Wish upon the Stars chapter 12

Rantano's was...swank. Plush high end carpet, carved marble columns,  elegant chandeliers and curtains on the walls. The kind of upscale you  see at opera performances and piano concerts. Probably. I'd never really  gone to those, but Benny had, and it fit with what he told me. Still, I  was impressed with the luxury, and judging by her gaping jaw so was  Jessie. The two senior capes had been here before so they didn't seem  phased, but for us newbies this place was a pretty big deal.

When  we stepped inside we had a minute to look around before a man in a  plush red velvet jacket appeared out of nowhere to greet us. He bowed  deeply before the four of us, but his eyes were mainly focused on  Nightstrike. "Miss, welcome back. Might I escort you to the same table  as last time?" His voice was humble and polite, but I could tell just  from standing in front of him that he was much stronger than me or  Jessie. I couldn't exactly gauge a persons Impact just by meeting them  yet, but I could get a basic feel for how they measured up to me, and  this guy was more than just a bit weightier. He was G rank at least.

Nightstrike  shook her head serenely. "Sorry Gus, can't stop to eat this time. We're  here to talk to Suki. Is she in?" The man's formal but relaxed manner  became stiff in an instant. He glanced around furtively, as if worried  someone might have overheard, but when he realized we weren't being  listened in on he nodded sharply. Nightstrike smiled, exhaling in  relief. "Oh good. I was worried I might have to slum it down at the  Rusty Nickel to find Tiberius. He's the only person around with the kind  of hookups she has. Can you tell her I'm here to see her?"

Gus  looked like he wanted to say no, but after a moment he nodded  grudgingly. "I'll let he know of your presence miss. Please wait here,  I'll return forthwith with her reply." In the blink of an eye Gus  vanished, leaving us alone here. Nightstrike stepped closer to Cap, as  if she was trying to eliminate a direction of attack, and I wasn't the  only one worried by that motion. Cap drew himself up tall, clearly  preparing in case he needed to fight.

Nightstrike leaned  in to talk to us. "Listen to me and listen close. Suki is a very  knowledgeable person, but she's also very dangerous. She's from  Fairyland, and she synergized her ability with multiple skills to create  a racial trait. Rather than having a power she became a different  species. Suki is a Kelpie, and like all Kelpies she likes to lure in  unsuspecting prey. She's pretty and sweet and she'll get you to let down  your guard and literally the second you trust her she will kill you.  When we go inside don't speak to her first. If she asks you a question  answer yes or no only or defer to me."

My eyes went wide  at that. "You can change your species?" That...explained a lot about the  Fairyland. It was one of the more insular and mysterious members of the  five faction alliance, second only to the Black Sorrow Cult. I knew the  Fairyland was a monarchy and they had a Queen, but other than that no  one talked about the place. I mostly suspected now the lack of proper  knowledge of the other factions was to prevent their Ascendants from  gaining free renown from us.

Cap nodded. "It's a complex  process. Aside from having the proper skills and a matching ability you  need an alchemist who is willing to make you a catalyst elixir. The  catalyst is different based on what the abilities, skills, and species  in question are, so the alchemist has to be extremely skilled. Almost no  one outside Fairyland knows the process. Of course, some people just  naturally awaken a racial trait when they Ascend, but it's extremely  rare, so about ninety nine percent of all the Unpeople live there."

Nightstrike  smacked him in the head, her eyes widening in fear as she hissed. "Are  you crazy? You can't say that here! They hate when people call them  that. Suki will eat your bones if she hears you say that out loud, and  your mommy's reputation won't stop her." He winced, rubbing his head and  looking worried. She turned to us. "The term he used is extremely  offensive, don't ever say it in front of anyone with a racial trait.  Some of them will kill you just for speaking the word. Just call them  Fae. Most of them fall under that umbrella." She paused. "Well, some are  devils or spirits but if you're lucky you'll never meet one of those.  They tend to be... tricky."

We didn't have time to talk  any more because Gus came back, looking somber and tense. He addressed  Nightstrike again, but his earlier friendly formality was gone, replaced  by wariness. "She says she can meet with you, she's taking her tea in  the garden at the moment." He gestured off to one side. "If you'll all  follow me please." Turning on his heel the well dressed host led us  quickly through the restaurant. We passed multiple people who I was  positive were Ascendants of a pretty high rank, but we didn't slow down  as we wove through the tables.

We veered around a corner  and down a hallway until we found a door. Gus knocked four times in a  sharp staccato pattern and then twice much more softly, then pushed the  door open, ushering us in. When we stepped inside we I couldn't help but  freeze. Sunlight. Lots and lots of sunlight, pouring down from above  and soaking into boxes full of beautiful flowers and plants. There was a  bright blue sky above us somehow, and in the middle of the large room  was a wide pond with water lilies floating across the top of it.

Next  to the pond, casually sunning herself, was a small Asian girl with aqua  blue hair cut shaggily to shoulder length. She was sitting cross legged  at the shore of the pond, wearing khaki cargo pants and a white tank  top under a baggy black hoodie. It was hard to think of her as a threat,  she looked so tiny and harmless. That said, when I paid attention I  could somewhat sense the weight of her in the world, a sense of Impact,  though she seemed to have somehow dimmed it.

I  hadn't known it was possible to suppress that weight, though I suppose  it made sense. If it wasn't high rankers would be crushing everyone  around them with their presence all the time. I already knew of ways to  interact with Impact, like my enchanting, so being able to suppress that  feeling of weight wasn't completely out of left field. Well, that or  she was just an H ranker like me, but somehow I doubted Nightstrike  would be so worried about someone lower ranked than she was.

Jessie  and I stayed quiet as we were told though, despite the non threatening  show she was putting on, we weren't stupid enough to ignore our mentors.  We both kept our damn mouths shut as Nightstrike led us up to the  diminutive fae. As we got closer she smiled down at the girl. "Suki, so  good to see you. It's been a while." I noticed her smile was bland and a  bit wooden, like she was just going through the motions. I made a  mental note to ask Zeke about this Kelpie girl, might be information  worth having if she was such a big deal here.

Suki  looked up at us, and I almost flinched. Her eyes were green. Not like  Jessie's eyes, which had green irises, they were seaweed green across  the entire orb. No pupil or anything. It was deeply unsettling. Because  she had no pupil it was impossible to tell where she was looking, so I  kept getting the simultaneous impression I was being ignored and stared  at. Her lips peeled back in a slow smile, exposing grey teeth the color  of rocks on the shore, all much sharper than they had any right to be.  "Calliope, darling. So good to see you. What brings you to my pond?"

Nightstrike  winced at the use of what I imagined was her real name, but didn't  correct the fae. "We're looking for information, Suki. There's been  another murder, and this time a G ranker was killed. We think the killer  might have used some high end gear they got here. Do you know of anyone  local who bought anything that might help them kill someone up a rank?"  She was incredibly formal and polite about the request, clearly erring  on the side of caution, but I could still see the excitement in her  bearing. She could feel that we might be close to getting answers.

Nightstrike  and the rest of the Unity had been hunting this guy for more than a  year. He'd killed several people she knew already, so I imagine she was  pretty gung ho about his capture. Suki's smile widened, her lips peeling  back even more to expose even more of those sharp, gravel-like teeth. A  disturbing amount of them actually. It was super creepy. "Oh, I might  have seen something. But you know as well as I do that the fae don't  trade information for nothing. What exactly do I get for helping with  your little problem."

I  saw Jessie tense, but before she could speak I reached out and grabbed  her hand, squeezing it a bit harder than necessary. She winced and  pulled away but got control of herself back and nodded gratefully at me.  Nightstrike reached into a pocket and withdrew an aquamarine stone. She  passed it over to the Kelpie, whose head cocked with interest as she  studied the rock. " Sea Agate. A hundred and thirty points of Fantasy.  It's got a natural form rune with a water variation." She squinted and  pursed her lips, tossing the rock up and catching it again.

After  a minute or so of contemplation she nodded. "This is useful. Very well.  Your offering is accepted, but you may not be satisfied with what it  bought you. The person you're asking about came here in disguise a few  months ago. They purchased a G rank blood drinker blade. Their disguise  was well crafted, and I didn't bother to pierce it, but there was one  notable thing about them. They stank of the magic of the stars. They  were someone in regular contact with that unbearable harpy's Cosmic  Witchcraft ability."

She  closed her hand with a snap around the stone and it vanished from right  in front of me, then she turned back to the shore of the pond and once  again began to ignore us. I expected Nightstrike to ask for more, but  she just motioned for us to follow her out. We walked back out to the  main dining room and Nightstrike signaled Gus to get us a table, which  he did in short order.  Once we were led to an out of the way spot we  all sat down, before I finally couldn't take it anymore. "Ok what the  hell was that? What did that mean?"

Nightstrike  looked at Cap with a frown, and he nodded. She turned back to us.  "Cosmic Witchcraft is a rare created ability that involves the  synergizing of several obscure star related skills with the Minor Hex  ability. It belongs to exactly one person in the entire city, someone  you've already met. Cosmic Witchcraft is the signature ability of the  guild master of the Valen branch. If the killer is in regular contact  with her that means they have to be a high ranking member of the Unity."  She looked grim at the thought. "Whoever has been performing these  killers isn't just targeting our members. They're one of us. We have a  traitor in our midst."