees. After standing she heard a knock at the door with Logan’s voice accompanying it.

  “Hey Sarah, what’s taking so long?”

  She collected her discarded clothes along with her sword and opened the door. She stepped into the hall before answering.

  “Just a lot to think about.” She clenched her teeth to keep in control as she asked her question. “Did you know that my body would be altered?”

  When he hesitated she erupted. She threw her bundle on the floor before facing Logan with a withering glare. “Why didn’t you tell me!? What gave you the right to keep this from me!?”

  She snarled at him. “Why?! Because of you…things, I’ve lost my family, my friends, my future, and now even my body!” Normally she would have begun crying again but for some reason her only emotion was anger that was quickly transforming into a burning rage. The background feeling came back and told her not to attack and that the beast in front of her was too strong to fight.

  Logan visibly tensed at her outburst. “I’m sorry Sarah.” He said, sounding genuinely apologetic. “I’m sorry for what our world has taken from you, I’m sorry how little control you have, and I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about the alterations. But you are wrong on one point.”

  “What’s that?” she asked aggressively. She knew the feeling, which she was coming to accept to be her beast, was telling her to step down, she just couldn’t do it.

  “You are wrong that you have lost your future. You lost your plans for your old life, but not your future. The only way to truly lose that is to give up and lock yourself away or die. Are you going to give up? Be a coward and hide?”

  “What choice do I have?! As far as I know, you’re going to lock me up somewhere to starve. You said I have a future; well, I don’t God-damn see it! What, am I going to run around picking up statues and kidnapping people like you?” She stepped up and practically stood nose-to-nose with the taller man. “I am not some killer you can order around. I’m not going to fight in your war, and if you try to use my family to force me, I will personally RIP YOUR GUTS OUT!” By the end of her tirade, she was heaving and the feeling inside her was more than a little agitated.

  Logan’s eyebrow rose and paused for a few seconds. “You done?”

  She gritted her teeth. “Yea I’m done. I’m done with you, I’m done with all this,” she swung her arm around her, “and I’m done with weird things going on around me that don’t care what I say or do!”

  Silence lasted as the two stared at each other. It was broken by a grinning asshole. “You might be able to survive after all.” He said, “to survive in our world, you must be unyielding, fierce, and above all else, strong. It is true that right now we are in control of you. You may not believe me, but this is for your sake. Your beast hasn’t fully awakened and when it does you will need others to quite literally hold you down.”

  “And if I tell all of you to go screw yourselves and get out of here?”

  His grin vanished. “When your beast awakens for the first time you will lose all reason and strike out at everything and everyone around you. Your mind will be forced to watch as you rip apart innocents while you scream for someone, anyone, to end it.”

  Sarah’s face blanched at the thought of slaughtering people like a monster before her anger returned. “No,” she mumbled, “I would never do that. You’re lying!”

  There was a sudden flash of pure remorse behind Logan’s eyes. If she hadn’t been looking so deep into them, she wouldn’t have noticed.

  “I wish I was. I have more than once seen the result of a beast-cursed going feral.” He leaned down and got closer. “You are my responsibility, and the abyss will freeze over before I let you go feral. You need to accept that you need our help.” He straightened and turned his back to her. “I can’t ask you for forgiveness yet, but I can ask for patience.” He then started walking away.

  Sarah gritted her teeth but shoved the anger down, collected her belongings once again and made after him.