The OP Lich is a Returnee, Chapter 153

Chapter 153 – Plans

My residence in Seattle was as I’d left it, that night when I flew across the sky to deal with the Russians who kidnapped Eri. Oh, there’d been a few people who tried to make a fuss, or sneak in, but they had not even been able to get past the wards. The mansion may as well have been a fortress, for all they were concerned. Of course, it wasn’t a case of the defenses being terribly strong, at least by my standards, but rather that the people testing them were all weak mortals, without any training in magic.

Regardless, there was plenty of room at the mansion for everyone. Which was good, because a bit of a planning session was in order. Before, when dealing with the seals, I’d typically had the cooperation of the locals to help find the entrance. This time, however, any help I got from the American government would be suspect, at best.

Walking everyone into the sitting room, I took a comfortable chair as my throne, and motioned for the others to sit. “So, the issue is finding the entrance to the Seal. I would rather not spend a few days or a week out in the middle of nowhere, combing a mountainside for the opening, if possible. Do we have any information on where the entrance may be?”

Aleister, the vampire in charge of the estate, was the first to speak. “With your permission, your Majesty?” He paused, long enough for me to signal my assent. “After you informed us of the seals, I took the liberty of dispatching a small team to the area so that they could scout ahead. First, they confirmed that the seal is within the mountain itself, thanks to triangulation of the pulses when the seals of Life and Water were undone.”

“Admirable foresight, Aleister. What about the US government? Have they made any moves?”

“That is one of the reasons I dispatched a team, your Majesty. There is an Army National Guard facility in the city of Mount Shasta, so I felt it prudent to keep an eye on them. The day after your press conference in Australia, they had a significant increase in the number of soldiers at the depot, which normally only sported guards and maintenance staff for the vehicle pool outside of annual training periods.”

“So, are they planning to do something stupid, or were they looking to secure the site, so that there weren’t any problems like we saw in Australia?”

“As one might expect, your Majesty, it was a little of both. From what the wraiths infiltrating the facility could discover, it was the Governor of California that activated these troops, on his own authority, with orders to find and secure the entrance of the seal. Your description of the dangers of an unchecked Guardian ‘lit a fire under them’, to use local parlance.”

“So, the Governor wanted the seal kept safe. What about the ones trying to be stupid?”

“They came in two days after the soldiers. Tried to take over the operation, on ‘national security’ grounds. The soldiers told them to do some unpleasant and anatomically impossible things with their orders, since they weren’t in the same chain of command, and the agents refused to present legal orders in a written form.”

Eri giggled. “Sounds like someone in that unit knows the value of covering their ass.”

“Precisely, Princess Eri,” Aleister nodded. “The Lieutenant in charge of the platoon is apparently a lawyer, in his day-to-day life. I’ve done some research on him. Strong sense of ethics, and not one to cut corners or ignore the letter of the law, save in extreme situations.”

Naya nodded. “I know people like that. Always drive the speed limit, or five kilometers lower, just to be safe. Always uses their turn signals, and leaves plenty of space between them and the car in front of them. However, if there is an emergency, they will floor it, and not think twice.”

“So, how did these agents respond to that denial?”

“They attempted to get their chain of command to give them orders, but it seems no one wished to stick their neck out, and so things got passed all the way up to the Governor. However, they were not successful in getting the Governor to cut orders for the lieutenant. The wraiths heard the agents discussing it. Apparently, the Governor decided he did not wish to have a dragon descend upon his residence, and told the agents to ‘go to hell’.”

I nodded, thoughtfully. “And the only one who could override the governor, in that case, would be the President, as Commander in Chief of the military, right?”

“Indeed. And, given your rather public displays of power in the past, and the information you released after those fools tried to ‘bargain’ with you, the President was none too keen to poke his nose in. So, the agents were unable to get the soldiers involved.”

“I assume you’ve kept watch on these agents?”

“Naturally, your Majesty. The two agents have had wraiths with them constantly since I was made aware of them, hiding in their own shadows. They’ve been watching the soldiers as they looked for the entrance, and were calling in updates to a third party.”

“Well, we may need to deal with them, should they start being problematic. Let the wraiths know that they can act on their own discretion, if they believe the agents will hamper our plans. Just make sure that it happens somewhere out of view.”

“As you wish, my Queen.”

“Now, what about these soldiers? Have they found the entrance?”

“Not as of yet, my Queen. The events in Australia, and later the Azores, made them decide on a policy of an overabundance of caution. However, I am pleased to report that one of the ghouls dispatched to the area happened across a barrier spell on the mountainside. Given that the mortals of this world do not know how to conjure a sustained barrier spell, much less create an enchantment for one, he believes that to be the entrance. Of course, he was not foolish enough to try and breach the barrier without reinforcements.”

“Very good. Who is this ghoul? We would like to reward him for both his skill, and his discretion.”

“He is Sergeant Bertran. One of the recruits from Greystone.”

“Ah, yes. The first land we took back from the Demon King. He’s been with Us for so long, and still remains just a sergeant?”

“He refused promotion on multiple occasions, your Majesty. He prefers to be with the troops, in the mud and the blood, as he says. Additionally, the officers above him say he has an excellent sense of tactics and unit logistics, but does not have any aptitude for the strategic landscape.”

“Ah,” I nodded. “One of those people who found something that they were perfectly suited for, and stuck with it, instead of allowing them to be pushed into other areas. That makes more sense. Very well, We will see about finding a suitable reward for him, when We meet him.”

Ya looked to me, and asked, “So, Mistress, what do you intend to do about the soldiers? If it is just a platoon, they can’t be guarding all paths and approaches to the mountain, but they may try and interfere if you move to secure the site.”

“Well, they seem to be intelligent enough to not go deliberately provoking me. I suppose the best way to handle things is to send someone to speak with the lieutenant in charge. I am not opposed to having one or two soldiers observe the procedures. But they won’t be allowed to interfere at all.” I turned my gaze to Aleister, and asked, “How advanced are these soldiers in their training, Aleister?”

“I have not viewed them in person, of course, but according to the reports I’ve received, the Lieutenant is a thaumaturge, but the rest are all mundanes. None of them have truly awakened their mana, or begun growing their pools. They haven’t even discovered their elements yet, apparently.”

“Ah, then they should not be an issue, even if they become hostile. Very well, We shall prove that it is the US government who upset Us, and not the people of the United States, by reaching out to these soldiers, and offering to let them observe. However, I will have wraiths in their shadows, whether they know it or not, to ensure that they do not get a sudden onset case of stupidity.”

“Uh, sister,” Eri started, “just what would these wraiths do to them? I’m not exactly familiar with what all your people can do.”

“Ah, yes,” I nodded. “Linyeve, if you will?”

“Of course, Mistress.”

The rasping voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once. Then, from the shadow under Eri’s feet, darkness pooled, and from it a wraith emerged, the spectral figure floating in the air next to her. It was difficult to keep a straight face, or break out in laughter, as I saw my sister nearly jump over the back of the sofa she was sitting on.

Smiling gently at her, I said, “This is Linyeve, one of the protectors I assigned to you. As you can see, she is a wraith, a form of incorporeal undead. Most people only think of them as moving through walls and floors, or things like that, but that is just the base level of what they can do.” I was glad to see that, as I spoke, my sister calmed from the sudden surprise. Well, having a wraith emerge from your shadow was something that few normal people would experience. Fewer still lived long enough to make sense of what they saw before the wraith took their life force as sustenance and ripped their soul from their body to be turned into another wraith.

“Mistress, that didn’t ‘feel’ like Death magic,” Naya said, studying the wraith.

“Very good, Naya. And that is because it isn’t Death magic, but rather a power. How to describe it? A power is a natural ability of a creature. For a wraith, once they get to a certain power level, Shadowdiving is one power that they can develop. Someone could use Shadow mana to create a spell to mirror that ability, but it is still a copy of a power, not a power itself.”

“Like how you spoke with—” Ya started, before glancing over to Eri, unsure if she should continue.

“You may go ahead, Ya. I trust Eri not to speak out of turn about such things.”

The Chinese spy nodded, and said, “Well, then how you spoke with the dragon in that strange mental speech which we could all hear? And he spoke to you in turn?”

“Wait, you met a dragon? In this world?” Eri asked, eyes wide and excited. “Where? When?”

“Well, I’ve met two, actually. One was the Guardian of Shadow, trapped within the Seal chamber since magic was locked away. The other was a dragon from another world, whom I have named my ally. He is the one that made me realize that magic had been sealed away, since there was still enough for him to survive. Given the implications of that, I went to check on the seals, and discovered the danger they posed. You know the rest.”

I took a breath, and said, “And yes, Ya. The Dragonspeech and Mortalform spells which I have designed, learned, and mastered are, in fact, replicas of powers inherent to dragonkind. A dragon is born with the Dragonspeech power, able to project their thoughts to another as soon as they are out of the shell. The Mortalform power comes later, and unlocking it is one of the ways that dragons judge whether a young dragon has reached adulthood or not.”

I looked back to Eri, and said, “Wraiths have more than a few powers. For instance, they are able to feed upon a living creature’s essence. Doing so involves ripping the creature’s soul from their body, and consuming that which makes it ‘living’. The process turns that soul into a wraith, under the control of their maker, much like how a vampire can control their spawn.”

“And she was in my shadow all this time?”

“After my ‘discussions’ with the Americans and Russians, I doubt anyone will try to kidnap you again, at least not for quite some time. However, I am certain that they will not enjoy the experience.”

“You could have told me. Like you told me about Roesia and Gabella.”

I shook my head slowly. “I told you about the demi-vampires because they are visible, and you needed to be comfortable with them. You are not the first mortal I’ve placed guards with, you know. Mortals react better to corporeal guards, even undead ones. When faced with an incorporeal guard, their minds often become irrational, as the idea touches a primal fear in them. Until they have built up some tolerance of the undead, they tend to either panic, always unsure of where their guard is, or they become too confident, believing that the guard is always with them, and will protect them from anything, no matter what.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. It was a well-known phenomenon in the other world.”

Eri took a breath, and said, “All right. I understand why you didn’t tell me. But I would like to know more about those guarding me.”

“Of course. We’ll have a nice chat as we ride down to the mountain.”